The Jade Titan stood still like before, except this time, the vines acted strangely. Within one meter of the Abomination, they gathered as a shield and formed a small cage around it. Past that point, vines stood upright, ready to attack. In total, all of them under its command were within five meters.
'The range of its ability has been halved! Does this mean that its total power is also reduced by 50%? If so, I can try fighting it.'
The formation of the vines also told Cullen that it was taking a defensive stance, meaning it considered him a threat.
'Even if I could destroy its core, this is still troublesome. The files didn't mention using the vines in this way. It seems that its ability not only turns the vines aggressive, but also offers complete control over them.'
While Cullen was thinking of a way to breach its defense, the Jade Titan finally noticed him. Suddenly, the vines opened a hole in the cage through which the Jade Titan jumped.
'Giving up its defense that easily? Was that only to prevent a sneak attack?'
Caught off guard, Cullen held the Spiralblade with both hands and blocked the Jade Titan's strike. Instead of being launched backwards, this time, Cullen was able to keep his ground.
'I really can fight against it now, but this is with two hands.'
Without wasting any time, Cullen jumped backwards to escape the range of its ability. Only his dagger could effectively deal with the vines. If he wanted to fight it, he would need to strike, then immediately jump away. Staying in its range for too long would mean death.
The Jade Titan quickly closed the distance, refusing to let Cullen escape. The vines around him sprang to life as the scepter was heading straight for his heart.
'No time!'
Cullen intercepted the scepter with his Spiralblade, knocking it to the ground. Before the vines could catch him, he used the force and jumped into the air, landing on a nearby branch 7 meters up.
The Jade Titan seemed to tilt its head curiously, then launched its scepter like a javelin at Cullen.
'For real?'
Instead of hitting him, the scepter cut the branch he crouched on clean in half. Cullen wasted no time and leapt to another tree before the branch gave out. Below him, the Jade Titan's legs exploded with power as it jumped and caught its scepter midair, preparing to throw it at Cullen again.
'Fighting it up here wouldn't be that bad. There are far fewer vines on the trees than on the ground; it's an advantage for me.'
This time, the scepter was hurled straight at Cullen. The power was so absurd that the Jade Titan was thrown backwards when it released. But instead of dodging, Cullen raised his Spiralblade and blocked the scepter with all his strength.
Even though the Jade Titan's power was halved, its scepter was still unbreakable. It was 70 Tavros before, the strongest this Cullen has ever encountered, and it's probably around 35 now.
Cullen successfully diverted the attack, but the impact flung him off balance and caused him to slip. He desperately reached out his hand, trying to grab the branch, yet he barely missed.
The drop wasn't far for Cullen's Gifted body. The problem was the exposed position he would be in. Below him, the Jade Titan was already on the ground and moving to retrieve its scepter.
What Cullen couldn't understand was: Why would the Jade Titan throw away its scepter so carefree? Its body was probably weak enough for Cullen to break, meaning its scepter was the only chance it had at blocking him.
The second Cullen's feet touched the ground, the Abomination was already near him. Vines sprouted up and reached for him while he switched his weapon to the dagger.
'With one hand, I can't strike with the Spiralblade; I can only block its attacks. I'll wait for a moment when it drops its guard, then use both hands to deal real damage to it.'
Around half a minute later, Cullen was still unable to find that moment. He cut countless vines, but the fight was constantly moving. He blocked many strikes, but the scepter was too mighty to destroy. In fact, if the Jade Titan's strength were any higher, his Spiralblade would have been cracked many times by now.
Although the scepter was a higher Tavros than the Jade Titan, the Abomination could only use as much as its strength accommodated. In other words, the only benefit of the scepter's strength was defense.
Clang!
Cullen blocked another attack, then jumped backwards while cutting a few vines.
'This is getting me nowhere… I need to use the Cursed Mask!'
Before, when Cullen used the armband, he had caught the Jade Titan off guard and was able to use the Mini Kamikaze. Ever since then, it's been aware that his right arm was not something it could cut.
'Once I use the Cursed Mask, it will be even more careful. The first time will be my best chance at injuring or even defeating it. Of course, this is if it doesn't backfire.'
