Chapter 502 - Punching Up (Patreon)

The glassy surface of the plateau reflected the sky, and a blue expanse spread out before Zeke.  He trudged forward, his every step thudding with the finality of exhaustion.  Wind gusted to several hundred miles an hour, cutting into him and wearing away large slabs of his titanic body.  How long had it been since he reached the top of the cliff?  Days?  Weeks?  Years? 

“Not that long.  It just feels like it,” Eveline said.  Even though her voice was in his thoughts, it was still partially obscured by the howling wind.  It never stopped.  Never let up.  Instead, it was a persistent annoyance that had long transformed into something far more dangerous. 

Because if Zeke let up with [Hand of Divinity], even for a second, he would begin to lose ground. At present, his evolved skill struggled to keep pace with the damage he incurred with every passing moment.  It was fortunate that he’d advanced the skill from [Cambion’s Awakening].  Not only had it allowed him to save Talia’s life what felt like a lifetime ago, but the evolved version was far more efficient.  Without that improved efficacy, it would have long since been overwhelmed. 

Despite everything working against him, Zeke’s destination was finally in sight, and it wasn’t just a bump on the horizon.  Instead, the tower – because that was what it was – stood only a few miles away, looking over everything like a giant, black sentinel.  At that distance, it was difficult to judge the structure’s immense size, but Zeke estimated that it was at least a mile wide and so tall that, when he looked up, he couldn’t see the crown. 

Otherwise, it reminded Zeke of the Crimson Tower, at least in terms of the architecture.  However, it differed in a couple of key ways.  The most evident was the color.  Where the Crimson Tower was well-named for the hue of its exterior, the tower looming above Zeke was pitch black.  That coloring made some of the details difficult to make out, but Zeke saw enough architectural flourishes to recognize that, in addition to its awe-inspiring size, the thing was a work of art. 

Zeke continued toward the structure, his long legs covering dozens of feet with every step.  Still, he was forced to hunch his shoulders against the wind, lest he be blown off course.  Even though he’d increased his weight to the maximum of his racial ability, the wind was so strong that if he didn’t maintain his focus, it would steer him in the wrong direction.

But by that point, Zeke had grown accustomed to the struggle, so his concentration never wavered.  And eventually, he reached his destination.  The tower blotted out the sun, casting the entire area in shadow – a fact that didn’t change even when Zeke started circling the base of the structure as he looked for some sort of entrance. 

Once again, his estimate of the tower’s size proved inaccurate.  Originally, he’d thought it was around a mile in diameter, but he was forced to reevaluate that approximation as his trip around the enormous spire’s base took much too long. 

The entire time, he ran his hand along the glassy stone surface of the structure.  Regardless of which way he went, the wind continued to assail him.  Despite the tower’s size and the orientation of the wind, he got no respite. 

Finally, something changed.

“You see that too, right?” Zeke asked Eveline.

“Oh, I see it.  Use [Inspect].”

Zeke did just that, and the results were both shocking and expected:

Storm elemental – Level 86

“Are we taking bets on whether or not I have to kill that thing in order to pass?” Zeke asked, noting the door behind the elemental. 

“Nope.”

“How does one kill a storm elemental?” he asked. 

It was a good question.  The creature in question seemed as overtly formless as a tornado, which meant that the only reason he could even see it was because of the debris caught in its current.  However, that debris – which looked like hunks of the same glassy stone that made up the ground – gave it a vaguely humanoid shape as it swirled through its body. 

It was also at least a thousand feet tall, making it look like a living tornado that had sprouted a torso, a pair of arms, and a head. 

“That’s a good question.  I hope you figure it out, because it’s noticed you.”

“Shit,” Zeke muttered, seeing the same thing she had seen.  The storm elemental shifted in his direction.  The tail of the tornado twisted up from the ground, and it spread its arms wide, letting out a howling screech that sounded like a combination of a locomotive and a whistle.  It raced toward Zeke, moving far more quickly than he expected and covering the ground between them in the blink of an eye.

Zeke planted his feet and swung voromir in a wide, horizontal arc.  He put as much strength as he could muster behind the blow, and when it made contact with the elemental, he was rewarded with the sound of shattering stone.  However, the furious wind that comprised its body – which far exceeded the gale he’d endured since beginning his climb – ripped the hammer from his hands and sent it twirling up through the storm-like body. 

Zeke only had a moment to shout an expletive before he, too, was picked up from his feet and sent into the swirling collection of windborne detritus.  He flailed, looking for some sort of leverage, but without anything to latch onto, he was completely helpless.  Meanwhile, he was pelted by the debris, and though no single rock could scratch his titanic form, the cumulative effect started to wear through his endurance.

Fortunately, he didn’t need to remain in contact with the ground in order to channel his regenerative skill, [Hand of Divinity].  Once again, he thanked the circumstances that had allowed him to evolve the powerful skill. 

However, even with that rejuvenating power surging through him, Zeke knew that he couldn’t last forever.  Eventually, being tossed around the elemental’s body would kill him.  It might take days or weeks or even months, but if he couldn’t escape, his fate was sealed. 

Then came the rain. 

And the lightning.

Riding the wind, the deluge of rain felt like Zeke was being waterboarded, and the forking lightning that descended upon him lanced through his body, sending his every muscle into seizures.  After the second or third such bolt of electricity, Zeke nearly lost his grip on [Hand of the Divine]. 

Eveline screamed at him, but her voice was lost amidst the fury of the storm.  Meanwhile, Zeke could scarcely get his body to obey his commands, much less enact some sort of plan to escape.  Defeating the elemental was the last thing on his mind, though he was reminded of a conversation he’d had back in the Mortal Realm where he’d learned a little about elementals.  At the time, he had been told that they were fearsome creatures, but he hadn’t truly comprehended how terrible they could be.   

