It was essentially a bigger version of the Hunter that Daniel had defeated back on the jungle planet, the beast possessing a long, quadrupedal body with spines running down its back. However, there were a few key differences. Its tail was bladed rather than bony, the reflective flat of the natural weapon catching the dim light as it swished around. Its body was also broader and more muscular than its lesser form, though it was topped by the same elongated, diamond-shaped head. Of course, this time, it had five eyes with ochre-colored pupils. The young Pioneer grit his teeth as he beheld the Greater Ravager.
Its claw strike had sent Moravan shooting across the room at blinding speed. The captain crashed into the wall with a BOOM that reverberated throughout the chamber, but there was no time to check up on him before the creature struck out at its next target. Lieutenant Alron’s eyes were wide as saucers as he watched death itself overshadow him, unable to react as the creature’s claws tore him apart. Or rather, they would have torn him apart, if a blade or brilliant white fire hadn’t stopped them mid-strike,
“Engaging Makiel Protocol, [Maximum] Power”
System Power: 86.5%
Status
Strength: 325 (+1100)
Dexterity: 435 (+1100)
Constitution: 290 (+600)
Adaptability: 344 (+400)
Psyche: 496 (+700)
Heavenly Armament: Online
Secondary Armaments: Offline
Maneuverability Gear: Offline
Subfunctions: Standard
Daniel’s arms strained as he held the Heavenly Armament aloft, his strength barely enough to halt the Kharnidd’s attack. The blade sizzled as it contested the creature’s midnight black claws, and the monster snarled in pain and irritation. Digging in its back feet, it launched into a vicious flurry of claw strikes against this new foe.
Lightning reflexes were the only things that saved Daniel from a humiliating beatdown. Quick as a thought, he activated the Destroyer’s Strike on both of his arms. That allowed him to swing his sword with impressive speed and power for a few moments, matching the enemy blow-for-blow in an intense blur of motion. The Ravager’s surprise was palpable as Daniel held his ground in the face of the devastating onslaught. But the human felt the Psionic boost begin to wane quickly, so he poured on the pressure. He activated his Hunter’s Domain, boosting his dexterity and allowing him to predict the enemy’s movements more easily. He then shifted the Armament’s Mode.
In the blink of an eye, the weapon went from a flaming sword to a massive warhammer. Gold metal circled the handle in rings and coated the flats on both sides of the rectangular head, though most of the weapon’s body was made of a sleek ivory alloy. Solid white plasma was inlaid within the metal, running up the handle and coalescing in a rectangle of fiery power at the weapon’s peak. Daniel imbued the hammer with an Overclocked Destroyer’s Strike as he swung it, the weapon suddenly shining with blinding yellow light.
The Xenos was caught off guard by the blow’s power as it crashed into its claws. Bone cracked as the monster was sent flying away, and many of the other Pioneers sprang into action as the Ravager was put on the backfoot. Some fired lasers, while others shot out Psionic missiles. Lieutenant Alron even managed to shake off his terror at his near-death experience and fire off one of his circular lasers, which resembled a flying yellow disk.
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The Kharnidd was quick to counter, however. It had a Hunter’s Domain of its own, which it manifested in the blink of an eye as it flew. Its tail and claws deflected many of the projectiles with swift movement that Daniel could scarcely follow. Some of the attacks landed, though they did very minor damage. The beast landed on the cavern floor outside the perimeter of the Pioneers largely unscathed, but Daniel wasn’t going to let it get away that easily. He activated his wings, flying above the heads of the others and activating his Secondary Armaments. He pelted the Xenos with a column of blaster bolts, the System’s ordinance moving faster than anything else the Xenos had dealt with.
The Ravager responded by looking up and opening its mouth wide. It spat out its own column of projectiles, a swarm of thin, triangular slices of energy. They struck Daniel’s bolts in a litany of flashing lights that danced across the cavern’s walls. The projectiles proved evenly matched, but Daniel’s class upgrades had seen him upgrade his array of weapon options as well. After the blaster bolts, he shot out six lances of white light from some open portals on his back, the lasers arcing around and homing in on the Xenos. Its body glowed with more power as it attempted to evade.
The lasers crashed into the earth with a deep rumble, kicking up a cloud of debris, yet their target emerged from that cloud largely unscathed. Unfurled behind its back were Psionic wing constructs, which glowed as they propelled the creature toward Daniel at blistering speeds. He took frantic evasive maneuvers, throwing himself to the side as the monster streaked past him, dodging the claws but finding himself in range of the tail. The young man barely managed to lift his blade and block a sweeping strike as the long blade struck him square on. The force of the blow sent the Pioneer spinning away, and as Daniel physically tumbled around, he mentally fumbled around with his options to survive this fight.
