Tread Lightly – Among Monsters And Men

Alexos jumps forward with all the speed he can manage as he gives up on grabbing Death’s Lantern which is bolted onto Hura’s hip by a chain on his belt. The Phantom Pain takes a dose of his own medicine as a ripping slash opens up a huge gash along his back. He stumbles a bit away from Sacate who dealt the blow before full-on running away.

As he does so, I try to follow him. Crackles of illusions try to appear around me, but Rapturous dissembles the Ether that enters me as I elevate the multi-colored Ether in my body. This action does make me stumble and fall to the ground, though, as my entire upper body bursts with pain and my lungs refuse to move.

Two of those Ether explosions have damaged me terribly, possibly permanently. I grit my teeth as I try to push through and stand again using my left arm. But the internal damage to my muscles, bones, and tendons prevents me from using my arm at all. It just hangs limply and broken despite being the limb of the Bloody Palm.

I can feel a slight bit of warmth flow through it, healing the hand and wrist that are most damaged, but it will take some serious time. I think the scars I left behind of fragmented Ether make it harder to heal than if I just blew off the whole arm.

So, I try to stand again, but this time, I don’t use my arm. I struggle to get up just using my legs and eventually I succeed. But as I do so, Alexos is already quite a way away, running into the distance. I see Abraham and Sacate following him, the two that can also resist his illusions. The former from also being skilled in illusions and the latter from foresight.

Sacate turns back and yells to Johnny, Virgil, Bonfire, and me as he chases the escapee. His voice seems to be full of some kind of Ether that can break through any kind of illusion. Likely a Yell that has been infused with his Sigil’s touch.

“If you cannot resist illusions, go and help the town! The rest of us will try and catch him!”

I see Johnny’s face, along with Virgil, Otto who just arrived from where the false Alexos was, and Bonfire, who were looking around confused, focus as they turn toward the city. Only Johnny and Bonfire obey the advice, however, as they both turn and head toward the town. Bonfire goes through the hole left by Earl’s bullets as I grow worried for the man. Where is he?

I briefly look around just long enough to spot Virgil sitting back down beside his brother. Nowhere do I see Earl. Before I follow Sacate and hunt down Alexos with him, I flow Ether into Listen. Thankfully, all the skill entails is moving Ether from the core in my skull to my ears. The skill doesn’t require the Ether to touch anywhere that is heavily damaged like Rapturous which almost brings tears to my eyes every time it pulsates.

Once the skill fully activates, I feel a slight pop as my hearing range extends and the sounds I can differentiate grow. Far away bullets rage like none other, but I sigh a breath of relief as I hear a gatling gun going wild. Not only is Earl fine, he still has some ammo left. That’s good.

It does kind of sound like it’s shooting into Rustbank, though. The direction is a bit worrying, but Johnny and Bonfire are heading there. They are both tired, but their arrival alone should fix anything that is going wrong. I need to help Sacate and Abraham.

I am one of the few who can resist his illusions. I’d dare to even say the best at it now that I have Rapturous.

So, I cut off the flow for Listen and I begin to run to catch up to the three who are hauling ass as far from Rustbank as they can. Out of almost nowhere while I try to catch up, Marion charges at Alexos, from the side where they were fighting earlier. Apparently, he can also resist the illusions and the man for some reason never left where he was earlier. I knew he was adaptable and versatile from Earl, but not this much so. From here, I can sense a huge confluence of Ether within his body, almost a quilt of Ether that weaves perfectly within his body, visible to all. Close to a dozen skills at once empower the man as he charges Alexos.

Right when he gets close enough to stab Alexos with his shortsword, though, the Phantom Pain turns around in a panic and screams at him with a voice of concentrated Ether.

"PAIN!"

Almost as if the words became true, Marion crumples like a man paralyzed by crippling pain. Alexos takes this opportunity to kill the only man capable of keeping up with him. He darts for Marion's shaking body and slides a dagger into the man's temple. Shock runs through me as I see another man die just in front of me, but only a few of us even notice the death as everyone else is running from the illusion. Only Abraham, Sacate, and I know that Marion is dead.

