A Roegadyn in Equestria

A Roegadyn in Equestria.

Chapter 81: Journey Into Equestria’s Scar. Part 3.

*Point of view: Third Person*
*Location: Ghastly Gorge*

The once dark and monster infested gorge that was barely visible to an Outsiders point of view when standing atop the cliff face. Was now brightly lit up as to allow close to a mile going down in either direction to be seen thanks to the bright light show being provided by Brex as he attempted to hold on to his adversary. Not even a full minute has gone by since the technique was put into effect. By which the rest of the girls quickly dashed back the way they came and covered a large amount of ground with the help of their swift Chocobo’s. Even the still unconscious members of the four-person group that they had in countered were laying across the saddles.

It also helped that Crystal was in the front and dealing with a few of the creatures that laid in wait along their path. Of course, the bird was assisted by Gilda as the Griffin Would launch herself at the creatures before leaping right back and onto her own Chocobo’s saddle every now and then. Even some of the members with magic or ranged attacks would lend a helping hand without stopping in the least. Instead of taking the exact way that they traverse to make it to the bunker. Crystal, who was in the front of the pack, changed course and found another way up that was closer and the group found themselves on the top of Ghastly Gorge just as the light show was beginning to fade.

Still not stopping. They all ran along the edge and towards the Yuna. All the while, the girls were turning their heads to watch what was going on behind them. From the rear. Fluttershy's voice could just barely be heard over the many stampeding legs of their mouths, along with the still roaring beast that was still being held in the air. “Oh my... is Gambit going to be all right? W-we just left him behind…” Rarity was the next to speak as she also had a heavy amount of concern in her voice. “True. I'm afraid to say that he flew quite far after that brute launched a sneak attack.”

It was Applejack that spoke up next while trying hard to keep her hat from flying off at the speed that they were going at. “Can't say for sure sugar cube. All I know is that he told us to run. If he really is strong enough to go up against Nightmare Moon, then I got no doubt that he can take on that oversized varmint. It would be best if we all listened to what he has to say. Even if it goes against my instincts to leave them there.” The farm mare came to an abrupt pause when she noticed how Rainbow was acting.

The Pegasus was looking straight ahead with her head tilted down as to allow her messy hair to cover her own eyes. Even her hands were clenched tightly around the rains to where they were practically shaking. Rainbow was even muttering the word “Buck” over and over again. Applejack then pulled her Chocobo as to ride closer to the Pegasus so that they could talk. She was just about to say something when there was a sudden intensity to the light before it was completely cut out. This was followed with a low thud from inside the gorge and a deafening silence.

The scene then shifts back to Brex as he was blanketed by a thick layer of dust. Both arms were still outstretched as a good portion of his clothing now look like he had run through a fire and got charred so much, that more than half of his body was very close to being exposed. Quick and heavy breaths could be heard from behind his mask that showed a few more cracks that started from the edges and proceeded an inch or two inwards. The large gauntlets were no longer giving off any sources of light from the circuitry. Although, there was some small emissions thanks to some glowing red-hot pieces and stray electrical discharges that would fizzle out near the tips of his fingers.

As for a couple of meters along the ground. There was a total of three circular scorched rings that were made by both heavy pressure and intense heat. The Lightning Elementals and Plasmoids that had originally surrounded him were no longer around. After a couple of seconds. Brex slowly lowered his arms until they were hanging straight down and the gauntlets disappeared with a small flash of light. Still with heavy breaths escaping his lips. Brex said, “Note to self... *Huff*... still need to improve the magic insulation a little more. If not, then the suits are going to keep ending up as one time uses.”

He stumbled for a moment before releasing a heavy grunt of pain before continuing in a strained voice. “Ouch... I may be developing a tolerance for getting electrocuted... but it still hurts like a bitch! Thank goodness spellcasters have a much higher magic resistance.” Brex chuckled as he turned his head to look around before talking to himself again. “Phew! I’m so glad Rory's spell worked. Huh? Where did they all get off to? Either they ran off, or I literally drained them dry and they could no longer keep their forms. Oh well, at least it gave me the extra juice I needed.”

With trembling fingers due to the shocks that effected his muscles. Brex held up his right hand and two bottles appeared. One was a red bottle with three gold rings at the neck. While the other brandish the same decorations but with there being a blue liquid inside. First was the red health potion and then the blue was taken in one big gulp after the other. After swallowing. He released a loud belch and toss the bottles away. The unease in his hands subsided within a moment and he bald his hands into tightly packed fists before releasing them and taking hold of his weapon yet again. The tip of his rapier was pointed straight ahead as he took on a fencing fighting stance.

With an unamused voice he called out. “I hope you're not trying to sneak up on me again. It won't work another time.” The dust was in the middle of clearing away. As a result, the angry tooth filled snarling face of the lion head for the Chimera was becoming visible through the dissipating haze. It was roughly eighty meters away by now. Yet, even at that distance. Brex could easily tell that even if he was in the mouth of that creature just as he once did with the Dragon. Then even if he had stretched his body completely, it would have been nowhere near close enough to wrench that monsters mouth open to its full length.

Brex then said with a smirk, “Just what has your mother been feeding you? Must have been steroid juice with just a tiny drop of milk. So, this begs the question. Just where have you been hiding? Because I seriously doubt that no one has seen you since before now. Oh well... I'll make sure to have this place searched later. As for you...” There was a small pause as his tone turn serious again. “There are only two choices. I already know that you're intelligent. Why else would you just stand there while letting me talk. Either you surrender and allow yourself to be relocated to another location so that you won't cause any harm to the public. Or I kill you here and now.”

The Chimera did nothing for a couple of seconds. This made the Roegadyn wonder if it was going to comply. But those thoughts were destroyed when it suddenly jumped to the right so quickly that it almost created an afterimage and disappeared into the remnants of the dust. Not even a full second had gone by when it came back and came at Brex from behind while bearing its fangs. He leaped out of the way and ran his blade along the length of the Chimera's left side from the front shoulder and all the way to the end. A few sparks came from the friction of the blade and fur at the beginning. But the blade managed to make contact with the flesh near the halfway point and drew some blood.

