Apocalypse Redux

Chapter 271: Interlude Himalayas

The Himalayas were an awesome place to be. Mighty mountains filled with myths and legends of old, slopes that would be perfect to run, ski, or roll down … the only problem was the neighbors.

Genocidal assholes who’d sold out all humanity.

Not quite what one Fenrir Olgeirsson had had in mind as an enemy while he’d trained his ass off, but still something he felt fell to him to handle.

Overpowered monsters summoned accidentally by idiots, or idiots deliberately summoning overpowered monsters, it was all the same to him.

He’d been fairly passive for most of the battle, however, sitting the fortress of ice while waiting for the other shoe to drop. And then a light mage had actually become a problem for their overwatch, and then, he actually had something to do beyond throwing people trying to get into his allies’ defenses back out.

A simple [Empowered Leap] placed him right in front of the spellcaster and with the [Aura of Primal Power] enhancing the attack, kicked the man squarely in the torso. Enhanced with the highest degree of [Epic Blow], naturally, the entirety of the force focussed on punting the jackass over the nearest mountain.

Mages might have access to shields and this one’s had shattered under Fenrir’s boot but saved him from the worst of the damage, yet knockback resistance or even outright immunity to being thrown around like a ragdoll was the domain of warriors like Fenrir himself.

With an undignified yelp of surprise, the light mage went flying and Fenrir bounded after him, his axe expanding into a massive halberd that he used to slash at anyone who didn’t run get out of the way quickly enough.

His [Aura’s] configuration shifted, alternatively reinforcing the ground underfoot and allowing him to kick off even powdered snow as though it were solid steel and letting him push off the very air itself, albeit with vastly less power. He half-ran, half-jumped up the mountain, and crested its peak moments after starting his run, leaping up and over the light mage, who’d barely managed to re-establish a shield, only for a hurled axe to punt him earthwards, into the next valley over.

Even as the axe had barely begun its journey back towards his hand, Fenrir was already moving again, flinging him towards the valley.

Going down the mountain was fast, easy, and batshit insane. The same method used to go up the mountain applied to accelerate his travel down the slopes increased his speed to a ludicrous degree, but also kicked off an avalanche almost every time his foot hammered into the ground.

In fact, he was moving so quickly that he caught up to the light mage, passed him, and hurled his axe at the man’s chest.

And the shield was up again. Sigh. But at least it was gone again now and whatever semblance of stabilized flight was also thoroughly ruined.

Fenrir hit the bottom of the valley and kicked off it, a feral grin on his face and fist cocked back, ready to deliver a powerful haymaker.

Plates of solid light manifested between them, more “traditional” light-themed magic being used to defend against an attack that might otherwise be fatal. Except it wasn’t his fist that hit first, it was the axe once again returning to his hand.

[Unified Arnament’s] recall function didn’t impart too much power, but the impact alone was enough to cause the mage to once again lose control of his flight ability and in a wild spin, keeping the shield between them was a hell of a lot more difficult.

This time, Fenrir’s attack cracked the weakened shield on the side and hammered into his foe’s ribs with bone-crunching force, sending both of them flying apart.

He splashed into a snowdrift and erupted from it in a spray of powder a split second later, [Unified Arnament] shifting back into his favorite form of an oversized Dane Axe.

The light mage, on the other hand, had landed in a place where, one after another, all the avalanches Fenrir had triggered rolled over him. Thank the gods for [Environmental Prediction], figuring out how to punt that lightbulb there without it would have been ever so slightly difficult.

Being buried like that might not be fatal anymore, but it made spotting an approaching warrior a damn sight more difficult. End of the road, assho- … why on Earth would that guy have saved his big attacks until now?

The snow sublimated straight into plasma as the mage activated a powerful [Skill], heat and power rolling off him in waves.

Aw, frick.

[Unified Arnament] transformed into its heaviest form, a massive anchor on a chain that looked like it could hold a cargo ship. He hadn’t used it after a weapon after it had ended up hitting him somewhere extremely sensitive, but its mass made it perfect for mid-air maneuvering, as long as he landed before it returned to him. He couldn’t transform it unless he was holding it, and having it return to him in force while he wasn’t on solid ground was not a good thing while it was that damn heavy. It was a lesson he’d thoroughly learned after having to dig himself out of a glacier crevasse a couple of times.

When he hurled the massive weapon with all his might, his forward momentum was almost completely halted, and kicking off the air with his [Aura] a couple of times further opened up the range.

As for the other guy, he hadn’t been looking too good before, blood dripping from his nose and mouth, the former decidedly bent and the latter missing several teeth, scrapes from rocks, and ragged cuts covering his body.

The mage glared daggers at Fenrir … and then his eyes went wide when he saw a motherfucking anchor flying towards his head. A blast of light, heat, and plasma hammered into the weapon.

Oh, wrong choice buddy, that weapon ain’t gonna break even if you tossed it into a volcano. But it did get diverted enough to miss, hammering into the ground with enough force to shatter rock.

Fenrir landed on the ground and began to circle around as a massive hole was carved into the face of the mountain behind him.

The field of heat died down soon enough, but the instant it ended, the mage transformed, shifting into a being made from pure plasma, a humanoid silhouette with the full power of the sun. Judging by the fact that no lasers were flying, regular light magic was no longer within his foe’s ability to use, but the constant salvos of plasma bolts flying overhead were still plenty dangerous.

Fenrir drew back his weapon, causing the anchor to slide against the ankles of the living sun and sweeping his feet off the ground.

That brief moment of surprise, where the man suddenly found himself airborne, was his last.

[Finisher] was a finishing ability that allowed its user to draw their full physical potential out for a single blow, albeit at the cost of suffering not insignificant damage. But when that healed, it could be used again, and again, and again until its user was truly exhausted.

Fenrir leaped towards the falling enemy, anchor returning to his hand and transforming into the heaviest axe in his arsenal even as he was already throwing his arms back to provide the greatest possible momentum for a devastating downward blow.

[Finisher] hurled the axe downwards with power that was well beyond even his own immense strength, [Aura] ensuring that the force of the impact wouldn’t throw him backwards and the impact occurred a split-second before his enemy hit the ground, pushing the lightbulb the last few centimeters towards the ground and finally smashing through his shield, ribcage, spine and a good chunk of the rock below.

Muscles screaming out in pain, Fenrir pulled the axe back, then half-swung, half-dropped it at the stunned magus’ head and this time, instead of a barrier, a kill notification appeared. Finally.

[Unified Arnament] transformed into a hand axe that was easier to carry and he began to head over the mountain, speeding up with every step as his sore muscles stitched themselves back together.

Above, the sky was rent by a series of powerful winds and explosions as two elementalists clashed.