Alexos frantically turns back around and tries to start running away again, but because of Marion's attempt on his life, he is very close to Sacate. I push myself even further as I feel muscles strain to their limits on the sand beneath me to catch up and help. The Phantom Pain has abilities it seems that are uniquely suited for killing people.

As I do so, I hear a familiar scratching of paws on the sand behind me.

My eyes turn and I see Dakota. The fox hasn’t grown at all like the last time he disappeared from my vision, but he is covered in blood, guts, and wounds. Thankfully most of it doesn’t seem to be his. He sniffs toward me as he catches up to me.

My heart hurts for him as I see a gash along his side. I have nothing to bandage him with, so I just try to catch up to Sacate who can heal him. Dakota follows after me faithfully and I feel bad. He’s so loyal and yet I keep leaving him behind. No more. As Virgil said, I need to treat him with respect if I want to keep him around me for a long time. Because eventually if we grow strong enough, the fox will gain intelligence.

That doesn’t mean he isn’t smart now, though. It just means he isn’t as smart as me. Probably. I’m not the smartest, but I know I’m not dumber than a fox.

While we run, I reach down and pat his head. I need to do better. No just think or say it.

“Good job making it through all that buddy. Sorry, I left you behind, I got a little obsessed with killing a demon. Come on, let’s go get this other one, though.”

I speed up after I talk to Dakota. I try to use Strugglers Defiance, but the impending headache that wants to knock me unconscious along with my injuries prevents me. Instead, I just run to catch up to the three in front of me.

And I do so much sooner than I thought. I realize that the wound that Sacate left on Alexos was truly quite debilitating. The master of illusions is forced to slow his sprint for combat as the Woodsman catches up to him. Abraham is shortly behind and joins in on the fight with a pair of shortswords.

I arrive about thirty seconds after the skirmish between the three starts. I whisper to Dakota to get behind Alexos and ambush him as I bullrush straight for him. My arms are useless, so the only thing I can really do is be a distraction for the two to kill him. The fox follows my commands as it gets really low and goes around the battle, searching for an ambushing opportunity.

Sacate and Abraham are on both sides of Alexos as he threatens them with the Lily and the dagger in his hand. The two keep a bit off of him, being careful of the legendary Colt.

I, however, have nothing to worry about as I move straight for him. But before I reach him he looks at me full of anger.

“Did everything I could to help you! And yet you betray me!”

Alexos puts away the Colt, he likely saw that through the illusion and noticed that it did nothing to me. Now that I think about it, Sacate probably did too. Must have been why he was so aggressive against Hura. He was trying to get me an opportunity.

I yell back at the Phantom Pain. The man deserves everything he gets.

“You got Edmund killed! You got those Hunters killed! You have done nothing good except for that note! Why would we help you!”

Alexos stares me down with exasperation and unbelieving anger. He first goes to insult me but changes his words.

“You stupid—... I didn’t kill Edmund! YOU did that. YOU killed him. That was not me! YOU pulled the trigger! And those Hunters? I kept them alive! Sure, I put a tracker on them, but they are alive! The only people that have died when I’m around you are Outlaws, and the man YOU killed! Open your eyes, Wyatt!”

I barely listen to his words after he says I killed Edmund. While deep down it’s true, it’s not something I want to hear at all. Especially from him. Because if he wasn’t there, then Edmund never would have been in front of my gun!

I scream from my gut as I charge straight for Alexos, ignoring anything he has to say. I try to slam into him with my shoulder and take him down, but the man sidesteps me and kicks the back of my knee. Instantly I lose balance and without arms to catch my fall, I faceplant into the ground.

