The Primal Hunter Chapter 1257 - Aginian Crisis Protocol

Jake leaped back swiftly, exploiting the widening gap to put some separation between him and whatever might emerge in place of the Labyrinth Master. Casper, too, initiated his own preparations, capitalizing on the dazzling display from the phase shift.

Coming to a halt, Jake commenced charging his Arcane Powershot while simultaneously adjusting the Protean Arrow he had formed in his quiver. Initially crafted for the fleshy dungeon boss, it no longer suited the final phase's apparent mechanical threat based on recent events.

He continued observing as the blue lightning illuminated the surroundings, channeling power into the Labyrinth Master's remains. At the same time, the numerous ground tiles reactivated, directing the previously absorbed energy toward the boss to enhance its strength even more.

The Labyrinth Master's form gradually lifted off the ground, immersed in overwhelming energy cascading from an unseen source. By this point, all organic tissue had been removed from the cyborg, exposing a nearly skeletal robotic frame. As the energy poured in, Jake spotted a glowing core where the heart would normally reside, shining intensely. While both C-grades pondered Minaga's final trick, the voice resounded again.

“Damage to vessel: Critical. Repairing essentials. Upgrading. Charging Core. All features unlocked.”

On cue, the form initiated self-repair, substituting former flesh areas with additional metal plating, transforming the Labyrinth Master from cyborg to full robot—or more precisely, golem. The radiant core's glow was soon concealed by metal encasing the boss's entire torso. Gradually, the lightning faded, unveiling the completed golem.

The golem's limb extended mechanically to the side, drawing the gunlance from below into its grasp, where it sparked with electric charge.

[Aginian Crisis Protocol Golem – lvl ???]

With no additional alert, the golem's frame burst forth with a booming roar, unleashing an electric shockwave in its wake.

Jake countered by releasing his Arcane Powershot, the arcane blast propelling his arrow ahead. Simultaneously, Casper, positioned in close combat, was repelled by the shockwave from the awakened Aginian Crisis Protocol Golem, yet he triggered the trap he had set beforehand.

To Jake's astonishment, the magical seals sphere from Seal of Enervation reemerged, with the Risen apparently reactivating the curse even after the Labyrinth Master's demise. Regrettably, Jake's poison reserves were depleted, rendering Aginiansbane ineffective against mechanical constructs rather than living Aginians.

Perfectly timed, Jake's Arcane Powershot collided with the golem's chest. The boss was hurled backward by the force, though Jake grimaced upon seeing no damage on its surface. Rather, a minor barrier just beyond its shell had absorbed the full strike.

This evoked memories of the Altmar Census Golem from his earlier battle, which spelled trouble. On a positive note, Casper's curse appeared effective despite the barrier, potentially accelerating its penetration.

Jake and Casper shared a brief look, both acknowledging the irritating nature of this third phase. Yet, no fear gripped them as they sprang into action. Jake drew another arrow, launching assaults while Casper cloaked himself in curse energy and hurled a barrage of cursed stakes at the golem, now steady after Jake's initial blow had shoved it away.

The golem lifted the gunlance and discharged a lightning beam toward the Risen. Casper dodged hastily, but slightly too late, taking a hit on his left flank. His spectral form was sliced away, and Jake instantly recognized the substantial harm inflicted on the Risen.

A volley of arcane arrows pelted the golem before it could fire once more, detonating to saturate the air with devastating arcane forces. The passive barrier repelled them all, but Jake noted the golem expending energy to counter even such minor assaults.

Grasping this, Jake persisted in firing arrows that fragmented into multiples, aiming to flood the arena with ruinous energy. This not only drained the golem's reserves but also shielded Casper, allowing him to evade the B-grade's notice amid the arcane haze.

The Risen withdrew, evading the lightning while deploying traps along his path. The golem soon gave chase, fixating on Casper as its main foe and bursting through the destructive energies directly toward him.

It triggered multiple fresh traps en route, ensnaring itself in dark chains that hardly impeded its advance before snapping. Mid-charge, the gunlance in its grip reshaped, converting into a lengthy, robust sword from the hybrid weapon.

