Three days after escaping death, Cullen was fully healed and prepared to fight the Jade Titan. He had long scrapped the idea of increasing his strength and focused more on a strategy. He planned, prepared, and felt confident that he could kill it. If not, he now had two Mini Kamikazes as a backup plan.
'This is the last Abomination I have to kill. Once it's done, my only target will be The Island's core.'
Cullen already killed a wolf and obtained the compass leading to the Jade Titan. He also completed most of the trip and determined it to be a few minutes away.
'I already know what I want from it, which is the scepter. However, my power seems to be unable to use an ability at the strength of its Abomination. If I recreate its exact weapon, it will be weaker, and the control over vines will probably have a reduced distance. But for now, there's nothing I can do about that.'
As Cullen kept moving through The Island, he couldn't help but feel a little nervous. Even with all the abilities he's gathered, the Jade Titan is a monster much stronger than himself.
'However, I may be able to change the weapon type. A scepter doesn't really fit my style. If I can, creating a sword with the same ability would be much more beneficial. But changing this will require much more focus, so I will judge the state of my mind after the fight and decide then.'
Thump.
Cullen's feet hit the ground while running, but this time, he stopped dead in his tracks. The hairs on his body stood up. An overwhelming pressure ran through him.
'It's close.'
He gripped his Spiralblade with both hands, wore the ring, the armband, and had the Mini Kamikazes on standby. On his face was the Cursed Mask, but he was hesitant to use it. Anything besides simple commands on an enemy this powerful may backfire. It was now a safety measure just in case things went wrong. If things went smoothly, he may test it out by saying basic commands. Lastly, the Eye Amulet was probably too weak to affect the Jade Titan. If anything, it would only cause subtle changes to its behavior.
Cullen slowed his pace and paid close attention to the jungle in front of him. The leaves swayed in the wind, the vines slithered like snakes; every little movement caught his attention. Then he noticed something strange hidden behind the foliage.
A jade green reflected the few beams of sunlight that made it through, showing off its gem-like appearance. As Cullen inched closer, he could make out the towering figure. It was an eight-foot-tall statue made entirely from a jade-like material, carrying a scepter with two horns on the end. The scepter also seemed to be made of the same material, but much darker and more concentrated.
'It's probably six or seven meters away from me, and its ability's range is ten. I'm in range but it doesn't seem to notice me. Still, I doubt I can perform a sneak attack even with its back turned to me.'
Suddenly, it jerked its head around to face Cullen. Its face was clear and unmoving; Cullen felt like he was looking in a mirror. And on its face was Cullen's terrified expression reflected back to him.
'Damni-'
The vines around him sprang to life, the same reaction they had when someone touched them. Cullen instinctively reached for his dagger to fight the vines, but realized a problem.
'I planned to fight the Jade Titan with the Spiralblade, but I also need to deal with the vines. The Spiralblade requires two hands for me to use effectively, and cannot help me against vines. The dagger can cut them well, but then I won't be able to use the Spiralblade…'
Of course, it was still possible to use the weapon with one hand, but Cullen's attack power would drastically decrease. It wouldn't even scratch the Abomination at that point. However, he decided to do that anyway, considering how dangerous the vines were. Cullen would surely be killed if the vines fully restrained him!
'I don't have a choice anyway!'
So with the dagger in one hand and Spiralblade in the other, Cullen began to cut through the attacking vines while also keeping an eye on the Jade Titan. Besides turning around, the Abomination still hadn't moved an inch. He would have thought it a statue if he hadn't learned about it at the center camp.
While Cullen had almost been restrained by the vines many times, he developed a method to escape reliably. His dagger was held by his right hand, and his right arm had the armband on. When the vines start coiling around his body, he can use the armband to free his arm, then free his entire body with his dagger. After repeating this many times, the vine threat was reduced, and there weren't many left around them.
'This is a weakness of the Jade Titan's ability. It is useless anywhere but The Island and cannot replenish the vines. Only The Island's natural healing ability will slowly reform them, but it takes far too long to be useful in battle.'
Just when Cullen cut the last vine, the Jade Titan finally made its move. It appeared in front of him in less than a second, displaying the true physical power it possesses. It held its arm back, pointing the scepter at Cullen, and only hesitated for a second before thrusting at him. This hesitation was from Cullen's ring, but it was negligible facing the Jade Titan.
Cullen barely managed to block it with the Spiralblade, putting it between the two horns on the scepter.
Clang!
The force sent Cullen flying back over ten meters and slamming him into a tree. As he fell to the ground, he managed to land on his feet, but was immediately assaulted by more vines.
'I guess its weakness isn't that great since it can throw me around all it wants. Even if I cut all the vines, I'll end up in a new area…'
Looking up, Cullen saw the Jade Titan already approaching him. He would have to fight the vines and the Abomination simultaneously!
'This is bad- I need to act now!'
Even though Cullen's life seemed doomed, this was all within his expectations.
Instead of fighting the vines, he charged straight at the Jade Titan! It responded by thrusting its scepter at Cullen's head, but only grazed his ear when Cullen dodged.
'Now I ca-'
Thump!
Unexpectedly, the Jade Titan swept the scepter and hit Cullen's head with its side. This time, he was knocked to the ground a few meters away, struggling to stay conscious after receiving a terrible concussion.
'I-I guess I'm lucky it w-wasn't a full swing, or my head would b-be mush.'
Cullen staggered to his feet, slowly regaining his vision and hearing. He could predict that the Jade Titan would go in for the killing blow, so he jumped backward without any hesitation. Although he slammed into a tree behind him, he did indeed dodge a deadly attack.
After somewhat adjusting to his condition, Cullen was stuck in an endless loop of dodging, cutting, and almost dying. Any contact with the Jade Titan would send him flying or injure him badly, so he could only use his speed and the slight hesitation to escape in time.
But this couldn't last forever.
Cullen dodged another attack but was immediately assaulted by a vine. He quickly cut it in half, then turned his attention back to the Jade Titan. It was already swinging its scepter at his outstretched arm!
Strangely enough, however, the scepter fell straight through Cullen's arm like it was an illusion, hitting the ground with a thud.
The armband!
If the Jade Titan had emotions, it would be shocked.
Seizing the moment, Cullen jumped at the Abomination and hugged it tightly. In his right hand was no longer his dagger, but a Mini Kamikaze! Before the Jade Titan could do anything to stop him, he squeezed tightly and blew the two of them up.
Cullen fell out of the sky, completely aware, and landed on his feet. He quickly checked his body to make sure everything was still with him, then took out the compass to the Jade Titan.
'Like every time before this, the Kamikaze's explosion transports a person and their belongings, but separates different beings by a small distance.'
This was Cullen's plan. The files said that the Jade Titan is stronger the closer it is to The Island's core. If he's lucky and near the shore, he might actually be able to defeat it!
'First, I need to find where it landed. Then I can test out its strength, and use the other Mini Kamikaze if it's still too strong.'
Cullen wasted no time and immediately ran in the direction of the compass. In less than two minutes, he found the Jade Titan.