It then roared in anger just as it passed Brex and whipped its scorpion tail at him in one fluid motion. Brex leaped over it while delivering another slash. Which was also followed with his weapon being coated in a magic aura that was a mix between purple and dark red as he threw the tip forward to pierce the appendage. The slice itself only left a deep nick in the bug-like exoskeleton. Whereas the second hit missed as the tail began to split down its length all on its own before making contact. With nearly lightning speed being exhibited, the now twin tailed chimera attempted to strike Brex with both of the stingers.

He dodged the first. The second was done in the same way by taking a quick step to the left by means of clever footwork. However, he was surprised when the tip suddenly sprayed a green substance. Brex narrowly avoided getting hit in the face and used a leap back ability to gain some distance. When he landed, he felt a burning sensation on his right arms elbow. His eyes went wide when that section was giving off a loud hiss as smoke bellowed from his now Exposed Skin. The arm sleeve was barely holding on by a piece of the fabric that was caught at the crook of his elbow.

Instead of his pail whitish-gray skin. The exposed area was dark red and blisters were already in the middle of forming. His attention was brought back to the Chimera as it took another lunge after skidding to a stop as to not waste this opportunity. Being more careful this time around. Brex made sure to evade the next approach as he started to cast a couple of curing spells onto his wound. His opponent was not letting up and was continuously attempting to pounce on to him and destroying the environmental obstacles that would end up being in its path after each failed attempt.

During this, Brex was also thinking about how one of his Golems was nearly melted and wondered if it was this big one that attacked it. But then he realized if it had been the very same one, then not only would the Golems no longer be functional by the time he and all of the girls arrived. The bunker itself would probably have also been demolished. This only left the logical conclusion that the smaller ones must have similar capabilities and quickly sent this information to Rory as she was still contending with them further in to the Gorge.

Now seeing as physical attacks were not going to be very effective when going up against such a heavily armored creature. Brex shifted to using long range spells. All the while, he was using his other buffing magic spells to increase his overall speed. It was thanks to this that he was able to outmaneuver the Chimera and launch a series of elemental spells as one fired after another with hardly any pause. A stream of lightning bolts would be launched and strike the side. Fiery explosions would occur as a heavily Aether infused fireball was launched.

There were sudden and strong bursts of wind magic that could rip apart rocks being summoned. Dust particles in the wind would accumulate in one spot within the blink of an eye and explode to produce a cluster of extended brick-like shapes so that they could collide with the Chimera to whittle down its health. Of course, he would also throw in some melee moves here and there whenever his accumulated bar of white and black magic reach their peak. This allowed a set of enhanced skills to be used for a weapons skill chain to be done. Quick, yet powerful slashes, lunges and multiple quick attacks were launched before jumping away.

It was thanks to the Red Mages passive ability, that he was able to launch so many spells in quick succession while cutting out the channeling time completely on about half of them. Brex thought that this was going to be an easy fight if he kept his distance for most of it. Although the best laid plans were known to fall apart and this was no exception as the monster suddenly released a lightning spell without there being any foreshadowing. It just so happened that Brex was Within that range of effect and was struck by it hard. Unlike with before as it was something being produced by him. Brex found himself taking on the full amount of damage and screamed loudly as his body was forced to get locked up.

This ended up being exactly what the Chimera was waiting for and it took the opportunity to do another lunge. Its left paw was raised to show its very long razor-sharp black claws. Brex could not move out of the way at that very moment and invoked a spell from the Shield Hero. With just a fraction of a second before he was hit. Three small green shields of light appeared and swiftly position themselves next to one another to form a triangular barricade.

The claws were prevented from slicing Brex up right there and then, but the blunt force behind the swipe was enough to shatter all but one of the shields and send him flying further away from Rory. Brex only stopped after crashing through one of the rock spires that was nearly four meters thick. It was only after, that he came sliding to a stop. A long groove was left as parts of the decorative parts of his gear were lefts stuck in some of the rocks.

With there being a little distance now between both of the fighters. Brex grunted as he pulled out a recovery potion for paralysis and immediately administered it to himself before getting back onto his feet. His weapon was stabbed into the ground as he hunched over and grabbed onto his right ribs with his other hand. Then grunted through his teeth as he said the following while also dodging the Chimera yet again after slipping into the shadows, only to reappear behind a rock just a little ways off to its right side.

“Fuck! I really need to send a complaint ticket to the admins. They seriously messed up with the stats on this guy, they're way too overpowered... If I could see my health bar, then I wouldn't be surprised if I was brought down to under a quarter of my health with just one hit. I think I cracked a couple of ribs along the way too. This has to be payback for all the good luck I've been having lately. That thing cannot be allowed to escape.” Not wanting to reveal his location by exerting any magic. Brex guzzle down another health potion and felt his bone snapping back and mending themselves as he had to contain a grunt of pain from the short-lived experience.

His back was pressed against the boulder as he had his head turned to the right so that he could figure out his next course of action. He already knew where it was thanks to both his situational awareness and the mini-map displaying the creature’s impressively large dot. Yet something struck him as odd as it was not moving. Nearly a dozen seconds had gone by and it had not attempted to search for him. That was when his senses went wild right as the ground began to break apart from right under his very feet. Being caught by surprise only left Brex at the mercy of strange pink tendrils to shoot up and wrap themselves around his arms and legs.

He yelled as something was beginning to tear away at parts of his body. One was on his outer thigh for his right leg. The second was just above his left ankle. The third was on the back of his left hand and the last was on the inner lower arm for his right. These turned out to be the very ends of the strange appendages and he instantly grabbed the one that was latched on to his right arm and pulled on it so hard, that he thought his flesh was being ripped off in the process.

When he did this. The Roegadyn's face twisted in both discussed and utter horror. What he pulled off was indeed a section of his skin. As it was being sucked into the opening of a creature with a suction cup mouth. It had multifaceted rows of flat teeth that were angled in such a way that they would fold in towards the opening. The thing wiggled like mad in his hand as he noticed it had a set of black eyes. It kept trying to wiggle itself free even more to try and latch on again. This would have been possible if he had not already had a vice-like grip on it. The surface of its skin was even slick in oily so much, that it was literally splashing some clear slime.

