After reintroducing Puck to Lady Iris and talking a bit of smack, everyone witnessed the villain chase after Barry, Shaco, and Puck. And with her distracted at the moment, Barry’s team made haste to proceed as planned. Every adventurer that they encountered was informed of their current goal which was to eliminate the rest to the flower pits so they could finish the challenge. Originally Puck was their main solution to eliminating these pits but they found some pyromancers capable of delivering the same results, though less effective than Puck’s draconic flames.
Fighting their way through the mob of monstrous plants, Luna and Ron fulfilled their roles to divert most of the attention away from the pyromancers while Kat and Anna guarded them. Other skilled fighters such as paladins, barbarians, and martial fighters fought side-by-side with them, working together collectively. Rinse and repeat, this was their strategy that was simple yet effective. Lady Iris’s children were about as strong as the adventurers at the moment, but if they didn’t hurry, then they could evolve to become an even bigger problem.
Steady progress was being made overtime, they had managed to destroy three more flower pits without stopping, leaving only five left to get rid of. However, those that were left had reached a stage of maturity where they began pumping out deadlier monsters. These included suicide bomber plants, beefy mushrooms that were stomping juggernaunts, and armed garden knights. Struggles were felt on the contestants side, they had to step up the pace if they were to survive.
Ron supplied frost enchanted pebbles to Luna who used them as ammo for her slingshot, slowing down and temporarily freezing the most worrying enemies that opposed them. “I need to drink a mana potion. Give me a moment.” Ron warned Luna. He quickly checked the durability usage of his rune gloves and was shocked to see that it was about ? from being depleted. It never came to mind how costly it was for him to enchant Luna’s pebbles, he became worried.
“Are you ready to make more? I’m running low right now!” Luna asked, slinging two frost pebbles to halt some suicide bombers in their place.
“Uuuuuuh, I-I can’t actually. My rune gloves are reaching their limit; if I make any more, then they’ll be out of usage. I’m sorry.” Ron explained in a worried tone. He wondered when the next time would be when they would find one of those Mokia Machines to restore his gloves durability.
“Damn, really? I’m gonna miss shooting these frost pebbles, they were my favorite type of ammo.” Luna commented, sounding a bit upset. She decided to reserve some of her special pebbles for a later time when she needed them and switched back to using regular empowered pebbles.
After telling Luna, Ron placed his entire focus on using his illusion magic to disorientate the monsters by conjuring other false adventurers. It helped somewhat but not as effectively as he would have hoped because unlike foes such as Mongrels, these plants were able to defer between what was real or fake by the touch of their spores. ‘Without my rune gloves, I can only do so much using my illusions against these guys. Once again, I’ve fallen back from being reliable to my team.’
He looked at Luna’s clones fending off against the monsters; although she was only able to make duplicates of herself wielding weapons from her inventory, they weren’t apparitions, they were real until they were shattered upon being dealt enough damage. ‘It makes me jealous of her and I know it’s wrong for me to think so. All my life I’ve been so invested in studying illusioncraft, wanting to make my manifestations the real deal. And although all she can make are physical clones, she’s able to do so thanks to the system just like that…’
Luna triggered a chain of explosions by detonating one of the enemy bombers into another, this put a smile on her face of how cool that was. “Did you see that Ron! That was- Ron! Ron, look out!”
Too deep in his thoughts to notice the creature that was charging at him, Ron was pushed aside by one of Luna’s clones, taking the brunt of the monster’s attack. The clone shattered on impact but served its purpose to save Ron. One of the adventurers came to his aid as well to quickly finish the beast off. “Ron! Ron, are you hurt?” Luna came up to him, inspecting for any injuries.
Ron felt stupid for losing his situational awareness and got up on his own. “Y-Yeah, yeah I’m good…” He looked at her for a brief moment, thinking how he was rescued by a kid of all people, a kid that had a better skill suitable for the fight going on now.
From how he responded to her, Luna wanted to ask what was wrong but the call of Anna informing the others that the flower pit was sabotaged got their attention. Without wasting time, everyone then moved along to the next objective. “Come on, we can’t get left behind.” Ron advised, rushing to catch up to the others. There was no time for Luna to consult Ron about what was on his mind so she set it aside and followed for now.
