Unity by Carl Stubblefield (epub read online books TXT) 📕

giving the appearance of fins along the back of the appendages that separated from the body of the monster, fanning out like a hydra, and undulating in unison. Creatures scuttled along the surface like ants.

Through open sections of the outer surface, bright yellow shone through, the creature somehow holding in its molten blood despite the breach.

Yuki activated her Data-mine ability and squinted at the small creatures. As she expected, they were not simple sea-life living inside the coral, they were active minions that were part of this AI boss’s defenses.

Deathapods

HP: 250/250

MP: 100/100

Active Attacks:

Buzz Saw (Passive): Slashing damage (variable), must be initiated by Kraken.

Swarm (10MP/activation): Stop prey by attaching securely while alive to cover and overwhelm target. Reduces Dexterity .5/deathapod. (Effect stacks.)

With a whip of two tentacles, some of the creatures spun towards Yuki.

She activated Overclock and her perception of time slowed the environment around her, the crablike creatures resembling buzz-saws as they tucked their appendages inward and the sharp barbs on their shells spun like saw-teeth as they flew towards her with alarming volume and in different directions.

She leaped into the air and jumped on the nearest creature like a stepping stone. Their carapaces were slightly rounded but Yuki was able to jump from one to another. She flipped and twisted to avoid the barrage of spinning deathapods, one of the tails of her modified qipao being neatly sliced away as she arched her back to vault over the incoming mobs. The slice of fabric evaporated in a flash of pixels, leaving the revealing outfit a little draftier than before.

She pirouetted and leaned back, kicking incoming crabominations, directing them back at the tentacles. They sped off in real-time and sunk deep with meaty *thunks* as their barbs dug deep into the metal, sometimes tearing through and sailing into the waves beyond. Occasionally one would explode in a burst of pixels as she scored a critical hit with the sharp heel of her boots. They would be utterly impractical in the real world, but here, she could look good and kick some ass.

While she flowed and moved, Argus pummeled incoming deathapods with beam weapons, slicing neatly through those outliers that were approaching on erratic vectors, making the way clear for his master.

There was a brief respite and Yuki pressed forward. She sped ahead, running horizontally along the floating deathapods, pushing off and sailing through the air.

Holding her hand out to the side, she activated Zanbato BFS, which materialized an obnoxiously large sword with a triangular hooked tip. She crashed into the creature, where she plunged the zanbato into the end of the tentacle, her momentum pushing the blade deep into the surface. Coral exploded from the impact, spraying bits away, revealing the rusted metal beneath.

Holding her arms back, she ran down the length of the tentacle, dragging the zanbato as it carved a deep furrow along the length of the flailing appendage. Gobbets of molten metal flew as the sword burned through it like butter, hissing angrily as they hit the wet surface of the tentacle.

The depth of the zanbato served to anchor her as the creature swung the arm back and forth, trying to flick her off. Streams of the molten blood shot out of the gash, cooling and hardening into metallic shapes with swoops and curves.

I am an artist of death! Yuki thought with mirth as she wreaked havoc on the beast.

In reply, the Kraken dove suddenly, the crash of water hitting Yuki like a wall. The blast of water cooled the molten metal spurting out and locked her zanbato in place, a large glob of steel anchoring it in place despite her attempts to pull it free. Pain exploded in her ears as the water pressure increased, feeling like two icepicks.

She screamed NEGA TYPHOON! Bubbles streamed from the corners of her mouth as the ability activated. Water repulsed away from her, forming a barrier a foot away. Yuki spat and coughed up salty water, flicking her wet hair out of her face with a quick neck whip.

Downward the Kraken dove, and the darkness quickly swallowed her, the only illumination was the yellow ports where the creature’s blood illuminated the murk. Gritting her teeth, Yuki began to yank the zanbato back and forth, attempting to free the blade. Metal began to crumble next to the blade and glowing yellow material dribbled from the breach. With Nega Typhoon keeping the water away, the metal could not cool and the blade was soon free.

Yuki didn’t know where this AI was taking her, but she didn’t want to find out. She plunged the zanbato back into the tentacle and ran around its circumference in a spiral pattern, circling towards the main body. Light flared then was quickly doused as the leaking blood supercooled as her protective bubble retreated from the molten material.

The tentacle frayed as it was systematically spiralized. The damaged tentacle ripped free and gouts of metal flooded out, forming glowing red cloud-like shapes as the blood cooled and fell away. The Kraken continued its frenetic dive faster than the metal could be pulled down through the water.

Yuki almost lost her grip when the Kraken rammed into something at full speed. One shoulder was definitely wrenched and she took 87 HP of damage, but she managed to stay clinging to the zanbato. The creature then wormed along the rocky underwater floor, twisting in an attempt to scrape her off.

She crouched down and held on tight, plunging the zanbato a little deeper and lowering her center of gravity. The sudden changes in direction lifted her off the back of the creature more than once, while she clung desperately to her weapon. Data-mine revealed that this tactic was slicing off chunks of the AI’s sizable HP pool. Her efforts had taken off about a third of the total but her options felt very limited as she hung on for dear life.

That was the problem challenging a virtual god to a battle in their universe. They controlled the where and the physics of the