Universe's End

Chapter 211: Scripted Bossfights Pt. 1

"Because that's cool as shit," Rory said with a grin.

"Men," Zoey rolled her eyes.

"Oh come on, you know that's cool as hell," Rory said, jabbing a finger at her.

"Uh-huh. Sure."

Rory stopped in his tracks, staring at her flatly until Zoey sighed.

"Fine, yes, it actually is sort of cool. A flying fortress and all that. Just didn't know it was possible."

"Oh, it's not, or not really," Rory sighed. "It's a dream for now—still a lot of stuff that needs to go into it. For example, at best, I could probably do a floating fortress, but not a real flying one. There are still a few snaggles in the plan, which is why it's a future plan."

"Uh-huh," Zoey said as the two continued their trek up the mountain. "Flying fortresses aside, what do you suppose this mountain lord of whatever is going to be like?"

"Mean?" Rory guessed, pointing at a nearby monster that had gotten a little too brave, as a dagger suddenly spun through the air and chased it away.

"I don't mean attitude," Zoey sighed. "The Queen looked like a pliosaur from hell. So, what do you suppose the one at the top looks like?"

"Maybe one of your favorite Wyrms," Rory chuckled as Zoey scowled.

"Don't call that sort of evil down on us," Zoey muttered as they continued their way up.

"Yeah, well, we'll know soon enough."

'Soon enough' ended up being quite soon as the two, being impatient, decided to race the rest of the way to the top of the volcano. Pushing past even the last rung of the mountain, where all the monsters were level seventy-eight or seventy-nine, the crest of the mountain seemed to change in what remained of the climb. The ash that rained down at all times stopped being inert grey and now looked like embers still blazing away, even the ground softer beneath their feet, as if the intense heat had softened the very earth.

The natural aura of the environment pressing down on them had risen to a fever pitch, something tier sevens, outside of Zoey alone, would have been unable to withstand without serious protective precautions.

Clearing the rim of the volcano's top, the two paused to take in the sight. It was almost like a bog, except instead of swampy water and mud, it was magma, glossy black spires, and coral trees pulsating with lava-infused venation networks.

In the very center, there was a bubbling magma lake that seemed to radiate excess power, the 'shore' surrounding it in a constant state of melting and resolidifying.

"Five bucks says it's waiting in there to make a dramatic entrance." Zoey snorted after a moment.

"Oh, come on."

"What?"

"Like I'd take that bet, we both know that's exactly what is going to happen."

"You could have pretended at least," Zoey muttered.

"Could have, but that would mean humoring you, and now, why would I do that?" Rory laughed as he slid down the side of the volcano's rim.

"You're an ass, you know that?" Zoey called out as she slid down after him.

"You've only said that to me a million times," Rory shook his head, reaching the bottom and deftly hopping onto a black stone spire sticking out of the magma, leapfrogging across before reaching solid terrain.

Relatively solid terrain.

Zoey followed after him, and the two made their way through the hostile terrain. Outside of the absence of any other monsters, the worst thing about the environment was really the environment itself. Zoey was unfazed, but she had enough durability to withstand the pressure of a tier-ten environment for at least a few minutes.

Reaching the magma lake that was all but certain to contain their destined foe, the two waited, Rory with his arms crossed and Zoey with her hands on her hips.

And waited.

And waited..

"Alright, enough," Zoey said, growing tired. "This asshole is playing with us."

"Maybe there is some sort of condition that needs to be met firs- oh whoa whoa!"

Dodging out of the way, Rory was barely in time as Zoey swung her shiny black fist down into the magma. Like a meteor hitting an ocean, a wave of magma rose and swept out as Rory felt the impact of the strike disperse through the magma.

The good news was that Zoey had been correct in her assumption that she could draw out their target.

The bad news was that Zoey was entirely correct in her assumption that she could draw out their target.

For a moment, Rory was reminded of the Khan of Blue Lightning as a massive creature tore out from the magma, thrashing its head about and bellowing in anger.

"Insolence!"

As Rory stared at the monster, he couldn't help the smirk spreading across his face as he glanced at Zoey, who was glaring with evil intent at the beast.

"So…. Thoughts?" Rory asked, already knowing her answer.

"Death. Only death." Zoey seethed.

And for good reason.

Wyrm Adolescent: Self-Acclaimed 'King of the Molten Peak'

Level: 82**

A mother fucking Wyrm. Zoey's favorite monster. And not just any wyrm, but the next evolved stage of a Wyrm Newt.