In his mind, he instantly associated it with a type of fish called a lamprey. He had no idea where it came from but it was restricting his movements and draining him of his blood. Quickly, an area of effect spell was used and half a dozen blades were formed that took on a blue crystalline structure. These instantly shot up into the air and did a full turn on a dime and crashed onto his position in less than a second after casting. Each blade came close enough to give Brex the perfect shave as they skewered and sliced up the nightmare fuel creatures from his body.

They all gave a high pitch screech of pain which Brex found appealing as he thought that they deserved it. Although, he also heard the Chimera roar in anger as he leaped out from where he was. Brex fumbled in skidded after being released. While on the ground and rushing to cast some healing spells on himself yet again. He got a good glimpse of the underside of the Chimera and noticed that there was something very off about it. What he thought at first to be some long thick hair, was in fact the same creatures dangling from under his belly. There were even a few that had stretched out and gone into the ground.

Brex nearly threw up in his mouth as he exclaimed the following in his head in pure disgust. “Plah! I've heard of people getting worms but this is just way too much. It's like the Alien! But a hundred times worse! That must be where the vampiric ability is. There’s no way in the seven hell's that this is natural! What kind of a sicko would even do this?” As these thoughts were running through his head. The ones that were going into the ground were not retreating. So, the Chimera moved his body and literally tore those pieces from his underside with little hesitation.

He had just barely gotten on to his arms and legs when he started to cough up some blood. He thought that he had healed himself, but when turned his attention to the top of his view. He found that there was indeed an icon to indicate that he had now been poisoned. Brex took a poison recovery potion. But was further surprised when his chat box on the bottom left-hand corner of his view showed a set of texts that said that the potion was ineffective. He cursed himself that this was going to be a problem. Not only did he have to avoid getting directly hit. But he had to somehow defeat it while his own health was ticking away by a powerful poison that he was unable to relieve himself of.

Wanting to get this done as quickly as possible. Brex began another onslaught of spells. At first it was doing its job. But the Chimera was learning from the experience and was dodging more and more of them. What was once direct hits of his own. Was quickly shifting to where the oversized monster was somehow outright leaping out of the way right as the spells were completed and launched its way. By this point the fighting had been going on for well over an hour. Over a full crates worth of healing and mana potions were consumed. Both attack and recovery spells were used in tandem thanks to the Swift Cast ability as well as the passive Swift Cast for being a Red Mage.

Brex knew full well that if it was not for these abilities, then he would have been taken out long ago as he was barely afforded the allotted time for the channeling for most of them. His armor was brought near the breaking point as it was already taken down to less than ten percent of its total durability. The sword itself may not have seen too many close-range encounters, yet the constant magic flow was taking its toll on the tool. The area was resembling more and more of a rock quarry as various sizes of boulders and rubble littered everywhere. It would not be too much to say that if this continued, then everything would be rendered into a fine powder with how much these two were going at it.

Even though Brex had to heavily rely on restorative measures to keep his body from breaking down. The Chimera appeared to be as fit as a fiddle thanks to the self-recovery and regeneration it had in its disposal. The only signs to show that it had even been in a fight was how its movements had evolved. Gone was the feral actions of an animal. Instead, they were replaced with a better understanding of Brex's movements and spells to such a degree that it was almost bordering on the realm of precognition. Unlike all the rest of the battles that he had up until now. Brex was literally throwing nearly everything he had in this one.

The Shield Hero spells were barely of any use aside from the physical enhancement ones to boost his defense and speed to their limit. He even wished that he still had the accumulated power that was lost at the start when he intended to blast the other two. But the band on his arm was still recharging. Sure, one bar was already full. Although, he knew that it was nowhere near enough to deal a significant blow.

When it came to Rory however as all this was going on. She attempted to use the controlling spell to get them to attack each other. Much to her surprise, the two smaller Chimeras shrugged it off rather easily. It was fortunate, although small as it was, that they were nowhere near as strong or had any of the weird mutations that the larger one was afforded. Instead, they seemed to have more of the standard enhancements and some slightly higher than average intelligence.

These still telegraph their elemental attacks and Rory use the memories from Brex to accurately judge when and where to move. A little over halfway through the fight, Rory finally broke through one of their defenses and buried her axe deep inside of its back after dodging yet another of theirs. Thereby severing its spinal cord and causing it to fall dead at her feet. This was only another reminder than even a lethal blow to the right spot could do a number when the opponent was backed up with a large amount of health.

Her disguise was barely holding together as the sudden acceleration was making it difficult for the disguising choker to keep its image locked in place. Once the first one was down and Rory was about to go after the next to finish it off. She found that her axe had broken and was stuck within the body as she was only holding on to a broken piece of the long handle. The head being covered in blood and wedged between bone fragments would have made it near impossible to remove while in her current situation.

This meant that she was fighting for the better part of twenty minutes with nothing but her bare hands. Seeing as she was without her weapon now. The remaining Chimera was less wary as it made more attempts to approach Rory without the fear of getting hacked up in the same way as its predecessor. Although this turned out to be a huge miscalculation for which it soon discovered when Rory pulled back her left fist and swung directly to the side of its face when it came in to try and bite her head off. What came from this, was that the Chimeras head coming to a jerking stop as his eyes were nearly bugged out of its skull from the impact.

Teeth, blood and spit all erupted out of its now slacked mouth in slow motion. In a way, it was close to how one would watch a slow-motion scene from one of those Rocky boxing movies when the character gets hit with a hard hook. There was an odd gong sound emitted from Rory's fist and the Chimera skull colliding and the monster was sent rolling to a skidding stop several meters away. This left one on the ground, while Rory was balancing herself on one leg as her arm was still fully outstretched. It got up after a couple of seconds of staggering and gave Rory a menacing growl as it clearly lost half the teeth on the front right side of its face.

