Chapter 39 - Knocking

Blüt was growing frustrated and weary in equal measure. Their battle so far had been nothing more than unsuccessful flyswatting. He panted. It seemed to him they were at a stalemate, but Luna saw far more. The path to victory was clear to her; the river of possibility flowed before her, and it took the shape of Sol’s sword.

The blade served as a solution to Luna’s only issue. At present, she had no real win-condition. Saving Merri was one thing, but actually killing Blüt was another. She had sworn off magic, so Munditia wasn’t an option. Even beyond her resolve, returning to spellcasting would only restrict her. If she tried it, incantations and mana management would take up too much of her mind and snap her straight out of her trance. She’d lose sight of the river of possibility and move further from the door of infinity. She couldn’t allow that. If her mind stopped working here, if she compromised for even a moment, she would revert back to the person she was before, the weak little girl who could never open that door.

Luna burst forward with abandon, not giving Blüt a second to think. She had her win condition — a stab to the brain with Sol’s sword — there was no need to allow him the time to identify his. Not that it would be difficult for him to, for his was the simplest of all; He had to hit Luna just once. She wasn’t durable enough to survive a punch, and she was only just fast enough to dodge and parry against the speed his weight provided his strikes. If she missed once, made one mistake, neglected one possibility, she would die.

“Doesn’t matter.” She thought without thinking, a twisted grin forming on her face. She had at last found it once again, the flow she felt fighting the Dire Wolves. “Keep going, keep thinking, even if you die.”

Blüt’s fist slammed in front of her, she stepped back just in time. From his closed fist, he flicked each finger forward in succession, a gatling of attacks, each of which Luna avoided gracefully, twirling her way through like it had been choreographed. A nail grazed her cheek, but that was the best Blüt got as she hopped above his final finger and began her ascent along his arm.

“Predictable.” Luna mused. She knew Blüt had seen this trick before and would respond accordingly. As predicted, he did, swiping a hand along his arm to strike her away. His wrist, flicked fast. There was no wind-up like a punch. Luna couldn’t count on dodging.

Luckily, she didn’t have to. She raised Sol’s blade, holding it before her and aligning the edge toward Blüt’s strike. The two forces met, momentum from either side clashed. Blüt’s power of course exceeded hers, but it was driven directly into one point, a point already backed up with momentum of its own. Fat fingers met sharp steel and were severed all in one as Luna kicked forward, adding just enough extra power to cut through Blüt’s digits. Each one fell to the ground below in unflattering splatters.

From there it was too late for a follow-up, Luna’s feet carried her forward as she rushed up along his arm and to his shoulder. There was no stopping her now, Blüt was behind in both body and mind. She leapt up above his head, high as she could, then allowed herself to fall. She became a human arrow, entire body streamlining to drive Sol’s sword straight down into Blüt’s skull.

Even with gravity on her side, it wasn’t enough power for a lethal blow. If Sol couldn’t manage that with all his strength and a greater fall, there was no chance she could. Luna had accounted for this however. “Objective achieved. Weapon in place.” Her mind acknowledged in less than a second. “Next move… That.”

In the moment after piercing Blüt’s skull, Luna knew two things. One, that Blüt’s hand was coming to strike her again and that two, she needed to escape it from her current up-side down position. The solution was clear. She recalled a memory, water from far downstream that at last caught up to her; A handspring. The kind she would have used to dismount from her staff in her theoretical rematch against the Slime Queen.

Knock.

She sprung off the sword’s pommel the moment the blade pierced Blüt’s skull, narrowly avoiding his attack. It allowed her to evade one strike, but now she was in a free-fall. His fingerless hand approached, the scent of blood thick as gushing red trailed the air toward her. It was unlikely she could avoid this one. It was too large and too close to be evaded. The river of possibility began to slow.

She needed more data to draw from. Once again, her mind went to the past. Two data points, far apart, far from her, but vivid in her mind… If they came together…

She thrust her hands forward and began chanting the incantation for Munditia. Immediately she could see the recognition in Blüt’s eyes. He had seen this attack before and he had seen this circumstance. The pain of her many Munditia’s were of course known, but subconsciously he recalled the circumstance too. Someone falling, casting a spell and changing their trajectory. Though unaware of it, he had to account for that now too. These two elements slowed his charge, he hesitated, and that hesitation allowed Luna just enough time to fall past his fist.