"Insolent! You who would attack my home, who would believe themselves the rulers of this land!"

The 'King' had much the same profile as a regular wyrm newt: a serpentine, draconic body. Except where the wyrm newts had arms that looked like underdeveloped grapplers, glorified t-rex arms, the King had a pair of well-developed forelegs with developed talons that could easily grapple and reach out. Then there was the pair of wings dominating its back, almost batlike and leathery. A bony crest dominated its head, with eyes filled with intelligence that the Queen lacked.

Stolen novel; please report.

Oh shit… This is basically a Khan fight.

The two of them had suspected as much, but the 'King' was a territory alpha. Whether that had always been the case or not was almost inconsequential.

In the end, none of it really mattered.

Taking positions, Zoey immediately moved to the front line, as Rory moved back, staff in hand as he began to gather power.

"Burn!"

From the extended wings of the enraged wyrm, orange and black orbs shot upward, gathering in mass before falling in an apocalyptic rain, each impact igniting the terrain that shouldn't have been combustible to begin with.

"It's trying to establish a domain!" Zoey called out as she smacked away one of the falling meteors.

"On it!"

Considering the mountain peak was already essentially a naturally occurring domain, Rory could only imagine whatever domain it was trying to cement into reality. Against a level eighty-two territory alpha, Rory wasn't willing to play around. Trying to establish his own domain would be foolish; it was still a work in progress, a usable work in progress, but a work in progress nonetheless. That aside, the environment was already eighty percent of the way aligned with whatever domain it was trying to conjure, meaning he was on the losing end from the get-go.

Instead of clashing domains, Rory sought to nullify the actions of the monster, his Eyes of the Architect already fully released as he locked onto the 'anchor points' mixed in with the meteor rain. One in ten of the meteors seemed to contain a kernel or aspect of its internalized affinity, seeking to use those as radiation points that would align reality with whatever its domain reckoned.

Knowing was half the battle, though, and having detected them as swiftly as Rory had, it was as easy as grasping those anchor points and crushing them within mobilized black stone spires.

Having realized that Rory was dismantling its domain enactment, before they could ever take hold, the King fixed Rory with its glare as flames began to lick at the corners of its mouth.

"Zoey!"

"On it!"

A well-coordinated team, Zoey had already been noticing before Rory even spoke, placing herself between the wyrm and Rory as a column of flame spat out.

Oh, interesting. That's new.

The flames were more than generic flames; Rory could sense something more in the backend, a biting vitriol.

Acid flames?

Whether they be flames, acid flames, or anything in between, it didn't matter to Zoey. Flames washing over her, her armor seemed to gleam in the heat as Zoey herself seemed entirely untouched.

Rory, meanwhile, felt the power finish gathering for what he was preparing.

"Form of Violence: Eternal Tomb. Dragon's Fall!"

Perhaps out of misplaced competitiveness, Rory wanted to show off a real meteor. From above, a giant rock in the shape of a dragon's head appeared from a golden magic circle, almost as if it were slipping out of an oversized portal."

"Fall!"

With his command, the titanic meteor dropped directly atop the wyrm. Far from a brainless monster, the wyrm attempted to escape, but Zoey was having none of it.

"Center of the World!" The woman called out as the wyrm found itself unable to tear its gaze and anger away from her.

Center of the World was Zoey's 'taunt' skill, a skill that she usually never even bothered to say out loud. The fact that she felt the need to call it out was again proof that their opponent was a tier eight territory alpha; anything less, and it might have been able to ignore the effect.

Locked in place, still spewing its flames for a second longer, Rory saw as its eyes widened a moment before impact as a meteor landed directly atop its head.

The impact was, well, titanic; anything less would have been doing a disservice as the earth shook from the force of the hit.

Zoey had wisely retracted every ounce of her energy, balling herself up just a moment before the meteor crashed down.

It was the first time Rory had pulled out one of his big-name attacks, with a chant since he'd crossed tier eight, and the result was glorious.

Not so glorious that Rory expected an easy win, but once the world finally stopped shaking, looking around the environment looked like a meteor had crashed down.

The wyrm, meanwhile, was nowhere to be seen, entombed with an oversized meteor as its headstone.

At least for a few seconds. Earth trembling once more, the ground above was ripped apart as the wyrm didn't just emerge but took to the sky, flying above them as heat lightning began to rain down, its fury made manifest.

"Insolent!"

"Is that the only word you know?" Zoey shouted back, infusing her own aura into her voice.