Adventurers who were rangers, rogues, and scouts in general were the ones who guided everyone to their destination. Ron didn’t have the best constitution of his party, as he chugged a stamina potion to keep himself going. Drinking consecutive potions in a short period of time typically resulted in the next potion being less effective and Ron was guilty of this.
They stopped in front of a heavily guarded flower pit that required their frontliners to breach through in order for their pyromancers to get to work. Joining the frontline was Anna, Kat applied ranged support with other similar mage adventurers, while Ron and Luna watched the rear. Sweat was pouring down from Ron and Luna could see it, she too was getting exhausted but knew that they were nearing the end of this challenge with every objective they complete. “You’re doing great Ron, we’re almost done!” She said, trying to encourage his tiresome state.
“R-Right…almost done.” Ron repeated to himself, his dexterity in constructing multiple illusions was getting his shaky, as well as his mentality to maintain them. ‘After this pit, there’s only three more…three…more. Barry, Shaco, and Puck are distracting the villain, they have the hardest job out of all of us…this…this is…cake…yeah…cake…’ His breathing was starting to become irregular, the pounding of his head throbbing from fatigue build-up.
Suddenly, a pack of exotic wolf-like flowers emerged from an alley and sprinted their way. A paladin alerted the rear about their approach and they all prepared for their assault. Ron weaved his magic into manifesting a wall of flames to discourage the beasts from charging straight ahead, hoping they’d waste time by going a different route. But that would not be the case, as he was astonished to see them ignore his false flames. “W-What!?”
All the rear fighters braced for the clash of wolves, they couldn’t let any of them pass and disrupt the people ahead so they gave it all they got. Ron ducked under a lunging wolf that collided against another fighter. ‘D-Do they know about my illusions!? Have they been programmed to just not care about what’s in their path!? A-Am I…am I just…’ He checked his surroundings in a panic, worried about his survival until he saw the advance of one wolf coming his way, fangs bared. ‘...useless?’
Once again, his life was intervened by one of Luna’s clones that jumped in time to tackle the beast and hack away using its axe. The real Luna reached Ron, shaking his shoulders to break him out of his daze. “Ron! Wake up Ron! You can’t be staring off into space like this! You have to-”
Bursting out of a building from afar was a large four-legged carnivorous plant hydra chasing down a group of adventurers. “Hydra! Help us!” One of them pleaded at the top of their lunges while practically luring it towards the rest of them. Luna and Ron saw this, uncertain of what they could do to stop this behemoth from ruining their operation. A squad of warriors rushed up to handle the beast with all their might but were knocked to the side. It didn’t seem to care about gobbling or even nibbling at the adventurers; it was like Ron had thought, these creatures were now programmed unlike before to solely stop those destroying the flower pits relentlessly.
Luna gathered up her clones, duplicating as many as she could to slow the monstrosity down; she even decided to use the remaining frost pebbles to freeze its mobility. Her efforts helped some, but still, the monster continued to charge onward down its path. If nothing was done soon, then the beast was going to foil their progress.
It was then that Ron saw Luna’s expression shift to one of worry the closer the monster got; her usual positive outlook on things faded away, no longer sure if they were going to overcome the challenge, let alone the stomping hydra of doom. ‘That’s right…although she’s strong in her own right with way better skills than me…she’s still just a kid…and she continues to give it her all.’
Just then, blasts of purple beams were fired at the monster from behind them. It was Kat coming to assist them after catching a glimpse of the situation; some other mages fell back as well to support them, using various types of elements. Their combined attacks stumbled the monster to a halt, yet it would continue to try and push through attacks. “Get out of here you two!” Kat called out to them. “I don’t know how much longer we can hold!”
Understanding the situation, Luna grabbed Ron’s hand to get him to leave. “Hurry, Ron, we have to-”
Swiping his hand away, Ron shook his head as he rose to his feet. Luna was confused by why he was refusing to retreat but then he spoke. “You go. I’m done getting saved by others at times like these. I’m sorry Luna, but this whole time I’ve been feeling so useless ever since my gloves gave out.” He began to feel something stirring inside him, it was like a whirling vortex building up, a weird sensation.
