16. Divide and Conquer


    [REVOLVER Spell: CATHARSIS]


    [MP Cost: 21]


    [Spell Description: Chamber One imbuement. Take 20% of max HP in self-damage, then imbue cartridge with the black flames of penitence that deal Infernal damage to a single target in three stages. The first stage is equal to REVOLVER’s base AV converted to Infernal damage type. The second stage is equal to the first stage increased by the percentage of caster’s missing HP, up to a maximum of 80%. The third stage is double the second stage.]


    ***


    Attempt #2 began much the same way as the first, with Bayu the Unfettered Warden throwing his own arena into pandemonium.


    A DIAPHRAGM-blown tornado howled through the air in a wide conal pattern, causing more Frenzied Penitents to fall from the sky. In other words, the boss fight began much the same way as its two challengers had pictured it.


    “Jackass has got a lot of tricks up his sleeve,” Zacko had pontificated back at the Waystation, “but his signature attack—the one he’ll open every encounter with—is that big AOE.”


    “AOE?”


    “Area of effect. Come on, keep up. That on its own wouldn’t be too bad to deal with, but the way the boss arena is set up allows that AOE attack to call down a bunch of adds at the same time.”


    “Adds?”


    “Yeah, added mobs. Those crazies that fall from the sky whenever their bubbles burst. Come on, Serac, context clues; don’t expect me to be your walking glossary.”


    Joke’s on you. I’ve already got a walking glossary, right inside my own head.


    “Anyway, because of those adds, what we need is to divide and conquer. The dividing part is easy. Because one of us is pretty good at drawing aggro—”


    “He means to keep the boss distracted and focused on one target.”


    “—while the other is better suited for dealing with the adds. But the conquering part? Well, that comes down to execution, doesn’t it?”


    Presently, Zacko stuck close to Bayu, using [Shield] to keep himself grounded. Serac, on the other hand, stayed true to her side of the divided labor, sprinting well clear of the tornado while watching how and where the bodies hit the floor.


    Yes, she was the ‘other’ in the equation, better suited for dealing with the adds. At a glance, she counted a baker’s dozen in total, scattered all around the arena. Assuming each of them required three bullets to put down (and assuming she didn’t miss), that would leave her with just one to spend on the boss.


    And that was okay. Because a single bullet was all she needed to complete her side of the conquest.


    But one thing at a time. First, she needed to thin out the adds so Zacko could safely ‘draw aggro’ to his heart’s content. And in order to let her companion single-task, Serac herself needed to multi-task.


    Across the arena, the Penitent nearest Zacko lurched to its feet and made a beeline for the NINEFOLD master. Serac ran into range and stopped it in its tracks with three well-placed shots.


    Even as her first kill turned to Souldust, she pivoted in place, scanning for and finding the next threat. One shot. Two shots. Three—


    The third shot flew wide as Serac ducked, forced into saving her own skin from a Penitent that had snuck up right behind her. She spun and socked it in the jaw with PULVERIZER, dealing [102!] points of damage while also knocking it off-balance.


    She then used the momentary reprieve to reload one bullet and pivot her sights back onto Zacko and his immediate threat. She finished that Penitent off, one bullet later than she’d planned to, then spun again to PULVERIZE the one nearest her to Souldust.


    Talk about multi-tasking! Not only did she have to pay attention to both her and Zacko’s safety, she also had to manage her Stamina and still keep one eye on Bayu and his DIAPHRAGM.


    It was a lot, but she also knew that the division in labor was more or less fair. For while Zacko needed only to focus on the one target, that same target could very well kill him in an instant.


    And focus he did. The Manusya didn’t so much as steal a glance in Serac’s direction as he kept up his dance of death with Bayu. It seemed he had full trust in his Rakshasa partner… or, perhaps, he really was perfectly comfortable with dying again and again if he had to.


    Either way, the sight of Zacko’s singular focus on his aggro-drawing role triggered in Serac another jolt of dissonant nostalgia. Somehow, she felt at home. Somehow, the fight and its rhythm felt familiar.


    That familiarity bred confidence. Confidence in herself. Confidence in victory.


    All told, it took exactly 39 bullets, 11 PULVERIZER punches, and countless sprints around the arena to take down all 13 adds. Through it all, Zacko had done a marvelous job of keeping Bayu all to himself, but a quick Pathsighted glance told Serac that the boss still boasted a full HP bar—at least double that of a single Jailer.


    Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.


    No matter. Now that the fight had condensed into a 2v1, the Wayfarers were ready to move into phase two of their plan.


    “It goes without saying, but there’s a limit to how long I can play the ‘tank’ role,” Zacko had explained as the two of them shared notes on each other’s strengths and weaknesses. “Every activation of THE NINEFOLD DAO eats up a bit of MP. At some point, I’m simply going to run out. We need to finish the fight before that happens. Any ideas?”


    “That means we need a way to deal big damage in a short amount of time,” Serac had suggested, “and I think I know just the thing. [Catharsis]. It requires a bit of set-up, but it’s definitely the hardest-hitting thing in my arsenal.”


    “Yeah, I saw that! Right before I took a fatal hit myself, that is. But it’s not enough by itself, is it? I think, in total, it did about half of Jackass’s HP.”


    “Not by itself, no,” Serac had mused out loud, her ‘idea’ forming even as she spoke it into being, “but with a—what was it—critical multiplier, though?”


    “Now you’re thinking like a Wayfarer.”


