When the Jade Titan struck next, Cullen jumped up instead of backwards. Above him was a branch that Cullen grabbed, then hoisted himself up onto.
Before, the Jade Titan had thrown its scepter at him instead of attacking directly. This was most likely because it was vulnerable in the air, especially with the lack of vines.
This time, it was no different.
It launched its spear at the branch Cullen was standing on, then immediately moved to retrieve it. However, Cullen had expected this and was already ahead of it.
The scepter stuck into the tree after it passed through the branch, which took away Cullen's support. But before this happened, he already anticipated where the scepter would be, and now his hands were grasping it.
Holding himself with the scepter, Cullen put both his feet on the tree and used all his strength to pull the scepter out. The Jade Titan reached out to stop him, but Cullen was flung away from the tree with its own weapon in his hands.
"Not so fun, is it?!"
A smirk appeared on Cullen's face, finally feeling like the battle was in his own hands.
The defenseless and weakened Jade Titan stood on the ground motionless. Even though it still had its ability, all hope was lost without its scepter. Now, facing the Cursed Mask, it would die shortly.
Then, strangely, it started to wander around the battlefield.
'Did it give up? I didn't think Abominations could do that?'
It didn't give up. Like it had finally found what it was looking for, it eventually stopped in place and bent to the ground.
Cullen's eyes widened when he realized what it was doing.
Vines emerged from the dirt, followed by a silver point of a weapon Cullen knew very well.
Weapons weren't usually bound to the user unless their ability enabled that. This was why Cullen could use the Jade Titan's scepter, and why the Jade Titan could use his Spiralblade.
The vines lifted the Spiralblade into the Abomination's hand, then Cullen watched as it shrank like a coiled snake ready to strike.
'It can use its ability too?!'
Cullen's ability created objects out of the qualities and skills of Abominations. That created object should be usable by anyone. But to think that an Abomination could also take advantage of this was something Cullen didn't want to accept.
'It's not like I can steal an ability and use it for myself. I have to put it in a physical object, so I guess it makes sense.'
Faced with this scene, Cullen was surprised, yet not too worried. The scepter, although it didn't have any special properties, was still much stronger than the Spiralblade.
When they next clashed, Cullen had the upper hand. Their position had switched, and the Jade Titan was now defending against his vicious blows. It tried to use vines to slow Cullen down, but was constantly knocked away.
He saw his opportunity.
"STOP!"
This command caused Cullen's vision to turn blurry for a second, indicating that his mental ability was nearly exhausted. This would be his last chance to use the Cursed Mask.
He pictured himself holding the Spiralblade and using every ounce of strength to destroy the Mindcradle. He held the scepter the same way and mimicked that attack, putting everything he had into this strike.
Like before, the Jade Titan had no time to dodge and could only watch the tip of its own weapon enter its body.
Using the same hole as before, the wider end had to break through more skin in order to reach the core. But Cullen pushed even harder, reaching the core in a split second and going even further.
Crack!
The Jade Titan tried to retaliate with the Spiralblade and used its ability to reach Cullen, but it suddenly lost all power throughout its body.
Collapsing to the ground, The Island's Apex Predator was killed.
Cullen couldn't relax yet.
'So far, I've created two weapons with my ability: the dagger and the Spiralblade. Once was created from an Abomination's hard skin, and the other was created from an Abomination's ability to extend itself. The Spiralblade's physical design wasn't my doing; it was what fit its ability the best. This time, I want to turn the Jade Titan into its own weapon, but also add its ability to it.'
This was something Cullen had never done before, and he didn't expect it to be perfect. Most likely, the physical durability and the range of its ability would be reduced. He could never emulate an Abomination's exact ability.
Picturing what he wanted, Cullen watched the Jade Titan condense into its own core, even the scepter following with it.
Left behind was an exact replica of the scepter that had just been destroyed.
'Yes!'
Cullen reached over and picked it up. Suddenly, he felt as though his surroundings were a part of him. Every vine within a five-meter radius responded to his mind. If he willed them to do something, they would follow. However, the difference lay in the amount of control he had over them.
Unlike the Jade Titan, Cullen couldn't completely manipulate them. Instead, he could only give them general instructions to follow, such as "protect, attack, and subdue."
While they were still under his command, he couldn't control each individual. But this made sense, and Cullen even expected it. He couldn't completely mimic an Abomination's ability, at least not yet.
'Since the ability's range is halved, the scepter's Tavros is most likely the same. It's safe to say that the Tavros is around 35.'
The Jade Titan's connection with The Island had nothing to do with its ability; therefore, the power change in relation to the distance from the center was no longer in effect.
If Cullen had created just the scepter without the ability, it would probably be near 60-70 Tavros. If he made an object that only gave him the ability, its range would be around 8-9 meters. Because this object had both, they were lowered as a result.
'This is what I wanted. I can't make use of an extremely high Tavros because my own physical strength is lacking, and I would need a different weapon if I had just used its ability.'
Thinking of this, Cullen looked at the Spiralblade on the ground. It had many indents and small cracks, and the tip was dull. Using this in battle would be idiotic.
'It feels like a waste to leave it here, but I don't have any space to carry it now that I have the Jade Scepter.'
Cullen gave the scepter a name: Jade Scepter. It was still the same jade color, about a meter long, and at the end were two horns with deadly points. Besides the Spiralblade's ability, the Jade Scepter outclassed it in every way.
He played with the vines near him, making them wrap around branches and form a barrier to protect himself.
'This power gives strong offensive and defensive abilities, but it won't be too useful outside of The Island.'
Cullen only had one thing left to do, and after that… nothing. Cullen didn't want to die anymore, but if he did, then that was that. But if he did kill The Island, there would be a bigger problem.
First of all, it was impossible to predict what would happen if he destroyed the core. Usually, every part of the Abomination is sucked into it and forms the object Cullen wishes. But it seems too unreal for a whole island to compress into a single object. After all, it was a Grade-E.
Regardless of what happens afterward, the government will certainly not be pleased with him. This makes The City too dangerous for him to be in. No matter how badly he wants to visit Charlotte, he wouldn't even make it close to her without being caught.
To Cullen's knowledge, there were no other civilizations besides The City. But considering how they lied about The Island, anything was possible. Even if they existed, the Outskirts was a place with no food, and Abominations lurked everywhere. The whole point of defeating The Island quickly was not to be in constant danger.
'I need to put all this aside. Without my complete devotion, killing The Island will be impossible. It might already be impossible, but I'll try my hardest, even if it means death.'
Before Cullen attacked, he needed to give himself the highest chance at winning. This involves attack, defense, and planning.
'For the attack, my Jade Scepter is already good enough. It had the highest Tavros out of any Abomination on The Island. For defense, I have many options. The ring, the Cursed Mask, and the Jade Scepter's Ability are all able to provide me with protection. Other objects, such as the armband, can provide helpful tricks to escape dangerous situations.'
The last thing he needed was planning. While the files described the core in great detail, there was still much that Cullen didn't know. He had no scouting ability, and there weren't any Abominations on The Island to create an object that would help.
'It's too risky to go back to the camp and look for more information. They definitely increased their surveillance after what happened last time. It's also unsafe to go scout the core in person, but that may be my only option.'