Luna denied his pessimism, now realizing why he was acting off. “N-No! You’re not useless! Ron come on let’s- Ron!”
Ron faced the hydra, watching it struggle but slowly overcoming the barrage of ranged attacks. “You and everyone else have saved me so many times that it’s become embarrassing. I’m done running away…” A surge of unknown energy began coursing through his body, a fuzzy yet wondrous feeling. “I don’t want to be useless anymore, I want to be reliable, I want to be someone people can count on! Barry wouldn’t run from his struggles, he’d face them, knowing they would make him stronger in the end.”
His body began to emit a light blue glow, essence of this unique magic floated around him. This astonishing phenomenon puzzled Luna as to what was going on. To Ron, the experience inside him was now best described as a water dam being unlocked, a sudden flow of energy he had never known about was being unleashed. In his mind, he pictured the magic his parents were trying to teach him, what he believed to be the concept behind this unique magic. “I can’t turn back from this. I need to push myself even harder than ever before…” Raising a finger gun at the hydra, he transferred all that he was able into them while visualizing what he wanted. “Nothing too crazy…yeah…let’s go with this.”
All of Ron’s newfound magic channelled from his arm into his pointed finger tip, creating a spinning sphere of radiant blue energy. He noticed a system notification that informed him about his passive awakening, ‘Well of Magium’. It had to be the reason behind this abundance of energy he was releasing. He struggled to keep the shape of the sphere as he charged it up but had to pull the trigger now or else the hydra was going to run him over. “Uh, you know what, as Barry would say. Fuck it.”
The next thing that happened surprised everyone when they witnessed the massive beam of uncontrolled blue magic literally vaporizing the ferocious giant monster. Though it was only a few seconds, the aftermath left only four stumpy feet from where the beast was dematerialized. Ron fell to one knee, his mana veins feeling intense from using this type of magic for the first time. He then saw another system update, one that made him form a weak smile. It informed him about unlocking his new sub-class, one that was called ‘Conduit of the Magium’.
“R-Ron, w-what was that!?” Luna yelled in amazement; Kat wondered the same as she rushed over to check their condition.
Flexing his fingers and getting a grip of himself, he did his best to explain what had happened. “Something truly extraordinary, that’s for sure. I felt a flow of foreign mana surge inside, presumingly unlocked and I just…did what you saw right now. Was that cool of me to do?” Both Luna and Kat responded to him with thrills and cheers, uplifting his spirits now that he had a new power at his disposal. The group they were with had successfully managed to complete their objective and shortly moved on to the next.
The three stayed where they were for a bit to catch their breath, but their little moment was short-lived when they saw the appearance of yet another plant hydra that came crashing through a building. “No, another!?” Ron said in a worried tone. He stood back up and tried to bring out the very same magic he had used but only wisps produced from his fingertips. “I-I can’t use it! I’ve exhausted my mana from doing such an attack!” This prompted him to quickly down a mana potion, hoping to restore his magic in time.
Kat and Luna did what they could to stall the beast long enough for Ron to perform the same overwhelming blast as before, yet their efforts seemed futile in the face of these juggernauts. Practically straining his body more than producing the same output as previously, Ron’s began to panic the closer the hydra got to them. ‘Just when I’ve gotten a powerful ability, we’re about to be turned to paste! I can’t-’
Another unexpected event occurred during their perilous moment; the very earth beneath the plant hydra caved in, causing it to fall forward, collapsing. They were confused about the shift in the ground, wondering if it was someone’s doing. The hydra tried to get back up but was slammed by two opposing slabs of solid ground, the whole lower half of the creature's body was then buried underneath. Its heads wiggled and lashed out in the air, snapping at something or someone in the direction of an alley.
A thin red scorching hot beam was fired from out of the alley, aimed directly at one of the hydra’s heads where it began searing through it for a few seconds until it was decapitated. Ron, Luna, and Kat watched in awe at the hydra being entirely decapitated, thinking what kind of person fell the beast so easily. They were given their answer upon the emergence of a cloaked person stepping out in view. “T-That was all him? He looks so…cosmic-like?” Kat pointed out.
