Chapter 72: Act 1: Blue Ocean Pavilion – Chapter 72: The Battle’s End

The combination attack of Oscar and his Anima was unlike any of the attacks so far. The synchronized movement of Oscar and the Anima made it so that Oscar didn't need to try to move two things simultaneously.

It was all one motion, two beings acting as one, that allowed him to do simultaneous Ein concentration on both attacks as they landed in the same spot. The double attack of Ein was especially hurtful to the Rainbow Didus.

"No need for any thoughts. Only a singular motive to hit one target. Though I would have liked to have done more complex movements, this is straightforward and easier."

With attacks finally having more effect on the Rainbow Didus, Oscar gained the initiative and used more of his arsenal.

As the Rainbow Didus tried to do something, its eyes stared maliciously at Oscar, but that was a mistake. It suddenly froze momentarily, then was suddenly released.

'Stone Gaze'

Oscar finally used his spell to catch the Rainbow Didus off-guard. He did not use it earlier because the Rainbow Didus's head attacks and movements kept its eyes constantly on the move.

But now that it has been shaken, it did not have the same liveliness to its movements, giving Oscar the opportunity.

The 'Stone Gaze' only lasted for a duration of a split second because Oscar canceled it prematurely. But that split second was enough to confuse the Rainbow Didus more.

Oscar matched movements with his Anima and bashed straight into the stupefied Rainbow Didus's chest, forcing out a high-pitched caw of pain.

Realizing the bad situation it had landed itself into, the Rainbow Didus spun around furiously to defend itself and backed away.

"Do I use 'Ein Awaken' for my next blows? I might make it worse for myself." Oscar was already beginning to feel the consequences of 'Ein Awaken'. There was pain at the edges of his mind.

"I should have fought against more Rock Ankylons or others. But the purpose of this trip was for my Anima." If Oscar continued battling against opponents with the use of 'Ein Awaken' like he did with Draven, he would be in a better position right now.

"All or nothing. Let's finish this with 'Ein Awaken' attacks."

Oscar and his Anima chased after the Rainbow Didus.

The Rainbow Didus crouched immediately, sending chills down Oscar's spine. In this situation, it still decided to use its double-edged move.

"As one!" Oscar mounted his Anima and focused the Ein on its hooves. In a burst of speed, they retreated far as the bolting rainbow passed right by them. Even the extended wings were unable to clip them.

"Strange, why is it making such a risky move? It displayed quite a bit of intelligence, so it should know that leaving itself open against my empowered attacks." Oscar thought.

The situation felt odd. Thinking of the previous exchanges against this mutated Rainbow Didus, it always had a trick up its sleeve.

Oscar maintained a good distance away, wary of the unknown.

His cautiousness was well warranted as the Rainbow Didus bolted again toward him.

"Impossible!" Oscar hastily dodged, this time by a very small margin. He felt all the hairs on his body straighten up from the chilly breeze that went by.

After crashing again, the Rainbow Didus launched itself again in quick succession.

BAM BAM BAM

There was no rest. Oscar hastily dodged one charge after another. Each one was getting quicker and nearly grazed him.

"How is it keeping this up?" Oscar was confused. But the answer soon came as a splash of blood landed on him. It was not his as it had the smell of the beast. "It's breaking itself apart!"

That extreme charge of the Rainbow Didus was powerful but made it immobile due to extreme exertion. But right now, the Rainbow Didus forced itself to keep charging without pause.

Due to that, its body that should have rested after each charge was instead tearing itself apart from overuse. The Rainbow Didus had no choice but to do this against Oscar.

It knew that since Oscar's attacks had become far more effective, it was only a matter of time before this scurry rat would whittle it down.

This was its last hurrah. Its last bid for survival. Either it breaks down first, or it kills Oscar.

As if its last prayer was heard, its gamble paid off.

Its sharp metal-like beak finally landed.

"Shit…."

Oscar tried his best, but he couldn't evade it forever. He had hoped to continue until the Rainbow Didus's body broke down from the consequences of overuse.

In a split second, he ducked as low as possible with his buckler, surged Ein into it, and activated 'Steel Scales'. He positioned himself at an angle to try and deflect away from this devastating attack.

CRASH

The cavern rumbled as the damage to its walls finally made an entire section of it collapse.

Oscar's figure was sent flying until landing harshly on the ground. He tumbled and rolled across the uneven and rocky cavern floor.

"Cough." Oscar sat himself down with a heavy face.

His buckler was cracked all over and on the verge of breaking apart. His Anima's antlers were also caught in the attack and were missing.

"Move….move….I need to move."

But before he could, the Rainbow Didus charged again. It felt it had clipped onto Oscar but did not feel itself tearing through flesh. This time, it would skewer Oscar and stick him onto the cavern walls.

Gritting his teeth, Oscar prepared to meet this head-on. However, something grabbed him from behind and pushed him aside.

It was Nicholas. His pale face smiled as he brought his hands up. There was no time to run, and he only had enough space to push Oscar out of the way.

Nicholas could only confront this directly.

"Grade One Wind Barrier"

A great force of wind gathered around Nicholas, forming a sphere of swirling air. This defensive spell had all of Nicholas's recovered Ein into it.

The wind exploded out from the center of the collision, creating echoes that resounded through the hollow caverns. For a moment, the Rainbow Didus's charge was faltering.

