Chapter 233 - 164: Phase 2! Collectively Stuck
Perhaps because close-range combat was Tasolomo’s weakness, the effect of this Lethal Strike was especially potent.
With a full release of Spiritual Power, Tasolomo’s Blood Volume was instantly wiped out!
HMMMM—
Following a fading screech,
Tasolomo’s tumorous body, which had been floating in the center of the pit, seemed to lose all its power and fell straight to the ground.
The surrounding Hosted Incarnations collapsed at the same moment, unable to get up.
"Incredible!"
Skyrim was ecstatic, but he soon realized something was wrong.
Because even though Tasolomo appeared to be defeated, Faraway was still relentlessly bombarding its body with one Skill after another.
’Could it be...’
Seeing this, a bad feeling welled up inside Skyrim.
Sure enough, his premonition was confirmed in the very next moment.
"Disaster... is here!"
A huge, hoarse, and guttural voice emanated from within Tasolomo’s tumorous body.
It was Tasolomo’s voice!
Skyrim’s heart lurched.
At that moment, a grotesque transformation began!
RUMBLE!
Tasolomo’s body contracted violently as countless roots shot out, burrowing deep into the earth and extending endlessly. The ground began to shake violently, and loose rocks tumbled down from the pit’s nearby walls.
Faraway suddenly frowned, seemingly sensing something, and stopped his attack.
A massive spiritual screech, covering nearly the entire area, swept over them in a concussive blast.
Despite being prepared and dodging the initial assault, Faraway was still sent flying by the subsequent shockwave.
Skyrim was even unluckier. His Dodge effect failed to trigger, and he took the full force of the impact.
SHLICK! SHLICK!
Countless roots burst from the ground, piercing the Hosted Incarnations one by one and brutally draining them of nutrients. The hosts were reduced to shriveled corpses, completely dead.
Meanwhile, after some writhing of flesh and blood, the central Tasolomo grew even larger and began to pull itself upward.
CRASH!
The innumerable roots were yanked up along with it, looking as if they would violently tear the entire bottom of the pit apart.
HMMMM—
Finally, the enormous spherical body rose into the sky, trailing its countless roots.
"This..." Skyrim stared upward, his mind reeling in shock.
"It has a Tier Two," Faraway said calmly, dusting himself off as he, too, looked up at Tasolomo’s body.
When Tasolomo’s Blood Bar was emptied earlier, he hadn’t seen a kill notification, which was why he had been relentlessly attacking it.
But now, it seemed his efforts had been of little use.
He had already struggled mightily against its Tier One form, using up a lot of Recovery Wax Blocks. Now that Tasolomo had entered Tier Two, it would likely be even harder to deal with.
WHOOSH—
As the two spoke, Tasolomo’s transformation in the sky continued.
The sound of breathing echoed as Tasolomo’s spherical body absorbed all the mist in the massive pit, contracting as it did so.
A moment later, something truly shocking happened.
Tasolomo’s spherical body bloomed like a flower, releasing a foul, black-red gas.
As the foul gas dissipated, the upper body of a long-haired woman appeared atop Tasolomo’s sphere.
Its previously empty Blood Bar was instantly restored to two-thirds full.
[Blood and Flesh Host: Tasolomo]
[Tier: Scorching Charcoal]
[Level: 41 (Ascending)]
[Warfire: ? (Cannot use Fire Ignition)]
[Talent: Assimilation Host, Flesh Manipulation]
[Skill: ?]
[Explanation: A visitor from the Celestial Stars, forced to manifest in a body of flesh and blood. Its terrifying form is a host to flesh, yet perhaps it is also hosted by the greed dwelling within that flesh.]
"Die!"
A shriek mixed with the native language of this world. Tasolomo seemed utterly enraged as countless roots rained down on the two of them like a volley of arrows.
This time, although they were no longer hindered by the interference of the Hosted Incarnations,
Tasolomo, floating in mid-air, was even harder to deal with, its attacks growing ever more frenzied.
It could even entangle its roots, condensing flesh and blood into eggs to create several Flesh Giants, making the pair’s situation even more difficult.
Faraway and Skyrim fought with all their might but were still overwhelmed.
After being pierced through the chest by a root yet again,
Faraway stood calmly in place, facing the oncoming roots.
’This...’
’Could it be he still has an ace up his sleeve?’
Seeing Faraway’s stance, Skyrim couldn’t help but have this thought.
But soon after, the roots pierced Faraway through and through, as if a thousand arrows had struck his heart...
’So he was just giving up...’
The corner of Skyrim’s mouth twitched.
A moment later, he too became a Wandering Soul.
And what was truly outrageous was that, unlike previous bosses where they could keep reviving after dying, Tasolomo in its Tier Two form guarded the entire bottom of the pit, preventing the Milestone Spirit Candle from even manifesting.
Naturally, the two of them were unable to resurrect.
Only after confirming there were no more threats did Tasolomo close its tumorous petals, return to the center of the pit, and begin to emit mist again as its Blood Volume started to rapidly recover.
And they couldn’t even start the fight directly from Tier Two!
However, there was some good news.
As if for their convenience, the Wax Ash from their deaths was very close by, well outside of Tasolomo’s attack range.
Skyrim saw Faraway retrieve his Wax Ash and then returned to the Milestone Spirit Candle.
"Faraway," Skyrim asked with a frown, "what should we do now?"