Heavenly Pierce and Heavenly Slash were off the table. Even if Daniel managed to hit the Ravager with either move, using the special functions of the Heavenly Armament under these conditions would likely cause mass casualties. The ceiling, and possibly the cave systems around them, would collapse under the fallout of such powerful attacks. Not to mention the risk of Daniel accidentally hitting someone he couldn’t see.
That left Daniel with precious few options for taking out something that outclassed him so severely. Beating a Delta class as a Zeta class was one thing. But handling a Beta as a Delta? Daniel could only fight to stay alive as he righted himself and traded more blows with the flying Xenos. They circled one another in a brilliant mid-air dance, powers flashing and weapons blazing. The creature tried to go invisible again, but Daniel’s Camouflage Break subfunction allowed him to see through that. However, he didn’t let on that he’d seen through the enemy, pretending to be fooled as the creature charged in for the kill. Daniel dodged at the last moment, scorching a line across its skin with a mighty counterstroke, but that was the most he could manage.
The Sky’s Master Capacity didn’t just give the Greater Ravager the ability to fly. It boosted the enemy’s speed considerably, allowing it to zoom around and deliver strikes that were almost impossible to react to. Were it not for the unreasonably high specs of the Makiel Protocol’s Maneuverability Gear, Daniel would have been done for after the first few exchanges. His wings spat in the eyes of physics, so he was able to perform death-defying dodges and hairpin turns like it was nothing. Though Daniel was slower than the Xenos, he made up the difference with sheer evasiveness, so their fight took on an unsteady equilibrium.
Daniel slipped under one claw strike and tried to hit the enemy in the ribs. It dodged and whipped the tail around, but Daniel was already flying upward to avoid it. It fired off another Bone Stripping Barrage from its mouth, which Daniel countered with more plasma bolts from the wrist. The Ravager cut off its attack and shot forward again, rolling around Daniel’s ordinance and trying to get in close. The young man braced himself to evade, but he didn’t have to. The creature’s approach was swiftly interrupted by a barrage of attacks from the ground.
A fight had broken out below Daniel and the Ravager. Several more Kharnidd had poured into the room after the Beta class creature first attacked. The disorganized and shocked Pioneers had taken some time to get organized and deal with the enemy, but they weren’t one of the most experienced Divisions in the 208th for nothing. The Lieutenants had quickly organized a defense, and now their frontline was holding off the other Kharnidd while the backline was helping Daniel.
The Ravager was forced backward by a bunch of projectiles shot up from the ground, and Daniel felt himself get buffed from a half-dozen sources on the ground. He could have sworn he heard Allen Praxis yelling, “BE STRONG,” and he definitely noticed Lieutenant Alron granting him a buff as well. Emboldened, Daniel shot forward, determined to turn the tables.
The two combatants traded more blows in a mesmerizing duel. Daniel deflected a claw strike and slid to the side to avoid an upward stab from the tail, striking out at the beast’s left as he did. It blocked with its claw, but the attack further chipped the creature’s natural weapon. The Xenos used the force of the strike to fly backward, only to gather momentum by flying upward and diving down at Daniel. The young man activated an Overclocked Destroyer’s Strike on his weapon, raising it overhead and flying up to meet the enemy. They met head-on with a thunderous boom, sending both combatants screaming backward. But Daniel had the clear advantage, as the Ravager crashed uncontrollably into the cavern’s roof. As the creature fought to stabilize itself, it was hit by a bunch of projectiles from the ground. It managed to deflect or avoid most of these, but the damage was starting to accumulate. Snarling, the Kharnidd opened its mouth and began charging up its trump card.
Daniel flew back into the fight, only to watch as a sphere of orange light began forming within its jaws. Arcs of saffron lightning shot sporadically off the ball as it gathered power, and Daniel hurriedly shot upward to try and interrupt the burgeoning process. But the Ravager was still faster than him in straight flight, so it effectively ran away from Daniel even as he vigorously pursued it. Daniel had been dreading this moment the entire fight. The Greater Ravager’s Spiraling Sphere attack could carve chunks off mountains. If the attack hit the wall, it could theoretically cause a devastating cave-in. Daniel fired off more lasers in another attempt to interrupt the move. The Kharnidd got clipped by some of the plasma bolts, yet it seemed undeterred as the sphere grew larger and spun even faster, generating more lightning byproduct. In a split second, Daniel flew backward, shifting his weapon to a hammer and preparing himself. He hadn’t unlocked the Shield Mode of the Armament yet, so he’d have to hit the Spiraling Sphere with the hammer mid-flight. With any luck, he’d send it right back toward the Kharnidd.
The technique was complete after another fraction of a second, and Daniel saw something strange in the Kharnidd’s eyes. Something he interpreted as smugness. Contrary to the young man’s expectations, the Ravager didn’t angle its mouth at him and release the attack. Instead, it turned its head downward.
Before Daniel could react, his enemy shot the spinning ball of destruction at the heart of the Pioneer formation.
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