Copy of Chapter 540 - Facing Yourself “I love you,” Max whispered as he nodded at Tanila. Two seconds remained, and as his mind counted the timer, he didn’t wait. His overgrown body surged forward, joints and muscles aching, having used Ultimate Form twice, but he knew it was needed. Chromie mimicked his action, using that same ability and now rose to fifty feet, still twice as tall as he was. He slammed into the copy of himself, not trying to slice it with his weapons. He tackled his clone while Bob unleashed four different spells upon it. Flames washed around them, followed by ice as Frost and Fire Nova struck. Wind blades assaulted his clone’s back, as did a bolt of lightning. Max dodged backwards, the blade growing longer as it came. He held up his sword to deflect the attack and dropped from stealth. Trying to ignore that his mirror image was taken out in a single strike. Even as Bob spoke, Max began to attack, both swords lashing out, his offhand catching the lower part of the boss’s shin, drawing silver blood that retracted and healed. Neither spoke, not needing to as Max stayed on the offensive, trusting his skill to use everything at their disposal. Spears of ice began to descend upon them as Tanila unleashed her spell, and Max could see out of the corner of his vision the arrows that Cordellia had sent flying. Fowl was coming, shouting as he ran, almost making him laugh as the dwarf smashed a potion on his head. He grew in size, now twelve feet tall, having traded multiple items across different people on the 98th floor to acquire a potion like the ones the goblins had dropped earlier in the tower. Sog flew at Chromie, two black swords, pulsing with power, ready to strike from behind. And then the boss was gone, right at the fringe of his sonar, headed toward the three women. The boss stopped after the first step, spinning on a gold coin, and shouted. Its sword turned into a massive hammer that it brought down at Fowl. It then flashed red and white. Max felt his stomach tighten as he raced toward his friend. Their warrior flashed three different colors, held his shield above him, and took the strike from a weapon almost six feet wide. The sound of metal scraping against metal hurt, and the impact of the giant hammer sliding off and crashing into the purple stone left no single mark. Silver blood squirted from various parts of the boss and then seemed to recall itself midair, like a fountain sending out water and drawing it right back in. The sound of blow after blow hitting their warrior was a never-ending peal of pain as the cascade of silver blood sprayed out, some falling to the purple floor, unable to be drawn back in. Tanila’s spear ice flew forward as she unleashed it, and Max witnessed the thing double in size as she used her Spell Burst ability. He reached Chromie as the boss’s weapon turned red repeatedly, trying to smash the dwarf at its feet into the stone. It’s using the chest piece! Max flew at the boss, weapons ready, unsure of how this would go but willing to try. His weapons came together, blades aimed at the neck of Chromie. Each one struck a barrier, just a few yards from the place he had hoped to hit, and those silver eyes of his opponent glared at him. “IT’S DOWN!” Fowl called out, pain in his voice. Pain lanced through his body as the shield connected, sending him tumbling backward, his sonar unable to detect the movements in time. Bones knitted together as Max stopped his mid-air somersaults. A howl echoed across the room and Max saw one of Sog’s black swords buried in the left thigh of Chromie. His demon friend was tumbling across stone, one arm missing, the other empty-handed. Each moment was like an eternity. His mind tried to process every attack that anyone made. Chromie spun, ignoring the warrior at his feet. A cloud of thunder and lightning was forming above his head. Max streaked through the air, hand out, weapon ready, as he saw the spell forming, knowing what it was. A single bolt of lightning crashed down, striking the stone where Tanila had been, her body vanishing as she moved from the spot the spell had been aimed at. She sent her own lightning spell at Chromie, casting Ice Prison on its feet, barely causing the boss more than a second of delay. But it was all he needed. His weapons hit against the barrier he knew was present, striking repeatedly, trying to break through it. Flames began to wash out from his clone and then they were sucked away, all headed right for the dwarf behind it. A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation. [ Power Strike - Chest ] He used his ability and one from his chestpiece, sad to know he couldn’t stack more than one from each. Yet his blade thrummed with power, and the first strike shattered the barrier. The second attack sliced into the gold armor on Chromie’s back, and the third sent a wave of silver liquid. Blades made from air came at him, and Bob raised shields, sending his wind blades to counter them. Chromie didn’t turn, stomping toward their healer and bringing a foot down on her. It slammed against a barrier as Max shouted for help. Beneath him, a dwarf roared, and a wave of power washed upward from below. Fowl’s hammer struck the foot on the purple stone. Chromie leaned to the left, off balance