A howl tore from the Mutated Chimera's mouth like the wail of an air raid siren. Alex and Claire both staggered, clutching their hands to their ears. Finely barely even flinched — and neither did Alex's monsters. Spark and Glint raced ahead of Princess as they made for the huge monster.
"I'll make an opening," Alex said to Claire. "Wait for the right time."
She gave him a terse nod.
The muscles in the Mutated Chimera's legs bunched. Its eyes focused on Glint and its lips pulled back in a snarl. The ground beneath it shattered as it exploded into motion. It blurred through the air and brought its claws down toward Glint.
Glint flung himself at an angle, narrowly avoiding the huge paws as they crashed down where he'd been with a loud crunch. The Chimera pulverized a huge chunk of stone into nothing but dust.
Spark arrived before the monster. He formed a shadow on the ground and lifted into the air, swinging his hands down in a dual strike for the Chimera's skull. They connected with a thud — sending the doglike monster staggering.
The barbed tail on its back whipped forward with such speed that the air cracked. Spark swapped places with his shadow before the attack even went off. His shadow exploded into swirling fragments of darkness.
Alex extended his power toward Princess as his final — and slowest — monster arrived before the Chimera.
I've used Qi when I've summoned my monsters, but it worked on Funhouse. That means it should work on any ability — so what happens if I use it on Rift Flood instead of when I directly summon my monster?
Alex's lips stretched in a thin smile.
He drew on his Qi until the warm, buzzing energy filled his entire body like an ocean waiting to be called upon. Then he activated Rift Flood. A link snapped to life between him and Princess and power rushed out of him and into her.
Princess' body roiled. Rift smoke burst from bubbles that burst on her back. She ballooned outward, gaining nearly five feet in height as pulsing purple veins carved through the black sludge that made up her body.
The undulating arms that extended from her back exploded in size, more than doubling. Hundreds of centipede legs squirmed in the air, peeling away from the center of the arms like they were blooming flowers.
The Chimera didn't look too pleased with the change. It hissed and swept a massive paw for Princess.
The Dredge and she lifted her own hand in response. A shockwave passed down her arm and through her body. Sludge splattered from her body and across the ground and her form wavered — but it didn't collapse.
Princess' hand wrapped around the Chimera's paw, keeping the monster from pulling away. The tendril-legs on her back exploded forward, ripping apart to form into dozens of different squirming limbs and wrapping around the boss's hand to bind it even further.
His Dredge had transformed into some sort of wretched eldritch monster from a child's nightmares.
Holy fuck. She's incredible.
The Chimera's barbed tail slammed through Princess' chest and drove into the ground behind her with a loud crash. Sludge splashed across the ground, but Princess didn't so much as flinch. Power pulsed in the veins running beneath her skin and the goop on the ground twisted up behind her, sliding back into her chest and reforming around the tail to pin it in place within her.
A furious snarl ripped from the Chimera and it yanked on its tail. For a moment, Princess managed to hold onto it, but the tail exploded free from her a moment later in a spray of black liquid.
The Chimera fought to lift its captured paw into the air. Strands formed in Princess' body as she started to stretch apart. Despite her best efforts, the boss was still stronger than she was. But, in the brief few moments she held the chimera down, Glint was able to scale the side of the monster like a craggy cliffside.
Alex could have had Glint attack well before, but that would have meant he landed a blow on a limb instead of somewhere where he could do actual damage — and now he was on the Chimera's back.
It realized what was happening, but not quickly enough. The monster's head twisted to snap at Glint even as he struck.
His claws flashed through the air as they ripped into the monster's furry neck, carving through its matted defenses and carving deep into flesh. The Chimera's many eyes went wide in surprise and pain and it screamed in pain.
It ripped its paw free of Princess and slammed the other one into her sidelong, ripping through the Dredge's entire body and sending it splattering across the ground. Her mask clattered to the ground.
The Chimera shook its head furiously, dislodging Glint and sending him plummeting to the ground.
Spark shot over to the falling Shardwalker, grabbing Glint by under his arms and tossing him to the ground in a roll. The Echo Wraith dipped to the side as the Chimera swiped a paw at it, but it wasn't fast enough to avoid the sonic strike of the Chimera's tail as it exploded forth like a gunshot.
The Echo Wraith exploded into fragments, its teleportation still on cooldown.
Glint darted for the Chimera again, but the monster was wary of him now. The wounds on the back of its head and neck wept blood that soaked into its dark fur. It hopped back a step, readying its tail over its head.
Alex yanked on Glint with his magic. The monster exploded into a streamer of energy and flew back into him. Moments later, the Chimera's tail smashed into the ground where the Shardwalker had been standing.
He resummoned Glint with a thought, but the precious few seconds that the monster's dismissal had cost him gave the Chimera enough time to turn straight toward Alex and Claire.
"Alex?" Claire asked, her voice taut.
"Working on it. Not yet," Alex said, his jaw clenched. "You saw its tail, right? That thing is an instant kill device against anyone other than Spark and Princess. You'll never get close as things are."
Glass shattered, raining down beside Alex as Glint emerged beside him.
The Chimera exploded into motion — and Princess burst up from the ground like a black wave. Her entire body formed into a huge fist as it slammed into the boss's chin, snapping it up with a loud crunch.
Glint dashed forward, bounding across the ground toward the boss as fast as he could move.
A howl of fury ripped from the monster's mouth and it swiped its paw straight through Princess, splattering her across the ground once again. This time, Princes pressed the attack immediately.
Strands of sludge grabbed at the Chimera's foot and tried to bind it down. The massive boss's tail drove into Princess, ripping her body to ribbons in a split instant. The monster ripped its tail free and drove its foot down on top of her instantly.