As it slashed with the sword, a curving surge of lightning energy lashed out, crackling over the tiled floor while bearing down on the Risen. Casper conjured a misty veil of ghostly power for protection, yet the lightning shredded it effortlessly. The electricity surged over the Risen, eliciting a pained groan as he suffered considerable injury again.

That's when Jake recalled an oversight he should have addressed sooner... ghosts possessed a vulnerability to lightning. It was an inherent flaw, and though Lyra was a Blightwraith, her ghostly essence left her susceptible to this elemental bane.

In their fused state, Casper embodied at least partial ghostly traits, inheriting this weakness. This might explain why the Risen promptly employed his mobility skill to thrust himself rearward, solidifying his form completely and drawing back the surrounding spectral energies into himself.

Jake supported as best he could, pelting the golem with arrows, though the barrier limited his impact. The B-grade ignored evasion, enduring all strikes solely to eliminate Casper.

It wielded its electrified blade repeatedly, unleashing arcing lightning crescents that Casper frantically evaded. Meanwhile, it pressed closer, disregarding every assault from Jake and Casper against the relentless machine.

Eventually, it overtook the Risen and commenced furious swings. Casper evaded and parried where possible, but the golem outpaced and overpowered the prior Labyrinth Master. He resisted valiantly, yet Casper yielded ground steadily, incurring damage even on successful blocks from erupting electric blasts with each clash.

Multiple escape attempts by Casper failed, as the golem barred his retreat. Observing this and the futility of his arrows, Jake realized a shift was necessary. Stowing his bow, he activated One Step without delay, beating his wings to dive toward the clashing pair below.

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Casper proved resilient, but the situation grew perilous as Jake neared. Slashes marred his form repeatedly, wounds accumulating, and his stamina ebbed swiftly.

At maximum velocity, Jake descended. He crashed into the golem's flank, delivering dual Piercing Fangs upon hitting the irksome barrier. The collision sufficed to shove the golem sideways, granting Casper a moment to invoke his mobility skill desperately and swallow a potion to bolster his dwindling resources slightly.

The golem paused to assess Jake briefly, then mirrored the Labyrinth Master's prior movement skill. Its frame blurred and twisted as it circled Jake swiftly, targeting Casper anew.

Jake pursued without hesitation, employing One Step to intercept. The golem attempted to flank him, but Jake anticipated and struck precisely at its path with a kick. The blow disrupted its skill and nudged it off course, though a mere kick inflicted negligible harm.

“We just need to buy time!” Casper shouted from afar, scrambling to set additional traps while fleeing capture.

“I know!” Jake shouted in reply, surging toward the B-grade once more.

As Casper noted, time favored them provided they eluded the golem's unyielding onslaughts. The B-grade depleted its energy at a furious rate, lacking any regeneration means. The core blazed with excessive charge, irrelevant since the golem was designed solely for this fatal confrontation.

From the outset, it served as the Labyrinth Master's revived shell. A desperate measure devised by the feminine voice's source to slay the victor over the original boss.

Assaulting the golem merely shortened its active duration, leading to inevitable shutdown upon energy exhaustion. The issue lay in Casper likely falling first under current circumstances.

The golem exhibited absurd might and agility, particularly under the Seal of Enervation's debilitating influence. Thanks to the curse, Jake could marginally match its pace and hinder its constant pursuit of Casper.

It persistently sought to evade Jake while fixating on Casper, but the Risen's traps delayed it sufficiently for Jake to stay in tow. Noting the golem's disinterest in engaging him, Jake adapted, sheathing his katars and advancing unarmed.

Just as the golem neared severing another cluster of chains from Casper's traps, Jake lunged onto its rear. He clamped arms and legs around it, palms glowing dark green against the golem's frame as both shimmered with malefic light.

The barrier hissed violently wherever Jake's form touched, its passive safeguards battered by Arcane Awakening's defenses. Yet this paled against the chaos when Jake thrust his hands at the barrier, the atmosphere snapping and lashing from the virulent energy swiftly eroding the golem's protections.

Similar to the Altmar Census Golem encounter, Jake discovered Touch of the Malefic Viper excelled against such shields. These barriers seemed invincible, deflecting potent single strikes without bound until energy depletion, but sustained pressure could erode their stability. Especially from Touch of the Malefic Viper, infused with malefic essence to taint and dissolve all it encountered.