But its expression became almost terrified when there was a small kitten sound that came from it as it stared directly at Rory. The girl was now standing on both legs and partly leaning back into an awkward sideways slant. Both arms were hanging down as she was looking towards the monster with a set of brightly glowing red eyes that became so noticeable, that it could draw anyone’s attention to her in an instant. Her expressionless look soon turned into a toothy snarl as she bared her teeth. Even though the choker was still in place. Those pearly whites of hers slowly broke the illusion around them to reveal a set of sharp teeth and equally voracious canines. Even from that far away. Drool was visible to the Chimera.

A low and haunting humming growl could be heard emanating from the girl as she slightly hunched forward and into a more aggressive posture after a sudden jerk of her upper half. She then said in a cold voice, “It’s you, because of you... Because of you my outfit is ruined! And now... I'm so hungry! It hasn't even been two weeks since I got topped off, and already I'm this hungry! So? What are yah goanna do about it? Huh?!” The black manicured nails on her right hand were even extending as she flexed her fingers in a menacing manner. As for her left, those came out instantly as a metallic *Shink* was produced. Both only stopped once they were just a little over an inch and a half long.

The Chimera was beginning to shrink back as its pause were tentatively moving it backwards. Even the Scorpion tail that would normally be curled up above was now lowered and nearly placed behind its back legs. From its perspective. Rory had this silhouette of herself behind her, but it was far… far larger. The entire thing was black, as radiating red outlines could be seen. A set of glowing red-hot orbs were set in for the eyes as they had a sharp cut to them. Even the hair that was down on the girl was shown to be waving as if an uncontrollable wind was causing them to be alive. The image was hunched over and the nails on the hands were extended to be as long as swords.

But what made it start to visibly sweat, was how her figure now had a wide red mouth that curled into a wicked smile. This earned her a very loud pitiful screech from the lion head. There were also a set of scared sheep sounds and hisses from the other two before the Chimera crouched down so that its body was laying completely flat on the ground. More so, was how its tail was even tucked underneath. The main head itself was firmly planted as both ears laid flat. The goat and dragon heads were also laying down on either side and closing their eyes as the entire form was now shaking so much that it was literally giving off a rattlesnake sound.

Rory took a couple of steps forward and was ready to attack. But she suddenly stopped in place after having a disgusted look that was now crossing her features. With both hands, she covers her mouth before loudly yelling in an indignant tone towards the Chimera. “Did… Did you just piss yourself?! Ew!” She wanted a response from the monster. But when she took a closer look, she discovered that it was passed out cold. She raised an eyebrow to that before saying, “Uh. It's kind of cute when it's not trying to kill you.” This only lasted for a moment before her eyes snapped wide and she started running off to where the rest of the fight was. While doing so, she screamed at herself for nearly forgetting about her Master.

Meanwhile. A certain Bat Pony was stuck in the air vents right above the bridge where a screen was placed for the crew members to watch the fight from a safe distance. She could see that all the Element Bearers, along with the Zebra and Griffin, were standing with bated breath as all they could do was watch as the extended fight continued between Gambit and the oversized Chimera. The ship itself was over three kilometers away an elevated to where it was able to see into Ghastly Gorge from an angle. The Bat Pony even had in her possession a clear orb that was just big enough to fit in the palm of her black gloved hand.

This was a magical item which allowed a person to send across real time images to a sister crystal. It was given to her by Luna after resuming the investigation. For the last two weeks. the Bat Pony was put on rest and only came back that very morning to Ponyville. If it was not for her training to avoid the obstacles in the forest, then she may not have made it on to the ship before it took off. It was tricky but tailing the group was not too difficult as they were clearing the way. But when the fighting broke out with the odd set of monsters. The crystal was brought out to send the current events straight to Princess Luna.

They were all constantly murmuring about if Gambit was going to be okay and if there was anything they could do to help. The crew members were keeping an eye on the situation and standing by at their posts. Although, the one that was up near the front and close to a really big red button was fidgeting in place. Her face kept turning up towards the screen and then back towards the button as drool was clearly seen falling from the edge of her mouth.

The Bat Pony began to wonder if there was a problem with that one in particular. She was also thankful that she was able to hold the crystal in her hand at an angle so that the screen was clearly visible. Now if she could only do something about the uncomfortable wedgy, then this assignment would be seen as smooth sailing. It was too bad they did not make the air vents just a little bigger. Especially with how her wings were beginning to cramp up.

Back over with Brex on the ground. He was just in the middle of channeling another lightning spell when his crystal focal point that would attach to his swords hilt cracked and interrupted the ranged attack. He frowned when he noticed that the weapon had dropped down to one percent of its durability and only the blade itself was holding together enough to even be considered as usable. It was at that moment that the Chimera did something new and brought two of its heads forward and near the lion on either side. This place the three to be in a triangle position with the lion being at the bottom and the two heads forming the top corners.

The lion opened its jaw and started to build some fire. The Ram and Dragon heads were doing something similar, as frost was flowing out of one head, while the other was giving off an erratic set of electrical sparks. The three turn their heads just enough so that they would collide with one another if the three attacks were to launch straight ahead. When that was done. The collected energies were fired and combined into a powerful white stream that had straight for Brex. Out of desperation. The weapon was instantly substituted with another version that was pure white in all aspects. The handle, the guard, the blade and focal stone, everything was pure white.

He even used the collected white and black magic stored within himself to launch a threefold combo move of physical attacks right as the beam struck. Thanks to the way the sword was swung. It was able to disperse the beam as it was slicing it into ribbons at the very instant it got into range. If time was to slow down enough to show the blurred movements of the sword in action. Then one might have noticed that not only was there the strange purple and red aura covering it to add to its destructive potential. But strings of energy from the white beam were not only being repelled, but also absorbed into the weapon itself.

When the beam ended after a few seconds. It showed Brex standing as the ground nearby his body became scorched. The lion launched a large fireball at blinding speed once it realized he was still standing. Brex pointed the tip of his blade down and swung it upwards to cut the fireball in half. Red strings of energy were pulled into the blade as the two halves separated and hit the far wall of the gorge with a set of thundering booms. The Chimera looked confused as Brex began to speak in a disappointed tone. “I'd had preferred not to bring this out at all. It’s just that this world relies heavily on magic and this would make me out to be a danger to society if it ever got out that I even had such a thing in my possession.”