"Scorch the Sky!" The wyrm suddenly roared, as above the sky was lit on fire, actual literal fire, not just orange glow or energy, no, a literal carpet of fire hung above that began to sink towards the surface.

More heat lightning speared downward as Rory was forced to throw a red crystal dome up around himself, each bolt of lightning threatening to tear apart the dome in a single strike, forcing Rory to reinforce it each time.

All the while, the fire continued to sink lower.

New plan.

Dropping the dome, Rory shot forward, racing toward Zoey, who was smashing meteors out of the sky and playing lightning rod with the red lightning.

"Plan?" She called out without ever turning around. Tracking his aura was enough to tell her that he was beelining toward her.

In response, Rory flicked a droplet of blood toward her that seeped into her skin, the message delivered.

A single thumbs up was enough to alert Rory that she understood, and so, Rory changed course, charging toward the wyrm, making sure it could see him very clearly.

"You." It sneered as it saw him. "A childish attempt at mockery."

"You're the one still listed as an adolescent, a self-acclaimed King, is exactly the sort of thing I'd expect from a child."

Was Rory purposely goading the monster?

Yes.

Was it working?

Also yes.

Narrowing its eyes, it began to open its mouth as fire once more began to build.

Rory, meanwhile, pointed his staff toward the monster, neon blue lightning building up as he prepared to meet the fire with a blast of heavenly lightning.

Was that smart? Hell no. Rory wouldn't deny that he'd become a bit more arrogant over the years, but he wasn't so far gone as to believe he could truly clash with a territory alpha of a similar level.

But of course, that wasn't the real purpose. If he'd been really trying his best, he would have been focusing every bit of his attention inward, channeling something like Empyrean Fulmination, his most potent lightning-based attack.

Rory wasn't trying his best, as he needed all but one of his mental threads spread elsewhere.

Focused entirely on Rory, the King missed as for a moment, Zoey seemed to vanish.

Opening its mouth wide, the column of acidic fire never had a chance to emerge as directly above its head, a figure appeared, her fist cocked back and shining black.

"Dumb ass," Zoey sneered before lashing out. "Seismic Impact."

Fist connecting with the top of its head, in the same spot an oversized meteor had already struck it, the wyrm was launched back into the earth, which shook again from the impact.

That wasn't the end of the show, though. No longer using the excess mental threads to triangulate the teleportation for Zoey, Rory refocused the mental energies as the crackling blue lightning shot upward. Whatever the skill the wyrm had used, there was some element of active involvement needed. Having had its shit rocked, the wyrm had no focus on maintaining the fiery sky; the fire extinguished as clouds gathered.

Zoey, who'd landed atop the wyrm, was going to town, pummeling the monster in a vicious flurry of blows as Rory prepared his next chant-boosted magic, keeping the wyrm pinned.

Taking advantage of all the built-up static in the air, it wasn't much effort to prepare the magic as Zoey suddenly vanished, putting as much distance between herself and the wyrm as she could.

"Illapa…. Narukami…. Chaac and Indra!" Rory began, the energy overhead crackling with each spoken name.

"Gods of Lightning, descend! Empyrean Fulmination!"

With the chant finished, the wall of lightning, colored blue as he'd slightly tweaked the base of the magic from plain lightning to heavenly lightning, crashed down upon the King.

Seconds passed, and yet the lightning did not stop, crashing down in what felt like a never-ending fury. Rory's status as a tier eight meant he could keep the magic going for a hell of a long time in such an ionically changed environment.

In the end, it wasn't Rory who ended the magic. A furious roar erupted, so loud that it physically shattered the magic crashing down upon it. Freed, the wyrm shot up once more, now outlined in orange. Glaring at them both, rather than attacking, it turned into a blur of orange light that returned to the center of the volcano's mouth before vanishing.

Into what exactly?

With the wyrm having temporarily retreated, Rory and Zoey had a moment to catch their breath before sharing a look and sighing.

"Yeah, figures as much." Rory was the first to break the growing silence.

The lake of magma from which the King had emerged seemed to morph, turning into what was clearly terawa, flowing upward like a stream of orange vapor before splitting into a tear in reality.

An orange, glowing portal, to Eon knew where.

"Couldn't have just been a one-and-done," Zoey said with a sigh. "Looks like we are going on a journey after all."

"Looks that way."

Remaining standing in place where they were for nearly a minute longer, finally, the two wordlessly made their way to the transformed magma lake. With one final shrug, the two dove in before being whisked up and away and vanishing through the portal.