(Arc 2 Complete!) Path of the Last Champion [Sci-Fantasy LitRPG, Party Dynamics, Earned Power]

At some point, an undetermined amount of time later, Nar's [Awareness] alerted him to Sej's arrival, but she seemed too stunned by what was happening to do anything, and when Leon arrived a few seconds later, he silently shook his head at her, and raised a finger to his lips.

Meanwhile, Nar idly stepped back, avoiding the ripper's tail as it swung past him, and for a split-second he wondered if he was actually getting faster.

Maybe all this aura fixing me is doing something beyond just healing me, he thought, thinking of the aurium transformation process undergoing within him. The whole thing remained a big mystery to him, as Tys, like his master, insisted on revealing only what was strictly necessary at any moment, but the hypothesis echoed with logic.

With his sword trailing deadly aura behind him, he slashed and hacked at the ripper's right leg, while Eum unleashed his snarling, blood drenched bloodlust upon the beast's left.

First hamper their mobility, Nar thought, recalling his more recent Slaying lessons. Then it would be easier to target the critical areas of whatever absurdly high HP shielded beast they faced. That was the way to bring down those monstrous HPs to zero, and reap the sweet, sweet gains and tokens they craved so much.

More! Let's fight more of these rares! Nar decided, his grin still taking his features. Uncommon rewards and gains are not enough! We need more! We can do more!

And his blade sang in his hands, as Nar blurred around the beast, he and Eum slicing into it with abandon.

Of course, that beast was still rare, and it returned plenty of hits and damage. Nar couldn't avoid them all, but at the very least he managed to avoid the most crucial of them, and the pain from those cuts, punches and kicks were nothing compared to the agony inflicted upon him by his very own [Aura Quickening] skill, which increasingly threatened to unravel him from within.

And unfortunately, as large as his aura bar was, it was not finite, and his self-healing was still incredibly wasteful. It could only slow down the ravages of his [Aura Quicking] for so long, and at some point, very soon, Nar would have to stop, or truly risk causing horrendous damage to himself…

"Alright, you crazies!" Leon suddenly shouted. "We're here! Leave some of the fighting to us!"

Oh, thank the Crystal, Nar thought, stumbling as the ripper was taunted by the paladin's golden aether, with Viy and Raf joining the fight as well.

"Alright, don't just hack at it like dumb asses!" Leon's voice rang out, taking charge of the situation. "Eum, for fuck's sake! How is this thing still alive?"

"Are you fucking kidding me? This thing's rare!" Eum snarled. "And we took down a quarter of its HP! The two of us!"

Nar chuckled at the exchange, recognizing it for what it was.

Just as he was reaching his limits, so must Eum have been close to his. There were only so many instances of [Predator's Bloodlust] that the tygaris could accumulate without losing his mind, and Leon, and everyone else in his party for that matter, always took it upon themselves to help pull him back before he strayed too far. Plus, Eum's stamina was reaching dangerously low levels, just as Nar's was.

Not to mention my aura, Nar thought wincing at both the 9000 points he had just blown through, as well as the agony still ravaging him from his [Aura Quickening] overload. Oh, he would definitely feel that in the morning, and though he was 100% sure he had stumbled upon the beginnings of something crucial for his path's growth, he was nowhere ready to use such a feat for long periods of time.

"You were so cool!" Viy shouted in passing at Nar. "And how the fuck can you stab with your [Aura Blade] now?"

"Surprise!" Nar panted, smiling at her as the halberdier ran past him. Viy twirled her massive weapon and slammed it hammer-side against the ripper's knee in a blow that left the beast favoring its other leg. But Nar didn't let them handle it, and even Eum joined in to keep hacking at the beast.

"Viy and Raf, work on those legs!" Leon commanded. "Eum, this is a great chance to work on your bloodlust control, so get to it. Nar, any more of those stabbed [Aura Blades] will be great, but don't overexert yourself!"

They roared their affirmatives, and the desperate battle took a much more manageable rhythm. Unsurprisingly, Nar discovered that he had in fact taken a lot more damage than he'd expected, and that the ripper had scored several, somewhat threatening hits against him, his armor ripped to shreds and reverted to its inactive state. Any other delver would've likely pulled back from the fight at that stage, to seek healing and rest, but not Nar. He needed those gains and those new skills, and this was the way he earned them.

"Finish it, brother!" Eum shouted, at some point later. "5000 HP left!"

And grinning, Nar found his chance when the dying beast lifted his head in a sorrowful wail of agony as Viy stabbed it through the chest. With an [Aura Blade] ready, he dashed forth in between the beast's arms with a spurt of [Speed], and with all his might, he stabbed his blade upwards, aiming straight for the creature's neck and brain.

The line of aura was again like a beam screeching from Nar's blade tip, and pushed against the ripper's last vestiges of HP. Though the shielding held for a second, then another, and a third… At the fourth, it crumbled, and Nar's aura and sword pierced straight up into its exposed skull.