He had since encountered two – the fecal fiend beneath Beacon and the earthen elemental he had fought outside of Salvation.  Neither had impressed him. 

The storm elemental was on an entirely different level.  It wasn’t the power of the thing, though that was imposing enough.  Instead, it was its indomitability.  He couldn’t fight against a storm, much less defeat it.  The thing was a force of nature that could only be endured, not beaten.

Yet, that was the job at hand.  To fail was to die. 

If he’d had the presence of mind to think amidst the chaos, he might’ve admonished himself for trying to attack a tornado with his hammer.  In retrospect, it would have seemed silly, considering its formless nature.  However, Zeke was riding high off of his successes, and he’d never even considered that he couldn’t simply pummel an enemy into submission. 

But he didn’t have the wherewithal to give thought to his own shortcomings.  Instead, he needed to act.  Through a monstrous effort, he managed to flare [Hand of Divinity], and as the effect surged through him, his thoughts cleared.  That’s when he gave a clumsy swing of his fist. 

He could scarcely orient himself, but he thought he’d punched at the center of the storm.  More importantly, that swing carried with it [Unleash Momentum], letting loose a herculean strike that briefly calmed the storm.  Debris shattered into dust, and rainwater turned to mist that then flew away, and in the brief moment before the storm resumed, Zeke caught sight of a twinkling gem a few hundred feet away.

The wind, rain, and lightning resumed a moment later, but that brief glimpse was all Zeke needed to formulate a plan.  The problem was that he’d already used his momentum. 

But there was always more where that came from.

Zeke focused his mind more than he ever had before, and even as lightning repeatedly struck his body and wind and rain obscured his vision, he went on a rampage.  His targets were the seemingly endless chunks of flying debris.  Against his furious fists, they could not remain intact, but more importantly, every swing stored a little more momentum. 

Over and over, he kicked and punched.  A few times, he even headbutted the hunks of rock as he flipped, end over and end.  It was disorienting and agonizing, but Zeke slowly grew accustomed to the maelstrom.  It wasn’t comfortable, but as he’d grown in power, he’d developed the ability to focus beyond normal human ability.  So, even as he was tossed around, he kept his eye on the proverbial prize.

Each attack built momentum, but that wasn’t a process that could be completed in a couple of swings.  Instead, Zeke stayed at it for hours, breaking rocks with reckless abandon.  Thankfully, the debris seemed as endless as the storm’s inexhaustible power, so he never lacked for targets.

The biggest issue was that Zeke was forced to maintain his focus the entire time.  For most big battles against endless numbers of foes, Zeke usually went into a battle trance where he functioned mostly on instinct.  That worked very well against numerous but comparatively weak foes.  However, in the middle of the tempest, he couldn’t lose focus for even a moment, lest he lose track of where in the storm he was, relative to what he suspected was the storm elemental’s core. 

Eveline tried to speak to him, but he couldn’t spare the attention to separate her voice from the wind that seemed to howl, even in his thoughts.  So, he redoubled his efforts, destroying hunks of glassy debris as methodically as he could manage.  Along the way, his body went through the wringer.  He broke bones.  Large hunks of his metallic flesh was shorn free.  And the gusting winds slowly degraded his form. 

Yet, he continuously used [Hand of the Divine], though he knew that, at some point, he would run out of mana.  It was still a long way off, but if he didn’t bend his entire focus toward the task at hand, he would fail. 

Slowly, his mana leaked away, and his momentum built.  Hour after hour passed until more than a day of constant battle against the elements had left his mind ragged and his nerves frayed.  With his face in a permanent grimace, he carried on.  Another day passed.  Then another.  His perception of time was flawed – of that much he was aware – but somewhere deep down, Zeke knew that he’d been at it for days. 

But finally, he’d reached the limits of his skill.  [Unleash Momentum] was fully charged.  With that, he knew he was ready.  He’d kept track of the core’s location all that time, so he was well aware of which direction to aim.  He only had one chance, though.  One opportunity before he’d have to start all over again.  And given the depletion of his mana pool, he couldn’t afford that. 

He'd die before he managed to refill his stores of momentum.

So, as he twirled through the immense storm, Zeke waited for the perfect moment.  Then, when it came, he lashed out, releasing [Unleash Momentum].  However, he didn’t just let loose with his skill.  He embraced his Will as well.  More importantly, he used it to hold a braid of his attunements together, creating the Worldbreaker technique. 

The two attacks – skill and technique – raced forward, tearing through the debris and opening a path to the core.  The skill led the way, but the technique – that was how Zeke intended to kill the elemental.

Seconds passed like minutes until, at last, the force let loose by [Unleash Momentum] slammed into the core.  A second later, the Worldbreaker technique followed.  Zeke was thrown free of the storm, and he flew hundreds of yards before hitting the glassy surface of the plateau.  He shattered the rock, bounced, and tumbled for another hundred yards. 

Only then did he come to a rest. 

It sounded so quiet.

So peaceful.

And then, the elemental shrieked. 

Zeke picked himself up to see that the living tornado had gone wild, swirling around haphazardly as it slammed into the nearby tower. 

“It isn’t dead,” said Eveline, her voice booming through his thoughts. 

Zeke clapped his hands over his ears, which predictably did no good at all.  “What?” he managed.

“It’s injured.  But it isn’t dead.  You need more.”

“More?”

“You know what to do.”

“Will it work?” he asked.

“If it doesn’t, nothing will.”

Zeke sighed.  Then, without further hesitation, he flooded mana into the rune associated with his most powerful skill.  The moment it was sated, he embraced [Wrath of Annihilation].