Chapter 220 Lure
After he spotted the King Class Giant, Dorian dived down to the ground. His Sun Eagle form shifted and twisted as he transformed mid-flight, returning to his customary Balance Demon form.
thud
He landed on the ground with a resounding thud. The moment he touched down, he activated everything.
His Perfect Body, all of his Laws to boost his physique and defense, he instantly went on guard as he steadied himself. His Law of Lust enhanced his perception of time and speed, allowing him to truly step well beyond the limits of a Lord Class creature.
His preparations were warranted.
The moment he began to dive, the King Class Giant noticed him.
Dorian wasn't sure whether or not the creature sensed that he was living, or sensed that he was a threat, but the second that the Giant saw him, it began its assault without hesitation.
SHKK
Its lone arm twitched, a raw, powerful Aura bursting around it as the creature clenched onto its enormous blade.
Just a split second later, it brought its huge sword crashing down deceptively quickly, the blade's huge scale making it appear to move slower than it actually was.
Back when he first came to Blizzaria, an attack of this speed would've been a mere blur to him, moving far too quickly for him to react.
Now, however…
"Ah, dammit."
BOOOOM
The blade smashed into Dorian before he could successfully dodge it, knocking him backwards and sending him flying through the air at a literal supersonic pace, breaking the sound barrier. He shot away from the cavern wall, rocketing towards Icicar.
THUD
THUD
His body slammed into and obliterated two stalagmites, sending up bits of ice and rock, until he finally crash landed.
BOOM
A dozen stone buildings collapsed as Dorian's body blew into and came to a halt in the city of Icicar. Huge chunks of stone shot off into the air, rubble flying left and right. A wave of dust covered the nearby air, the ancient city shivering.
In just a couple of seconds, he had flown thousands of meters through the air, knocked back by a brutal attack.
The huge Giant he was facing down was at the Late King Class in terms of energy level. However, that was taking into account the fact that it was in a Desiccated state. If it had been living, in full health, it would've been a very powerful Pseudo-Angelic Class expert.
Its single blade strike also happened to be its most powerful attack. It was a blow it had mindlessly practiced for tens of thousands of years.
While its other strikes or attacks might not be absurdly strong, this single blow moved at such an unnatural speed, guided by so many years of practice and a powerful understanding of the Law of Cutting, that Dorian had been unable to dodge it.
However, while Dorian was unable to fully dodge it, he was able to block the brunt of the strike.
A protective layer of energy surrounded his body, from his Mystic Armored Body as well as his Law of Gluttony. When these two combined with his Perfect Body and already powerful Balance Demon form, the biggest portion of the damage was mitigated.
The Giant's blade attack was terrifying in strength but, partially due to how ridiculously large its sword was, its attack power was somewhat spread out. This helped Dorian's defenses hold up.
The previous him would've been reduced to a spot of flesh and gore.
"You're a bit tougher than I thought you would be." He muttered to himself as he pushed a chunk of rubble off his body.
The jarring impact had rattled his bones, tearing multiple muscles and causing several fractures. His Law of Sloth rapidly set about healing the injuries as he forced himself to stand, glaring at the Giant.
The Giant seemed to sense that Dorian wasn't dead. Dorian saw its towering figure in the distance ominously growing larger in his vision as it rushed towards him. It was so tall, it looked as if it was moving in slow motion, yet covered a large amount of ground in just mere moments.
"GRAAWWRRRRR!" A more immediate, nearby roar caught Dorian's attention.
Two large, 15 meter tall Grakons had charged over, their scales glistening in the dim light. Dorian's abrupt entrance to the city had caused a great deal of noise, catching their attention. Each Grakon wielded a huge greatsword, bristling as they yelled and prepared to attack him.
"Sorry, I don't have time for you." Dorian waved his hand.
'Hyperion Beam!'
Six small black orbs formed next to him, crackling with energy. An instant later, these orbs finished charging and shot forward, laser beams that melted through the frigid air.