The mysterious starry cloaked being walked in their direction, everyone had to admit that this person looked incredibly unique, but his aura and the way he approached them carried a menacing sense. All eyes went back to the hydra, seeing it twitch; however, the galaxy person swiftly raised a hand and smothered the beast entirely in hot red flames before continuing his walk.
Luna was the first to make contact with the person, wanting to thank him for coming to their aid. “H-Hey, thanks for putting that thing down. I don’t know what we’d-” She was ignored, his presence brushing past her as if she didn’t exist in his eyes.
Kat saw how Luna’s appreciation was deflected and noticed how the mage’s gaze was fixed on Ron, her intuition was telling her that something was off about this particular person. He then stopped in front of them, staring at Ron who wondered the same. The galaxy person spoke, his voice sending chills. “Ron. That’s you, correct?”
Utterly perplexed by how this guy knew his name, Ron took a bit to reply back looking confused. “U-Um, yeah? Did Barry send you to help us? Who are you?” No one could see behind the mask this mage was wearing, but they could tell from his stance and stoic voice he must mean business. His business being with Ron and no one else.
“I’ve been searching for you for a painstakingly long time. Long before this vexing game that the gods have started.” The mage studied Ron, reading his magical aura, he had witnessed Ron utilize the foreign magic against one of the hydras. “You are coming with me once this is all over. No questions, no refusal. That’s all you need to know.”
Ron, Kat, and Luna were all muddled about this person’s reason for wanting to take Ron away from their group; they all collectively rejected his outrageous declaration which was to be expected. “Enough!” They quieted down at his call. “Ron, this isn’t a request; it is an order. And as for you two, I don’t care what you or your leader, Barry, says once I take him away. Challenge me if you wish to keep him, but I’m positive you all know how futile that will be. Be grateful I even saved both your lives when all I care about is him alone.”
No one said a word to the man, he was pretty set on snatching Ron from them when this event was finished. Ron wanted to know why he was so important to this guy, his attitude reminded him of Barry’s except he was more mysterious and vague about his reasons. Believing them to have accepted his terms, the mage advised Ron one last thing before moving on to complete the challenge. “Ron.” He said, looking at Ron’s eyes full of hate. “That raw magic you just used so carelessly; you are not to use that EVER. I mean it.”
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Shifting the scene, the ongoing tussle with Barry, Shaco, and Puck against Lady Iris was taking place elsewhere further in town. Puck’s inclusion riled the villain up a ton; it pained her every time she saw her newborns incinerated to ashes so easily to a little fire lizard. Shaco used trickery and various toys to disrupt her rhythm, while Barry gave Puck a piggy back ride to dance around Lady Iris to apply continuous pressure.
“HOLD! STILL!” Lady Iris shouted, aggressively attacking Barry with lashes of vine whips, needing just one good smack to knock Puck off his back so she could end this nonsense.
Puck periodically launched miniature balls of fire that exploded on impact, he made sure not to overexert his mojo reserves rather than going all out. He managed to connect a few direct hits on Lady Iris, not only inflicting harmful damage but also scorching her glamorous appearance that she tried so hard to maintain. Barry bounced off a platform and somersaulted over a passing vine, cutting down oncoming obstacles using his greatsword enchanted by Puck again. “Keep chasing, deva. You an’t catching us!” Barry taunted her.
Shaco tossed a handful of toy sized cannons on top of a roof before converting them into the real deal. He then briskly lit a match and swiped each wick, commencing the great booming applause of multiple cannonballs striking against Lady Iris before she had a chance to do something. Protective walls were constructed to block Shaco’s bombardment, though the impact from the cannons was still felt. “I grow tired of your childish games, clown! I’ll make a scarecrow from your corpse once I’m through with you!”