Knock.

Sol’s mid-air manouvre with fireball and Clint’s bluffed Munditia against the Slime Queen. Through a combination of those remembered experiences, Luna had taken the last step she needed. She was there at the door of infinity.

Her vision had expanded. Not only did she now account for the missed opportunities of her past in her calculations, but she had made even the thoughts, feelings and actions of others into part of her grand equation. She had gone beyond herself and her opponent, beyond the present, and beyond what was and into what could be. The door of infinity was open before her, and through it, she could see everything.

After that, the fight with Blüt was a blur. She was already untouchable, but even more so now. She waltzed through his strikes, every movement effortless. Luna had ascended to the highest peak of combat, weaving every blow, real or imagined, on her way to Blüt’s head.

She reached the sword and struck it deeper. Then she did it again. Another sequence of careful manoeuvres, gliding through space, narrowly dodging lethal attacks by the slimmest of margins, parrying blows hundred times more powerful than her own, everything became trivial. Anything was possible to her now. Every memory she held in her vast data bank of a brain was available to her. Every un-lived path that sprung from those memories too. They met with the potential before her and together they formed the never-ending river of possibility. It was so large, so winding, so thoroughly connected at every point, you could easily mistake it for an ocean.

Her eyes were much the same, grand pools of blue that moved constantly, scanning, inputting, comparing to prior experience. Gone was the calm stillness and now was constant movement. Blüt got a good look at them as she sailed past his face, leaping from his arm to his shoulder as she returned once more to his head, slamming the sword down another few inches into his brain.

It repeated, over and over, she would dodge every blow and strike the sword deeper into Blüt’s brain. When he attempted to pull it out, she would be there, anticipating this action and beating his fingers away. It was a delicate action, he couldn’t perform it fast enough. The difference in their speed had grown too. Originally, Blüt was only barely slower than her, but he still had to think. Luna’s process was near instantaneous, every movement unburdened by the brain’s orders, the entire body acting as one.

But Luna only saw through the door of infinity in her fight with Blüt. She did not step through. “It’s too easy…” She blinked at last, eyes finally falling still for a moment. “I need more. His strikes are too predictable.” She frowned, returning to his shoulder again. “Climb up, hit the sword, climb up, hit the sword. The possibilities are so narrow now…” She could feel the door draw further away. It seemed today was not the day she would master this ability. Blüt was not the opponent who would push her into the realm of godhood. She sighed.

Blüt panted and twitched. The gap between them was growing yet more insurmountable. Not only was she getting faster, he was getting slower. His motor functions were being destroyed as the sword cut through more and more of his brain.

It was when Luna sighed that Blüt realised it: He was going to die. As each blow of Luna’s drove the sword deeper and deeper into his brain, as he was wracked with more and more internal bleeding, it finally struck him that this wasn’t a flyswatting contest. Luna was going to kill him. Casually, at that. His precious life was going to be taken away, and his enemy was losing interest… The life he had promised his dear mother to protect… It was going to be robbed by a mere woman and a little sword.

Rage and desperation overtook him. He ran. His sudden movement shook Luna from his shoulder as he sprinted as fast as his damaged brain and weary legs could carry him.

The river grew unstable suddenly, Blüt’s sudden sprint was a gigantic rock that had upset the water’s surface. Luna’s mind froze as she tried to wrangle the possibilities once more, but found the river too wild. “He’s running away? Are you kidding me?” Her eyes refocused, finally snapping out of the tranquil trance she was in prior.

Blüt’s heavy feet cracked the ground as he ran. Luna pursued him, but the difference in size made catching up hard. She had to reassess everything manually again, her automatic process had been totally uprooted by this unexpected turn. She needed a focal point, some kind of objective to contextualise his actions and show her a path to victory.

“Merri!” He roared, bulging eyes exploring the tree line and looking for her. “Heal me, Merri!”

The girl kept hidden, cowering behind a large oak. Blüt terrified her still. Though she had broken free from his control, she doubted that fear he had implanted within her was something she could ever be free of. Every instinct in her tiny body willed her to obey his demands, but she held fast. “Luna will get him. She promised.” She told herself, each word bolstering her resolve.

