Mrow! When women lose interest in you T_T;
Lineir strode out confidently onto the bridge's next section, his goal was to reach the very end! In the distance the gleaming white staircase up the mountain awaited silently. He felt a moment of trepidation as his empty aching felt was filled with something unexpected.
"This...this is-" Lineir's fists clenched as the thrill of battle rushed through his veins and made him alive again! He shivered at how good it felt, feeling almost guilty for feeling anything but sorrow so soon after Mei's passing. However, he had to tune out all distractions, external and internal!
Dang Dang Dang!!
Lightning fast feet blitzed the bridge bit by bit. Lineir delivered a slash blind as he felt a presence lock onto him from the left. He didn't even bother analyzing the threat as without his Madness Eyes if he wanted to cross with maximum speed he didn't have the ability to calculate such things.
Lightning Darkness Slash
"Grrraaawwr!!"
The dark crescent smashed into a strange beast knocking it back into the water. It resembled a dolphin with the head of a bear. Bizarrely only the head was furred so the beast did not even appear natural at all. God knows how it had ended up in trial or what horrid waters the Midnight King had found it in. It was hardly defeated by Lineir's attack but as Lineir was no longer planning to stop at each individual altar he didn't care! He continued sprinting onward without a care to face the next creature!
Dang Dang Dang!!
Boom!
There was a large noise as something absolutely massive exploded from the water. Lineir instinctively turned at such a large noise and his step faltered for a second,
"Are you serious?" He choked out as a 100 meter long crocodile appeared, its scaly skin appearing to be wrinkled with runes!
"Hong!" It roared and hissed at the same time and a wash of fetid deathly energy blasted over him. He quickly sliced apart the wind which was so disgusting it actually had a corrosive effect! The gale parted to each side and Lineir rushed up in the middle as the crocodile surged up onto the side of the bridge! It's jaws were large enough to swallow two men whole! Each glistening fang was like ivory and were almost a meter long! The mouth alone was nearly a third the length of the beast!
"Can't hold back anymore, it's do or die!" Lineir knew at this point that he would have to begin unleashing his killer moves or risk death. Such a beast wouldn't be fazed by his ordinary techniques, even as a distraction. He planted both feet onto the bridge with the weight of Darkness and drew back with both hands!
Chi Chi Chi!!!
Dancing sparks of Lightning Qi surged upon the surface of the black blade before being drawn inside and locked in by solid Darkness! As the crocodile's maw shot forward to encircle Lineir he slammed it down and unleashed the pent up energy!
Self Created Technique: From Light Comes Darkness!!
The dark crescent moon formed from Lineir's attack appeared small in comparison to the crocodile's jaws! It was as if the beast was trying to swallow the moon! Lightning chains bound the moon tightly and shattered into arcing wisps when the fangs pierced its black depths. As the beast bit in its reptillian eyes widened!
Cr-Cr-Crack!!!
BOOOOOOOOOM!!!!
"HOOOOOOOOOOO-!!!" The beast roared as the moon detonated in its mouth and light surrounded the world for a brief instant before vagrant darkness enveloped all! While this all went on Lineir released the Darkness holding his feet to the bridge and leaped away riding the expanding shock-wave to fly down the bridge! When the Darkness Qi cleared away he turned around and a jolt of electricity zinged down his neck as jaws slammed shut mere meters behind him!
PACHI!!
"HOLY ****" He shot out his Phoenix Flame Wings immediately to boost himself forward, however he was forced back down to the bridge as a restrictive formation shut him off from leaving the airspace of the bridge! "This thing is too damn big I can't even delay it properly with my strongest moves!" The ancient crocodile glared at him with remorseless hungry eyes. His self created technique had not been able to feed off his Madness Rain Domain and thus failed to achieve its full destructive power. Even still it retained a decent portion of its original power and yet the crocodile had actually bitten through it head on and continued to almost take Lineir in its jaws! "
Thump! Thump! Slither!!!!
"...This is going to end badly." Lineir realized in horror that his strategy of trying to cross the bridge without dispatching the previous attackers meant that this crocodile as well as every other beast he had offended would end up chasing him until the end of the Trial! There were two light thumps and then a scraping noise as the crocodile hoisted itself onto the bridge cutting off his retreat path and then began to pound down with heavy steps on the metal which despite the weight barely trembled.
Peng Peng Peng Peng!!
Lineir took one look back at the monstrousity chasing him and immediately had another realization to his chagrin.
"I can't turn back...." There was no way to quit the Trial! Unless the beasts returned to the waters when the candles burnt out, now that he had elicited such a reaction from all the monsters, he had to continue down the trial because to stay was to fight the numerous beasts behind him!
"Go Go GO!" He urged himself on feeling a sense of panic. However a second later a small smile tinged his lips, "Just like old times. A shame I don't have my master to guide my way. Or scream out at the danger. Hehehe now that I think about it, how laughable must it have been for her, warning me about fighting the puny enemies of my past? In her prime she could have swept them all away without a thought. Hahaha...gone..." He sank into a strange dreamlike stupor thinking about things while running. She had been watching over him, guiding him, raising him into a man the whole time. And she asked for nothing in the end except the chance to reach the Heavens together. Now that chance was gone forever.
Dang Dang Dang!!
He raced down the bridge with a speed which defied sense. Behind him, though the crocodile's steps were massive and its steps were amazingly long, it was actually falling behind and it hissed in frustration! Lineir felt an acute unease settle into his whole body the next time he sensed a presence. This one was so dangerous and he was so out of it that he instinctively activated his Madness Eyes! Out of the corner of the reddish haze he caught sight of a brightly glowing maroon spear approaching him. Time slowed down and he saw that it was flexible, twisting up from a bizarre tubelike head in the water. It approaching him faster than a Late Celestial Realm's top speed attack!
PSsssssssss
Lineir stabbed the black blade with his heightened reflexes and precisely angled the tip to collide with the tip of this strange spear. He realized it was a tongue! As the tongue hit the tip of the black blade Lineir shuddered as his entire body was jolted backward and then a second later there was a shrill shriek which seemingly pierced the whole bridge! A bright pink splurt of blood gushed everywhere staining the floor and the tubular head retreated under the waves. The tongue had been perfectly pierced through by the black blade and it whipped around in agony before sinking down into the water as well. Lineir saw a flash of bright color,
"Eiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii!!!"
"Was that...a snail?" He thought as he continued running, the crocodile still running furiously to catch up. He was actually in shock as had his Madness Eyes not accidentally activated he would certainly have been killed there without resistance. The...snail...had actually ambushed him that fast!
Dang Dang Dang!!
His feet gained speed as Madness Rain began falling unbidden. It poured onto the bridge and seeped in rivulets off the side into the ocean and the beasts went wild!
"Crap I can't control it!"
GRaaaawwwrrr!!
HONG HONG HONG!!!!
The crocodile was no exception bucking its head about and roaring madly, fetid streams of air blasting everywhere. From the water, numerous ancient and varied fish madly jumped out of the water, the Madness Rain inciting them to greater heights! Lineir saw them begin to fight amongst each other, the strong devouring the weak! Suddenly a wounded rainbow colored snail burst forth and speared several of them upon its bleeding tongue! Instantly shrieks of fury rang out as the fish were plucked from the air and dragged back under the waves. Lineir felt as if he himself was being literally dragged underwater, his mind stripped from his control, his body racing forwards of its own volition. He became a living, feeling passenger in his own body. However for the moment it was going the way he wanted so he didn't care!