But to Nicholas's resigned look. The beak of the Rainbow Didus broke past his wall of wind. As the beak neared his chest, he sighed and weakly smiled.

STAB

The Rainbow Didus stabbed Nicholas and continued but did not crash on the rocks. Its momentum had completely died down.

Its body was cut and bleeding all over. Feathers were ruffled and unkempt, unlike its previous beautiful look. Its sharp talons were dulled, and some had broken off.

The Rainbow Didus opened its eyes to look at its kill. It felt its beak puncturing through flesh and knew it had hit its mark.

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"????"

If a beast could express surprise, this would be it. Its bloodshot eyes snapped as wide as possible. The person it stabbed was not the one it had been fighting all this time.

Nicholas choked on his blood but shouted with all his might, "DO IT!"

The Rainbow Didus felt a shadow come above it. It desperately tried to move, but it could not. Breaking through the 'Wind Barrier' in its torn body had sapped nearly everything out of it. It had let its guard down.

The taste of flesh made it think it was victorious, but that was not so.

The feeling of death came over the Rainbow Didus as the shadow came closer.

It was Oscar and his Anima.

They saw Nicholas step in and sacrifice himself. They leaped over right after the charge ended to avoid letting this chance go to waste.

A bright flame of blue Ein collected onto Oscar's fist and his Anima's antlers.

'Ein Awaken'

The Rainbow Didus moved without care for its self-inflicted injuries, and Nicholas sacrificed himself without hesitation. So, Oscar no longer hesitated.

Forgoing the risks, he concentrated all the Ein on his attack with the aid of 'Ein Awaken' and absorbed more Ein to add to the blow.

But this wasn't the end of it. Oscar roared out. He didn't know what he was doing, just relying on pure instinct.

'Reis Awaken'

Reis flowed upward into his buckler. His eyes were strained while his face was riddled with veins. The mix of 'Ein Awaken' and 'Reis Awaken' combined into a deadly force.

This 'Dual Awaken' held incredible power but tore into Oscar's body and mind. But he did not falter; he brought out everything to destroy this Rainbow Didus.

BAM

From above, they slammed down all their might onto the tough, flexible neck of the Rainbow Didus. Oscar let out a disgruntled roar.

The Rainbow Didus cawed in suffering and agony. It felt its neck splitting apart until it finally gave way. Its head tore off its body in a bloody mess as its blue eyes dimmed with its mind fading.

This mutant Exalt Beast. This Rainbow Didus with a bright future. It lay in a pool of blood that dyed its beautiful vibrant colors a deep dark red.

SPLURT

Oscar spat out some blood, and his eyes were bleeding. His heart was pounding, ready to tear itself apart. The backlash from 'Dual Awaken' affected him severely.

"Good job…."

"Nicholas!"

Ignoring the pain, Oscar freed the man with a hole in his gut and put him gently on the floor. Looking over these wounds, Oscar felt there was no hope. If his body was still intact, something could have worked like the time with the Night Raptor's blood.

But not for this gigantic hole. Everything inside had been blown away into mush. There was no saving him. Oscar wracked his head for an answer.

"Don't bother. I don't even feel pain anymore. This is it for me." Nicholas weakly said.

"Why did you do that?"

"Why did you come here?"

Oscar was silent.

Nicholas looked at his junior and said, "You had no reason to try to save me, but you came anyway. I'm just repaying the favor. Cough Cough."

"I was just a trashy Grade Two. I said I'd become a great Exalt, but I gave up early and was fine simply doing nothing. I can see from how you fought that it wasn't a matter of Elixirs or Exolsia. All my words were fluff, but I never truly gave it a shot."

"But to fight here and save you. That is the most worthwhile thing I've done in all my three years. I've never felt like a true Exalt, but I do now…."

Nicholas stared straight into Oscar's eyes.

Oscar listened and hung on to every word.

"Don't give up as I did. Maybe you'll start thinking like me in the future but don't falter. Live your best life."

His eyes were fading as they struggled to stay open.

Oscar put his hand on Nicholas's eyes to allow them respite.

"You don't need to struggle. I've heard everything you've said. We might not have known each other well, but I do believe you were a great Exalt." Oscar spoke truly.

"Hahaha." Nicholas weakly chuckled with tears flowing down and then sighed.

"I wish I had visited my family to see them one last time…."

With the last of his words, Nicholas let out his final breath.

"Thank you, Nicholas, my senior. I hope that you rest well." Oscar closed his eyes in a moment of silence to honor his fallen comrade.

"I will make sure that you are returned to your family. I swear." Oscar also fell unconscious. This battle against the Rainbow Didus had pushed him beyond his limits.

After a while, Oscar awoke, returned to the bag he left behind, and took out his uniform jacket, placing it over Nicholas to cover him.

Oscar's Anima came to him and whined sadly.

"You fought well. I couldn't have done it without you."

Oscar looked over the corpse of the Rainbow Didus before continuing deeper into the caverns.

It was dark, but Oscar knew there was no other creature here. The two Rainbow Diduses would have made sure of that.

In his sight, Oscar saw something sparkling. It was like the twinkling of many stars of different colors.

The objects had an oval shape and seemed full of life.

The Eggs of the Rainbow Didus.

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