Their entire battlefield changed when Lady Iris jutted a multitude of trees from under the ground, and from these trees stuck out pine needles able to pierce the skin of those unfortunate to touch them. This hindered all of their mobility to a degree, requiring extra caution. However, this was not the only hazard they had to watch out for. “Uh, Barry, what are those spinning things falling down?” Puck questioned, pointing at what he was referring to.
Twirling from up above were one-winged seeds, known to some as samaras, although these were about the size of a small fist having been modified by Lady Iris. They were a dark shade of purple and emitted a light whistle during their descent. One seed touched a tree branch and exploded like a grenade, another thing to look out for. “Nothing good, Puck. Be careful not to detonate them with your flames.” Barry advised.
Checking the event quest for an update while dodging danger in his path, Barry saw that there were just two more pits needing to be eliminated. ‘We’re close to winning the challenge, but the time limit is looking dicey. Here’s hoping they get this done.’
A storm of razor leaves came whirling through the trees, tracking Barry and Puck down relentlessly under Lady Iris’s control. “Nature has always been the first inhabitant on this precious planet that you ungrateful mortals take for granted!” Her voice echoed in distaste. “Centuries of you beings waging unnecessary wars over what is yours and what isn’t! Mother earth is a living being too, more important than those believing the world revolves around them! She gifted me thought and free will, wondrous traits that should never have been bestowed upon you selfish individuals!”
Channeling her dark powers over nature, Lady Iris grew a massive plant base foundation and a large sinister looking flower bud. Smaller plants surrounded the bulb, intaking as much light as possible from the setting sun for something magnificent she was prepping for. “Had you all learned to be at peace with one another and return thanks to mother nature everyday, she would not have sent me to right your sins! Run! Hide high or low, I am everywhere, you cannot flee from me or her!”
Shaco had a feeling that the large flower bulb next her was going to do something destructive and hurried to do anything to sabotage it. Rummaging nearly everything he had in his pockets, Shaco hurled bowling balls, animated figurines, horseshoes, holla-hoops, even an enlarged piano. This distracted the villain for a bit since she had to defend herself. “Try all you want! I savor every chance you struggle and squirm to prevent your unmaking!” Steamrolling from within the trees was a massive ferris-wheel, one of Shaco’s favorite toys now used as a last resort. Roots erupted from the ground to clash against the ferris-wheel. “Though you might win this challenge and claim the prism! It’ll be a minor setback for the rest of the villains, but will be a huge win for me once I’ve ridden that unnatural Kobold!”
Puck burned away the following razor leaves, as Barry sent flaming blades aimed at the dangerous looking flower bud. Each blade was blocked by rooted walls that ate the shots continuously, Lady Iris really didn’t want them disrupting it. The suspense ended when it began blooming, its petals fanning out, revealing to be a mystical black lotus flower. Flashing from its pistil was ominous magic, all of the energy gathered from the smaller flowers channeled to its center. “I am Lady Iris! Daughter of the First! Voice of mother earth! And this is her calling!”
Finished charging up, the empowered black lotus stretched from its stem and released a dazzling violet solar beam that swept across the terrain chasing down Barry and Puck. Everything caught in its path was utterly destroyed, Barry was having a hard time avoiding it, one misstep and he’d wind up obliterating himself and Puck. “Barry!” He heard Shaco shout out to him from up ahead, who was holding what seemed to be an open toy chest. “Get in here!”
Drawing all he could possibly muster into his legs, Barry gunned it towards Shaco, believing that getting inside the toy chest was his only saving grace so Shaco could bring them to escape. The falling samaras made things extremely difficult for him now that he was under intense pressure, he was so close to making it to Shaco when he made a mistake by stepping on a branch that had literally just blown up. “Shit!”
Time appeared to stop from Barry’s perspective, he wasn’t going to make it himself, but he knew that Puck had a better chance than him. “CATCH!” Prying Puck off his back, he threw him directly at Shaco. “Go!”
“B-Barry! No!” Puck cried out in distress. Shaco caught the Kobold in his chest and sealed it. There was no time for him to help Barry given that the solar beam was seconds away from annihilating him. He could feel Puck pounding the walls inside of the chest, pleading for Barry’s safety.