What he was referring to was the substance used in forging this one particular weapon. This was specifically forged using a mixture of metal and the anti-magic substance from the League of Legends world. He did attempt to make some larger pieces in the beginning, but found them to be two difficult to handle without proper precautions being taken beforehand. Although the small amount used in creating this one was just under the limit for him to use freely. Sure, if it was to simply use as a physical attack then something as big as a war axe meant for a warrior would not have been a problem. But seeing as he was using magical abilities right now, then this was the only one that was compatible for this fight.

Brex was just getting into another battle stance when he found himself clutching at his chess with his free hand and grabbing on to the shirt. It was not until just now that he realized that this pain was actually building up as the fight was so high paced that he failed to accurately notice it. The pain was even so much that he nearly fell onto his left knee and had to catch himself as to not land on his face. He then loudly exclaimed in his head. “No! Not now! Why?! Shit, I'm wide open! He had expected to be killed on the spot now that his guard was lowered. Yet nothing came which perplexed the Roegadyn.

Upon glancing to the Chimera. He found that its attention was no longer on him but towards something in the sky. This turned out to be a small spec that was coming in to view after approaching in from the west. It gave off a gold shine thanks to the sunlight overhead and Brex suddenly had a stricken Deja Vu moment. Flash is of a time where he was bombarded by golden bolts and solid beams of energy. Nearly long forgotten pain running throughout his chest and lungs came back with a ferocity. It did not take long before the familiar icon that was placed on Celestia appeared on his mini-map.

He attempted to reorientate himself and back on to his shaky legs when his vision began to go a little dark around the edges. And from out of seemingly nowhere, he began to hear his own voice talking to him from inside his head. It was almost cynical as it spoke the following words while the Chimera got ready to launch that odd beam again as it pointed its heads at the approaching Celestia. “Don't interfere... I shouldn’t stop this. It was designed to kill her. Why not let it do its job? We did plenty already. So, what if she gets killed, no one will blame us if she gets herself wiped out. Then… Then we won’t have to feel this way again. No pain, no pain inside, ever again.”

The three heads already finished with their charging up process and dug themselves in before firing. However, they were not firing just yet. As even more energy was being collected than previously seen. Obviously, it was going to use a full power attack to wipe her out in one fell swoop. The voice of Brex continued in his mind as he watched all of this going on in the corner of his eye. “See? We're no longer of concern to it? We can just sit back and watch the one we hate more than anyone else to disappear. With its skill, it will tear right through her defenses. The cause of our suffering will finally be taken care of. We, we can rest. Yes… Just allow it to happen.”

These words were now beginning to lull the Roegadyn as his body began to feel heavy. Without him even knowing it himself. His lips were curling into a small crazed smile as he just gazed upon the scene before himself. His eyes almost lackluster with life were just staring blankly ahead. He then responded to that odd voice with his own as he muttered in response. “Yes... make all the pain go away... I should just stay put. Who cares... Besides, her sister can take control of the Sun.” He even started to weekly laugh as though his mind was breaking.

The dark patches that were on the edges of his vision were now slowly creeping in towards the center. At the very edge of it all, he could barely make out the white flash being emitted as the Chimera launched a powerful blast that was easily five times the size of the previous one that was used on him. He was just about to lose his grip on his sword and allow it to fall when another person came into view. This one was darker and flew right beside Celestia. The white beam was already halfway in between and traveling fast when a mix of gold and blue energy erupted to create a row of shields between them and the chimeras long range attack.

When it suddenly clicked that it was Luna up there as well. His vision became all black in an instant. Sudden flashes of images regarding Luna laying on the floor dead as a pool of blood was trickling out of the side of her head. Even images of the Alicorn getting torn to shreds and vaporized filled his mind. The strange emptiness he was feeling up until now was replaced with a burning rage that ignited his emotions to the point that not only was he angry. But so much so that he could not contain the flowing tears that were now escaping his eyes. Said eyes were now simultaneously glowing with the golden sun for the left and the crescent moon on the right.

(Play this music for the suspenseful moment. Put into a loop until the fighting is over if you want to.)

A loud roar of his own came from out of his mouth that was so powerful that it caused the hairline fractures along his mask to spread to wear it was a wonder that it held together. “RAAAAHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!!!! DON’T YOU FUCKING TOUCH LULU!!!” This brought back his sight which was now covered in a red haze as he found himself leaping off of the ground. This cause cracks to form on the rocky terrane as a result and he took to the air right as a green aura enveloped his body for a moment. He was going so fast in fact, that he was already catching up to the front of the beam at the very moment that it collided with the barriers created by the two sisters.

Over with the princesses. They were wearing respective gold and silver armors. Celestia was wielding her spear and Luna had gripped in her right hand a great sword which would require two hands to wield properly if it was not for the amount of strength she wielded. Upon arriving they were attacked by a massive wave of magic and erected layers of shields to defend. With already sensing how strong it was. The two bonded their magic in order to strengthen one another. However, this turned out to be a critical mistake as Celestia was marked down for the creatures very unique ability. This meant that the barriers would be rendered absolutely useless as her magic was mixed in.

When the first shield evaporated without giving any resistance at all to the attack. Both princesses were shocked as their eyes shot wide open. The second barrier suffered the same fate and it became apparent to the both of them that there was no stopping it. They brought up their weapons in front in a pathetic attempt to block right as more of their shields were destroyed. The light was so bright that they were forced to shut their eyes tightly while waiting for the impact. They even went so far as to let out a pared set of startled screams.

It was right after the last shield was broken and with there being less than a meter between that point and the two of them when Brex got to the head of the beam and placed himself in the middle. His Rapier was pointed straight ahead while his vision was completely overshadowed by a dark red tint. The anger that sparked into a roaring Inferno only a second ago had been replaced with a bone chilling absence of emotion. His thoughts were drowned to where he was almost acting on pure instinct. From his perspective, all he saw was the wave of energy as it drew close enough and obscured absolutely all else from his view.

