Outcast Chapter 250 (Book 6 Chapter 35) (Patreon)

Jason's team burst into action, with him, Baker, and Lucio charging straight forward. Jeanette's bullets were faster. They zipped around the transforming Blight, making sharp turns to loop back around whenever they missed. Unfortunately, all of them did. The Blight was dodging at a speed that was nearly too fast for Jason's eyes to follow.

"Controllable projectiles," it observed. A pulse of Corruption lashed out from its body, disintegrating the bullets in mid-air. "This vessel has some knowledge of propulsion mechanics, yet he has never witnessed weapons such as these. Are they new armaments developed by the structures of authority in this world?"

From what Rob had told Jason, the Blights' voices were supposed to be borderline incomprehensible. This one still spoke with the cadence of inflection of a kindly old man, as if it was emulating the humanity it had stolen. If anything, it only made the creature more disturbing than the alternative.

Don't get distracted. Jason readied his greatsword, almost in range to strike. He imagined all the ways the 'Old Man' might dodge or counterattack, preparing for the first steps of their dance–

And choked as he suddenly found meaty fingers gripping his throat. The Blight had just appeared in front of him, so swift that it moved in the time it took Jason to blink once.

Can't...breathe... The creature's arm was grotesquely muscular, flesh pulsating, rising, and falling like a heartbeat. Its touch burned, leaving marks on Jason's neck. If he hadn't already activated Blight Install, the effect would have been even worse.

"Trinkets of mana," the Blight remarked, eyeing his anti-Corruption Amulets. "No more than paper shields. Our essence is lethal to mortals like you."

Jason's Blighted eye, the one borrowed from Baker, glared back. "There isn't anyone like me." He was too close to use his greatsword, so he instead used his free hand to punch at the Old Man, impacting its arm with a blow strong enough to dent steel.

No reaction. Jason grimaced. Not because the Blight was sturdy – he'd expected that. It wouldn't be the first time his team had fought a monster with abnormal durability.

But...those monsters took forever to beat.

And Rob needed this thing dead now.

Jason grit his teeth, punching the Blight again. Again. Again, again. Still no reaction. The Old Man's twisted face grinned at him, wordlessly taunting the futility of his struggle. Baker and Lucio moved to free him, but the creature was faster, always keeping out of their reach. The pressure on Jason's throat gradually increased, like a wine cork about to be popped.

BANG.

He saw the Blight's head snap back before he heard the sound of gunfire. One of Jeanette's bullets had finally found their mark. The Old Man's eyes widened with surprise, as if he honestly hadn't believed it would affect him at all. Jeanette capitalized by firing several shots in rapid succession, each dealing little to no damage – yet causing the Blight's grip to loosen, just by a hair.

Jason capitalized. With two simultaneous motions, he pried the Old Man's meaty fingers open and kicked against its chest. That was barely enough for him to break away and leap to freedom, his allies rushing his side a moment later.

"Can you stand, Miller?" Baker asked. "Your Blight Install should grant some resistance to Corruption, but not immunity. If you take a direct injury–"

"It won't come to that," Jason muttered, in a low voice. Forty-five seconds...I've wasted forty-five seconds...

Earlier, the Old Man had mentioned something about temporal distortions. How time wasn't moving at the same rate inside the Spire as it was outside. It 'flowed without rhyme or reason'.

Forty-five seconds. How long was that in Elatra? Five minutes? One second? A whole hour?

Was Rob already–

"It won't come to that?" Baker parroted, his mocking tone thankfully interrupting Jason's train of thought. "Based on your memories – and our battles together – you are hardly one to shy away from self-endangerment and self-indulgence."

"Not this time." Jason quickly scanned the battlefield. The Old Man was standing still, trying to understand how seemingly-mortal bullets had affected it. Meanwhile, Jeanette and Lucio were rushing to flank the monster on both sides. "This time is different."

Been over a minute now. Just from his brief exchange with the Blight, Jason knew that defeating it would take longer than they could afford...if they could defeat it at all. The Blight was more than just strong – it was an anomaly. A being that existed only to spread death and destruction. Its touch had left an imprint of terror that far surpassed what he'd felt when the gods tried to kidnap him.

And Rob had been fighting them for almost a year.