Barry plummeted towards the ground, watching the solar beam swipe by where he had last seen Shaco take Puck. ‘Did they make it out!?’ His thoughts raced, hoping that was the case. Looking down, he quickly rearranged himself and slowed his descent by scrapping against the trees. Shrapnel and debris fell from above once he reached the ground, Barry rushed to take cover under a ruined building. Concern filled his thoughts, a feeling that he didn’t experience too often since his first awakening. ‘They’re fine. Shaco and Puck are alive, I know they are.’
Taking a look from out a window, he sighted the same place Lady Iris was at; except, she was no longer there. ‘Where did she go? What’s her next-”
“What are we looking for, hon?” A familiar woman’s voice whispered in his ear sweetly.
Readily turning around to guard against his assailant, Barry went for a swing with his flaming sword but wasn’t fast enough; Lady Iris had him sent flying out of the window after slamming a vine whip into his chest. Skitting across the ground, Barry came to a stop and coughed up blood. “Bet you weren’t expecting me to sneak up on you after my marvelous light show. Hmm.” Lady Iris mocked followed by a giggle. Barry wasted no time to stand back up, spitting out blood. “I see you still have a lot of fight in you, how cute. Tell me where that little vermin of yours is and I’ll give you a merciful death. You can’t possibly defeat me on your own.”
“Beating you was never my intention. I meant to stall you for as long as possible while the other contestants completed the challenge. And you’re stupid for giving me so much attention, even after realizing it.” Barry taunted, as he brandished his flaming sword. “You feared my pal so much that you practically threw away this challenge in order to get him, yet you failed. You’re right about his unnatural flames, he’s a hard counter against you, that’s why I used him as bait. In the end. We win. You lose. Blame your ego.”
Lady Iris glared at him, anger resonated inside her knowing that he was right; she knew that was the case the entire time but desperately wanted to squeeze all the life out of Puck. Checking the quest update, she saw that even if she left right now to go defend the last flower bed, that she probably wouldn’t be able to snatch the win from them. Barry glanced at the update too and smirked when he noticed her fuming on the inside. “Too late now, deva. Contestants earn another win; villains, zero.”
Suddenly, the ground below him sprouted creeping vines that ensnared his legs. Barry ripped away from them but was attacked from the side by a vine lash; he slashed it apart, however, he continued to be attacked more and more, not giving him an opening to escape. “TELL ME! WHERE IS HE!?” Lady Iris demanded, infuriated by his mockery.
“Who knows!” Barry shouted back. “You’re not finding him, I’ll never let you! I’m loving the affection you’re showing me so how about you stay here with the few minutes you have left!”
Riled up and unsatisfied upon hearing his answer, she cracked a broken smile and set her next goal in mind. “Very well! I’ll take you up on that offer! So long, BARRY!” Understanding that he was not going to reveal Puck’s location, she then orchestrated a combination of various lethal plants to put an end to his measly life.
Barry had one trump card that could get him out of the situation he was in and right now seemed like the perfect moment to use it. However, the moment he was about to use it was the moment something unexpected happened. Raining down from up above were exploding fireballs showering Lady Iris and her plants. She screeched in pain, having received a few direct hits before covering herself. ‘P-Puck!?’ Was his first thought, his eyes instantly looked up.
“Get away from Barry!” It was in fact Puck, jumping down off a destroyed building, coming to Barry’s aid. Chasing after him was Shaco who appeared to be trying to catch him while calling out for him to stay away from Lady Iris. But his voice was ignored entirely, Puck continued to turn up the heat, desiring to incinerate the wicked flower to nothingness. “Burn stupid flower! Burn! Burn!”
“I’m sorry, Barry. Once I left, he broke out of the chest and immediately ran straight back here.” Shaco apologized, as he kept trying to snag Puck back.
