Chapter 1673: Tragedy, however, is random
Many people fear sharks.
They fear them for being cold-blooded, carnivorous beasts that immediately react to the smell of blood in a frantic, murderous manner.
But...this is a dumb mistake to make.
Cows are more likely to kill a person.
The average person will probably never see a shark in their lifetime.
They live in the ocean, and most people don’t swim that deep unless they have to.
The average person, however, will definitely see a cow.
Why?
Because we keep them by the millions, penned up next to our homes and villages.
And all it takes is one single misstep for such a tragedy to occur.
All it takes is one overlooked mistake.
-The words of a man who lost everything because of an unpaved road.
...
’Logos, Pathos, what the fuck is going on?!’ Zhen Liu mentally screamed while maintaining a stoic facade.
Before his very eyes, and in the presence of his kaijin, friends, and family, the [Flame of Ambition] was in the middle of some stage two boss battle bullshit that involved taking in the surrounding [Chaos] and giving itself a body.
At least, that’s what it felt like it was doing.
Zhen Liu could sense an immense amount of instability occurring in the fireball before him, suggesting that this wasn’t entirely planned but more of a spur-of-the-moment kind of thing.
Which is what Logos and Pathos happily confirmed.
...
Pathos noted.
’And let me guess, letting these assholes into the library was the catalyst?!’
’FUCK!’
=It’s actually not that bad,= Logos assured Zhen Liu. =In their current state, they can’t actually use the power of [Chaos] alone to make a body. They need raw physical materials. =
’Like a bunch of dead mother fuckers?’
<=More like the proto-kaijin who don’t really have a [Core] or soul yet or aether treasures of sufficient power levels. =>
’OH!’
...
"EVERYBODY SCRAMBLE! COVER SERENA, THE PROTOKAIJIN, AND DON’T USE ANY ZAKOS! NOW!"
[Oh fuck!]
As the kaijin were mentally connected to Zhen Liu, the library, and the curators, they immediately knew what the fuck was going on before Zhen Liu gave his orders.
His mortal allies and family, however, weren’t as well-connected.
However, they were also well aware that it was probably a bad sign that the kaijin, the unflappable monstrous warriors that seemed to laugh in the face of everything and anything, were in a panic. As such, they got with the program and scrambled as requested.
The [Flame of Ambition] fireball had finished reabsorbing the flames it had lent to Hulna and Feroxxa, making the latter duo appear even more haggard than they did just moments ago.
Once it had finished this task, the strange fireball transformed to vaguely resemble a humanoid figure made of fire. However, there was an incredibly strong sense of [Incompleteness] that surrounded the being’s form.
Not...enough...Need...a body...
"Of fucking course it talks!" Zhen Liu cried in annoyance as he readied his defenses. "Watch, this is the part where it throws a murderous tantrum!"
Give me...one!
"See?!"
The [Flame of Ambition] began to lash out with burning tendrils and fiery projectiles in practically every direction, as if it were aiming to indiscriminately burn down the [Library of Nowhere] from the inside out. However, Zhen Liu and the curators knew that it wasn’t as random as it appeared.
Zhen Liu could sense that the fireballs being thrown in his direction, Serena’s direction, were much denser than the ones being fired off in the distance.
It didn’t take much for Zhen Liu to realize that it was doing so because it was trying to get its non-existent hands on the [Hearth Tender Trio] aether treasures in Serena’s possession. These items had been its original goal in the first place, so it wasn’t a stretch for Zhen Liu to assume it would be able to give itself a proper body if it got its hands on them. Of course, this would also mean that it would be strong enough to supplant the original [Sacred Flame], and he couldn’t have that.
Of course, he also couldn’t have this flaming fuckball try to take over the protokaijin either.
