NOVPUB[Huh? Is Splatter that desperate?]
[He's seriously using an art against this guy?!]
[No pride! No pride!]
The Kaijin of the [Mines of Malevolence] may have been horrible reprobates of the highest order, but even they had some form of twisted pride. For example, they all believed in using the "appropriate " amount of force when dealing with opponents and doling out punishments.
On the surface, this sounded as if the kaijin down here believed in fairness. In reality, they only started being "fair", when they realized that they could prolong the suffering of the slave substead of outright killing them.
That all said, though, the reason for Splatter's heavy-handed action wasn't due to this odd code of fairness. Instead, it was because he was genuinely afraid for his life.
[Die, you purple-flamed bastard, die!]
Thankfully, he could hide these feelings of fear behind a veil of violence and aggression.
[Putrefying Pollywogs, attack!]
From his mouth, Splatter unleashed a veritable school of demented pollywogs that were made of pulverized human flesh, bones and a lot of [Chaos].
The freaky projectiles swam through the air like normal pollywogs in water, but each one carried a dense concentration of [Chaos] and death aether.
In other words, if the average aether warrior attempted to block or attack these projectiles, they would be in for a nasty surprise with fatal wounds to boot. 𝓃𝓸𝓋𝓅𝓾𝒷.𝒸ℴ𝓂
(Un)Fortunately, their target this time around wasn't the average aether warrior.
'Hmmm. Now which path should I take l?'
Shortly after Splatter unleashed his horde of demented baby projectiles, Olstenna's vision was once again filled with the presence of glowing spots but with an added twist.
On the ground beneath the hovering pollywogs, Olstenna could see a pair of glowing paths.
One path seemed to suggest that he should simply charge right through the pollywogs, striking at them in the process; while the other path suggested that he should simply bob and weave through the pollywogs like a dancer avoiding a crowd.
To attack or to evade, that was the question.
'Alright, here we fucking go!' Olstenna told himself as he began to charge forward and infusing his fists with aether. Needless to say, the berserker of an Ignarii needed nothing more than utter violence at his disposal.
Rushing forward, humming all the while, Olstenna saw how the pollywog projectiles began to glow in a rhythmic pattern as they flew about in random and wild directions.
'Just like last time, punch when they're at their brightest!'
...
Croak! Croak!
POW! POW!
Croak! Croak! Croak!
POW! POW! POW!
Croak!
POW!
Olstenna marched forward with an unceasing rhythm, punching out the wild pollywog projectiles in a manner that was almost musical to everyone else watching.
Combined with the explosions of purple fire accompanying every blow, the entire moment felt like a shared fever dream.
^Is...is this real? Is this guy... actually putting up a fight?^
^Yeah...and he's winning.^
A majority of the fighters thrown into his death pit, would end up dying to the hands of the Kaijin.
On occasion, they would be forced to fight each other to the death, but for the most part, they were forced to serve as nothing more than practice dummies for the Kaijin.
They would attempt to fight back, find that none of their attacks and then focus on defense. Once they realized their defenses amounted to nothing as well, they would simply think about running and surviving at that point.
In the face of overwhelming might, there was nothing to be done but pray for death.
Under these conditions, the sight of someone actually and effectively countering one of the attacks made by these invincible monsters was...shocking, to say the least.
To the Kaijin that had known no other threat other than each other, and the aether warriors who were knocked down from their pedestals of prestige, Olstenna's actions were inconceivable.
Especially when they realized just how weirdly simple their method of countering was.
No treasures, no high tiered aether arts, not even a naturally occurring bloodline ability.
As far as anyone could tell, Olstenna was just punching the pollywog-like projectiles out of the air like practice balls.
It was a sight that was both refreshing and incredibly frustrating to the other aether warriors.
^How...how is he doing that?^
^I don't know...^
"What the fuck..."
~Am...am I feeling hopeful?~
But to the Kaijin, this sight was outright baffling...and a little worrying.