Lady Iris tried retaliating back against Puck, yet couldn't concentrate from under the intense flames being produced by him. It looked like Puck had her beat from the looks of it, watching his flames effortlessly scorch her plants. And to Barry’s surprise, Puck’s claws had been enveloped by his golden flames, acting as blazing weapons capable of slicing through her retaliation. It seemed like Puck had obtained a new ability due to emotional distress. But still, something didn’t seem right, Barry’s gut was telling him that there was more to what was going on than it seemed. “Puck! Back off! She’s plotting-”
“Puck got this! Puck can beat bad lady!” Puck declared fearlessly, his fighting spirit unwavering. Barry dashed towards him, trusting his instincts rather than believing Puck really had everything under control. Puck kept disregarding his order and kept applying pressure. “Stop worrying about Puck all the time! Puck can handle-”
The next thing that happened gave Barry and Shaco chills, regret and anxiety coursed through their mental state. “PUCK!” Shaco and Barry screamed. It was too late, Barry and Shaco had failed to prevent their little friend from falling into Lady Iris’s trap. The villain planned to kill him by use of thorns once she believed he had gotten close enough for a certain blow. Puck’s body was punctured by thorns. Puck twitched, unable to break free from the state he was in.
“YES! I’VE DONE IT-” Lady Iris celebrated too early, not realizing Barry’s flaming sword breaking the thorns, a slash across her chest. His attack burned through her skin, leaving what could be a permanent scar on her now tainted body. “GAAAH! THAT FUCKING HURTS!”
Shaco quickly observed Puck’s condition, removing the thorns the best he could while Barry stood steadfast on guard. He swiftly looked at his inventory, pulling out the last of his potions and resources in general before tossing them behind at them. “Use those! Is he alive!? Shaco, please tell me he’s going to make it!?”
“I-I don’t know!?” Shaco replied in a shaky voice, as he quickly fed Puck one of the potions. What he saw was blood seeping out of his wounds, from the looks of it, his vitals might or might not have been damaged severely. Puck appeared to be paralyzed, possibly poisoned, his breathing was irregular, a scary sight to see. “B-Barry, I-I don’t know what else to do! The potions don’t seem to work!”
Lady Iris and Barry saw a notification, it informed them that the contestants had won the challenge by eliminating all of the flower pits. Lady Iris witnessed everything that she had created decompose. Her body felt as if something was yanking her away, presumingly the moderators urging her to leave now that she had lost. Another notification appeared to her, saying that if she didn’t exit the area right now, that she’d be terminated immediately.
Despite this being a loss on her end in terms of obtaining the 4th prism, she was satisfied after what she had done to the little Kobold. “Well it appears our irritable moderators are kicking me out of here. You may have gotten another one of these prisms, but honestly…does it feel like a win to you?” Her words hit a mark inside Barry, as she glanced over at Puck’s questionable fate, her devilish smile showing. “Take care love, we’ll meet again.” Lady Iris then surfed backwards on her slittering vines away from them.
The scene of Puck getting caught off-guard replayed in his mind over and over again. Barry rushed over to Puck alongside Shaco, checking his pulse himself and feeling it being inconsistent. “Damn it…DAMN IT!” Lady Iris’s words shot deep into his emotions so hard that he could not contain himself for what he was about to do next. He started having a headache when he saw instant visions about the lone swordsman who was the ‘True Barry’, holding Puck in a grim state. Back to reality, gripping his sword, Barry saw its flames flickering, a sign that Puck’s enchantment was about to end.
Unable to keep a cool head and losing all sensibility and logic, Barry stormed off in a fit of dark rage. “BARRY! NO! DON’T-” Shaco cried out for him to stay but was ignored.
Sprinting in the direction Lady Iris left, Barry’s mind was clouded with violent thoughts about slaughtering the fucking bitch. Surfacing in his mind was his mentor, Thalia. ‘Barry. Don’t chase after her. Puck is strong, have faith that he’ll live. You’ll have another-’
Barry was so furious that he was able to close her out completely. He was not in the mood to be reasoned with, and there was no certainty that Puck was going to live. Whether or not he did, his inner hatred towards the villain would always be lingering and he was going to pay her back in full. Lady Iris was found in his sights after another minute of running, this was when he activated his skill, ‘King’s Commanding Presence’ and bolted. ‘I don’t give two shits about what happens to me. I’m taking something from you whether I die or not. Believe it bitch.’