A loud crunch echoed out.
The Dredge's body collapsed to the ground. She pooled before transforming into a stream of energy that flowed into Alex.
She had died, but she'd bought Glint more time. The Chimera realized that too, but it realized too late.
The Shardwalker launched himself into the air and slammed straight into the Chimera's face. His claws ripped down across the monster's features, shredding the boss's face like confetti. One of its eyes burst under Glint's onslaught.
"No. Not yet." Alex's hands clenched at his sides. The Chimera was weakened, but it wasn't downed. The monster's tail was terrifying. They couldn't afford to overextend when a single misstep would end either of them in a split instant.
I should have Princess' powers now, so I might be able to tank a hit, but I've got a better idea.
An agonized scream tore from the Chimera and it whipped its head back and forth furiously. It staggered to the side and slammed its face straight into the ground. There was a crunch, followed by silence.
Energy flowed into Alex as his third monster died. The Chimera lifted its face, wounded, bleeding, and partially blinded. Fury shone in the monster's three remaining eyes and it stalked forward. Blood and saliva dripped from its mouth and formed a trail that marked its wake.
Alex drew deeply on his power. He still had a fair amount left — there had been no reason to use Funhouse when the Chimera was so much larger than him that he'd never be able to envelop it within the ability's radius.
"Come on," Alex called. "You haven't even landed a single blow on me yet. Isn't that embarrassing? Some boss, getting fought off by a single Initiate Stage. You might have to get the boss bit scrubbed from your name."
He doubted the Chimera had actually heard him, but it was pissed — and that was enough.
It burst into motion.
Alex snapped his fingers, and all the power he'd gathered exploded out of him in an instant.
The ground before Alex exploded in a spray of black liquid.
Princess rose up from the rippling darkness and. She drove into the stunned Chimera's. She wrapped herself around its front legs and slammed her weight into the monster, grinding its charge to a halt. The Chimera down bit on her shoulder, tearing a huge chunk of black flesh free, but Princess held fast.
Electrical energy crackled and glass shattered. Spark burst out from a buzzing blue portal and grabbed Glint as he emerged from a jagged fragment in reality. The Echo Wraith spun once before whipping the Shardwalker into the air like they were acrobats in the world's most dangerous circus.
The Chimera's remaining eyes went wide. It tried to flinch back, but Princess' grip tightened on it, not letting the monster escape.
A brilliant crack rang out as the sound barrier shattered. Glint's body jerked as the Chimera's tail slammed into his chest. The Shardwalker went limp, then exploded into particles of dust.
Wings exploded from Claire's back and she burst into motion. There was a brief moment between strikes where the Chimera had to retract its tail before it could attack again. And in that moment, Claire arrived before the boss monster.
She slammed into its face with such force that it staggered. Bone crunched and blood sprayed across the ground. Claire didn't wait to see the results of her attack. With a snarl, she drove her katana down straight through one of the Chimera's eyes.
Blood and bodily fluids sprayed from the wound. The Chimera screamed in agony, but Claire wasn't done. She drove her hand down straight into the center of its skull, striking the location that Spark had hit at the start of the fight.
Bone crunched beneath her empowered hands. Her claws carved deep into the monster's skull and ripped a huge chunk of flesh free.
The power flowing from Alex abruptly vanished.
Encore's time was up.
Princess and Spark vanished with a pop.
The Chimera staggered. Without Princess to interfere, it could move properly once again. Blood mixed with saliva and sprayed from the monster's mouth as it roared and focused on Claire once more.
Its tail lifted into the air.
Alex left a shadow on the ground behind him and sprinted forward with a yell, trying to get the monster's attention. The moment it turned its eyes to him, he'd have to swap back. There was no way for him to react fast enough to the monster's tail. He would just have to predict it.
But the Chimera wasn't paying attention to him. It was fully focused on Claire. She'd thrust her right hand back behind her, and the blood coating the ground churned beneath them.
The boss whipped its head to the side with a sharp snap. Despite Claire's best efforts, she was launched into the air. Her wings snapped, stopping her tumble mid-air. The huge monster's head turned to follow her path as it lined up a strike with its tail.
Alex called on Glint's powers as he closed the gap between himself and the Chimera. There were enough open wounds to attack the monster from within if he could get close—
Clair clenched her fist shut.
Blood flowed upward from the ground in a smooth arc. Its surface shimmered as it solidified and sharpened, forming into a blade. The blood drove up through the bottom of the Chimera's skull and burst out through the top of its head with a wet crunch.
For an instant, the Chimera stood frozen in place. Blood dripped down the frozen blade running through its head. The monster twitched once.
Then it pitched forward and crashed to the ground, dead.
Power poured into Alex as he skidded to a stop, nearly overwhelmed by the wave of energy. Claire dropped to the ground beside him, breathing heavily.
"Holy shit," Claire said. "That was almost worse than if I'd been fighting the whole time. My heart is going to explode."
"It was well played, though, wasn't it?" Alex asked with an adrenaline-fuled grin. "What a fight."
He glanced back to the dead monster. A Soul Flame materialized above its body.
Field Boss Slain. Rewards Earned.
Alex's grin grew wider.
That's what I'm talking about.
Out of the corner of his eye, he spotted someone standing beside the glowing white meteor that had fallen in the center of town during the 2nd Initialization.
The merchant's eyes were wide and his mouth hung askew in abject disbelief. He lifted a shaking finger toward Alex and Claire, almost as if in accusation. Finley's mouth worked as he tried to piece together what he'd just seen.
In the end, he managed to force just a single, stunned word from his lips.