No laugh or sarcastic quip comes from the man after my fall, though. I roll over and try to stand as I see Sacate and Abraham together rush down Alexos. Abraham goes right and stabs with both of his shortswords. The Woodsman goes left and swings with his blade-arm as he swipes with his other. Roots stab into Alexos legs, keeping the man from moving backward.

But Alexos has proven time and time again, he is inhumanly dexterous. He twists sideways, his legs still stuck to the ground. The blade of Sacate goes right past his head and into the ground. Alexos places his dagger right into Sacate’s chest as the twists again to dodge Abraham’s blades. He also uses his other arm that holstered the Lily to pull Abraham to him. And when the pale sickly man gets close, Alexos headbutts him.

Sacate steps back bleeding with a hand over the wound and Abraham stumbles back from the headbutt. While they try to recover, he breaks out of his rooting. At this point, I manage to stand back up. I look down at my fucked up arm and make another, I’ll admit, stupid decision. I push the broken hand against my chest and force the hand to make a fist.

I cry out in pain and almost buckle over. My legs go shaky, but after just a simple slam against my chest, the hand becomes almost fist-like, if only because it’s so swollen. But it’s enough. Fighting like a barbarian will only backfire against Alexos. He’s a man of technique, speed, and reaction.

None of those things I am better at. But there are three of us, so there is a chance to overwhelm him. Especially with Sacate here. I’m not sure everything Abraham can do, but I figure he is similar to Alexos, just even more focused on the mental aspects of illusions. And with Dakota creeping on the edges, we can do this.

I move back to Alexos from his rear and go to strike him with my fucked up hand, but as he turns around to face me, I back off. This short distraction allows for Sacate to get back in his face and for Abraham to recover from his head injury.

As Sacate swings back at Alexos with his blade and assaults him with roots, I try to back him up. At this point, our battle has become almost bereft of Ether. All of us are so exhausted that I doubt any of us, except for maybe Abraham can even pull off a big skill. I don’t think Sacate even has his foresight working right now based on how he’s fighting. I mean, all I have going is Rapturous right now. Which I would lose as well if it were anyone but Alexos we were fighting.

I throw my swollen fist at the back of Alexos head, and he reacts as if he has eyes in the back of his head which he honestly might at this point. His head moves to the side as he also drops low to the ground to get under Sacate’s attack. This was probably the best course of action for him, but it did leave him more susceptible to Sacate’s roots.

Wood wraps around the man’s legs and tries to pull him to the ground as to our side I see Abraham closing his eyes with a palm to his forehead. Curiosity and frustration rise at seeing him not helping physically, but it all goes away just a second later. A shimmering, almost physical being comes into existence as Abraham slumps to the ground barely conscious.

The figure is covered in silvery steel plates like an armored train and wields a massive sword in his hands. It is almost twice my height and definitely ten times as strong. The only piece of it you can see beside the steel is its glowing blue eyes underneath the steel.

What the fuck did Abraham just do?!

I back up from Alexos as the creature, seemingly illusory and real, strikes down with a silent roar of sweeping wind at Alexos who is stuck by roots. The force alone from the movement flutters my charred hair that was regrown while the Bloody Palm and I were still close. Before the thing can cut Alexos in half, though, the master of illusions draws out the Blooming Spider Lily and slides it sideways in his arms.

The steel of the legendary Colt meets the unreal blade of the creature Abraham summoned that could only come from his nightmares. The impact between the two rings out in my ears as a wave of pressure moves a large amount of sand around us, covering our feet in swirling glitter. The creature disappears after just a single strike and I look down at Alexis, both hoping he’s dead and that the Lily is fine.

Only one of those comes true as it looks like the impact blasted him into the ground and broke his right arm from holding the Lily. The roots also seem as though they are broken as he scrambles to get up and keep fighting. As he backs up from us because of the wounds, he holsters the Lily which is unharmed, and pulls out the vial. Only a few drops have accumulated since Hura took it, but he doesn't care.