“Merri!” He yelled once more, booming voice shaking the leaves as he continued his full-speed tear through the forest. He didn’t slow down, never giving Luna a chance to catch up as he ripped the woods apart, barrelling through trees like a feral animal, uprooting them as he continued his hunt for the Auf.

“Merri… That’s good. I can build on that.” The river flowed smooth once more as she navigated her new path to victory. “Win condition equals slow him down… Can’t catch up. Too far to do it myself…” She closed her eyes as she lost herself in thought. When she opened them, they had returned to their oceanic serenity.

“Merri!” Luna yelled, straining to make her voice over Blüt’s incessant yelling. “Come out!”

Merri shivered, hugging her shoulders as she listened to Luna’s suggestion. She shook her head at the words, too terrified to move.

“Merri! Come out! Be a good girl and come out!” Blüt barked, only worsening the girl’s fears.

“Trust me, Merri!” Luna insisted. “You wanted to help, right? I can’t defeat him without you!”

The girl clenched her tiny fists, digging deep into her heart to find the resolve. “If I step out now… She can kill him.” She breathed shakily, looking down at her fingers. She recalled every time they had been broken, the thousands of snaps, the sharp pain she was made to feel over and over…

She smiled in a strange way. Almost cruel. “She can kill him.” She muttered again. “He’ll be gone… I’ll be free!” Merri nodded, knowing now what to do.

“I’m right here!” She screamed, leaping out dramatically from her hiding spot. Instantly Blüt’s neck snapped to turn to her. He changed direction, nearly falling as he struggled to keep his momentum. Merri braced herself. Every part of her body wanted to run, but her spirit knew she needed to stand her ground here. “You want me to heal you? Come on then! I’m right here!”

Blüt was quickly in front of her. Although she shook with fear, something about it felt good. She had spent much of her young life on his back, so now, to stand in front of him. Things were finally going to change.

With a wild abandon, he slowed and threw his arm forward, his greasy blue hand reaching out for Merri. The sunlight ceased to reach her as his gigantic digits shadowed her. He was only a few feet away, but still the girl stood resolute, a confident smile on her face. She had seen something Blüt did not.

A blur of blue at his feet. Luna Dragoneart, fully immersed and at maximum capacity. He was doomed but he didn’t yet know it.

“This.” Was the only word she needed, identifying the exact memory she needed to draw from. It flashed in her mind. Her 50th fight with Sol. The way Blüt had thrown his hand, she knew the movement. It was just like Sol throwing a punch. A powerful motion informed by the entire body. A rotation to reach starting from the ankle.

With all of her strength, she sprinted forward and leapt toward his foot, kicking with both feet forward. She was pointed and powerful like a spear, striking his meaty ankle right at the centre. She didn’t need to harm him, just throw off his movement.

Blüt’s hand ghosted Merri’s form, suddenly changing direction as his body toppled like a felled tree. He hardly felt the strike from Luna, but the consequence was known. Total defeat. Here and now, he would fall for the very last time. He wailed, face morphing into a horrific expression of despair and rage as he collapsed to the floor.

Belly-down with his face in the dirt, Blüt’s hands still scraped at the air in front of Merri as he sobbed and screamed. “Please! I’m begging! Heal me! I’ll give you anything! I’ll be your slave! I’ll give you information on the demon king!”

Merri stepped forward, coldly and confidently. Blüt’s face lit up, but when he found Merri’s small hand against his head, he felt no healing come. “No.” She said confidently. “You lived as a monster, now it’s time for you to die like one.

Luna arrived over the horizon of his head. Even as Blüt shook his head and screamed his throat dry, each step was graceful and controlled.

Blüt’s bloodshot eyes looked as if they’d pop, but as soon as Luna drove the blade completely into his brain, they went still. As life faded from his eyes, he caught sight of something. Something long forgotten, distant. When he looked at Merri, the time seemed to slip away from her. The girl she had grown into disappeared, and he recalled when he had first found her. He was lost in the woods, horrifically injured, body on the verge of giving out. She was lost too, afraid and calling…

Calling for her mother. “Mama! Mamaaaa!” She cried. Eventually, her voice blurred away, transforming into another he recognised. His own. Her body too was gone, replaced now by a fuzzy vision of who Blüt once was. A little boy. A large, unusual little boy, but an innocent child nonetheless.

As life faded from his eyes entirely, Blüt had one remaining thought. “A monster… Even so… Mama… Are you sad?”