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CH 166: Churn and Flow
🕑 Added 2025-07-30 14:00:08 +0000 UTC"Round two, motherfucker."
Crinoptera answered Reid with a cycling pulse - but it took a full three seconds for the ice breath to manifest.
Reid's new spiked boots crunched into ice as he sprinted forward. When the attack came, Reid rolled to the side and used the slickness of the ice to slide even further away from the beast's attack. As soon as he was out of the worst of the cone, he dug a heel into the frozen ground and kicked himself back up to his feet. Crinoptera's breath continued, oscillating back and forth over the shelf. The stupid lizard still couldn't see past its own attack - which meant it hadn't noticed that Reid was closing in.
He chose to go after its now-wounded shoulder, and hefted Requiem above his head as his arm and body glowed. The sensation of thousands of fine strands of power and mana coursing through him drowned out most of his pain and fatigue.
This was good. It was right. This was what he was meant to be doing. Fighting. Growing. Winning.
The head of his mace tore through the white scales and blue-stained internals as the hit landed. Crinoptera's head swiveled as it flinched back, and Reid jumped forward to stay out of the icy blast. He put another two hits into its side, and blood leaked from deep gouges left by his weapon. He only relented and pulled back when the ice breath swept along the creature itself.
Crinoptera was incensed.
Reid watched it rake the ice breath attack over its entire body, and frowned as it let ice accumulate over the open wounds. That wasn't the best - Reid wanted this thing bleeding. He started forward again, then Crinoptera's ice breath stopped and it started up an ice explosion.
With the mass of ice on the shelf - there was no safe area. Reid considered his options. He could dodge by jumping - but Crinoptera was good about pressing its advantage whenever he was airborne. He could try to close distance - but doubted he could make it safely to the other side of the creature in the time he had. He could try to tank the attack with his new armor - but he wasn't sure about how it would deal with ice shards coming from below him.
Maybe it didn't have to.
Reid took two quick steps to a low spot on the ice, and used Requiem to smash the section clear with a single empowered swing. Bonewall pushed the pieces away, and he stood on solid stone, Now, he could weather the blast, without going into the air and causing further issues for himself - and as long as his armor held, he would be fine.
Motion in the corner of his eye drew Reid's attention, and he turned his head just quickly enough to see Crinoptera start to lash out with its tail. It unfurled as it swung, a diagonal overhead strike aimed straight for Reid's newly cleared spot on the shelf. It didn't stop pulsing. Reid had to choose - use his shield against the tail, or for cover against some of the shattering ice. The decision was clear - use the shield on the ice, counterattack the tail with a swing from Requiem.
Reid stared down the tail, its icy blue scales close enough now where he could make out the distinctive ridges between each where they overlapped. Power gathered in his arm as the tail accelerated. He started his own swing, Requiem rose above his shoulder, aimed at where the tail should impact. More of the tail unfurled, and glinted in the dim sunlight
Glinted?
Reid's eyes went wide. The attack was too close now to reorient himself.
Crinoptera's tail was half-coated in thick rings of ice. It hadn't just been closing wounds with the ice breath - it was preparing for this strike. The tail strike closed, bringing massive amounts of ice down towards him - and Reid swung out with Requiem. Crinoptera's body stopped pulsing, and flashed.
Ice - on the ground and on its tail - exploded into sharp, heavy shards just as the tail met Requiem. The impact of his mace to the ice sent a jolt of pain through Reid's arm, and he was blasted sideways. The blow and the blast sent him hurtling through the rest of the exploding ice, and the cracking, fracturing snaps of bone filled his ears.
Many of his newer armor pieces shattered entirely, and bits of ice impacted skin. He was almost happy when he slammed into the wall - because it meant he was done flying through the shards of ice. A good deal of his makeshift armor shattered on impact - and though he was going to have hellish bruises, Reid hadn't broken anything internally.
He shifted bonewall in front of him, and the rest of the exploding ice clacked against its sturdy surface. Deep, low cracking noises creschendoed in a way that felt too grand for a simple fight, and more of the shelf fell away and tumbled down the mountainside. The beast lord stood on the only properly intact section of the shelf remaining.
It panted with heavy effort, and curled its tail towards its maw. The last third of the appendage was gone, and Crinoptera used its wounded tongue to worry at the stub.
The attack honestly wasn't a bad idea. If he hadn't made his new armor, the amount of damage from an explosion so close to him would've taken him out of the fight. That was exactly the kind of gamble he'd made, dozens of times.
Reid peeled himself off the wall, and rolled the arm he'd used to meet Crinoptera's tail with Requiem. Despite her claim that she needed to rest, Nyx had fixed up the arm and healed the fractures caused by the impact.
Spiked boots crunched through a slush-like mess of sharded ice as Reid navigated over the partially broken terrain. Grey skies swirled overhead, and the dim sunlight peeked its way through small gaps in the clouds. As he closed, Crinoptera tilted its head towards him. It blinked, then squared itself towards him.
That's right. I'm still here.
Reid pushed power into his legs, and broke into a run.
Crinoptera glowed, and shot out a barrage of ice lances. Reid grit his teeth, and swung his shield in front of himself without breaking stride. Two heavy strikes threated to destabilize him, and he dug a foot into the ground. More ice slammed into his shield - but it wasn't as dense as the absolute deluge of ice he'd suffered before. There were gaps. Gaps large enough to use.
Reid swept his shield out, and brought his mace to bear. Ice rocketed towards him, sharp tip aimed straight at his chest. Requiem flashed forwards and slammed the projectile in its side. The ice exploded feet in front of him, and clacked against his armor and his shield. Reid took a step forwards and smashed another projectile.