Alexos downs it as both Sacate and I rush to stop him. I see the giant gash on his chest left from that creature’s impact heal very slightly after he puts the liquid in his mouth. Then, he puts the vial back in his pocket as he meets us.

But he’s faster this time if only a step or so. Illusions also seem to bare down on me just a bit stronger. My mind immediately understands what the vial does after seeing it works thrice now. It enhances the person in every way, putting a tinge of bloody Ether into everything they do. It was able to change blue lightning to red, and it has added a twinge of red to these flakes of illusions that try to confuse me. The side effect is likely almost uncontrollable instincts that the girl succumbed to.

Sacate, however, does not know this. He likely thinks it only enhances Ether given physical form based on Hura. So he pushes onto Alexos with no hesitation. The Phantom Pain dodges the strike from Hura that seeks to split him in two and he jumps from the roots. In this action, I try to grab onto him, but he shakes me off with unexpected strength and attacks Sacate.

The Woodsman steps back to defend himself as a sheen of green briefly appears over his torso and neck, but Alexos goes for the unexpected as usual. He stabs at Sacate’s blade-arm where steel meets flesh and with a great feat of strength upcoming of the usual him, he rips the arm off with an acrobatic flourish around Sacate for increased leverage and to throw him to the ground.

A scream comes from Sacate as he falls to the ground reaching for his missing arm. Now it’s just me and him. My eyes briefly glance at Sacate who starts to get up as Alexos rushes me with the man's whole arm in hand as a weapon.

It is at this point that Dakota finds his time to shine. He bursts out from the sand nearby and uses his teeth to rip out a chunk of Alexos’ heel. After he dashes past him, he goes in for a second strike, but Alexos is already falling and grabs onto me as he does so.

I fall to the ground with him and try to beat him with my arm and my legs, but he is so much stronger. I’m weakened by blood loss, injuries, and almost out of Ether. He is similar, but the man just got a little pick-me-up from the vial.

Dakota helps as the fox constantly harasses and takes chunks of flesh from the man, but Alexos is focused on me. Even an animal eating him is not enough to distract his focus. Despite my hate for him, I can respect the focus. Eventually, our tussle goes back and forth on the ground to the point that he is pushing Sacate’s arm down to my chest. The blade is coming increasingly close to where my heart is as I struggle to push it away from me.

But his strength is higher than mine even as I force Strugglers Defiance for a short moment. My chains loosen and give me the strength to hold on just a bit longer, but it’s not long enough. And he pulls out a final ace from his hand as he speaks softly to me.

"Pain."

My entire body shakes with a phantom pain as I spasm and lose grasp on this tug of war between us. The blade of Sacate rapidly sinks into my chest toward my heart, but it misses my most vital organ as Sacate kicks Alexos off of me.

Instead of my heart, the blade is twisted and goes into my lung as I am nailed to the ground by it, the blade going all the way through me with its massive size. I lay frozen as I watch Alexos roll over the sand and grab a gun that he fires at the unmoving Abraham who knocked himself out with Ether exhaustion.

Lead thumps into his chest three times as Alexos struggles to stand from the deformity in his side that Sacate gave him. Sacate and Dakota move swiftly toward Alexos as he puts his arms out. Blood drips from the man in massive clumps, showing his wounds to the wound as he tries to bargain. His words are full of lost breath and obvious effort.

“How about… we end it here? Woodsman, either those two die or you let me go and heal them. Which would you prefer? Those men or this Colt, Heirloom, and my life? The Philiam and Blooming Spider Lily are great, but are they worth a Graves and a dear friend?”

Sacate looks back at me and Abraham who are both bleeding out. Dakota is growling at Alexos as he chews on part of the man’s back that he tore off. I try to tell Sacate to kill Alexos and don’t worry about me, but the massive bonesaw-sword in my chest prevents me from speaking entirely.

Sacate gives me a final glance as he looks back at Alexos. Depression falls upon me as I hear his words and his sigh.

“Go. Your days are numbered, madman.”