as the dwarf struck again, causing the foot to lose its purchase and start to fall. The shield vanished as a hand came down to catch itself, and Max watched as Fowl ran forward, striking at the outstretched limb with his hammer, drawing blood. As the liquid flew, shadows wrapped around it, drawing it back toward his hammer. Light radiated around their warrior, and Max missed a beat, seeing his friend use everything to save their healer. Unable to stop himself, Chromie slammed into the stone, rolling onto his back and right in the path of the twelve-foot-tall glowing dwarf, whose roar would make most men run in terror. Bob moved Max toward the downed boss, having lost himself at the sight of his friend. A giant boulder fell from the sky at Chromie’s head while oversized arrows rained down upon his torso. [ All Cooldowns Reset ] Like his friend, Max roared. The tower had thrown everything it could at them. Since the beginning, it has forced them to fight harder things, putting their lives at risk. Now it was making them fight a version of him, and the tide had shifted. They were winning. His swords sliced at the boss’s chest, the protective barrier gone, sending out torrents of silver blood. Wind magic assaulted the same spot, causing the liquid to be flung further away. He could sense that Sog was behind him, still with only one arm, but his blade was cleaving off sections of a leg. Chromie’s body became like air right before the boulder struck, and their attacks passed through it. The boss stood, and in the blink of an eye was gone, hobbling as it ran away from the party. “NOO!” Fowl shouted, chasing after it when Batrire called out. Their warrior was still glowing, grunting as he slowed down and returned to where everyone was gathered. I’m following it. He is healing. “Now what?” Sog asked, glancing down at the stump that was regrowing. “It’s healing. We need to be ready.” “You know I can’t use this ability again,” Fowl stated. “It will wear off and then–” “I know, just give me a second. Tanila?” “We were so close but like you it has so many damn abilities. Still, it’s used most of them, which means it should be almost out.” He sighed and shook his head. “No… You’re forgetting about one thing.” All of them groaned as he tapped his boot with a weapon. “I’m sorry, what do your boots do?” Sog asked. “Resets all my cooldowns. He can only use it once… but…” The demon frowned and nodded. “I’ll be right back, I’m going to retrieve my arm.” Let me know if Chromie starts to head back this way. I will. I can engage if you want me to when he does. Please don’t. This is a team fight. It will take all of us to bring this boss down. Besides, you mean too much to me to let you risk yourself like that. He could sense the frustration from his dragon at being held back, glad that Rakonath didn’t press the issue any further. “I’m good on arrows,” Cordellia stated during the silence. “I’ve got about forty-five remaining.” “How many did you use?” Max asked, ignoring the show of affection between Fowl and Batrire. “It’s coming back fast. I’m close to seventy percent. What about you?” “Same,” he replied. “That means Chromie will be back to full health and mana when he returns. I don’t think he’ll make the same mistakes twice, which means we’ll have to come up with something different.” “And we also don’t have my abilities to use again,” Fowl muttered. “So now what?” He looked around and saw Sog reattaching his arm, tendrils of black reaching out and slowly rejoining. Everyone was waiting to hear what he would say and Max sighed. Tell them. The moment has come, and I know what you’re thinking is right. Five miles now? There is still a never-ending amount of space out here. “Listen, you all stay here. I’m going to end this,” Max said. “I’m sorry, what?” Fowl gasped. “You’re going to leave us and go fight it alone?” “Yes. We did a great job. You all proved you could do it, but Chromie made a single mistake by running away.” “And what mistake is that?” Cordellia asked. “I mean it wasn’t that easy of a fight, and if a few things had gone differently, one or more of us could have died.” “The mistake he made was running away,” Tanila stated. “By not being close, we’re not in danger. If Max doesn’t have to worry about us, he can go all out, not worrying about us getting hurt.” Their rangers eyes were slits and she was frowning. “Are you saying Max can’t die?” “I can, Cordellia, but not against that. Trust me. I’m stronger, faster, and don’t have the limits it does. Regardless, I’m running out of time. Based on how fast my mana is regenerating and knowing how much it spent, I need to go.” Holding up a hand, Max stopped her. “No. I promised you we’d do this. Stay here.” He turned to look at Fowl and nodded. “Chromie won’t make it past me but if he does…” “I’ve got them. Go be you. I’ll be here pretending to be bored.” Laughing, Max moved quickly, kissed Tanila on her cheek, and rubbed her belly. “Daddy will be back soon. Be a good little girl for mommy.” Tanila’s eyes flew open, and everyone gasped as Max laughed, turning to run in the direction he knew Rakonath was. “MAX HOSTE! YOU BETTER NOT DIE BECAUSE I’M GOING TO KILL YOU!” His laughter rang out across the tower floor as he raced toward a cheap imitation of himself.