Two months earlier, back at the swamp near the Wraithwood, Varyn watched with delight as Bastion struggled to fend off a single basilisk while his women tried to distract the others, and his daughter remained safe, observing from the shadows. His plan had come to fruition and was going well, right up until the half-breed hawkwoman suddenly went berserk, took Bastion's weapon, and killed the Rank 3 basilisks one after another.
It was at that moment that Varyn realized the rumors about the Duke's weapon were true. As long as that hawkwoman had it, there was no chance of Bastion and the girls being threatened in the Great Forest.
With disappointment, frustration, and resignation, he gave up on retrieving his daughter from the Duke and watched as they vanished into the swampy mud.
"I give up," he muttered once they were gone. "There's no chance of taking the Duke down so long as that girl has that weapon. Anything I send against them will die with a single shot."
Feeling empty for abandoning his daughter, he made his way back to the village and spent the rest of his time managing it as he had promised himself. He organized hunting parties, took inventory of their loot, traveled to the border wall, sold their goods to nearby villages and towns, and repeated the cycle, returning to the dull life of a village chief and marquis.
Two months later, he received a report from one of his scouts that the Duke was fleeing alone from an enraged Rank 3 hobgoblin, the chief of the goblin tribe his scouts had been monitoring for over a decade.
"What? Where are they now?" Varyn asked his scout.
"Three days out from the border, judging by their speed," the scout reported before vanishing into the shadows.
Varyn sat in his office, deep in thought. Was this another chance from the gods to right his wrongs? He had promised to give up on Elyra if he failed one more time, but such an opportunity had suddenly presented itself. Should he just give up and watch his daughter be taken away by another Diamondhart?
No, he would try one more time. Just one final attempt on the Duke's life to reclaim his daughter. What kind of father would he be if he let such an opportunity pass?
"I'm heading out," he said to the empty office. "No one is allowed to follow me. Understood?"
The shadows flickered in response. Varyn nodded and stepped into them, passing through the veil and emerging in the Shadow World of his office.
The space was stripped of color, reduced to stark blacks and whites where contrast replaced detail. Pools of absolute darkness marked open passages and doorways, while pale, overexposed surfaces formed solid barriers that could not be crossed without expending mana.
Within that inverted reflection, four of his most loyal Shadow Guards knelt in the dark corners of the room, their forms carved out of darkness against the bleached floor, deliberately averting their gaze.
He ran at full speed past the village, made for the border near the wall, and headed east. He didn't slow until he reached Bastion and the hobgoblin chief, locked in a deadly game of cat and mouse as Bastion continued to lure the creature toward the border, where it would likely disengage and flee.
He followed them to the border, where his prediction proved correct. The Chief, sensing the danger of crossing the border as a Rank 3, retreated and, for reasons Varyn couldn't explain, let its enraged state lapse, turning itself into easy prey for Bastion.
A day later, at twilight, Varyn watched as Bastion finally cornered the Chief, the fading light providing the perfect conditions for a Shadow's ambush. He poured most of his mana into locking down the surrounding Shadow World, gaining full control over the domain and ensuring Bastion couldn't use his connection with Elyra to call for aid. Then he waited for the moment Bastion was completely distracted, the moment victory was assured and the final blow was about to be dealt.
Just as Bastion's sword was about to swing, Varyn used a chunk of his mana to solidify a shadow into a spear, its tip sharper than a needle. Silent as a shadow, he sent it hurtling toward Bastion's nape from behind, but just before it could find its mark, Bastion dodged to the side, evading it as if he had eyes in the back of his head.
"Damn it," Varyn cursed, realizing he had been exposed.
The only way forward now was to kill Bastion through the Chief. He rushed to his side, poured a medley of potions down his throat, and braced himself for the final battle to reclaim his daughter.
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Bastion stared down the Chief of the goblin village, a 4-foot-tall goblin armed with a wooden spear, and considered his current predicament. He was in a 2v1 against a Rank 2 Goblin and a Rank 2 Shadow Assassin while he was just a Rank 1 Diamond Knight. It was odds that were impossible to win in the conventional sense.
One was a tank and a distraction that couldn't be ignored, capable of delivering a single solid hit that would debilitate him enough for the second, an opportunistic assassin, to finish him off. Both opponents were easily 10 times stronger and likely faster than him, one possessing incredible combat instincts while the other had experience in spades.
Even with his cannon and autocannon, he would almost certainly lose this fight, as he had learned from sparring with Elyra. If it were just the Chief, he might still manage to win by outlasting his opponent using the potions in his Quick Slot, but with Varyn added to the battle, defeat was all but guaranteed.