That was when two icons appeared from either side of his vision. One was the single targeting spell called Fleche. This summoned aether weapons and fired them with pinpoint accuracy, and the multi-targeting spell known as Contre Sixte. The second one was similar, yet it was made for hitting everything in a set area. Both were literally giving off waves of heat before launching themselves towards the center. When they crashed. The pictures shattered into pieces before instantly reforming to create a whole new one. This depicted a dark blue background as a white figure appeared in the center. Said figure was shown to be surrounded by multiple blades of bright blue that were going in an evenly spaced fan formation all around.

It was followed by the notification of a new Fusion skill being created. Underneath, it displayed the words, “Rhapsodie silencieuse rideau de lames.” It then showed the English translation. “Silent rhapsody curtain of blades.” The skill was invoked and numerous blades began to crystallize and appear at the speed of light. Each one was slightly different than the next. One was obviously a Rapier. Then a scimitar. They were various forms of curved blades, short swords, long swords and great swords.

There were those that were of the standard style, while others took on a more exotic appearance. One such example was the great sword as it started off thick near the handle guard and became narrower near the middle. It then grew wide as the tip was cut into a flat surface. When counting how many. One could make out sixteen as they took on an orbiting position with the blades ends now pointing outwards.

At the very instant the last piece of the weapons were fully manifested. They shot out in the direction they were pointing and returned after flying out a short distance so that they would form an iris with a hole in the very center that was just large enough for Brex's outstretched weapon to fill the slot. When it was pushed forward. A loud click rang out as the floating weapons made contact with the one being held in his grip.

This in turn made a formation that strongly resembled a satellite dish just before the beam of magic struck. When the two opposing forces violently clashed. Brex was pushed back a couple of feet in the air before coming to a stop. His form was positioned in such a way that it would have been no different than if he was standing on solid ground with his weapon arm extended. The pressure was blowing his clothing hard as the loose fabrics fluttered in the wind along with his hair. Pieces of the white parts for his hats feather were now coming apart. Already torn and ripped sections of his gear were only taking more damage as his skin was slowly being revealed in the gaps.

Even the mask which was now cracked into more than a dozen pieces was losing a couple that were flaking away around the edges. Both of the princesses behind were barely able to keep themselves from being blown away as they were just a few Paces behind the Roegadyn now. From a distance, the wave of energy was colliding with the makeshift shield of many blades to create the illusion of a high-pressured stream of water being stopped in its tracks. Yet the escaping waves of magic were mysteriously being sucked back in. Looking past the blades and into the blinding light. It could have been seen that the energy was not just halted, but also redirected towards the center.

The magic absorbing properties of the current weapon equipped by Brex was literally eating up the spell in real time. What's more was the way the magic was flowing down into the handguard and continuing into his own body. Normally the substance would only absorb magical properties in the air, as well as physical contact. Yet with sufficient practice and fine control, would allow a spellcaster to not only come into contact with such a thing without any negative repercussions. But to also be able to draw said magic out to be used for themselves.

As for where it was all going after being absorbed by the Roegadyn. It was all going back into the skill that was already put into effect. The effect in which was clearly made a parent as the crystal-like blades gave off a near endless amount of glass cracking sounds as they shifted and started to grow. However, this was not a perfect defense as the blades themselves were holding up nicely. Yet the arm of Brex was undergoing some severe damage thanks to the overwhelming amount of magic being pumped directly into his limb. Without so much as even flinching, he continued with this move.

The glove on his hand was burned away in almost an instant. This also included the ring and armband that he normally wore to be destroyed and sent to the air as glittering pieces of dust. It was only fortunate that he wore the special bracelet on his opposite arm or that too might have suffered the same fate. The sleeve leading almost all the way up to his shoulder was completely shredded away. His skin turned dark as it was being destroyed from the inside out. Even glowing white veins appeared to break through the now dead skin only to run up the length of his arm.

This went for what felt like an eternity, but was only less than a handful of seconds as the magic finally ran its course and disappeared after the last ounces struck his defensive line. The blinding light died down and the sky was filled with an ominous silence for a moment before the wind gently picked up. The princesses lower their weapons after opening their eyes and were met with the site of Brex still holding his pose. With them being slightly off to the side, they were able to get a good glimpse of his arm and its current state. If one was to compare it to anything, then it would strongly resemble how one would look when their entire flesh was charred to a deep jet black over a roaring fire for way too long.

Even the white veins that were going all the way up were giving off a low hum. However, that was only eclipse as the entire right arm of Brex was emitting a loud hissing sound that just would not stop. Wisps of smoke slowly wafted on the wind and towards the princesses. Horrified expressions slowly creeped on to their faces as Luna could not help but to hold her free hand up to her mouth. Celestia was pretty much in the same state as she dropped her spear and used both of her hands. Her irises were now the size of tiny dots as she was locked onto his form.

A loud roar came from the ground below and this snapped Luna out of her current state and she looked towards the source. Seeing as it was the creature that had attacked them just now. The lunar princess brought her weapon up as her face morphed into rage. She then said the following in a wrath filled tone that promise that Tartarus was going to rain down. “Sir Gambit, your arm! Please, I must ask that you fall back! My sister and I will take care-.” Luna's voice was cut off when two of the blades pulled away from the collection and zoomed into place between the princesses and Brex to make a barricade formation without so much as moving a single muscle to command such a quick and precise manipulation of the blades.

They were stunned at the action and Luna was about to speak up again when they saw some white flakes falling from him. These turned out to be the smaller chunks of his mask as they were slowly breaking away. By now, the edges of his mask had receded nearly half an inch. The eye holes had even widened. There was also enough missing at the bottom to partially expose his beard. After pulling his sword free and turning his full back towards them. His body began to plummet as if the flying spell had worn off. The blades however shifted apart and followed directly behind the same path he was taking in the air.

