Bastion had an in-depth discussion with Seraphina about the potion she had made using the plague troll's heart. In essence, it enhanced the drinker's physical stats by two whole ranks, effectively multiplying Strength, Dexterity, and Vitality a hundredfold. It was a powerful concoction that delivered exactly what it promised with devastating effect.
Strength and Dexterity balanced each other, minimizing negative consequences. The increased Dexterity controlled the excessive Strength, while the heightened toughness from Strength prevented most self-inflicted injuries. Vitality, however, was another matter entirely.
Bastion could feel his heart beating faster than he thought possible, pumping immense power throughout his body. His blood pressure spiked, barely held in check by his enhanced toughness, while his resistance to status effects worked overtime to prevent catastrophic bleeding. His skin flushed red as steam rose from his sweat, his body hissing like an overpressurized engine on the verge of failure.
Normally, the effects of such a potion would kill a consumer within a minute, which is why it was considered a last resort and required constant use of health potions. Bastion, however, felt mostly fine, apart from an overwhelming euphoria from the enhanced stats.
This was why Seraphina had given him the potion without hesitation. Thanks to his resistance to bodily status conditions, the only real side effect he experienced was excessive vitality, a condition that would at most energize him for a few days.
Bastion squeezed his hand around the Goblin Chief's neck, his senses flitting across the shadows as they flickered. He reveled in the power, the coming victory, and the euphoria coursing through his body as he slowly choked the life from his prey, who struggled desperately to make him release his grip.
The Chief kicked at his captor's chest, clawed at the gauntlet to loosen the fingers around his neck, even tried to reach for his captor's eyes to gouge them out, but it was all useless. He was facing an opponent 10 times stronger than himself, without any skills to bridge the gap. Unless a miracle occurred, he was about to die.
He reached deep into his soul, where the ancestral power that had aided him against stronger opponents resided, but this time it felt different. He could feel their eyes turn away in disappointment, judging him for fleeing from the same opponent before. It was as if they were mocking him for his cowardice, for having once tried to save his own life rather than fight to the death as was required.
Dismayed, the Chief realized he couldn't use that power against the same opponent he had failed to defeat before. Still, he refused to give up without a fight. He poured every ounce of strength into the struggle, holding on until the very last second, but it was not meant to be.
Crack!
His neck snapped, and his vision went black as death claimed him, bringing the bloody fate of the Goblin Tyrant to an abrupt end.
Bastion, unwilling to leave anything to chance, stored the Chief's corpse in his Inventory, ensuring without a doubt that the fight was over. Once the body disappeared, he exhaled in relief, knowing that this endgame threat had been neutralized, and with it, his own responsibility for taking James's opportunity was ended.
"It's just you and me now, Varyn," Bastion called out, his eyes scanning the nearby shadows. "We both know how this is going to go. You either kill me here and now, or I make it back to the kingdom and name you a traitor. You'll be hunted the moment you step foot inside its borders. As for the Shadow Wolfkin, don't worry. I'll only kill the ones loyal to you and brand them as criminals as well if they escape."
No response came to Bastion's threats, which meant only one thing. Varyn was waiting for the effects of the potion to wear off before striking a weakened Bastion. Whether anyone discovered he was the culprit would be a problem for later. For now, his only priority was taking Bastion down.
"Still hoping the potion wears off so you can kill me?" Bastion asked. "I'll admit, it's not a bad solution to your problem, so I'll give you three choices. Fight me man to man, winner takes all. Sign a non-aggression contract pledging your personal service to the Duke of Diamondhart and the Kingdom of Brilliance for the rest of your life. Or option three, where I solve this problem on my own and the other options are permanently taken off the table."
No answer came from Bastion's offer so it was plain to see Varyn was still confident about his chances at killing him.
Rage started bubbling in Bastion's mind. The father of his beloved maid refused to see reason and wanted to imprison her for centuries until her mind had been broken enough for him to play pretend as her father. It was a disgusting train of thought he simply couldn't sympathize with, no matter how much he tried.