    “Now you’re thinking like a Wayfarer!” Zacko had unknowingly echoed the voice in Serac’s head. “I can Poise-break Jackass first, make him vulnerable, then you can come in and one-shot him with your [Catharsis]. Don’t worry. I won’t get mad about you stealing my smiting.”


    “Excuse you? Not really your smiting, is it, if I’m dealing most of the damage?”


    “Now you’re quibbling like a Wayfarer, too. I like it. Getting back on topic for a minute, I do have a technique that’s tailor-made for Poise-breaking big dudes like Jackass, but in order for me to land it, I’m gonna need plenty of opening. Do you think, once you’re done getting rid of the adds, that you’ll be able to draw aggro? Just for a Ksana or two, long enough for me to do my thing?”


    “I can do that.” Serac had made a sour face as she said this. Not because she didn’t think she was up for the job, but because she knew exactly what the job required of her. “In fact, I kind of have to do it. It’s… part of my set-up.”


    Phase two. It was time for the Wayfarers to switch roles, at least for a Ksana or two.


    But first, Serac loaded her final cartridge—the one she’d saved just for this part of the fight—into Chamber One. [1|0]. And with just the one bullet left to her, the best way she could think to make herself the center of Bayu’s aggression was to—


    “Oi, Jackass!”


    Donkey legs shuffled in place. A Warden’s mismatched limbs twisted in search of their next victim. And the face of a laughing Buddha found its target, showing nothing of what it thought about the insult it’d just copped.


    Serac, for her part, found the Buddha’s gaze rather creepy in its immutability and menacing in its intensity. She forced herself to swallow her rising fear and stand in place, raising REVOLVER to eye level as she did. But, at least on this occasion, her marksman’s stance was only for show—an important part of her set-up.


    Bayu uncoiled a donkey kick for the ages, shooting out his hind-legs with all the fury of a Warden scorned. Serac met the two-hooved attack—unmitigated—square in the chest.


    [264!]


    She went flying. Nearly as high as when she’d been caught by a tornado during the previous fight. And just like that last time, she landed on her butt with another wallop of fall damage.


    [165!]. Very scary. Very painful. And very much a necessary part of her set-up.


    Even as her head swam from the impact and pain, she forced herself to get up and ready for the next part of her job. As she did, she managed to catch a glimpse of Zacko’s technique, the one touted to be ‘tailor-made for Poise-breaking big dudes’.


    It was an impressively acrobatic move, one that started with a soaring jump—high enough to bring Zacko’s own face level with that of the Buddha’s—and ended with:


    [Auxiliary Technique: THE SIXTH DAO—CUDGEL]


    Zacko’s head connected with Bayu’s with a sickening crack.


    A leaping headbutt! Serac hadn’t known what to expect, but now that she’d witnessed the technique in person, it all made sense. Anyone would lose their Poise to that… from the humiliation if not the impact!


    Sure enough, Bayu staggered in place and fell to his donkey knees. He lost his grip on DIAPHRAGM, and the massive bellows dropped to his side, bouncing uselessly against the tonguey floor.


    Poise-break! This was it. Time for Serac to put the finishing touches on a conquest that had been executed nearly to perfection.


    [Chamber One: CATHARSIS]


    Another hit of self-damage ([127!]) brought Serac dangerously close to the bottom of her HP bar, but she knew from simple math that she’d survive the hit. So, it was with a calm sense of certitude that she watched [Catharsis]’s three-stage fireworks unfold.


    [293!], [492!], [983!] -> [1768!]


    Black flames waned into the Interstitium, taking with them every last trace of Bayu’s chunky HP bar.


    As the Wayfarers had theorized, the critical multiplier had been enough to push [Catharsis]’s already hefty damage over the top. A one-shot finisher for the ages—one that had required 40 bullets and a painful kick in the chest to get to.


    And when Bayu the Unfettered Warden met his end—for all his menace, his epithets, and his jackassery—he faded into Souldust like all the rest. Even DIAPHRAGM faded with him, tethered as it’d been to its Hellspawn wielder. After the dust settled, all that was left in its place was a wooden mask, with its laughing Buddha face now turned up toward the ceiling.


    “Score!” Zacko cheered happily, then made his way over to VISAGE with bounding steps. Serac would’ve joined him too—if her curiosity hadn’t been stolen away by Pathsight’s overlay, which now positively exploded with new information.


    First came what could only be described as a message of congratulations, rather deflatingly matter-of-fact in tone: [GREATER ABERRANT SMITED].


    Next came the influx of rewarded Karma, gratifyingly substantial despite having to be split with a second Wayfarer: [1740 ?]. This, combined with the [301 ?] Serac had lost on her previous attempt and the [1040 ?] she’d accrued from ‘dealing with’ the Penitents, put her total Liminal Karma at a cool [3081 ?].


    Then came a third message: [Waystation Privilege awarded. Current charge: 1].


    This, while surprising, was easy enough to parse. Trippy had mentioned that Waystations were something a Wayfarer could ‘install’ at locations of her choice, much like how Zacko had dropped one inside the Damnatorium’s throat. It followed then that this was Pathsight’s way of telling her that she too could deploy a lotus flower of her own, likely as a reward for dealing the smiting blow to a dungeon boss.


    But the strangest messages—and the ones that most piqued Serac’s curiosity—came at the very end. A pair of them, in fact:


    [RAKSHASA Unique Trait unlocked: REALM BOON]


    [NARAKA Realm Boon unlocked: TRIBULATION]