In objective terms, Jason already knew that. He'd heard the stories. It still wasn't the same as seeing one in-person. Their aura of unnatural power – so pervasive that it made humans feel intrinsically lesser – couldn't be done justice with mere words.

Or rather...Rob had purposefully not done them justice. Despite fighting Blight after Blight, the fate of two worlds riding on his shoulders, he'd acted like defeating them was a foregone conclusion. Always playing up his victories and minimizing his hardships. Jason had never heard any hint of true concern in his voice.

Until a few minutes ago.

'I'm not sure we can...'

He'd sounded so exhausted, so...devoid of hope. This last Blight of Elatra was apparently way stronger than any of the others. Something like the Old Man – which had effortlessly put Jason's team on the ropes – was a small fry in comparison. It was difficult to envision a creature more powerful than the monstrosity standing before them, but it existed, and Rob was battling it right now.

'Anyway, it's tough over here.'

How much had he endured up to this point? How much had he been hiding or downplaying in their conversations?

Worst of all, knowing him...it wasn't just me. Rob has been pretending he's fine to everyone else as well. Even when the weight was crushing his soul.

He clenched his fists. Fucking idiot.

Jason didn't know whether that thought was directed at Rob or himself.

With a burst of speed, he seized his greatsword and dashed towards the floating black crystal in the center of the room. Spire is empowering Rob's Blight. They didn't need to kill the Blight on this end – just destroy the Spire's core. Jason swung his blade in a wide arc, putting every ounce of strength he could summon into one crushing attack.

It harmlessly bounced off the translucent barrier surrounding the crystal. As if he'd struck a brick wall with a twig.

"You cannot break through," the Blight informed. "Although I invite you to try."

Responding to its invitation, Jeanette shot at the crystal. Once, then twice, then three times. Each bullet ricocheted off the barrier without leaving so much as a scratch. Jason struck again, to similar effect. He got the impression that they could have battered it for days and not made any progress whatsoever.

A minute, twenty-seconds.

The Old Man let out a genial laugh, its jaw snapping in and out of place. "The Core is protected so long as I live. To bring down this structure, you must kill me first."

Its lips spread into a malformed, lopsided grin, revealing a mouth of ever-growing teeth. "And that is what you crave, is it not? A fight." Swollen eyes turned to stare at Jason. "I know the make of your soul. You are the type of mortal that indulges in revelry. The thrill of the challenge, the rush of exhilaration. Duels, clashes, struggles. Standing against a foe better than yourself."

The Blight extended its hand, palm facing up. "I will grant your desire." Its tone was serene, but its gaze burned with excitement. "A mortal's final dance, where their heart quickens and their spirits blaze. Show me. Let me share in your–"

Dimension Strike.

Jason's hand grasped at the empty air in front of him. He reached through space, bypassing the barrier entirely, and clutched the blackened crystal with an iron grip.

Blight Install let him sense what the core was doing. Vaguely. Energy was being taken from somewhere very, very far below, and sent to somewhere very, very far away. He could sense how there were multiple lines of energy traveling from separate Spires across the world, each line converging together into one engorged mass. A transfusion of power directly to Rob's Blight.

Time to fix that.

Purge Corruption.

Jason bet everything on his opening move. Without hesitation, he pushed all of his Purging energy into the core crystal. His attack traveled up the line of power sent out by the crystal, reached the convergence point, then snaked down backwards through the other lines. After all – why wouldn't he make use of paths that had been so graciously revealed to him? Like a series of targeted sniper shots, Purge Corruption raced to the core of every Spire in the world.

And in that moment, each crystal broke. The one in front of Jason's eyes instantly shattered to pieces, resembling fragile glass dropped on the floor.

Then silently faded into nothing.

The Old Man gaped open-mouthed, seemingly unable to comprehend what had happened. Immediately after, the ground began to slowly tremble, rising, falling, and then rising again. With its core gone, the Spire had become unstable.

Most importantly, Jason could no longer feel the lines of energy being sent out to Elatra.

A minute and forty seconds. Hope that was fast enough. As if communicating through his headset, Jason touched his ear and activated Dimensional Message. He held his breath as he prayed for Rob to pick up.

Relief sang in his heart when a familiar voice started speaking to him. <"I'm guessing you won?">

"It's done," Jason answered. "Broke the Spires. That help on your end?"