The obsessive golem attempted to disregard Jake and continue after Casper, but the hunter elicited a reaction upon breaching the barrier for direct contact with the golem's exterior.

Forcing against the golem's chest, corrosion spread from his palms as decay took hold. For the first time, the golem acknowledged the threat, halting abruptly and surging with power to dislodge Jake.

Jake's scales already armored him, and his grip proved unyielding against such efforts, tightening further instead. Unable to dislodge him readily, the golem drove its sword into itself, aiming to sever Jake's hands.

This compelled Jake to abandon his offensive, and as his palms withdrew, the barrier reformed, shielding the twin rusty imprints on the golem's surface. The blade clashed against its own frame, bouncing off the barrier as the golem contorted its limb unnaturally to strike its back anew.

Completely repelled, Jake vaulted clear of the golem moments before the sword connected. He sensed significant harm inflicted and energy sapped from the golem, ready to replicate the tactic if it persisted in ignoring him for Casper.

Briefly optimistic as the B-grade redirected its sword toward him, unleashing a lightning surge that Jake vaulted over effortlessly. Yet it offered no pursuit, whirling to charge Casper once more, frustrating Jake immensely.

He invoked One Step immediately to catch up, closing in rapidly as the golem encountered further Risen-laid traps. Jake prepared to cling again mid-leap, but the robotic female voice interrupted from above.

“Core Overcharge: 150% approved.”

Jake's instincts flared as the golem detonated in lightning, a shockwave of electricity sweeping over him. His scales sparked and popped from the assault, but he escaped injury, merely propelled backward.

Yet, beyond the blast, the golem had amplified itself. Electric arcs now enshrouded its entire form, empowering the B-grade further as it lunged toward Casper with renewed vigor.

The Risen struggled against the golem's prior speed, now utterly outmatched. Jake caught a flicker of worry on his ally's expression and acted without pause.

“Event Horizon.”

Again, Jake perceived the distant horizon, designating the golem as his exclusive quarry. The luminous ring encircled it, crucially halting its advance momentarily and granting Casper additional breathing room. Jake observed the Risen evidently gearing up for something major, committing fully to aid whatever plan unfolded.

This Event Horizon activation lacked spectacle, but it temporarily bolstered Jake's arrows as he fired, arcing shots to assail the golem's flank. Previously negligible, the strikes now jolted the boss off-balance with each connection, offering Casper minor relief.

Jake sought to assist more by deploying Eternal Shadow, dispatching his cursed duplicate racing at the golem. His arrows hampered the boss adequately for the shadow to connect a Piercing Fang to its leg, causing a brief stagger.

Continued arrow barrages hammered the golem, interrupting its momentum repeatedly, yet the B-grade pressed onward toward Casper, who had ceased fleeing and knelt with one knee grounded. An ominous ritual array throbbed around him, its aura unsettling even Jake.

Perceiving the Risen required further moments, Jake clenched his jaw, staring down the golem while unleashing shots. He triggered Primal Gaze, sensing the boss's soul frailer than anticipated. The golem stiffened briefly as an arrow landed, tumbling aside without recovery.

As it regained motion and poised to slash remotely at Casper, another Primal Gaze and arrow struck, derailing it once more. Strain built in Jake, but necessity demanded a third activation, his eyes searing with the dread of a fourth proving disastrous.

Nevertheless... it sufficed. A murky black haze emanated from Casper's ritual circle, and when the golem cleaved forth a roiling lightning crescent, it dissipated harmlessly into the smoke.

At the center stood Casper, his expression devoid of triumph or satisfaction. Dark streaks like tears traced his face as he gazed at the golem.

“I’m sorry, Lyra,” Casper whispered softly, his tone laced with remorse and anguish. Lyra materialized overhead, her features bearing sorrowful reassurance. She shut her eyes as the black haze converged on her, darkening her form completely.

Jake sensed her presence dimming, and with a pained rasp, Casper uttered.

“Necropolis of Loss.”

Lyra's figure vanished utterly, erupting in a black haze torrent that devoured reality itself, engulfing them all instantly as cursed blight essence overwhelmed the realm.

... and thus Jake discovered Casper had long mastered a full Domain Skill.