BOOM
BOOM
The Grakons were fast and strong, both of them Lord Class experts, but his instant attack had left them with no time to react.
Each one was instantly skewered by 3 Hyperion Beams, killed before they even finished charging at him. Their bodies collapsed to the ground a few meters off from Dorian, hitting it with a thud. He casually absorbed their Soul Spell Matrixes as he finished gathering his bearings, turning his focus back to the charging Giant.
Grakon bodies were sent flying in the distance as the huge creature continued to rush forward. There were hundreds of stray Grakons in the city and patrolling the ground between the cave wall and the city. All of these creatures turned on the huge Giant, suicidally assaulting it, to little effect.
The Giant held an absolute advantage, in size, in skill, and in strength, over all of the attacking Grakons.
'There's no chance I can take it in a close-range battle.' He wasn't an idiot.
With that thought in mind, Dorian took several deep breaths, his eyes flashing.
The Giant was about six seconds from him. In that time, he began to gather a huge amount of energy as one of his passive Abilities flared.
The 'One With Nature' Ability that he'd picked up from his Warping Turkey form, a power that allowed him to handle using large numbers of Abilities, or repeatedly using the same Ability, with ease.
"Hah!" Dorian yelled out loud as his eyes blazed with light.
Just an instant later…
A full, 52 separate Hyperion Beams formed in the air, the dozens of black orbs infused with his Black Flames to grant them their ultimate destructive capabilities. The raw concentration of energy caused the air to quake.
Forming so many beams stretched the limits of Dorian's concentration. However, in his Balance Demon form, with all of his Abilities and Laws boosting him, he was just barely able to focus and control all of them, creating a veritable army of attacks.
The charging Giant seemed to sense the threat that was forming as it brought its huge sword out to bear in front of it. It kept running, however, only a couple of seconds away from reaching the city and Dorian.
Dorian merely narrowed his eyes in response, zeroing in on the huge creature.
He then focused once more, this time on all of his Hyperion Beams.
The black orbs all quivered, particles of light and energy flying off of them.
Then, all as one, the orbs shot multiple, stacking beams forward.
52 black Hyperion Beams blasted out through the air, crackling and searing the underground cavern as they melted forward. The Hyperion Beams were concentrated and layered in a way that, under Dorian's careful guidance, caused all of their attacks to line up.
The resulting impact meant that the 52 Hyperion Beam attack, infused with Dorian's Black Flames, transformed into a large, meter wide laser of raw, concentrated energy.
An attack of devastating potential.
The laser beam crossed the air in an instant, aimed at center mass for the towering Giant. Smaller Hyperion Beams packed a punch, but Dorian didn't think they would be able to seriously injure, or do much at all, to such a huge figure.
However, if he combined all of his Hyperion Beams into one massive attack… even this enormous Giant would be pierced through and sorely injured.
The Giant, whether drawing from instincts honed over thousands of years or from memories long ago, somehow was able to predict Dorian's attack and protect itself, raising its huge blade to block the blow. The massive Artifact was ancient, but also powerful.
BOOOM
The huge laser collided with the Giant and slammed him backwards, not only cancelling its momentum but causing it to slide back more than 100 meters. The Combined Hyperion Beam, as Dorian decided to call it, split off into a dozen reflecting lasers when they hit the sword, shooting off in the air and melting into the stone and ice.
Some of the deflected lasers seared long tracks into the earth, while others melted through or sliced apart various stalagmites and stalactites. A few even cut apart some charging Grakons.
Throughout this all, Dorian kept up the Combined Hyperion Beam. Instead of just firing it once, he constantly gathered the energy and continuously kept it firing, relying upon his powerful soul to draw everything he needed.
The continuing blast forced the Giant back 200 more meters, causing it to collide with and destroy several more large chunks of rock.
Finally, however, it managed to set its feet, its body creaking as it came to an abrupt halt.
Dorian continued firing off his Combined Hyperion Beam.
The Giant, however, slowly began to push forward, using its huge sword as a shield. No matter how powerful Dorian's beam was, it seemed unable to penetrate the Giant's massive blade.