Sure, slow steps increased in speed. Reid pressed forward under the ice lance barrage, arm burning as his mace met each flying lance. He pushed his shield forward to give his arm a reprieve, letting it cover half his body and take half the incoming attacks. The arm holding bonewall shook and strained as each impact beat him back. Crinoptera's attack slowed for a moment - long enough for Reid and the creature to see each other. Long enough for the beast to see he was still there.
It let out a screech and the attack resumed in full, then grew. More ice lances leapt forward and slammed against bonewall or broke against requiem. A chilling cold joined the lances as Crinoptera dual-cast its ice breath while keeping the other attack going.
Reid grit his teeth, and churning heat rose deep within him. He let out a roar and his arms started to pulse faintly with yellow-orange light. His legs strained, and he slammed his shield against the ground to break off accumulated ice. He made it another twenty feet forward, then shifted his focus and his direction. Ice threatened to topple him as he moved in a diagonal, then straight sideways within the dual breath attacks. The intensity lessened as he moved away from the center of the blasts, and he leapt free of the cones of ice and cold.
His lungs burned. All his body wanted to do was take a moment - to pant, and kneel, and still. That wasn't an option. Not yet.
He forced more power into his legs, and sprinted forwards.
Crinoptera, obscured by the massive cone of magical attacks shooting out in front of it, didn't see Reid until it was too late.
Requiem smashed into the lizard's open maw, and Reid screamed with effort as Requiem impacted its lower jaw. Bone met bone, and the impact reverberated up Reid's arm as his mace cracked the lizard's jaw. Reid frowned - he wanted to break the damn thing in half. The force of the impact shifted Crinoptera's cone attacks towards the ground, and Reid dodged sideways. The cones cut off before a mound of ice could build in front of it, and Crinoptera used its stub tail to lash out from one side as it tried to bite Reid from the other. Reid rolled forward, under the creature's head. He hefted bonewall up into the beast to keep it from trying to crush him, and heard a dull thump as Crinoptera's tail slammed into its side.
Requiem followed, and slammed up through skin, into the beast's lower jaw. It fractured just a bit more, but still didn't give out under the blow. Crinoptera flashed, and Reid was thrown to the ground as the ice that had accumulated on him during the cone attacks exploded. The biggest accumulation had occurred on the shoulder holding his mace, and ice shards dug into his newly exposed skin there, and drew blood from the side of his face. His temporary armor had done an admirable job, but it was starting to fail.
Crinoptera pulled back, and lashed out with a chomping strike at Reid's prone form. He kicked out with a spike boot and slid himself out of reach of its jaws. The lizard let out a roar that shook the mountain, and started to pulse with another magic attack.
Reid roared in response as he got to his feet.
"Come on! Whatever you have, I can take it! You won't stop me!"
Heat churned deep within him.
Power flashed and his legs glowed as he shot forward, bonewall raised above his head to deflect the magic. The impacts hit hard, but Reid made it through. His arm screamed in pain as Requiem whipped into the same damaged section of Crinoptera's maw.
A booming crack echoed off the mountain as bone split and shattered. Reid's mace smashed the lizard's jaw and took a chunk of flesh on its way through. Truths solidified and spilled from his mouth unbidden. The words slipped from his mind as they passed his lips.
"You're just another barrier for me to break. Another step I'll climb."
A pulse rippled through Reid's abdomen.
He jumped back to avoid Crinoptera's attempt to crush him with the side of its face, and swung out. Requiem carved a long deep line through the creature's neck.
Light glowed around him, and time seemed to slow as Reid followed his first strike with two more before the lizard could retaliate. Blood spilled freely from the creature, and Reid jumped to avoid a massive cone of ice - it still managed to freeze his left foot. Requiem rose to his shoulder as his fingers clenched its diamond grip, and more truths flowed free.
"I am Tenacity. I am the spark."
The pulse within Reid mixed with the churn, and a slow, sure wave flowed forward and circled through him. His entire body shone with light. Reid shifted bonewall in front of himself, and fell towards Crinoptera's open maw. Ice crept around the edges of his shield as he fell, but its growth stopped when it met his glowing yellow-orange light.
He bashed Bonewall into the lizard's massive maw, and struck out with his mace. Requiem's ivory flanges smashed through white scales and tore though blue-stained internals. Bone met bone, and Reid's mace smashed through Crinoptera's skull. The creature tried to whip its head back, and took Reid for a ride as he held onto his mace.
The beast's eyes were frantic. Crazed. Scared. It flashed, and shot ice wild into the empty air. Reid's weapon dripped blue viscera as he raised it out of Crinoptera, and used his spiked boots to find stable footing in the creature's wound.
Hie eyes flashed over the beast. Crinoptera had still-bleeding wounds in various places along its length. Deep channels of missing flesh marked its sides, and large areas of skin had torn against themselves where it had agitated wounds caused by his shrapnel. It rested on its stomach to avoid using damaged legs, and its wounded tail was coiled to try and shield part of its body. Reid hadn't crippled it - not like he'd had to do to other creatures in this questline. He didn't need to.
He'd taken this beast on square. He avoided and outfought its magic - endurance and persistence had won out over absurd mana reserves. His body, and his kit, and his magic against a giant.
He spun his shield to the side and put both hands on his mace. A final truth passed through his mouth and faded from his mind, even as it echoed off the mountain stone.
"And I have bigger foes to conquer."
The glow from Reid flashed like a second sun as Ivory split skin and skull again, then sank deep into the lizard's brain. Crinoptera's cone of ice stuttered and blinked out, and a final strained groan escaped its throat as its massive body fell limp.
You have defeated Beast King Crinoptera, the Peerless Scourge - lvl 50 +
