Project: iaseki

Chapter 14: Queen Crimson

A fire would be the last thing the titan wants. Space is a very important part of battle, and losing it to flames would be highly disadvantageous.

That changes if you can defeat your opponent by losing space. That was why Lu knows that the titan would follow through with its unmaker because it was confident it would hit. It no longer mattered if it would cause a fire or not.

Desperate moments call for desperate decisions. Lu yelled as he did his best to painfully and forcefully wriggle a small hole for his hand to squeeze through and sustained a cut on his forearm in the process. He generated his small golden blade and carefully yet quickly cut through the vines that held him.

Just in time he was able to break free before the beam of light pierced a hole through the ground where he was supposed to be. The vines that cleared a path for the attack had closed up again and it was too late before Lu could take advantage of the opportunity but he did not mind. Lu could only imagine what would have happened to him had he stayed there any longer.

Mana is of course limited. From his experience with being held up by vines helped him understand that the durability would cost him a chunk of his mana before he could cut through a root. He estimates that it would cost him all his mana to remove the roots covering the titan's eye. Disabling the titan by cutting at its weak points until it drols also is a risk. If the titan can pretend to be so weak it couldn't stand, it can flank him later in the most unexpected timing and end their lives then and there. He couldn't wait out until all its energy leaks from its wounds either. Autumn still needs help and it would be nighttime before he could exhaust all the energy inside the titan by leaking it.

He has to remove the root barrier without using much mana before he could proceed to do anything else. The energy powering the titans are highly volatile and reacts with any element that comes into contact with it, which is why there is a special casing inside the titans so that it does not react with its own body, and the core regulates it constantly. If Lu had an actual animus he could use this knowledge to his advantage, but unfortunately he's not even sure what his animus does or if it does anything at all aside from blocking sight.

Lu thought he would settle for a tactical retreat. Naturally, the sustenance of titans is energy, and it was very convenient for them that they can transform it into its purest form from any form for their consumption. But they need to open its core akin opening its mouth, which would mean no roots on its face. When eating a soul, the titan would have to leave its core exposed the same way. That was why they damage their prey first but a little careful that they do not beat them to death. Lu had to decoy using his own life for an opening.

He scaled up a nearby cliff and threw a feather ahead when he was near the top. He was about to use a trick he learned playing Monitum.

He faced the titan that was coming forth and it shot six slow homing bullets to try to shake him off climbing but he easily blocked it with his shield. Seeing that the projectiles do not affect him, it judged that it was time for an unmaker. Lu then used his animus and the golden smoke covered him from its sight. Regardless, the titan followed through even with hindered vision. Lu did not even have to mind the laser beam as it did not go anywhere near him at all due to his trusty concealment.

He then continued to climb the wall after the attack and used the carvings left by the onslaught to get to his goal faster.

The titan, seeing that it doesnt work as well after the cloud had disappeared, approached slowly at its usual pace, stomping hard against the soil. Lu had already ascended to the top of the wall when the titan was near enough, and then it punched a hole unto the wall, and roots spawned from the center of impact.

Lu jumped away from the cliff and left the roots trailing behind him as he went back down faster than it traveled. He landed onto the titan's head and started ripping apart the thick branches with his pained hands because he needed to reserve his depleting mana. However, he was not able to remove them fast enough and land a feather into the core before the titan grabbed him by the limbs and held on tight, crushing his right wrist in the process. His legs were luckily only painful and would not be destroyed anytime soon. His left hand was fortunately put into a spot where it's not crushed, but nonetheless it cannot move. Lu felt his right hand cracking under the pressure and he screamed in pain. He thinks that it's already broken but adrenaline is helping him feel less pain.