BOOM
BOOM
Stray explosions shook the air as Dorian's deflected lasers continued to wreak havoc in the underground cavern. He accidentally cut the wall to Icicar in half, stray beams splitting dozens of buildings in twain.
Inch by inch, meter by meter, the huge Giant continued to walk forward, relentlessly.
'Damn.' Sweat dripped down Dorian's head from the strain of controlling the Combined Hyperion Beam. As he saw the results, he couldn't help but curse.
'Who told your race to be so damn tough?!' His complaints went unheard as he made a snap judgement.
'Overpowering it from a distance isn't going to work.'
He flicked his eyes to the left and right, quickly scanning his environment.
When his gaze landed on the magical waterfall of Gworen Ice that was raining down from the ceiling, inspiration struck.
With a wave of his hand, the Combined Hyperion Beam abruptly stopped, the powerful energy laser vanishing as if it had never been. Rocks and stone still shifted and collapsed in the background, the aftermath of Dorian's attack.
He then began to sprint towards the center of the city, his body transforming into a blur as he moved rapidly. He had recovered enough from the Giant's attack that he could move with ease, his fast regeneration restoring his body to working condition.
If Dorian wanted, he could escape from this Giant. It would be rather easy, in fact.
However, if he fled, he would be unable to obtain the very thing he came to Blizzaria for.
With all of that in mind, when he spotted the waterfall of Gworen Ice, an idea had appeared in his mind.
The most dangerous aspect when it came to the Giant was its attack speed and seemingly indomitable strength.
If he could neutralize either one of those… defeating it and releasing it from the curse that trapped the fallen Giant here would become much, much easier.
It took Dorian approximately 8 seconds to cross the city and reach the general area where the Gworen Ice waterfall fell. He dodged any and all Grakons, using his small figure and deft movements to lose them.
He entered a large, open courtyard-like area that stretched for several hundred meters. No other buildings or homes could be seen in this area, a place he had been to before.
The only other notable things were the enormous flowing waterfall of ice, and, set in the ground behind this waterfall, the entrance to the underground dungeon where the Grakon King used to dwell. At its front, a large, stone doorway at least 3 dozen meters wide and a dozen meters tall, with cut steps leading downward, opened up to a large, locked gate.
It was all the same as it had been last time.
As he arrived and scanned the huge waterfall, he felt that, for some reason, it was difficult to look straight at. The air around it was distorted.
He forced himself to stare at it, studying it in the scant seconds he had.
'I see…' Dorian could see things now that he could not see before, sensing keenly with his powerful soul.
The waterfall appeared to be a unique creation that rejected conventional physics. The ice that was flowing was solid, yet moved as a liquid. It was unnaturally cold, such that it could severely harm or even kill someone just by getting too close to it.
And as he cast his senses at it, he realized something.
'This… the Laws of the Universe are distorted around it as well!' His mouth fell open as he reached an abrupt conclusion.
This was a World Phenomena! Just like the Molten Core on Taprisha! And not only was it a World Phenomena, but it was also one that worked in an opposing manner to Taprisha's Molten Core, a place of extreme cold!
He would be able to test his meditation theory on his other Laws right here!
He couldn't help but grin ferociously when he saw this. He had hoped Blizzaria would have something like Taprisha's Molten Core and he hadn't been let down.
He just hadn't expected to find it so easily. It had been hiding in plain sight, like a twist of Fate.
BOOM
THUD
THUD
An explosion and two loud thuds caught Dorian's attention as he tossed the stray thought to the side for now, his eyes narrowing as he focused back on the present.
The one-armed Giant had forced its way into the city and was destroying anything that tried to stop him. A small army of Grakons were throwing themselves at the awe-defying figure and ruthlessly being cut down.
The Giant made a beeline for Dorian, rushing at him without a hint of hesitation.
Dorian smiled when he saw this.
He sprinted around the courtyard, dashing towards the waterfall as he raced to put it between him and the immense, charging Giant.
'Come and get me.'
.