His arms were outstretched and slightly pointing upwards as his left foot was straightened underneath. The long piece of tattered fabric that was attached to his left shoulder in the back was fluttering from the rush of wind. When he was getting close to the ground. It was one of the crystalline aetheric blades that rushed ahead of the rest and swooped in from the right to position itself so that Brex would land firmly with both feet onto the side of the blade. Which so happened to be the great sword that took on a vaguely hourglass shape and slowed his descent before coming to a stop only five meters above the ground.

His arms were down as his weapon was carefully pointed low and away from his body in a relaxed posture. The eye holes for his mask, which were usually dark. Now glowed with a powerful aura which corresponded to the symbol being held in each of them. The right was giving off a bluish vapor that was being lightly blown by the wind so that it was wrapping around that side of his head.

The same was done with the right as it was giving off a burning flame. A few more flakes of the mask fell to just barely make out the bottom of his lips and expose an indifferent frown. What's more where the very thin markings of white glowing veins that could just barely be made out as a they were leading from the lips as to go down as to disappear under his beard. Even the pale skin was taking on a darker shade, yet not as dark when compared to the now exposed right arm.

His right leg slowly lifted from the top of the overly large great sword as his body moved forward at a leisurely pace. The other blades responded to this motion and move to construct a stairway of swords that would lead him all the way down. Of course, this did not require each and every one of the sixteen, as four remained close to his sides in a defensive manner. Every time he was done with a blade by stepping off of one and on to the next. It would fly off and wait at the bottom. The Chimera was watching this from a distance as it warily eyed all of what was happening, as the weapons were easily a little over three and a half meters long, with some of the larger ones exceeding four.

When Brex was finished and placed both feet onto solid ground once again. He was at the beginning of a procession of blades that would crisscross the tips overhead between him and the Chimera. The Dragon head raised higher to show that it was about to quickly cast its lightning area effect spell as Brex took his first step. The two blades he passed flew off in a blur and quickly made it over to the moving head. Lines of blurry lights were made as the weapons traveled around the appendage and produced a series of deep cuts along every conceivable surface before returning to float nearby and hover right behind the Roegadyn.

What came of this, was that the Dragon's head now had a couple of deep cuts that ran across its face. Even the horns were cleanly sliced off as the entire thing was now gushing with blood. It roared and thrashed about as the wounds bubbled over with the red soaked tissue. These swelled until it took on a similar texture to the skin around it and instantly deflated to show that it was healed within seconds. It took great offense to this and dashed forward with its entire frame and nearly became a blur. The right paw was brought up to slash at Brex right when he took another step and released the next set of blades.

These traveled even faster than the Chimera and instantly whizzed around the leg until they reached its shoulder. From there, they began to spin as though they were rotating power saws and coiled around the appendage until it got to the end. The two even position themselves into an X formation to block and stop the Chimera in its place as it hit with a resounding gong. That was when all the cuts opened up and the ground became soaked with its crimson life-giving essence. This all happened within a single second and the Chimera was forced to back off after giving another of its pained roars of agony as the leg began to heal itself in the same manner as the Dragon’s head.

The wings flexed as they were unfurling. He saw this and took yet another step. This ended up with the wings getting sliced along the membrane so many times that it resembled the sales on a battered ship that was hit with a devastating storm. It happened so fast that by the time the blades had returned to his side. The tattered remains of leather were still falling to the floor. It then roared loudly as it bared its fangs in retaliation and dug its paws into the ground. The wind it created was so powerful that it blew a number of the smaller pieces of rocks away thanks to the force in its voice. But Brex showed no signs of all of being affected as he slowly took the next step.

The result was the next set of blades to come flying and slice up the Chimeras face so badly that it was covered in nearly a hundred cuts. Even the eyes were affected as it suddenly roared again and shook its head wildly before falling on its side. This only left four more steps before the remaining swords were put into play and Brex just stood in place as if taunting the monster and saying that he was waiting for it to make its next move. A few more pieces of his mask fell off during these few seconds and it started to show the part of his cheek with the scar.

When the wounds regenerated. It's suddenly lunged at Brex with its entire body in an attempt to get to him before it suffered too many damages. But this turned out to be a bad move as Brex took yet another slow step and did not allow the Chimera to get all that much closer. Within half a second. The monster was surrounded with so many flashing lines of bright blue, that it essentially formed a perfect sphere to incase its entire body. At the end, it broke off and sent many small crescent moon shaped waves of energy in nearly all directions. A few came close to hitting Brex and create deep cuts along the rocky floor. The few nearby rock formations were either sliced in half are reduced to small pieces of rubble when struck.

Others that went flying off at a distance disappeared before hitting anything else. As for the Chimera itself. It could be seen flying back as it was halfway flipped over. Its legs, tail, wings and multiple heads were nearly cut clean off. Lacerations littered its entire body as the thick fur and hide offered little resistance to the counter attack. Even the claws themselves along each of the feet were cut clean off to take away its devastating slashes. The leeches that protruded from underneath also ended up being cut up so much that they were nothing but tiny chunks as the base that they were connected to was cleanly shaved off so that not a single one remained.

Now only three steps were left as the Chimera landed on its back and started to flail about helplessly. The blackened ground of Ghastly Gorge was slowly being painted red by the amount of blood that was being lost by the Chimera. Brex waited for a number of seconds before it got back on to its shaky legs right as the last of the injuries recovered. Even the same tentacles with the suction cupped mouths and many teeth could be seen to have grown back. It bared its teeth to give off a low growl before it turned on the spot and attempted to run. With the use of its accelerated speed, it was capable of covering nearly twenty-five meters within a single second.

However, this was all it got after the next set of blades were sent out. The result was too curving slashes of white light and its large form suddenly falling onto its belly and skidding for several more meters before colliding head first with a protruding rock face. It was only followed up with four black limbs tumbling past to signify that it had lost its legs. Another step was taken and the creatures wings, tail’s and two extra heads were cleanly chopped off and rendered into mincemeat before they even having a chance to fall to the ground.

