Chapter 1046: Jade and Crystal
Meanwhile…
[Damn! These Grafted guys are way tougher than anticipated!]
[No shit!]
As Zhen Liu was busy dealing with Kaijin Lord things, Hurricroak and Frosttusk were preoccupied with dealing with two of the five Grafted warriors attacking the city.
A part of them had initially thought this would be a one-sided slaughter. The Grafted had only been gifted their stolen parts for a few days at most, while the kaijin were quite literally born out of the box ready to fight. Alas, reality was a little different.
[Come on, froggy! I thought we were having a screaming match!,] Gao Su shouted in pursuit of Hurricroak after an exchange of blows had separated them.
[You’re big, but I’m bigger!,] Gao Kan shouted as he made one of his legs larger than before in order to crush through Frosttusk’s ice barrier.
Just the kaijin were weird and unpredictable with their movements and abilities, the Grafted were just as equally unpredictable and strange…but with a bonus.
They were able to use all of the benefits that came with cultivating aether as mortal aether warriors.
[Not only did we get Regalia, but our new kaijin abilities empower them too?!]
[Fucking metal!]
As kaijin, they weren’t able to use the normal abilities such as [Regalia], [Astra], and so forth due to their unusual body constitutions. However, they could technically act as those things for other warriors.
This, normally, wouldn’t be an issue as most of their opponents were regular aether warriors who had no idea how to deal with [Chaos] on a day-to-day basis, but this was one of those times that that particular rule didn’t apply.
The kaijin understood that the best way to overpower these assholes were to work with another kaijin, but that wasn’t feasible at the moment.
Razorstella and Screamira were still supporting their respective mortal hosts, while most of the other kaijin were way too far to be of assistance.
That or they were in the middle of fighting with the other Grafted warriors at this time.
…
[Shit, shit, shit!]
[What’s wrong little clown? Don’t you want to play?!]
[No!]
Shortly after Spring Brawler went his separate way from Frosttusk, he decided to try and challenge one of the Grafted to a duel. While it probably wasn’t the smartest move, he could at least occupy them long enough for the others to wrap up and assist. Which is why he took up the opportunity to launch a fist directly at the other Grafted warriors, only for his fist to get blocked by a crystal shield. From there, shit got worse.
[Crystal Talon Storm!]
[HOLY SHIT!]
Spring Brawler didn’t even bother to try and counter attack or use another aether art to overpower the incoming talon shaped crystal shards. Instead, he made use of his stretchy limbs and pulled himself out of the danger zone.
[GAH, THAT SMARTS!]
He didn’t come out of it unscathed though.
Due to the wide area of effect of the aether art, a couple of the shards had managed to leave small yet noticeable scratches across the iron springs that made up Spring Brawler’s arms.
Once he was under some protective cover, Spring Brawler did a quick check of his newly acquired wounds.
[Oh that is not something that will come out with a good buffing,] Spring Brawler determined as he ran a finger across his arm. [I’m gonna need actual healing or new springs after this is over…wait, can I even replace my springs?]
Unfortunately, before he could he ask Logos and Pathos about that possibility, his opponent decided to get on the ground in order to take him down, face to face.
[What’s wrong little clown? Can’t handle my love?,] Sophita called out with a hint of maniacal glee to her voice.
[Ah, shit.]
Sophita the Crystal Heart, as she called herself, was possibly one of the most terrifying women that Spring Brawler had met up to this date.
Then again, it probably didn’t help that she had a pair of oversized claws made of crystals where her hands were supposed to be. It wasn’t even a cover, it was like the flesh and bone up to the midpoint between her wrist and elbow had turned into crystal, with visible veins of blood still pumping and flowing.
[Where are you, little clown?~,] Sophita sang while casually cutting through the occasional street lamp and scratching the nearby walls.[I just want to replace my arms and legs with yours. That way, I can always keep my dearly beloved in reach at all times. No matter how hard he tries to run away or pull out. Mehehehe!]
