Daneel made his way straight to his opponent, not stopping anywhere to make even the slightest effort to hide as it was imperative that he be stopped before he got any closer to where Reese was. He went through many plans in his head on the way, discussing with the system about how best he could use the abilities he now had at his disposal, and by the time he got close enough for the hangman to spot him, his confidence had soared so much that it felt like an easy task to take care of the big man.
"Hey… who's over there? Stop!"
The shout made Daneel wince. Due to the layout of the land, it wasn't very probable that it would travel to the spot of the exchange… but still, he didn't like it.
Taking off at a run, he bounded forward to the man, trying hard to keep the grin out of his face as it was truly great to have the upper hand, for once.
It felt as if he had gone on too long without being in control, always played around by the situation instead of having the ability to grasp it in his hands and mold it to his will. The sensation also evoked something deeper in his psyche, but as he didn't have the time to study it thoroughly, he just let it flow through his mind, giving it free rein as he knew that it was not something to be feared.
As soon as he did this, the grin arrived, anyway. It was the confident grin of a general in command of the terrain and the enemy, poised to deliver a victory like no other to those depending on him.
When he was within just a few pieces of the hangman, recognition finally arrived on that scarred face. He had been squinting, until now, and as his eyes widened, he said, "Aren't you that little squirt who got away? Why are you here? Tell me, now!"
Daneel took a few more steps forward and stopped when he was just five feet away from the large man. He didn't seem so big, now, especially when compared to the dwarf king who had entered the cavern and shown his true size just an hour ago, and he even seemed to be lumberingly slow because of the added weight of the paunch that was definitely a hindrance to any fighter.
"Yup, that's me. Tell me… why do you delight in inflicting pain so much? Did you have a troubled childhood? Or did someone just drop you on your head when you were a child?"
Anger instantly flowed into his face as he heard himself slighted in this manner. Tightening his fists, he answered in a bristling tone.
"Why are you so cocky, boy? You're not the young master, anymore, to whom I have to grovel… you're nobody! I can even kill you now, if I want! Just run away! I need to be somewhere… so it's your lucky day!"
Daneel wondered if there was any other way in which the man could have made it more clear that he was here to keep a lookout on the exchange spot. Shaking his head like a petulant child, he answered, "No! I think you're all talk… so why should I move? You're the one who should get out of here!"
He cringed inwardly as he was forced to say something so childish, but he knew that it was necessary if he wanted to lull his opponent into a false sense of confidence. To make it seem even more convincing, he leered at the hangman, one corner of his lip lifted mockingly as if he was looking down on the man, and right away, this seemed to have touched a nerve.
"You…! Alright… death it is."
The last few words were said deadly cold tone that almost sent a shiver down Daneel's back. Yet… when the hangman thundered forward, he gave a command to the system that made all the confidence that had filled him until now return.
'Absorb the crystals, and use it to power my body.'
[Affirmative. Deploying the Path of Gluttony.
Source: Crystal.
Effect: Power surge.
Host will be able to either deploy the surge of energy to entire body, or to specific parts of the body on demand.
If energy is delivered to entire body, host's power will be increased by two and a half ranks.
After effect: Host will be left fatigued after the energy leaves host's body.]
Daneel had already confirmed with the system that it wasn't the sort of fatigue that would leave him unmoving and unable to even walk back to where he was expected. The system really hadn't been kidding when it had said that it had the ability to grant him the world if he was just able to finish its missions; by deploying just this path, he could fight those a few levels above him, and even though it would mean that the precious crystals would be used away without really improving his strength in the long-term, it was a cheat that most could only dream of, but never attain.
"Spread it."
[Affirmative. Absorption has begun. Distributing surge.]
He had always wondered how it would feel to be an Expert, to be on the level of that brute who was reportedly still unconscious due to what he had done. Now, as he felt each and every muscle and sinew throughout his being fill up, then vibrate with a sense of might that left him feeling giddy, he saw that it was better than his wildest dreams.
The hangman was so close that he could see the spittle drooling from his snarling mouth. Experimentally, he raised one hand to strike that scarred face… and watched on, fascinated, as it turned into a blur in front of his very eyes and hit its target with a low 'thump'.
The hangman swerved to the side and fell on the ground, before turning to him and looking just as stunned as Daneel felt. In that moment, he was just about to relish the superiority that came with possessing so much power… but then, suddenly, a wave of staggering pain vibrated up the hand he had just used, making him yelp and then hold it as it felt that it was on fire.
'System, what's this?'
[Assessing data. Conclusion found.
Host's body is unadapted to handling the surge of power. Hence, backlash is present. From calculations, any surge that increases host's power beyond 1 rank will result in significant backlash.]
'Then can we decrease the power now?'
[Negative.]
Daneel suddenly felt so dumb that he wanted to bury his head in the ground. An image of a balloon bursting as too much air was pumped into it entered his mind, and with a shudder, he couldn't help but wonder if he was in for a similar fate.
'No…I just have to end him in a single attack!'
Cheats were great, for sure…but it seemed that he had underestimated the price that he had to pay to use them. As the hangman jumped forward with another snarl, he moved back and turned into a blur again…before falling to his knees, as his legs were not ablaze.
'Fuck! This was supposed to go differently!'
The large man seemed to have been prepared for such a move, though, as it turned out to be a feint. He was able to recover and reach Daneel, and raising one hand, he caught his neck and raised him, causing his legs to dangle an inch above the ground.
Daneel had hoped that he would have some time to recover from the shock and look for a way to win. Alas, this was a luxury that wasn't at his disposal, at the moment, so if he was going to get an idea, it was now or never.
'System…how about absorbing something from him? Maybe his power? Or his vitality? Anything!'
That was the best he could manage. He had already dreamed of absorbing anything he wished in the world, and hence, he hoped that it would be his way out.
"I have you now, you little shit! Can't run away anymore! DIE!"
The fat fingers began to tighten, cutting off the air reaching his body, reminding him of the similar scene that had played out with Jezaro on the other end.
[Responding to host. Absorption is not possible as source needs to be unstable.]
'Unstable? What?'
Surprised, he looked for a way out of the dilemma. There was one avenue that would save his life, but he didn't want to choose it: if he used the power in his body, again, he would be able to get away, but the backlash would injure him even more. So…that just left making the hangman 'unstable', but how the hell was he supposed to do that?
Gasping for breath, he looked all around, searching for a flash of inspiration. He found nothing, leading him to disappointedly look down and prepare to save himself, then hope for the best…but then, all of a sudden…he knew what he had to do.
His body's response was sluggish, but even though it was delayed, it did its job. His right leg moved, shooting forward at an impossible speed…before meeting the crotch of the hangman, resulting in the sickening sound of eggs breaking.
He somehow hung on to Daneel…but his face went pink, then red, then white, just as the system spoke in his mind.
[Minor Vitality Absorption has been initiated. Discarding aspect due to risk of unforeseen side-effects. Experimentation recommended before any subsequent absorption.]
A different kind of energy came to life somewhere deep within Daneel as he fell to the ground. The hangman had crumbled after the notification, and he now lay unmoving on the ground, body slightly curled in a vain bid to protect his family jewels…which were already beyond saving.
If Daneel didn't know all the vile acts that the man had done, he might have felt sorry for him. Staggering to the left and right, he got to his feet, and as he slowly began to make his way back to Reese…one thought reined prominently in his mind.
'I'll be damned if I let myself be caught up by excitement, again…well, I didn't pay for my mistakes this time, but next time, I'm definitely not going to be this lucky. Oh, system, I'm never going to take what you say at face value, again! And don't you even try to convince me otherwise!'
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