To add insult to injury, did Varyn really believe he was indisputably superior to Bastion's current, overpowered self? That he could just hide in the shadows until the potion wore off? It was both an insult and a gross overestimation of Varyn's abilities while completely ignoring Bastion's own.
In the end, Bastion had no choice but to end this feud for good and prevent it from ever following their adventures in the future.
"Fine," Bastion roared, rage tearing out of his throat. "If you want me dead that badly, you win. You have dragged this past reconciliation, past reason, and straight into blood. I swear on my life that I will hunt you down and kill you, no matter the cost."
He shaped his mana into multiple spheres of bright light that drowned out the shadows. Then he abandoned all restraint, consuming as much mana as he could and hurling crude orbs of radiance in every direction, flooding the area until there was nowhere left for Varyn to hide.
This was a weakness Bastion had discovered when he fought Elyra. The shadows had to be at least large enough for her to stand on to hide in the Shadow World, provided she didn't have his own shadow as a home. Something Varyn would never possess, as he had no loyalties and could not attain the Shadow Guardian class.
In an instant, Bastion sensed Varyn being forced out of the Shadow World behind him. He spun, raised his shield, and activated Charge, rushing forward with his sword at the ready. Varyn swung his scythe with Slash, trying to keep Bastion at bay as he retreated. Bastion met the attack with his shield, his newfound strength trivializing the attack, and followed through with a Slash aimed to cleave Varyn into six pieces.
To his credit, Varyn was experienced against stronger opponents. He backed off with a Dodge and then used Dash to put distance between them, unwilling to confront an empowered Bastion head-on. This frustrated Bastion even more.
He tried using his whip sword to lasso Varyn's leg, but Varyn simply hopped before it could catch his foot. He attempted Diamond Edge combined with Slash to send projectiles, but Varyn dodged every single one with deft footwork. Even using Charge with superior speed proved futile, as Varyn simply used Dodge at the last second before using Dash to run away. Each time Bastion tried to land a strike, he missed. Every. Single. Time.
He had to admit there was a reason Varyn was so confident in himself. He was far older and far more experienced in his arts and skills than the current Bastion, which left him with only one remaining option to bring Varyn down.
He took out his autocannon and opened fire, simultaneously sending out as many light spheres as he could while downing another mana potion to keep himself going. This denied Varyn any shelter in the shadows while threatening a slow, debilitating death if enough bullets found their mark.
Varyn broke into a desperate retreat, fleeing for his life as the storm of bullets thundered after him. Through sheer dexterity and experience, he dodged each shot, weaving between trees and using whatever cover he could find. He waited silently behind one, hoping the assault would subside, but the relentless barrage consumed even the tree shielding him.
When it finally toppled, he bolted, slipping back into the shadows. Spheres of light erupted across the Shadow World, devouring every hiding spot and shrinking his safe spaces. One detonated directly above him, forcing him into the open and revealing his position.
Varyn scrambled, evading bullets and light spheres as he retreated farther, but that was when he slowly forgot to keep Bastion severed from the Shadow World.
Meanwhile, Bastion continued to retreat, putting as much distance between himself and Varyn as he could manage. He hadn't forgotten what Varyn had declared at the start of the ambush, that he had taken control of the Shadow World.
To Bastion, that meant it was a domain skill or free cast magic, which, as he had just learned from flooding the area with light spheres, consumed too much mana and had a relatively short range. His final option from the beginning was to connect back with Elyra to gain backup.
Finally, he managed to reach far enough away from Varyn to reconnect with Elyra, who immediately used Shadow Recall to reach Bastion in an instant. Without a word, Elyra read Bastion's thoughts, rage consuming her once she realized what her father's plans for her and Bastion were.
"VARYN!" Elyra shouted, enraged beyond anything Bastion had ever seen before. "I swear on my life I will kill you, even if it's the last thing I ever do!"
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