The ripper's cry was silenced immediately, as pure, raging aura melted and its brain was incinerated in a flash. Nar let go of the skill, and dropped out of the way as the tall, black scaled beast toppled, and it lay still on the mud, surrounded by panting delvers.

A shadow pounced on Nar, and suddenly Eum had him in a tight embrace.

"We did it, brother! We did it!" he roared, his eyes already losing its crimson glow.

"Yeah!" Nar shouted, raising his blade in the air.

Then a wave of nausea turned the jungle upside down.

"Wow there!" Eum shouted, holding on to him. But instead, the two of them went down, splashing on the convulsed mud.

"Heal!" Leon shouted at Nar, pointing his shorter sword at him. "And Eum, you stand still! You're close to stamina depletion you idiot!"

But the tygaris just laughed and laughed, wheezing and out of breath, while beside him, Nar did all he could not to scream for a damned healer.

"And here comes the pain," Viy said, looking down at Nar with a grimace.

"No pain, no gain," Raf said, nodding sagely.

Nar held back a retort and focused instead on his self-healing and in not passing out. All of that damned blasting himself to shreds and putting himself together in increasingly screaming agony better earn him something phenomenal! Though the discovery that he could ignore his [Aura Quickening]'s warning, at least for a little while, was already quite significant. Quite significant indeed.

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Even just going at it for a full minute is already enough to turn a shit situation around, Nar realized. Kur's going to love this!

"Holy fucking Crystal…" Sej said in a hushed, uncertain tone. "I've never seen two people fight toe to toe against a skull ripper by themselves… These things are party killers!"

But Leon shook his head. "They were about to die when we stepped in. Azzin, we all still have a long, long way to go before we can achieve something like that. And even leaving the bulk of our people to fight that matriarch, it's still alive!"

"It's almost dead, and a rare boss is supposed to be a tough encounter, no matter the level," Sej told him. "Plus, that matriarch is a lot worse than this ripper, even if slower."

"We definitely learned that today," Leon muttered, as he pulled out his helmet to allow his sweltering head some relief. "And I think you were right all along. Fighting together like this really ties up our capabilities, and the longer a battle goes, the more we risk something bad happening. Azzin, Tun is almost out of stamina, and Gad isn't doing much better!"

He sighed. "We'll need to find another way to make this work."

The guide nodded, her eyes still sliding over to the two, gasping and bleeding delvers on the mud, with Raf and Viy poking fun at them.

"I knew that was the case, but I confess you did much better than I expected," she said. "Much, much better. If we can…"

A shockwave rocked the jungle, blasting searing air in their faces, and blazing orange and yellow light turned the dark day of the Brightnight into a proper day, the tree trunk shadows growing to grotesque lengths, and causing flocks of scared birds to screech out in panic.

"What in the Abyss was that?" Eum asked, sitting up.

Another explosion followed the first, even louder if that was possible, and then another.

Silence.

"Was that…"

And suddenly Leon was sprinting off towards the nest.

"Calli…" Eum whispered. "Shit!"

Nar forced himself upwards as well, his stomach sinking. He had seen that consuming light before… It had been when Mul's uncontrolled, rage filled flames had been unleashed in the fight against the frozen undead boss.

Crystal, what happened now?

**********

Muffled cries and calls failed to reach Mul as he stared down from the charred, blown open corpse of the matriarch to his clenched, shaking and still flaming fists. His entire body, still encased in furious, bright hot and blinding flames.

Just as his stoic instructor had warned him, the suppressor had chosen a moment that it deemed appropriate to give him his first chance at trying to control his actives, and while he made deadly, and astounding use of them, he had not been ready for the sudden explosion of rage and hatred that had taken him in the aftermath.

He had not been prepared to see the face of his father, panting above him as he pummeled him with his fists. He was not ready for the memory of his mother's indifferent expression and jabbed sardonic barbs whenever he woke up, covered in wounds and bleeding, and was denied his food as further punishment…

He was not prepared for the glares from his neighbors and co-workers, as if he didn't work as hard as any of them. As if he didn't pull his own weight!

Why am I not enough?

He had punched the matriarch again, blowing its side open as its HP fractured, and now, there wasn't even much left of the creature. What a loss of XP from all those materials…

And yet, he still raged.

He was still breathing hard and accumulating [Burning Anger], and his HP was dropping at a vertiginous pace.

Stop… Stop… he pleaded weakly. But the torrent of images and memories was too strong.

All he saw was hatred. Abuse. Indifference. Judgment. All things he had not deserved in the slightest!

His only sin had been to be less good than his twin sister! His only sin had been to not be as ambitious as her! Not as hard working! Not as bright! But… Had that been his fault? Or theirs?

Had they been encouraging instead of judging… Nurturing instead of punishing… Had they just shown him a better way…

"NO! NO!" he roared, flames jetting from his mouth, shredding his helmet from within. "It was not my fault! It was you! It was ALL of YOU! Not ME!"

