Chapter 79: Man vs Nuke

Chapter 79: Man vs Nuke

The city crumbled behind them.

Basil and Plato jumped from one Parisian buildings roof to the next in an epic show of parkour. Century-old houses collapsed in their wake. Walls of stones were crushed under a steel titans feet and rusted cars flattened on the pavement.

Hes gaining ground on us! Plato warned as the frantic race went on. Indeed, the rumbling noise of Apollyons footsteps grew ever closer behind them. Faster!

Gh! Basil grunted. He was already running as fast as he could while under the influence of Hasten. The world seemed like a blur around him, but his tiny legs could hardly help him outspeed a two hundred meter-tall titan. Apollyon covered more ground in one step than the Bohens in a hundred. Keep going!

Basil looked over his shoulder to survey the distance between their pursuer and them. Apollyon was growing closer, but they still had a large head start on him. A squad of monstrous wasps escorted the Horseman of Famine while the rest of the army struggled with Basils allies around the rift. Kalki had managed to draw some of the swarms forces away to the south and put them in range of Nerias artillery. Explosions and flashes of light rocked the horizon.

But neither projectiles nor the avatars presence would distract Apollyon from his quarry. The colossus shrugged off all bombardments coming his way, his eyes firmly set on Basil himself. Apollyon approached closely enough to trigger Monster Insight, and new information filled Basils mind.

Apollyon, Horseman of FamineLevel 60 (70-10) Elite [Bug/Artificial]Faction: Apocalypse Force.HP: 38500/39500.Immune: Critical Hits, Insta-Death, all Ailments.Resist: Physical, Corrosion, Metal, Earth, Wind, Lightning, Light, Mythic.Weak: Bugslayer, Artislayer, Wood, Fire.The ten plagues of Egypt all rolled into one nasty mechanical package, Apollyon is one of the toughest bugs in the multiverse. His exoskeleton shrugs off almost anything and his heavy artillery has laid waste to entire worlds; only crippling both with supereffective attacks will ensure victory.

The good news? Apollyon wasnt immune to any elemental attack and he feared fire, which Basil appreciated.

The bad news? Everything else.

I hate raid bosses, Basil cursed. Apollyon had nearly ten times more health points than his entire party combined. Basil could only hope the neutron bomb would be a powerful enough insecticide.

Although hundreds of meters still separated the hunter from the hunted, Apollyon went on the offensive. His eyes fired lasers of crimson light at Basil and Plato, the duo leaping onto an 18th-century buildings roof to dodge the attack. The house they jumped from was vaporized in an instant.

The monstrous wasps escorting Apollyon opened fire at the duo as well, unleashing lethal poisonous darts. These monsters were below level thirty, just powerful enough to inflict minor wounds but too weak to provide experience. Basil and Plato had little difficulty shrugging off or dodging their attacks. The buildings they ran through, however, trembled from the onslaught. Basil shot the wasps down with his laser pistol while Plato did the same with blades of wind. Each blow killed one of the critters, sometimes two.

Basil, we have a problem! Plato shouted, pointing at the path ahead of them. Look!Read latest chapters at nov(e)lbin.com Only

Basil clenched his jaw. They were fast approaching the former Esplanade des Invalides park. Formerly a green landscape in the middle of the urban jungle, the dungeons influence had turned it into an open desert of sand bordering the dried-up Seine river. There were no buildings to run on, no place to take cover. Apollyon would have no issues shooting them in it.

I have an idea. Basil put his laser pistol back into his inventory, leaving one of his hands free as they leaped into the Invalides desert and landed in a dune of sand. Elemental Orb: Water!

A sphere of focused liquid materialized in Basils palm. He immediately threw it at the sand beneath their feet. The water evaporated under the searing heat of the desert field, raising a cloud of steam. Basil kept throwing more orbs around to obscure the duos movements.

Follow me, Basil told Plato, who could rely on his sense of smell to follow his best friend. Stay close.

Clever, Bohen! Apollyon shouted behind them. The titan flattened the last buildings of the 7th Arrondissement and walked over the Esplanade des Invalides. The sand flowed between his legs servos with a screeching noise. But I do not need to see your monkey face to kill you!

The Horseman of Famines mandibles vibrated at an insane speed, enough to rival that of the Hasten Spell.

Sonic Shock!

Apollyon screeched and Paris trembled.

The air itself vibrated at high speed, spreading a mighty sonic shockwave through the park. Sand and steam alike were blown away, followed by the Bohens themselves.

Basil screamed in agony as the shockwave hit him. The vibrations traveled through his flesh and bones; he could almost feel his bones creak and crack. The terrible, droning noise of the swarm echoed inside his skull like a maddened scream. The pain was indescribable.

Supereffective [Wind] damage! [Madness] Ailment negated by [Lethal Vigil]!

Basil stumbled on the ground, and then it collapsed beneath his feet. The earth beneath the desert crumbled under the power of Apollyons attack. Basil and Plato flew down into a waterfall of sand and hit the steel ground underneath.

Basil gritted his teeth to ignore the pain and immediately rose to his feet. He immediately recognized the area as Paris sewers. A large hole let the eldritch light of the spatial rift from above and into the tunnel below.

Plato, are you all right? Basil glanced at his cat and barely managed to dodge a sword strike. Plato, what are you doing?!