<"More than I ever could've hoped for."> Rob's smile was evident in his tone. <"Thanks, man.">

"Least I could do for you. Just...be careful."

<"Don't worry."> He spoke with renewed confidence. <"You did your part. Now it's *my* turn.">

The Message ended. Thankfully, Rob was too focused on his own fight to ask what had happened to the Blight on Earth. It meant that Jason didn't have to lie and say the Old Man vanished or something.

Because he highly doubted this was over.

"Do you know what you have done?" The Blight whispered. Its hideous body shivered with disgust. "Do you understand what you are denying our main body? So many interlopers. You have defiled a sacred convergence with the Heartkiller."

Jason bit back the retort on his tongue. This wasn't a game, and this wasn't for fun. He elected to stay silent and examine the Old Man, searching for openings to exploit.

Baker searched with him, maintaining a cold, intense concentration. "Don't relax," he murmured. "I can sense the Blight's capabilities. It will regenerate the Spire's core – if we let it."

Then Rob would be back to square one. "We won't give it the chance," Jason stated, in a low voice. He readied his greatsword. "Let's exterminate this asshole."

A growl exploded from the Blight's mouth. Its body shifted, growing more misshapen and monstrous. What had once been an old man turned its back, spun its arms, and spoke with a noise that sounded closer to death than a voice. "I adopted your mortal language. Recognized you, an insignificant collection of atoms, as worthy of cursory notice. Offered what you crave, what you want–"

Dimension Strike.

Another swing through empty air struck against the creature. "What I want is my best friend back, you son of a bitch," Jason snarled. "Back and safe. You've been making him suffer, and I am not letting that slide."

The Blight's eyes flared black with Corruption. Its arms elongated, pulsating erratically as it charged forward.

This time, Jason was prepared. The Blight was faster and stronger – so he wouldn't let it reach him in the first place. Dimension Strike. His eyes were open, and his focus was pure. He couldn't allow any distractions or possibilities of failure. Light Counter. This wasn't a game, a duel, or even a fight.

It was an execution.

Jason's free hand punched the air behind him. Counter was a risky ability that temporarily froze his opponent if activated just before he was about to take a hit. However, if Jason mistimed and attempted the Counter too early, the injuries he received in turn were multiplied.

And knowing that the Blight was much faster than him...he'd intentionally Countered before his instincts told him to.

"Everyone, follow my orders," Jason declared to his team, one hand on his sword and the other in his pocket. "No delays or hesitation. We don't have the luxury of playing with our food today. Baker: be ready to summon a barrier at my signal. Make it mobile. Jeanette: reload. Lucio: take a few steps back, get a running start."

The Blight unfroze. It screeched, lunging forward at them.

Dimension Strike. Medium Counter. Jason punched inside his pocket and froze the creature mid-air. He would have been reduced to a bloody pulp if his timing was off by even a split second, yet there was no fear in his cold, pitiless gaze.

Should be long enough stoppage. "Lucio," he commanded, "send him flying."

Lucio's Blightscales shifted from his body to his right fist, a large dinosaur head taking the place of his forearm. He leapt at the frozen monster and delivered an explosive punch, the impact's shockwave nearly knocking Jason off his feet. It sent the Blight careening backwards towards the far end wall.

The creature quickly regained awareness, confusion writ plain on its twisted face. From the Blight's perspective, it had been jumping one moment, and then pressed up against a wall in the next, with no time passing in-between. No matter how strong he was, or what kind of eldritch abomination he might have been, Counter was absolute. Its victims couldn't see, couldn't hear, couldn't think, couldn't even activate any of their Skills.

All it took was Jason repeatedly risking certain death with timing that required perfect precision.

No pressure.

If I were the Blight, Jason considered, and I was losing bits of time whenever I approached...I would try for a long-range attack.

Their thoughts were apparently in tune. The Blight's shorter arm grasped at what little hair remained on its head, then pulled. As if yanking a carrot from the ground, its head ripped free from its neck. The head was promptly inserted into its own chest, flesh molding around it like soft, malleable clay.

The head's mouth opened wide right after, its lips stretching inhumanly long.

Laser incoming. Rob had mentioned these. "Baker," Jason said, lifting two fingers to ready a signal. "On standby."