[Other than the boss, no other mortal should be able to do that.]
[What's going on?]
[And why are my ears buzzing so badly?]
As for Splatter himself, he was feeling incredibly mixed at the moment.
[WHY! ISN'T! HE! DYING?!]
Splatter was angry as all hell at Olstenna's stubborn refusal to die.
Every other mortal he had killed up until this moment had the decency to beg for their lives before dying horribly, so why didn't Olstenna?!
Splatter was also embarrassed over having to put in actual effort when it came to killing a simple mortal. He was saving this [Chaos] art for when he was ready to absorb a fourth [Core] and needed an ace up his non-existent sleeves.
But on top of all of these emotions, Splatter was just...scared.
'Am I...actually going to die? At the hands of a mortal?!' Splatter asked himself as he saw Olstenna get closer and closer by the second.
It was one thing being scared of dying by the hand of a fellow Kaijin, that was at least at the hand of an equal.
As well, it wasn't the same as truly dying.
Sure, he would become someone else's source of power, but that just meant he would have to bide his time and wait for an opportunity to take over.
This time around, though, he didn't get that familiar feeling.
Instead, he felt a feeling of dread crawl up his multiple spines and firmly plant itself in the back of his main head.
It was a feeling of dread that got stronger and stronger with every step that Olstenna took towards him.
'He's getting close. Too close!'
Eventually, it has reached the point where Olstenna was only a step away from clobbering Splatter after punching over a dozen pollywog-shaped projectiles at once in an arc-shaped formation.
The sight vaguely reminded onlookers of a rising sun made of purple flames.
Although, in Splatter's eyes, this display reminded him more of a setting sun.
[You bastard! Get out of my personal space!]
Enraged by Olstenna's appearance, Splatter suddenly transformed into a giant toad-elephant hybrid beast with a live goose for a trunk and attempted to charge down Olstenna.
Unfortunately, he failed...and he was going to pay dearly for it.
...
'Huh...I was expecting a big beam attack. Oh well.'
Olstenna had entered a flow state when he was punching out those pollywogs made of [Chaos] and body parts, so when he found himself standing in preparation to punch the shit out of Splatter, he was a little shocked.
This feeling was then compounded when Splatter suddenly transformed into a giant monster and attempted to crush him.
However, Olstenna was more than ready to act.
In his eyes, Olstenna could see Splatter being forced to move to the rhythm that he had been humming this whole time, even if he had transformed into a giant elephantine monster in the process.
Stomp! Stomp! Thrust!
'Step! Step! Ignite!'
At the exact same moment Splatter attempted to swing down his mutant trunk down in order to crush him, Olstenna stole a trick from Zhen Liu's book and launched himself into the air by jetting purple flames form the bottom of his feet.
Once he was airborne, he saw even more bright spots manifesting up and down Splatter's transformed back.
^Die for me, you big bastard!^ Olstenna shouted as he used even more flames to launch himself downward before releasing a flurry of burning fists that scaled up the bastard's back.
The first few blows struck the goose's head, the elephant's head and the main toad head in rapid succession.
One head being struck was enough to cause dizziness, all three being struck in rapid succession was enough to cause what could only be described as an exponential concussion.
The attacks that followed were against Splatter's spine and were the ones that gave Olstenna the momentum he needed to correct his positioning and gave him the opportunity to stand on Splatter's back...for just long enough to smash it in.
[Underworld Shattering Stomp!]
The purple-flamed Aetherii proceeded to raise his foot high above his head above bringing it down with enough force to rival a meteor strike.
At least, that's what all the mortal in the arena assumed the moment they heard the explosive impact of Olstenna's foot meeting Splatter's back.
[Grk...]
"No...no way..."
Silence and stillness filled the space after the sound of the kick had faded away, and Olstenna could be seen simply standing on Splatter's incredibly still back.
^Welp, I'm done here,^ Olstenna eventually said to break the silence. ^Wait, was I supposed to shatter the [Core] internally or externally?^