His feline friend ignored him. The Rakshasa Kitten hissed at Basil with maddened eyes and swung Joyeuse at him. Although he looked less hurt than his Tamer, Plato still suffered from the Madness ailment.

The irony of being attacked by Plato after doing the same while Berserk wasnt lost on Basil but unlike the battle with Tamura, the Tamer had an ace up his sleeve.

Monster Cure II! Basil immediately healed Plato of his wounds and Madness ailment. His best friends eyes regained a sliver of sanity. Plato, are you all right?

What the Plato shook his head. What happened?

Basil opened his mouth to answer, but a colossal shadow loomed over the open tunnel before he could say anything.

Acting almost entirely on instinct, the Bohens rushed into the sewer tunnel ahead of them. Apollyons colossal hand punched through the hole in the ceiling a second later with enough strength to cause an earthquake. The blow sent a cloud of stones and dust flying through the sewers, with Basil and Plato running through the tunnel to avoid being swallowed by it.

Your [Hasten] buff has run out.Dismaker Labs wishes you a happy apocalypse.Refinement attempt successful! The [Neutron Bomb] will now inflict additional [Fire] damage.Quest: Goodbye Geneva, complete! Your party earned 30,000 Bonus EXP (5000 for you) and learned the [Mustard Gas] Alchemical Recipe! Dismaker Labs wish you happy war crimes!Refining a weapon counts as creating it.

With the Baguettes countdown nearing its end, Basil leaped atop the ruins of a destroyed building. He had a good view of the area from there and watched Apollyon reach the Louvres remains. The titan blasted the district left and right, oblivious to the fact he had been tricked.

Did he suspect a trap? Or was he arrogant enough to think he would survive whatever Basil had in store for him?

Come on, Plato, Basil whispered as he checked his Logs. Give me the signal

His heartbeat quickened and his body trembled in anticipation. The seconds stretched on, and yet Plato didnt send any message.

Come on! Basil cursed, watching the horizon with concern and impatience. What are you waiting for

The world was set ablaze.

An ocean of blinding light swallowed the horizon in the blink of an eye. Apollyon, the Louvre, and all of Paris 1st Arrondissement vanished in its ethereal phosphorescence. Time slowed down and all sound ceased.

Basil didnt see the ICBM hit. He didnt even notice it falling upon the Louvre. The weapon, fired from Bordeaux, had traveled across France in seconds and reached its target faster than the human eye could follow. It didnt even make a sound.

The blast did, however. Basil covered his eyes as a mighty sphere of energy expanded in the heart of the light. The spectacle was as dizzyingly beautiful as it was terrifying, like the roar of a newborn star. Basil couldnt help but stare at it in awe and silence. The sphere expanded until it consumed all of the Louvre. The earth erupted like an open wound under it, the heat convection blowing up dust into the air.

When the light receded, a powerful shockwave of hot wind and sand washed over the city. Although Basil was at a safe distance, the boom made him wince. A massive cloud rose in the fireballs place in a familiar mushroom shape.

Basil lowered his halberd in horror. The resulting devastation frightened him more than the next Systems notification.

Rakshasa Kitten [Plato] has lost a life! Five remain!

Basil immediately summoned Plato through One for All. The Rakshasa Kitten appeared at his feet in a terrible shape, enough to fill his best friends heart with dread. Flames had burned off his beautiful fur and exposed the skin underneath to melted radioactive glass. He had gone blind, and probably deaf too. Even though Platos Nine Lives Perk had let him survive the blast by recreating him afterward, he could barely breathe. Worse, his status screen showed an Irradiated ailment affecting him.

Monster Cure II! Basil wasted no time in healing his best friend. Monster Cure II!

A green aura covered Plato, lifting the Irradiated ailment and regrowing his fur. The Rakshasa Kitten groaned as the magic let him shed off the melted glass attached to his body and helped return his eyes to normal.

Why? Basil asked as he kept applying his Perk again and over again. Why didnt you let me teleport you? Did Apollyon block it?

The bug would have sensed a trap otherwise Plato coughed. Had to do it that hurt

You brave fool Basil shook his head as he treated his best friend. If we both live through the day, Ill serve you as much fish as you want.

Way to make me hang on to life, Plato replied with a grin. He had recovered enough strength to rise back to his feet and raise Joyeuse. Did we get him?

Basil glanced at the horizon and cursed under his breath.

The neutron cloud had raised a sandstorm around the Louvres ruins, but Apollyons body shape remained clearly visible in its midst. The giant bug still stood proud and tall, though burning like a torch.

Hes still alive, Plato whispered in shock. Hes That cockroach is still alive after this?

Monster Insight provided more intel.

Apollyon, Horseman of FamineHP: 3503/39500 (critical health).

Barely, Basil whispered back. The Horseman of Famine walked the thin edge between life and death. Hes barely hanging on.

The neutron bomb had failed to kill Apollyon but it had made him vulnerable. It had made him beatable.

Handsome!

Basil raised his eyes and smiled. Vasi was floating down from the sky on her broomstick with an audacious grin.

Need a lift? she asked, all but begging for a fight date.

It was time to finish this.

With pleasure, Basil replied, his halberd heavy in his hand. Lets squash him for good.

Then lets go, she replied as she lowered her broom. Basil sat behind his girlfriend, with Plato leaping on his shoulders like a wild squirrel. The trio flew up in the sky and into the sandstorm.

Into the jaws of Hell itself.