‘I might be used to body horror at this point, but this is a new type of horror,’ Spring Brawler thought to himself.
Luckily, he wasn’t going to be alone for long.
…
[Need a hand, Spring Brawler?]
[Oh dear Chaos, yes! Tag out, tag out!]
[Understood. Seismic Drop Kick!]
[WAIT UNTIL I’M OUT OF THE BLAST ZONE!]
…
SPROING!
[There you are little-! Wait, what?]
Spring Brawler, not wanting to stress out his arm wound, had opted to launch himself into the air by jumping on to the top of a nearby building.
Seeing her prey exposing himself, Sophita was all set to launch a giant chakram made of crystal at him and bisect the leaping kaijin like a swallow that flew a little too close to a samurai.
However, before she could do, Nepherage fell toward her like a ton of bricks.
Literally.
When she saw that Spring Brawler was under attack, she curled up into a ball and attempted to crush Sophita with an aether art that covered in a thick layer of rock.
Unfortunately, Sophita was faster than anticipated.
Moments before Nepherage made impact, Sophita took a page out of Spring Brawler’s book and launched herself out of the blast zone by empowering her legs with [Chaos] and aether.
A pair of crystalline pillars manifested over her legs for a brief moment before the momentum launched Sophita away from the impact.
[Nice try, bitch!]
[Tsk!]
Once the dust settled, Nepherage extracted herself from her newly made crater. At the same time, Sophita landed at a spot directly across the woman made of Crimson Jade.
[Well, well, well. Aren’t you a pretty sight?,] Sophita said in a tone of voice that sounded more appropriate coming from an elderly pervert than a young woman like herself.
Nepherage, for her part, ignored the comment and decided to go straight into that bit of conversation that occurs before the actual fighting began.
[Safe to assume you’re one of the Grafted, right? My name’s Nepherage, and I’m here to put a stop to your rampage.]
[Oh? You’re not gonna ask me to surrender for my own good?]
[Seeing as you’re radiating enough bloodlust to choke out a village…no.]
[Feisty, I love that,] Sophita mused before preparing to introduce herself with a bow. [Well, I might as well introduce myself for realsies. My name is Sophita, the Crystal Heart.]
At this moment, Nepherage was very tempted to attack while Sophita was mid-bow.
However, she held herself back for two reasons.
First, it would b considered churlish and rude to attack someone during their introduction. She had a [Core of Heroism] for a reason, and attacking an unprepared opponent was opposite of such desire.
Second, and most importantly, Nepherage could sense an immense amount damage and danger if she did a make a move.
Once Sophita was finished bowing, Nepherage worries were soon justified.
[Hmmm. Shame. I was hoping to catch you off guard so I could you hit with this. I guess I’ll just settle on aiming at you directly then.]
Once those words left her mouth, an aether array appeared directly in front of her.
[Diamond Crushing Bison, charge!]
With a tap of her finger, a bison made of entirely crystals came charging out of the array and directly towards Nepherage.
‘Hmmm. That’s not good.’
Normally, Nepherage would’ve easily tanked such hits, as the innate [Chaos] around her would’ve easily nullified the aether art upon impact.
However, since there was a bit of [Chaos] mixed into the attack, it made impossible to tank. If Nepherage tried to do so, there was a possibility her arm would break…at best.
Hence, she did the next best thing.
She decided to lock in against those horns.
[Magma Ram!]
BANG!
Moments before making contact, Nepherage summoned forth a shield in the shape of a ram’s head that was made of molten rock.
While the heat component didn’t really affect the crystalline body of the bison construct, the giant horns and solid rock did wonders in keeping the damn thing at bay. In other words, Nepherage was tougher than diamonds.
[Is that all you got?!]
[Nope! That was just the appetizer!]
While Nepherage was still in the middle of locking horns against the Crushing Diamond Bison, Sophita had launched herself upward in order to get a better angle.
Once she did, she pointed her crystal claws directly at Nepherage’s head.
[Triangle Cut Piercer!]
And fired a triangle shape shard of energy.