"Don't have to say it twice."

A bizarre substance shot out of the Blight's head and neck. It resembled a cross between a liquid and a blackened ray of energy, twisting and crackling like lightning, darkening the surrounding air as if the light itself was being eaten away.

"Barrier," Jason commanded.

The liquid light crashed against an unyielding Skill, crackling and splitting apart into twin streams. Each stream flowed past both sides of the barrier, continuing onward and crashing into the wall behind Jason's team. The light blasted through the magic-infused structure with a tremendous crack of force.

Two holes leading outside were now visible on the wall. Fresh sunlight shone through, illuminating the Spire's apex.

Still with its back to the wall, the Blight experienced a brief moment of shock over its failed attack. Or so Jason assumed. The head slotted into its chest was contorting strangely; it didn't seem to quite understand how to properly imitate human facial expressions. After several seconds of trying and failing, it opened its mouth once more, preparing for another attack.

Dimension Strike. Heavy Counter. Jason threaded the needle once more. While the Blight was frozen, he quickly issued orders. "Baker, maintain the barrier. Everyone – let's press on."

They advanced with Baker's barrier in front of them. So long as they kept close together, their group was untouchable. It also gave Jason ample opportunity to use Counter from a position of safety, further limiting the Blight's options and planting a seed of disorientation in its psyche.

The barrier did have its limits and weaknesses, but Jason doubted the Blight would figure them out. Another tidbit Rob told me: you guys aren't good at improvisation. He readied his next move. Your attacks are failing. Your memory has gaps. You're cornered by the wall behind you, barrier in front of you. Makes you frustrated, doesn't it? Won't think straight. Can't envision a way to escape. Then you'll–

The Blight pushed at the barrier with its muscular, pulsating arm, now as long as its body was tall. "MOVE."

–try to use brute force.

But when it came to brute force...

"No," Lucio said, scales once again covering his body, as he lowered his head and pressed both shoulders against the barrier. "We will not."

A Blight and a Blightspawn Hybrid clashed in a battle of strength. The Blight was far stronger, but Lucio had the benefit of a running start, while his opponent literally had their back against the wall. In a fair contest, the creature still would have turned the tables and overpowered him...yet there was no need to make this a fair contest.

"Jeanette," Jason said, raising two fingers. He lowered them in one swift motion. "Fire."

Baker opened small gaps in his barrier. Jeanette curved her bullets through them, shooting with pinpoint accuracy. The Blight hissed as it was pelted with mana-empowered lead, tiny holes ripped into its body.

"You got enough bullets to keep this up for a while?" Jason asked.

"I have time to reload, so yes," Jeanette immediately replied, keeping her eyes fixated on her target. "I won't miss. Not once."

Jason didn't question further, knowing to trust her on this. He lifted his wrist to give his next order. "Baker, make the Barrier lighter. Lucio, keep pushing."

"WILL BREAK FREE–"

Heavy Counter.

"Not if you're disoriented by Counters and getting shot," Jason remarked. He said it aloud for the sake of his team. The Blight was frozen, so it couldn't hear him. "We'll keep you pinned down."

Before the monster's time started to move again, Lucio pushed the barrier forward, lifting the Blight by its feet and pressing it between the wall and the barrier. The creature regained consciousness right after. Its surprise was brief – if only because it was getting used to being surprised.

"PARTITION." For a moment, Jason wasn't sure what it was referring to. Then he noticed the torso-head's eyes staring at Baker with a piercing glare. "SLIVER OF OUR FLESH. KILL THEM."

"No," the former Blightspawn barked out. "I'm my own master."

"YOU SIDE WITH MORTALS?"

"I side with my friends." Baker winced, as if cringing at himself. "If anyone says a word about what I just said, I'll take it back."

Medium Counter. Jason didn't respond. He was too focused on his timing to engage in the luxury of banter. Any words out of his mouth would be a waste of brainpower. We're just stalling. Need to come up with a way to end this. Now. Before it regenerates the core and endangers Rob.

'I'm not sure we can...'

There was no room for error.

'Anyway, it's tough over here.'

If this Blight was what the kind of threat that Rob had been dealing with for months...then the least Jason could do was leave nothing up to chance.

