243 Chapter Two Hundred and Forty- Three – Coats of Blood II (1/2)

Brother Firesword bent, he twisted, he slid this way, then that, all the while his Blades danced and cut, punishing them with every move. He was in easy range of a swing of their arms almost half the time, but never quite in the right position to get shredded easily, a fight of inches, where luck and insight had no way to play, only skill, reflexes, coordination, and awareness.

And magic. Couldn't ignore the +X.

These Hags still had a bonus to hit of at least +25, after he'd ripped all their buffs apart. They were stupid and weren't using magic Weapons to increase their attacks, nor did they show signs of enchanting their claws. Truly cocksure, overconfident in the buffs their Templates gave them.

As the Exemplars were finding out, Templates were no substitute for proper Levels and good Gear.

Picking up the Crystal Dragon and being able to use it with Night Rose and Fire Dancer also meant picking up all the Lesser Dragon Styles for Way Mastery, yet more Karma Sinks. But the Damage Reduction and Natural Armor were incredibly useful, allowing him to simply ignore annoyances, give him something to build up towards reducing the tiny nicks and bruises that added up over a long fight, allowing him the staying power that Brothers had never been known to have.

His Intellect was sitting at a prim 32, four thought paths, giving him time to contemplate and analyze even while he was fighting for his life. His Dexterity was now a 44, meaning he moved more like a ghost then a person. Just those two Stats getting to the levels they should have been at meant a +28 bonus to his AC, which in real world terms translated into miss after miss after miss.

Analyzing calmly, every movement precise and measured, drawing them into this pose or position or stance, creating an opening while he moved just out of range of their motion, guiding their attacks as much as avoiding them, staying ahead of them through sheer analytic power, not some ability to see the future.

It was still frustrating them to all get out. They swirled through a dance, trying to catch up with him and his vicious, condescending grace, and he cut them without pause.

And there was Sama over there, giving the Grandmother Hag the business. That fight was incredibly vicious, both combatants moving with inhuman speed and power, the Hag trying to ignore the hacking and hewing swords which could not truly damage her, and finding it impossible with the sheer amount of punishment being dished out. Health Qi didn't neutralize damage, it insta-healed it, so there was a still a moment of pain and interruption, trying to bull through it possible... but not with the level of punishment she was receiving.

She was incredibly fast, but Sama was matching her step for step, having no trouble keeping up with her feet, and her Swords were moving even faster than the Hag's claws.

And, of course, a constant barrage of missile fire was planting itself into the Empress' face, too, making things even worse.

She was, she was... painting a Rune?

Health Qi was floating in space, rippling along the edge of the cuts Sama was making. The wounds layered like petals, rippling, floating, as the two combatants slid this way and that, forming a circle as they moved through the clouds of blood-red Qi...

It was a Blood Rose!

Three slashing strokes slicked in the final petals, leaking power into a Rune wrought in mid-air, heavy with primal power stolen from the Hag. Sama couldn't use Chi, but she had backdoored the technique by literally Painting using the Health Qi of her opponent.

Because Painting was a Skill that fed her Sagedom of Swords...

The multi-petaled, gently rippling Blood Rose ignited with a fwoosh, gone in a blink, and yet something changed in the air around it.

For the next six seconds, all the fates were against her, and every hit would be a crit.

A pull on the surrounding mana turned his eyes, where Hazé had stepped away from Briggs, who had been batting around two bigger Hags like they were hapless drunks. Around her arms were Rune Circles of stacked metamagicked Shards.

He smiled despite himself. The Empress Hag, who happened to be facing the wrong way, and was frozen for a tiny second as the Blood Rose ignited, turned her head around.

The coruscating, shining Shardrays hammered in, boosted past her spell resistance, laden with holy power... and automatic criticals for triple damage, too. Because Hazé had naturally invested in Improved Critical for Ray attacks...

Health Qi vented in a burning cone of life preservation that sprayed out fifty feet past the Hag. One mass of coruscant Rays drove into her head, the second into her throat, snuffing her scream before she could give voice to it.

And then Sama executed Seven Ripping Dragons again, with every hit a x4 crit.

He didn't know when the Health Qi of the Empress faded, but it didn't matter. When the seventh stroke cut through her, she was totally done for.

All five Tails lashed forward, impaled her body parts, while Sama plucked away the head. As the limbs and torso ignited, they were pressed against Sama's Marks and sucked in and away, digesting the full and complete energy of the Exemplar Hag.

Which, Brother Firesword mused, was probably going to be pretty impressive. The head in her hand Sama just slung on her belt as the flesh and skin burned away. Vivus would make sure her spirit couldn't be interrogated anyways, so there was only prepping it for a really strong Baneskull...

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The remains of the Hag Empress burned away in under ten seconds, while the surviving Hags shrieked in fear.

Briggs took that moment to Hammer one like batting a ball, and the shocked Lesser Exemplar half-Fiend shellycoat found herself flying nearly sixty feet through the air, hitting the ground with a roll and a tumble, and was back to her feet as if her center of balance was around her ankles.

She slowly turned around and looked down at Sama, who was smiling up at her.

The Spikes hit the Hag's face before she could scream, and then Quaver and Tremble were all over her.