Limits

'Even if I could release the Forbidden Form, this wouldn't help much though. Mordars are kind of immune to Auras. Besides, that huge Mordar is not something my daggers and Power of Ice can take on' I thought. I had two options, both of which were impossible. The first and most obvious, was to run away. The second option was to break through my Half Step. 'I would need a miracle to escape, or to break through at this specific time. I don't think I'm able to create either' I thought.

Then I recalled something. 'Wait, I have that red orb thing. I meant to ask Alicia or Suly about it, but I totally forgot I had it' I thought. I had no idea what would happen if I activated it, but I hoped for something big. I quickly abandoned my thoughts, and ran away from that spot. The branches and roots were already on their way to catch me.

I didn't know what that red orb would do, but I could always try. I ran my maximum speed, while utilising all my skills. I was actually running towards the huge Mordar. "It's futile Human, your death is near" the Mordar said. I didn't pay him heed though, and ran like crazy. For some reason, the attacks lessened when I got closer. I guessed it was mostly because the huge Mordar extended his roots far away. I was running towards it, therefore it had to retract them... But he seemed to have problems with that.

That worked to my advantage, and allowed me to get in range. I activated the red orb, and threw it as hard as I could. The huge Mordar panicked a bit actually, but when the red orb arrived… nothing happened. No explosion, no nothing. "What the fuck is that junk!?" I exclaimed pissed.

The huge Mordar exclaimed, "Insolent Human, feel my wrath!". I couldn't back up anymore. The roots were behind me, and they were getting close. The only way now, was forwards. "Damn it, I have no way out. Frosty! Some help would be useful!" I exclaimed. I didn't expect anything, but my arm suddenly became much colder. I took a look and noticed my arm glistering.

'The Power of Ice… it's increasing inside my arm' I thought. I knew what this meant, and quickly formed a ball of mist atop my palm. The ball though… It was huge compared to before. At least five times bigger than what I could achieve normally. I condensed it and condensed it, until it became azure in colour. "Catch this you rotten tree!" I exclaimed, and threw the ball of mist.

It flew towards the Mordar at a very fast speed, much faster than ever before. The Mordar used his branches as a means to defend, when the ball of mist arrived. "Shing! Creak!". The branches froze solid, while the huge Mordar released an ear piercing screech. 'Now's my chance!' I thought, and activated the Flame Formation. I didn't care if it broke, I increased the power until the flame became unstable. This was the limit of a limits, any more and the Formation would break and backfire… It was actually on the verge of breaking already.

With a large ball of flame on my left palm, I threw it and hoped to destroy that Mordar. "BOOOM!", a loud explosion sounded when the ball of flame hit the frozen branches. The branches were pulverized. The Mordar's "crown" ceased to exist, while it released another loud screech. Unfortunately, the Power of Ice was gone, I couldn't use it anymore. The Formation on my glove was strained, and almost broke apart too.

But, there was an opening. If I could just destroy that eye, the Mordar would die. I continued running towards it, this was all or nothing. With ten daggers around me, I ran like crazy. The Mordar had no branches to defend, and it's roots were behind me trying to catch up. I was about to end that nightmare, but the huge Mordar had another ace up his sleeve.

"You will pay for this!" he shouted, and actually lifted himself up. Although retracting his branches was difficult for him, he could grow them again and lift himself up into the air. "Bastard! Come down here, and let me finish you!". Hundreds of thick roots buried deep in the ground, supported the huge Mordar. I wouldn't make it by jumping, but I could use the roots. With a squat, I released all the strength I had in my legs.

"BOOOM!".

I flew upwards, my target was one of the roots supporting the Mordar. Just before I was about to lose my momentum, I quickly stabbed my daggers into the root. One stab after the other, I made my way upwards. The Mordar shook his root vigorously, which almost made me fall off. 'I have to use other roots too' I thought, and jumped between them. But the Mordar seemed too quiet, too confident.

I quickly found out why. He was able to grow smaller roots out of the main ones, as if branches. 'Shit!' I exclaimed in my mind, while the roots attacked. I couldn't hold on to the main root anymore, and got pushed off. The distance between me and the ground, was at least seventy metres. Then I recalled something, 'Wait! I have those herbs from Elysian Empire' I thought, and quickly ate one. The herb in question was called Livi Sprout. I could jump higher with its help, but that wasn't the only useful thing.

'If I land from such a height and jump again, I will make it to that Mordar's core no problem!' I thought. My legs hurt like hell when I landed, but that wasn't important. The Mordar thought I would stay there, perhaps with broken legs as well. What he saw instead, was me jumping up at an even greater speed. Speed so fast, no roots could stop me anymore. I actually overshot the Mordar a bit, but that was not an issue.

Ten daggers appeared around me again, while I used the Blink Formation to appear in front of the Mordar's eye. The Mordar exclaimed, "Impossible!", but this was the end for him. "Begone monster! Art of Hidden Weapons: Aura Rotary Form!". As soon as my blades hit the large eye, the Mordar screeched. My daggers slowly ripped the flesh away, until I made it inside, and grinded the whole eye into mincemeat.

The screeching stopped, the roots stopped as well. Silence filled the air. "I did it, I came out on top!" I exclaimed. I was tired, the whole thing took its toll on my body. I walked out of the eye area, and stood there looking at the horizon. I could see Sedon, and even the Land of Mirages further away. Suddenly my instincts flared up, and out of nowhere a root came out trying to stab my heart. I only had enough time to move slightly, but this alone saved my life. The root missed my heart, and stabbed right through my chest. "UGH… How?", I asked while cutting away that root.

The Mordar was dead... Or so I thought. One eye survived. Not because I wasn't thorough enough destroying that huge eye, but because it was hidden somewhere else. More roots appeared, trying to kill me. Then I saw a small red eye in the corner of the vine like trunk. A dagger escaped my hand, and stabbed through that eye. The roots fell to the ground lifeless, but I stayed alert. I surveyed the whole trunk, but fortunately found no more eyes.

"He almost got me at the last possible chance". I took out the root, and was about to take care of my injuries, when I suddenly felt like falling down. The roots lost their strength, and the dead Mordar began falling down like a huge block of wood. I drank some medicine in order not to bleed to death, and prepared to jump. I waited until we got low enough, at which point I slammed my legs onto the trunk, and jumped away from the falling Mordar.

"BOOOM!!". The ground shattered and trembled from the sheer weight of that Mordar. I stumbled a few times, before stopping. When the dust cleared, I looked at the heap of vine like roots and a huge trunk laying there. "If not for Frosty, I wouldn't be able to do it. If his branches were not destroyed, I would never have the chance to take him out. I was lucky too. Not only did I have that herb, the Mordar lifted up as a means to defend himself due to the loss of branches. If I took away one of those elements, I would've died".

There were more Mordars there, and I didn't need to fight another such monster. My decision was clear, I left that place as quickly as I could. "Seriously though, my armour can't last even one battle" I said to myself. After that battle, my mind became clearer. I no longer felt out of sorts, although I paid a price for it. There were some good points. I learned that Mordars are much more dangerous, than I previously assumed. 'I can ask Suly to try and repair it later… I hope she can' I thought. It was mostly the Formations that were strained, fortunately the clothes didn't break apart.

One thing was bugging me though. I noticed something throughout my battle. I wasn't sure what it was yet, but I had a feeling new doors would open in front of me. It was something I needed to test out and experiment with. That was for the near future. At that point, I just wanted to return to Sedon.