Their pattern repeated itself for some time. The Blight, trapped between a barrier and a wall, couldn't do much aside from lashing out with attacks that would never hit. Baker held the barrier firmly, increasing its weight, allowing Lucio to restrain the monster with continuous pressure. Jeanette peppered it with wounds, curving dozens of bullets fired one-by-one. Jason kept watch for any signs of aggression, delivering Counters guided by Dimension Strike to thwart the Blight's reprisal.

His strategy was working.

It wouldn't work forever.

The Blight was still vastly stronger than Jason's entire team combined. It was barely taking damage from their efforts. And while they'd managed to blindside it and lock it down with a unique combination of abilities, everything would go to shit if Jason mistimed a single Counter.

He'd once trapped Valmight in a Counter ping-pong for hours, but that had been significantly easier than predicting the Blight's ridiculously fast attacks. Plus, Jeanette was a normal human. Her stamina would start to flag eventually.

How long could they keep this up before things came tumbling down?

A sudden rumbling rendered the question pointless. Things were going to come tumbling down no matter what they did.

Jason almost tripped as the Spire began to tilt sideways. He harshly dispelled his burgeoning panic, quickly realizing what was happening. It's falling after we broke its core. Can't take our time attacking the Blight. We'll die when the Spire collapses. It won't.

He formed a plan as the Blight raged at its handiwork falling to pieces. "RUINED–"

Medium Counter. Jason reached for his earpiece. "Danse, get the helicopter. We blew a few holes into the wall – gonna need an extraction."

"We can't run, Miller!" Baker snapped. "Even if this Spire collapses, the Blight can still reforge it!"

"We're not running," Jason assured. "Jeanette, Lucio: I need you aboard the helicopter. Baker and I are staying."

Jeanette shook her head. "You can't expect us to just abandon you."

"This isn't a heroic sacrifice," he promised her. "It's for the sake of our victory, you get me?"

There was no time to explain. Every second that passed drew closer to the Spire's collapse. His team would have to trust him implicitly.

And they did. Lucio and Jeanette nodded, then dashed towards the holes in the wall. No meaningful words or dramatic farewells were exchanged – those weren't necessary. Everyone would have plenty of time to say whatever they wanted after they'd won.

For now, blind belief was all that was needed.

Until the Spire collapses...I won't let the Blight do a damn thing. Without Lucio pressing against the barrier, his Counter timing would have to be even more precise. Light Counter...Medium Counter...Heavy Counter...can't...miss...a single...one...

Jason's concentration was laser focused. There was only him, the Blight, and his Counters. Nothing else existed.

He was so tunnel-visioned that it took Baker frantically shaking his shoulders to pull his attention away. "MILLER!" he shouted. "THE SPIRE IS DONE!"

It all happened at once. The tower didn't just collapse; it shattered. Cracks spread across the ground, wall, and ceiling. Sections splintered, as if sliced open, or as if they had never been connected at all. Jason and Baker lost their footing – in the sense that there was nothing left to stand on. Everything broke apart, and just like that, they were falling through the air.

Immediately, the Blight regained its awareness. It glared manically at Jason and Baker as the three of them descended. "A FUTILE DELAY."

Dimension Strike. Medium Counter. Jason's retort stunned the monster once more. Silence, creature. No trash talk today. "Baker – barrier!"

"That won't soften the impact!" he said, peering at the rapidly-approaching ground.

"Place it between us and him." Jason put on a savage grin, gesturing to the frozen Blight. "He'll have it worse."

Baker hesitated, then nodded firmly. They spun around to position themselves above the Blight. The two of them shared a glance as the barrier formed beneath their bodies, right on top of their impromptu cushion.

Despite it all, Jason allowed himself one moment of amusement. "Just like old times, eh?" he asked Baker.

It took a moment for a smile to materialize on his mirror's face, but when it did, it was wide and amused. "This time I'm not the one being used as–"

They touched down.

--

The endless blue sky stretched out above them, displaying a scene neither man could believe.

"Are the Spire pieces...floating?" Jason weakly asked. God, everything hurt. Even with the Blight absorbing the brunt of their fall, terminal velocity took no prisoners. Jason had broken a leg and both arms, while Baker broke an arm and what was probably a rather painful number of ribs.