The base of each of the Lost appendages began to bubble as grotesque lumps grew from the body and released squelches and Pops when the bones regenerated and muscles were reformed. Given the severity of how much was being regrown. This act took much longer than the previous ones, as the Chimera was barely able to turn its head back towards Brex as it pressed its nearly skeletal legs onto the ground to push up. It still had a murderous look in its eyes as it stared at the last set of swords that had yet to be passed by. Yet, before it could do anything else. Brex moved again and a quick flash was seen in the Chimeras eyes before the world being reflected in them was suddenly turned upside down.

This was because the large lion head was swiftly decapitated and slid off the neck with a sickening squelch. This was done when the blades appeared overhead and came down from either direction to act as a pair of scissors before joining the other sets. The large form collapsed as the half-grown Dragon and Ram heads released their gargled screeches. The severed section of the neck for the lion started to spew an abnormal amount of blood before a large bubble of the red liquid began to form and swell. Once it had gotten large enough. It suddenly popped and revealed the skeletal structure of the missing appendage.

Brain tissue, along with a set of bloodshot eyeballs could easily be seen through the gaps as it was growing at an abnormally fast speed. Muscle tendons, additional teeth, veins, skin and new fur were instantly brought back. It gave off a listless look in its eyes as if attempting to recall what was happening before it began to show an expression that could have been taken as pure fear when it finally locked its eyes onto Brex. It was unsure as to whether or not it was due to what it had suffered through or the fact that the sixteen blades were now taking on a slow fan-like orbit around the Roegadyn.

It was then that Rory showed up and stood at a decent distance away. She witnessed the moment her master produced the weapons while in mid-air. The brutality that was displayed had even caused her to have this lovebird expression to explode all over her face. Hearts were practically visible in her eyes as she was biting her lower lip and sporting a heavy blush. Both arms were used to wrap around herself as she was having trouble with standing up straight. especially seeing as both knees were practically crossed with her thighs grinding against one another to signify that the girl was getting very turned on.

She even silently murmured to herself the following as drool was dripping from the edge of her mouth in a disturbing manner. “My Master... My Master has finally allowed himself to let go... Oh yes! The brutality! I love it when he gets like this. Yes... yes! Toy with it more! Rory was practically squealing with delight as she was holding in her excitement as to not ruin the moment. Her entire body was slowly building up a strong shuttering as she witnessed what was happening next.

Brex just stood there for what was close to a minute of pure silence as the Chimera just stood there in a petrified state. However, Brex finally began to move his right arm which had been still for the entire duration. As the sword was slowly being brought up to point in the Chimeras direction. There was a distinct sound of rushing water colliding with stone in the general vicinity of the monster. Then the air was filled with the distinct odor of both urine and feces as the monster's body was shaking uncontrollably and the hairs were standing on end. All the while, its eyes slowly moved in tandem when watching the blade that was being brought up.

The next thing to happen at the very instant that the tip was now directly pointing at the Chimera. Was all sixteen flying at different directions and converging on the silently indicated target. Some were going for a piercing blow. Others flew to do a wide slash. The ground was torn up so much from the inadvertent attack. The unfortunate monster was turned into a dark silhouette by the number of blue lights being produced by each quick movements of the many swords. It was sliced down the middle. Small white dots were formed to match the background and then instantly grew to show that parts of it had been skewered.

This was followed up by more and more cuts as the creature was sliced over and over again. Large chunks were turned into thin slices that would just barely be big enough to fit in the palm of a person's hand. From an outsider’s standpoint, it may as well have been slowly disintegrating as the pieces became so small that they were no longer visible in the flashing lights. There was even a corresponding shockwave that it even blew up a sizable amount of debris with enough Force to send rocks flying high up and out of the gorge itself.

(Stop the music here if it was put into a loop.)

When all was said and done. The blades hung in the air for a few seconds as everything fell to an eerie silence. Then air was littered as the crystalline aetheric shapes crumbled away so that the specs of light would disappear into the wind. When the last of them were finally gone. Brex stood still as even more of his mask continued to crumble. Now everything from below his nose was completely exposed to show his pale skin having turned a dark shade of black. Even more of the pulsing white veins were now visible as they gave off a quick burst of intensified light and time with his heartbeat.

There was a quick jerk of his chest as he gave off a small cough. What came out of his lips and dribbled slowly down his chin and into his beard was not of the expected red blood, but of a glowing white substance. Rory saw this and ran up to Brex right as his legs began to give out. With clear worry both on her face and tone. She attempted to prop him up but failed, as he ended up on his knees when she spoke. “Don't worry! We'll use some healing potions and-.” Her words were cut short when Brex began to violently cough and spew more of the white substance over his chest and onto the ground before him by nearly a foot away.

Through labored and wheezing short breaths. Brex spoke as each word was painfully difficult to choke out. “Rory... *Cough*. My body won't... it won't hold together... much longer. Too much *Cough*... aether is inside! Nervous system is overloaded! The poison from earlier has not worn off either!” Brex was now coughing even more before he continued after putting his weapon away into his inventory. “I’ve got no choice but to let this play through... I need to go before the others arrive. You know-. *Cough*. You know what to do.”

Rory could do nothing but to hastily nod as she looked over his form. She then said hurriedly, “Its fine, it's okay. I get it, I get it! Take all the time you need and I'll come up with an excuse.” her face turned into a frown as she pulled him closer so that she could put her face in the crook of his neck while also holding herself back from sobbing. She then whispered into his ear. “Don't take too long, okay? Will use the excuse we came up with beforehand. Brex only nodded as his body was pressed up against hers.”

After a couple of seconds, Rory released her grip and Brex began to meld his body into the shadow that was being cast onto the floor below. But what he said next caused Rory to give him a questioning gaze as his head was just entering the shadows after closing is still burning eyes. “Oh yeah. One more thing. When I come back... Fill me in on what I just did back there... OK?”

The scene concludes when the silhouette of the figures could be seen rushing down from the sky. The Gloom filled weather was already reforming and made it possible to obscure them until they were nearly landing less than several meters away. The voice of Celestia rang out in clearly a mix of panic and urgency. “Sir Gambit! Sir Gambit! Where are you?! We must tend to your injuries!” All Rory did, was to silently watch with a clear frown on her face as the white Alicorn approached while nearly stumbling over the loose dirt with how hurriedly she was running.