Sensing something from behind, Lady Iris looked back while still surfing away, surprised at who it was while bearing the same malicious smile. “Oh-ho! I was not expecting to see you so soon! I would have thought you’d-” A flaming blade zipped past her cheek, searing her skin. “Tch! So our time together wasn’t enough, huh?” She kept dodging his other ranged projectiles, hesitant about stopping to fight, unsure how the moderators would react to her. “Fine! Let’s walk and talk!”
The two duked it out while on the run, exchanging attacks and avoiding all together. Barry knew he didn’t have a lot of time before his flames died out, it being the only true way to inflict serious harm. He cared little about his well being, allowing himself to tank some hits so that he’d get up close to her. Lady Iris realized that his tactics were different this time compared to being cautious when they fought. “You're persistent I'll give you that! Or is it just stupidity! Face it! You’ve lost your precious friend and you're about to lose your life if you continue chasing me!”
Lady Iris was in awe at how stoic this contestant was compared to all those she had massacred before, his determination for vengeance was admirable in her eyes, a foolish mortal too lost in his emotions to think he had a chance at defeating her alone. “You've certainly gotten closer than most contestants, but this is where your chapter ends.” She then manifested a growth of plants capable of spewing toxic and acid at him now that he was within unavoidable range. “Reap what you sow, fool!”
Overwhelming him with a combination of toxic clouds and acidic sprays of liquid, Lady Iris was certain that he was dead, it was impossible for him to outlive it at all. But she couldn’t be more wrong when she saw a protective sphere of unicorns and rainbows leaping out towards her. Inside was the reckless bastard dead set on finishing his goal. “WHAT-”
The barrier lasted long enough for Barry to safely pass through and deliver what was the most vengeful strike he had ever done in his life; lodging his flaming sword more than halfway into her right shoulder and clinged to her body, not letting go until he got her arm. “YOU'RE FUCKING RIGHT! REAP WHAT YOU SOW, BITCH! BECAUSE I'M TAKING YOUR ARM!”
He proceeded to hack away, ignoring the flails and resistance Lady Iris made to throw him off. Never before had she screamed in agony, for the first time ever, the thought of death would forever be instilled in her mind. And with one last effort, Barry had succeeded what he had promised. The two scrambled across the ground, Barry holding on to what was now his trophy, and Lady Iris lost dignity.
Excruciating pain overtook her body, as she gathered herself off the ground and glanced at her missing arm. The sight was unacceptable, despicable and revolting; she turned to Barry and saw him struggling to get back up, having eaten all her attacks so far, resulting in his frivolous state. “Y-YOU…YOU…HOW DARE YOU! I'LL-” She so badly wanted to take his life but was stopped by multiple warnings from the moderators, saying that she was overstaying her welcome and needed to leave the contestants for now or else she'd be eliminated. “CURSE THESE DAMN RULES! YOU'RE LUCKY THE MODS DON'T WANT ME HERE! I'LL KILL YOU! I SWEAR IT!”
She wasted no time and immediately left after declaring death upon Barry’s weakened condition. Barry managed to stand, barely, as he leaned on his sword that no longer possessed a lick of Puck's flame. Clutching Lady Iris’s arm in his other hand, he limped back to town, resisting the feeling of succumbing to his wounds. As he stumbled, he could have sworn he saw the phantasmal image of the ‘True Barry’ staring at him within the woods.
Barry’s team had arrived with Shaco and Puck, shocked and horrified at Puck's perilous condition. There were some proficient healers amongst the adventurers and made haste to heal him, hoping that it wasn't too late. Shaco explained what happened to the others and waited what seemed to be 10 more minutes until they witnessed Barry stepping out of the woods.
They saw him limping, barely keeping himself together, blooded and stabbed from Lady Iris’s ruthlessness. His entire image was unsettling to those that saw him. “BARRY!” His team called out to him, rushing to his aid.
“I…I…” His vision was blacking out, feeling light headed, as he tried to raise his trophy for presentation. “...I couldn’t…get her fucking head…” After what was his last words, Barry collapsed to the cold ground, hearing the last cries of his team before yielding to his potential death.