Neither of them were getting up anytime soon.

Jason rubbed his eyes to confirm what he was seeing. "Yeah, pieces of the Spire, floating in mid-air. Why?"

"The Blight defies logic," Baker replied, slowly, as if unsure where the information had come from. "It is a being that has never known true defeat. This Spire is a reflection of its arrogance – as if refusing to acknowledge that it has fallen."

"IT HASN'T," a voice thundered. "AND IT WON'T."

The Blight unfroze and stirred. It let out an eerie howl that seemed to empower it with growing strength. The howl morphed into a pulse of power that sent Jason and Baker flying, scattering rubble in all directions.

Jason struggled to keep focus as he landed on his back. He readied another Counter, expecting the Blight to come after him. His timing was thrown off when instead, it made a beeline straight for Baker. It seemingly thought that the barriers were more of a hindrance than Counters.

The creature lunged forward and pinned Baker to the ground. With a nauseating sound, it reshaped its left arm into a sharpened spear of flesh. Before Baker could react, his shoulder was pierced.

Corruption surged through the spear and into his body. "YOU ARE OF OUR ESSENCE," the Blight warbled. "RETURN. BECOME ONE AGAIN."

Baker sneered in its face. "Told...you...already." His voice was faint with strain. "I'm my...own master."

"PUZZLING. HOW CAN YOU RESIST?"

"Learned from...the most stubborn man...in this world."

The Blight paused, not seeming to have an answer to that, before opening its mouth wide. "THEN PERISH."

A low keening noise emanated from inside the Blight. Its neck and mouth began to charge the same liquid light of Corruption from earlier.

MOVE. Jason forced himself to stand on his broken leg. He ran as fast as he could, pain shooting through him with every step. Dimension Strike paired with Counter might be able to deflect the Blight's attack, but his head was still ringing from his fall. There was no guarantee he would get the timing right. If he could just get in range to distract–

Baker laughed. He eyed the Corruptive light with disdain. "Make it a good one, monster."

In the instant before the Blight released its energy, a barrier formed behind its back. Then another to its left. On its right. Above. Underneath.

Just like that, its head and neck were enclosed within a cube of barriers.

The Blight was too late to stop its attack. Liquid light exploded inside the cube, reflecting over and over. Anything else would have been instantly vaporized, but the Blight was immune to its own Corruption, merely singed by the residual mana bouncing around.

Which still gave Jason enough of an opening to dash beside the creature and slam his greatsword into its torso. The impact sent a flare of agony lancing up his broken arms. His left arm went entirely numb, falling limp. As the creature was pushed away – not as far as he'd hoped – he used Dimension Strike to grab Baker and yank him off the flesh-spear.

Baker fell to the ground near Jason. A pained smirk was on his face as he coughed up blood, clearly incapable of movement beyond minor spasms. As a former Blightspawn, he was highly resistant to Corruption, but this was too much even for him. Overusing his barriers likely hadn't helped matters.

Jason protectively stepped in front of him, greatsword held in his good right hand. "You okay?"

"Just win," Baker croaked. "Don't let it remake the Spire."

A tall order – but not an impossible one, theoretically. The Blight was definitely in worse shape than before. Injuries were evident across its body. Between Jeanette's bullets, Jason's greatsword strikes, its own attack exploding in its face, and the long fall from the Spire, it had taken a fair bit of a beating.

Unfortunately, Jason was hardly fighting at full strength right now. Between the two of them, he was actually worse off, with two broken limbs and a limp left arm. That...complicated things.

The Blight stared at him, as if sizing up a morsel on a dinner plate.

Jason stared back, not giving an inch.

They were interrupted by a deluge of bullets falling down from above. Jeanette was sniping from the helicopter, firing relentlessly. Bullets that had once been an annoyance now found purchase in the Blight's weakened body, penetrating through open wounds and exacerbating its injuries.

The Blight looked up – and the Red Blue dashed forward. "Now," Jason said, through heavy breaths. "Let's dance."

He would only have one opportunity. Everyone's done their part. Can't waste this chance. Have to–

Something moved up above. A shooting star fell, and Jason made a wish upon it.

That's what it felt like to him, anyhow.