'First things first, let's try to make it to the border and get some reinforcements,' Bastion thought.
He activated his Quick Slot and selected a Smoke Screen Potion, which deployed immediately, enveloping the area in thick magical smoke that obscured all senses. Without hesitation, he activated Reinforce and bolted in the direction of the kingdom's border.
He dashed out of the smoke, heading west, shield raised to meet any oncoming attack. It was fortunate he was prepared, as a scythe emerged from the side of a tree, aiming to cut his head off.
Shield Bash! Charge!
Bastion swatted the scythe up with his shield and charged forward, determined to leave both opponents behind. He summoned his diamond steed, leapt onto its back, and galloped west.
He didn't get far before a scythe struck his steed's front legs, slicing them off and hurling him forward with the momentum. Another scythe rose from the ground, aiming to bisect him at the waist midair.
With a burst of wind and fire mana, he pushed off the explosion beneath his feet, propelling himself forward just fast enough to evade the deadly blade. He landed with a tumble and tried to continue forward when a scythe sprang up in front of him, aiming to bisect him vertically.
Dodge!
He dodged to the side with a quick step that was faster than the scythe and tried to continue forward, but each attempt was thwarted by a well-placed scythe swinging faster than he could physically react, forcing him to expend mana every single time.
Using his Quick Slot, he downed a mana potion, only to feel a threat coming from behind. The Chief was finally out of the smoke and, with one massive leap, managed to gain on him. He was back to a brutal 2v1.
'I guess running is impossible,' Bastion thought. 'I'd run out of mana potions before I could get anywhere near the border, which is an entire day's ride away. Let's see if the Chief is any good in direct combat.'
Bastion met the Chief's aerial lunge with his shield, angling it to deflect the incoming spear to the side while retaliating with a quick stab of his sword aimed at the Chief's left shoulder, the side where he had lost an eye that had not regenerated despite the potions he consumed.
The Chief, acting on pure instinct, swung his left shoulder back and landed with a roll behind Bastion before sweeping at his feet with a wide swing. Bastion brought his shield down and turned to block the attack but was thrown back by the force, skidding several meters despite planting his shield firmly on the ground.
A scythe sprang up between Bastion's legs, aiming to bisect him vertically. He activated Dash, charging forward at full speed to meet the Chief head-on while avoiding the scythe. The Chief lunged with another stab, which Bastion easily evaded, continuing his dash past him while loosening his sword into a whip and flicking it to lasso the Chief's foot along the way.
The Chief turned and leapt to evade the whip, attempting another aerial lunge aimed at Bastion's head, but Bastion deflected it to the side and followed up with a quick stab to regain distance.
Suddenly, a scythe sprang up, knocking his sword aside and protecting the Chief. The Chief then grabbed Bastion's shield and yanked it off his arm, disarming him. Before Bastion could recover, the Chief thrust his spear toward Bastion's heart, while a scythe appeared on the left aiming to bisect him at the waist, and a shadow spear flew from the right targeting his center mass.
Jump!
Evading all three attacks at once, Bastion launched himself into the air, grabbed the branch above him, swung around to plant his feet on it, and leapt west in one last attempt to run.
'Nope… nope… nope. That was way too close for comfort,' he thought as he activated his Quick Slot and downed another mana potion. 'I can't fight a two-on-one and realistically expect to win. Even if the Chief lacks Skills and Varyn isn't using mana for some reason, I'm bleeding stamina and mana and won't be able to outlast them. Also, they're slowly starting to work together instead of taking easy shots. They'll manage to corner me in no time. That only leaves me with Seraphina's trump card. And here I thought I could save this for a rainy day.'
Just as he was about to jump on another branch to continue his escape, a scythe popped up in the distance, cutting the branch from the tree. Bastion landed on the branch but continued to fall right on top of the Chief who was waiting below. The Chief jumped while stabbing out, aiming for Bastion's chest.
'Damn, what a waste of a good potion,' Bastion thought.
He opened his Quick Slot mid-fall, selected an unassuming red potion, and instantly consumed it, feeling its effects radiate from his stomach.
Time seemed to slow as the Chief's spear inched toward his chest. Bastion's heartbeat surged, blood coursing through his veins with newfound power. Without using any Skill or mana, he swatted the spear aside, then grabbed the goblin by the throat faster than it could react and squeezed. He landed heavily on the ground, yanked the spear from the Chief's hand, and continued to choke him while watching the surroundings for any sign of another ambush.
"Time for the second phase of this boss fight!" Bastion growled, a terrifying smile spreading across his face.
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