The fully fledged kaijin and mortal allies of Zhen Liu were doing their best in making sure that the proto-kaijins, the Doll Twins, Goldie, Silvie, and Copper, were well-protected from the onslaught of attacks. While this wasn’t a losing battle per say, it was a bit absurd in regards to the amount of effort the [Flame of Ambition] was putting into trying to take down one of the proto-kaijin. Then again, it had a fairly good reason.
[Wait, why are we being targeted?] Corpse Doll asked as she and Porcelain Doll performed some coordinated acrobatics to avoid a wild fireball flung in their direction. [I don’t think those priests or those Crusaders fought with us at any point this evening. Whoa!]
[I don’t think its out of malice or revenge, sister,] Porcelain Doll answered as she pulled her sister by the ankles and away from a flaming tendril that was looking a bit too grabby for her tastes. [Didn’t you hear the curators? I think it’s trying to hijack our bodies!]
As soon as this observation was made, a dozen more fireballs suddenly got sent flying in the Doll Twins’ direction.
[Oh shit!]
[We got ya!]
But before they could make impact, Razorstella and Frosttusk managed to intercept and destory the fireballs.
[That was too close!] Razorstella commented as she sliced through a fireball. [Wait, if it already managed to do that with some of the Chaos in the building, why can’t it complete the job?]
[I don’t think it can,] Frosttusk noted. [Can’t you sense it?]
As beings made of [Chaos], the kaijin were well aware of the flow of [Chaos], especially inside of the [Library of Nowhere].
They could all sense that while the [Flame of Ambition] was indeed absorbing [Chaos] from the building, it wasn’t able to use it for anything productive, or at the very least, it was going about it in a very slow manner. If it were left alone for a hundred years, it could probably make itself a body out of nothing but [Chaos].
But the [Flame of Ambition] didn’t have that kind of time; hence, it was trying its damndest to steal the [Hearth Tender Trio] or a protokaijin body at the very least.
If the [Flame of Ambition] managed to secure a protokaijin, it could wipe away the nascent personality and replace it with its own in order to secure all of the gains and growth the protokaijin had made up until that point. Needless to say, Zhen Liu wasn’t very fond of this outcome, and neither were any of the protokaijin.
But alas...tragedy has a tendency of happening without any input or prior warning.
And always seem to be the result of a simple mistake.
"I’m going to walk backward slowly; you keep my pace and stay behind me," Zhen Liu ordered Serena as he kept swinging his hammer and scarf about to block the incoming fireballs.
Together the two of them moved like a unit, away from the [Flame of Ambition], and slowly inching themselves back into a designated safe area inside of the library.
The plan was that, after scattering, Logos and Pathos were going to activate a heavy-duty defense array inside of the library and contain the [Flame of Ambition] within. Unfortunately, it required the fireball to stay where it was, hence why Zhen Liu and the kaijin had to play defense and move slowly. Otherwise, the damn thing might try to do something drastic.
Unfortunately, during this slow exodus, an accident occurred.
One of the fireballs the [Flame of Ambition] had released had managed to somehow ricochet and burn a part of the floor in just the right way to create a slippery surface.
Serena ended up stepping on this slippery patch of ground and tripping in such a way that she fell away from Zhen Liu and towards the open. Once she was exposed like this, the [Flame of Ambition] wasted no time in trying to attack her.
"Oh shit!"
[Move it, damnit!]
[We’re not going to make it!]
The world seemed to slow as Zhen Liu and the kaijin made moves to either intercept the attack or catch the falling Serena. However, the [Flame of Ambition] knew better than to let that happen.
Without warning, the [Flame of Ambition] picked up the unconscious Hulna and Feroxxa and threw them like projectiles, forcing the kaijin that were closest to intercepting to go and secure the flying fools.
At the same time, it fired even more fireballs towards Zhen Liu, forcing him to defend against the incoming barrage.
In other words, there was now no one able to block the attack for Serena.
There was nobody to prevent the [Flame of Ambition] from securing the [Hearth Tender Trio].
At least...that’s what everyone though until Copper dove in from the side and took the blast directly to the chest.