It took a moment to parse what he was seeing. The top of the Spire – the sharp end of its tower – was coming down like a spear thrown by the gods. For a fleeting second, Jason wondered if some divine creature really had chosen to smite them.

Then he heard a loud, courageous scream off in the distance, and Jason realized why that piece of Spire was falling.

Fresh hope surged within him. Need to buy time. Keep the Blight in one place. He ran, his broken leg jolting with each step. If you can regenerate, we just have to crush you and leave nothing left. Completely smash you to bits.

Jason was perfectly aware that his body wouldn't be able to remain standing much longer. He could barely hold his sword with his arms in the state they were. One was broken, and the other was worse than useless. Dimension Strike wouldn't help here – he needed to draw out an attack from the Blight to create a Counter opportunity, and ambushing it wouldn't do that.

He needed to provoke a reaction.

He needed to land a Counter, even if it killed him.

It would all come down to this last exchange.

And so he lunged at the fragment of eldritch divinity, his greatsword held in a single injured hand.

Doesn't matter how tough a Blight is. How outnumbered we are. I just need to win one round. Keep it here for just a bit longer.

It was a foolish hope to have. Even in its damaged state, the Blight was stronger. Faster. More durable. Everything about it far surpassed mortal limitations.

However, it lacked one key detail: the driving force of humanity. That which allowed them to go beyond what should be possible.

Something to fight for.

Jason's greatsword flashed out as he put his heart and soul into his swing. "YOU WON'T HURT ROB EVER AGAIN!"

The Blight's head snapped down, eyes blazing. It punched forward with a bulbous, muscular arm. And Jason...

Missed the timing on Counter.

All the pain and exhaustion had finally caught up with him.

His only saving grace was that he was too late with his activation – in that he never activated Counter at all. Using it too early would have resulted in him taking multiplied damage and turned into a smear on the ground. Instead, he just met the Blight's attack with his own, greatsword and arm clashing without any abilities attached.

Jason was easily blown back. His heels skid on the ground as he came to a short stop. It's fine, he told himself. I can try again. As long as I can lift this sword, even if it tears the muscles in my shoulder, I won't...

His internal pep talk trailed off as Jason noted, with mild shock, that his right arm was now completely numb. Same as his left. It wasn't even holding his greatsword anymore – that had been sent flying away.

He'd been disarmed in every sense of the word.

"I LAMENT THIS OUTCOME." Even as bullets continued to rain down on the Blight, it sighed. "SAFEGUARDING THE SPIRES WAS A REGRETTABLE OBLIGATION. IN TRUTH. I WISH I COULD HAVE REJOINED OUR MAIN BODY. I WISH I COULD HAVE FOUGHT THE HEARTKILLER."

It raised its arm. "NONE OF YOU OTHER MORTALS MEASURE UP."

Jason's mind raced for a solution. A kick – no. My legs won't move. A headbutt – no. He's just a little too far away. Just by a few inches, but it won't connect. No limbs, no weapon...

A sad smile crept up his face as the Blight charged. Suppose this is it, huh? I guess I really can't land another hit. Got nothing else. Nothing...Rob...

Nothing?

...Rob?

An idea flickered in his mind. It was less than an ember; scarcely even a spark.

Before it had fully coalesced, his body was already moving. Jason fanned the ember until it exploded into the brightest, hottest fire his heart could muster. ROB! "LEND ME A HAND!"

"WHAT–" was the Blight's last word.

HEAVY COUNTER!

Jason launched his body past the Blight as he landed his final Counter.

And in his teeth, gripped tightly, was Rob's Broken Shortsword.

First time I've needed to use this. The Shortsword vanished, returning to its place in Jason's Bound Items. Your gift to me. Feels fitting.

He smirked. Always bailing me out.

Jason flopped into a heap on the ground, at peace. It was done. He'd sealed the Blight's fate by stealing its time.

He'd sealed his own fate as well. Even if all his limbs were uninjured, he couldn't escape what was about to happen next.

Still...he had no regrets. The Blight wouldn't be able to remake the Spire. Rob would be safe – Earth, too. No one else would get hurt.

Yeah. He could live with that.

Jason steeled himself for what would likely be an instant of incredible pain, followed by oblivion.

It never came. A screech of tire wheels drew his attention – right before he was grabbed by his collar and yanked upwards.