Considering they were about even in strength at this point, the repercussions of the Cursed Mask shouldn't be horrible. Cullen's mental strength was formidable as well.
After observing its attack patterns, Cullen knew the exact moment he would use this.
Clang!
Again, the Spiralblade and scepter collided. The Jade Titan was relentless, only moving towards Cullen and not giving any space. It appeared to be completely relaxed, showing no signs of fatigue. Cullen, on the other hand, panted like a dog.
The vines around him grew to dangerous numbers, causing Cullen to shift his attention from the Jade Titan to them. As he cut through many, the Abomination noticed this opportunity brought its scepter behind its body, preparing a lethal thrust.
"STOP!"
The Jade Titan froze. Cullen felt a sharp pain in the back of his head, but forced himself to ignore it. He dropped his dagger, gripped his Spiralblade with both hands, and used all his power to plunge it into the Jade Titan's core.
As his attack moved, the vines shifted their attention and grabbed onto the Spiralblade, attempting to slow it down. But Cullen wouldn't lose to a couple of weak vines. The Spiralblade expanded, its force too powerful for the vines to suppress. As they were unable to stop him, the Jade Titan regained its movement in less than a second, but it was too late.
The tip of the Spiralblade pierced its chest and made its way to the core. The contact sent pain ricocheting through Cullen's body, but it was a fair price for the deep crack in the Abomination's core.
'I need to keep pushing and end this!'
Cullen expected the Jade Titan's response to be focused on the weapon intruding into its body. However, that was not the case. For some reason, it was determined to finish its strike from before.
'Shit!'
Letting go of the Spiralblade, Cullen jumped backwards in a desperate panic. The scepter, though, was faster and left a large gash on Cullen's right cheek as he evaded.
Cullen would have been even more shocked if it followed him, but that seemed to be crossing the line. The Jade Titan stood still and grabbed the Spiralblade's handle, pulling it out of its body.
The hole left behind released no blood, just a few jade fragments that fell to the ground.
Cullen picked up his dagger from the ground and took a fighting stance five meters away from it, unsure of its next attack.
'Damage to an Abomination's core always weakens it. While I don't expect the rest of this fight to be easy, it shouldn't escalate to me using the Mini Kamikaze to retreat. Although I did lose my Spiralblade, and who knows what it will do with my weapon.'
Cullen received his answer shortly when the Jade Titan dropped the Spiralblade to the ground in front of him.
Confused, Cullen could only watch from a distance with no means of attacking.
All the vines within its range wrapped around the Spiralblade. Cullen observed in shock as it was slowly swallowed by the vines, then sank into the ground.
"Hey! Stop!"
Cullen had the choice to make his words commands with the Cursed Mask, but not all of them were. This, for instance, was just a desperate plea with no real meaning. An Abomination would never listen to reason.
After a few seconds, the Spiralblade vanished into the earth, and Cullen's primary weapon was gone.
Boom!
The Jade Titan launched itself at Cullen like it didn't have a hole in its chest. They went back to their regular exchanges, except Cullen could only dodge the attacks instead of blocking. But, he noticed a good sign.
'It's definitely weaker than before. Its movements are slower, and its control over vines may have even been reduced to a range of four meters. At this rate, I may not need the Spiralblade to finish it.'
The Jade Titan was now aware of the Cursed Mask, so it attacked with much more caution. While it rarely found itself in a vulnerable position, it couldn't maintain this forever.
"Stop!"
Seizing a chance, Cullen struck the Jade Titan's arm with his dagger. He settled for this since it was overly protective of its exposed core.
Ding! A sharp pain shot up Cullen's arm as the dagger bounced off the Jade Titan's skin. It was unable to pierce it.
Cullen backed away, then looked at the dagger in his hands. The mysterious black material now had a small crack running from the tip to the handle.
Cullen sighed.
'It's finally outmatched. Now, my only hope of defeating it is to strike its already broken core, and hope my dagger has enough strength left to finish it.'
Cullen already lost the Spiralblade, and losing the dagger would leave him with no weapons. But if he kills the Jade Titan, he can receive its scepter. Cullen wasn't sure if he was willing to take this gamble.
But Cullen had another idea.