Instances of [Burning Anger] continued to stack, and his HP continued to plummet…

Panicked voices called out to him at the edge of his hearing and mind, but he paid them no heed. There was only the fire. The rage. The injustice!

"MUL!"

A voice rang clear, slicing through the rage and the all-consuming flames.

He glanced up, and his blurry sight focused around the shape of a person. Their beautiful features were marred in pain, and coated in a furious red amidst the sizzling steam coming off the muddy ground around him.

"Mul! Come back! You can do this!"

"Ca-Calli?" he asked, panic flooding him. "N-No! Stay back! You… You'll burn!"

"I won't back down!" Calli said, stepping forward. "And I'm already burning… I would appreciate it if you…"

She stumbled, agony searing though her as her own HP depleted.

"No!" Mul cried.

The horror of the realization that he was burning Calli alive pushed back against the rage and the fury, and he took a step back, away from her. Only for her to step forward again.

"Mul! This is not you! Fight it! Come back!" she called. "Whatever was done to you, it doesn't have to define you! Control your rage. Make it your power! Don't let it…"

And then she screamed, and raised her hands to her face.

"Noooooooo!"

Mul's voice grew coarse and bloody from his scream as Calli dropped and curled into a ball on the boiling mud.

This is not what I want! He raged within his mind. THIS. IS. NOT. ME!

And he plunged deeply into his core and stuck his hands into the burning, raging flame tha roared within him.

You will obey me! You will be my tool to protect others! Not to hurt them! You hear me? He shouted at his aura. SO. BACK. THE. FUCK. DOWN!

And he threw all his might and willpower at his aura… And the flame spluttered.

It hesitated.

And in that moment, Mul leaped forward to take control of his path.

Of his life.

Of his future.

I get that what was done to us is unforgivable, he whispered to his aura. But we will not be hurting anybody. Unless they deserve it, of course. You got that?

His core pulsed brightly, an acknowledgement, and then it began to recede, pulling all of the burning aura within Mul's pathways back inside itself.

We are in agreement then, Mul said.

Already he could feel the [Heart of Loss] taking hold of him, and when he opened his eyes to find Leon kneeling beside his sister, downing a potion into her charred lips, pus oozing from a burn just below her right eye, his heart nearly shattered.

"I-I…"

He didn't even have the words in the face of the red, raw burns that coated a full side of her face.

"She'll be fine, Mul!" Leon told him. "Don't worry about her! She just wanted to help you!"

"But-But I… I did…"

"No, Mul. She knew exactly what she was doing," Leon said, and he turned his golden-brown stare at the brawler, his expression severe, though not judging. "Don't let it go to waste. Focus on yourself right now! Focus on that feeling of control! This is your chance to break through! This is your chance to take control of your life! Of your path! So don't let her sacrifice be in vain. You hear me?"

"I-I…"

"Say that you hear me!"

Mul clenched his jaw, and swallowed hard at the guilt and regret that was being magnified by his [Heart of Loss].

"I… I will," Mul said, dropping heavily on the hardened, steaming mud.

It was so hot it burned even him, now that he wasn't cycling his aura, but was that compared to Calli's pain?

"I will control myself from now on," he vowed. "And I will never forget this."

Leon lifted his sister up into his arms, and beyond them, the others watched in stunned silence.

"She's always been like this… Eum almost killed her once, too," the paladin said, smiling down at his sister. "She will heal, Mul. Her HP and Era will see to that, don't you worry. But her pain was real, and so will be the pain of anyone caught in your mighty fires if you don't control them. That is what you should remember."

"I will," Mul vowed, burning tears streaking down his face. "I swear by my bond that I will."

Leon nodded at him.

"Stay there. Focus. Remember the feeling. Remember what you did," he told the brawler. "This is just an opening, and from now on, you will need to build upon it. You will need to build your discipline and control, and you can't ever let go of it. Or it will be a tragedy. For you, and everyone around you… So focus! Remember. Learn. And grow."

He turned around to take Calli towards Era. "That is the only way you will ever repay your debt to my sister."

Mul watched him go, and he ignored the others as they allowed him the space and silence needed to concentrate.

The brawler closed his eyes against his bitter tears. He would never forget Calli's burned face. And hands. And arms… The criminal charring of her glistening hair.

He called upon that burning image, and he forced it down upon all the memories he'd carried from his cubeplant.

Henceforth, he would forever remember the damage and pain he had wrecked on the gunslinger, and know that it could happen to Cen too. And to Tuk, to Nar, to Jul, to Kur, to Gad, to Rel, to Viy and even to Jasphaer, their newest member.

Tsss. Tsss…

Raindrops hit the steaming, blistering hot dirt around him, and soon, the skies opened up in yet another downpour.

I will never let that happen again, he vowed to himself, as rain water cooled him and the cracked dirt surrounding him. I would rather die.

Within him, Wolfie whined sorrowfully, and he too promised that he would grow stronger in order to help Mul keep his word.