"Don't you go dying on me yet," Sergeant Danse muttered. He bodily pulled Jason into his car, tossing the man right beside Baker's unconscious body. "C'mon, don't make this difficult!"

"Danse?" Jason asked, in a feeble voice. "What are you–"

"Doing my job as the Getaway driver." Danse slammed his foot on the gas, hurriedly speeding away. "Now let's go before–"

He didn't have time to finish his sentence. They were barely outside the immediate area of impact when the broken piece of Spire came crashing down from above.

The ensuing shockwave was enough to flip their car on its head. Danse went along with the momentum rather than fighting it, allowing the car to turn once, then twice, then three times. He somehow managed to land it upright, speeding away in relative safety before coming to a full stop.

Jason sat up as soon as he wasn't in danger of being ejected through a window. He locked his eyes on the Blight, fists clenched in anticipation.

What greeted him was a sight that took his breath away. Like a comet from the skies above, the sharp top end of the Spire had completed its descent to Earth, skewering the Blight straight through its torso. Most of the creature's body was just...gone, completely displaced by a tower-sized spear traveling at terminal velocity. What flesh remained was pinned in place, unmoving except for sporadic twitches.

Out of all the spots that piece of Spire could have fallen, it fell right where it needed to, letting Jason freeze the Blight with Counter and let gravity do the rest. It was tempting to call that a miracle, but that wouldn't have been fair. Miracles were unplanned; the result of providence or happenstance.

And Lucio's crowning achievement deserved all the praise in the world.

The wrestler seemed almost sheepish as he dashed towards them. He was someone that generally advised prudence, yet there were few actions less prudent than jumping from an airborne helicopter, landing onto a floating chunk of Spire, then directing that chunk to fall down and impale a nigh-unstoppable monstrosity.

"Goddamn," Jason whistled, once Lucio had caught up with them. "Nice work. Was trying to be the hero of the hour, but I guess you snagged that title from me."

Lucio beamed with poorly-suppressed pride. "I'm sure you would have found a way to defeat the beast without me."

Absolutely fucking not. "Yeah, but I doubt it would have been as stylish as that finishing move. You should work it into your wrestling act. The patented Spire Drop."

Danse cleared his throat. "Hate to break up a premature celebration," he began, "but are we sure it's dead?"

"Of course," Lucio affirmed. "Nothing could survive that."

Jason's heart sank the moment he heard those words. Baker confirmed his suspicions a second later, mumbling from his spot on the car floor. "The Blight could." Grunting, the former Blightspawn cracked open bleary eyes. "Unless all of their flesh is annihilated, it returns. Already should have. Regeneration is stunted due to...something. Think it incarnated too much of its consciousness into the other world."

They took another look at the Blight. While it had been close to motionless right after being impaled by the Spire, its body was now starting to regrow – first slowly, then gradually faster.

A hailstorm of bullets reversed that progress, shearing off bits of flesh. "I'll keep it at bay," Jeanette said, speaking through Jason's earpiece. "Don't think I can kill it, though. What's our plan if its regeneration starts outpacing my gun?"

Jason peered around the car and examined his team's condition. He and Baker were out of commission for a while. Lucio wasn't quite as badly off, but he'd used his arms to brace the impact from his Spire drop, so they were probably broken. He shouldn't get anywhere near a Blight, even one maimed and crippled.

"Baker," Jason began. "You said the Blight incarnated its consciousness into Elatra? What exactly does that mean?"

"A hivemind has become one existence." He paused. "Mostly one. The Blight we fought was left behind as a gatekeeper for the Spire."

"Right, hivemind, so they're connected. What happens if the main body in Elatra dies?"

"Presumably, so would the gatekeeper."

Jason nodded. He sat down, using his foot to crank up the car's AC as he got comfortable. "Then we wait."

Baker, Lucio, and Danse all exchanged glances. "Jason," Lucio began, with a tone of caution. "I know you have faith in Rob, but–"

"We're too injured to finish it off. Safely, anyway. The army can try if they want, but I'd bet the Blight has immunity to conventional weapons. Same as the Spire was."

Jason swallowed a sigh. "We've done everything we can." He turned his head, staring off into the distance. A mixture of anxiety and trust churned within him.

The rest is up to you.

--

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