Canon Fodder

CHAPTER 488 DEATH OF AN IMMORTAL

CHAPTER 488 DEATH OF AN IMMORTAL

I coughed up blood. A large chunk of my lung coming out with it. A huge hole in my side, I ignored my hand and leg missing. That last attack had been bad. I only had a few hundred health and my fatigue was so low it was making me lose health points. 

“Fuck you,” I mumbled at the Chat window. Easton had said he was almost ready. I had narrowly dodged three death-inducing attacks in that time. I almost said the words, but held off as he began to laugh. 

Antares was beat to shit, but not near as bad as I was. His dragon dead, then undead, then double dead, it had been a bitch to take down. It fought for us for a time before Antares killed it again. Jinwoo no longer had the strength to summon another shadow. All around me was…nothing. No people. My mind couldn’t extend far enough to feel their haki. It was just he and I. 

“It’s so funny,” Antares gloated. “This is actually the best scenario.” He was filled with glee as his laughter echoed around us.

“What the fuck are you talking about? I’ve killed over half your Monarchs,” I said.

“So?” He asked. “So what? I’ve seen them die hundreds of times. I’ve seen my brethren murdered so many times.” Another dragon flew over top of him, spitting fire at people. I heard screams from where he attacked. Holding out hope that they could keep pushing. We were so close, 11 of the 19 Monarchs dead. Their army scattered around us.

“Do you think I drank of the Cup of Reincarnation because I had a chance? No, it was always me that made it there. Alone. All of my friends dead. Now, we have a chance. We have the opportunity to actually take this planet.”

“Fucking hell,” I said. “Take it,” I spat. “I don’t even know why I cared.” I felt nothing but sorrow. As I did, the reason appeared. Hancock was there with the rest of the Monarchs. They were beaten and disheveled but alive. I frowned, ready to give up as Hancock looked at me with disdain. 

Despite my best efforts there was none of Hancock in there. At least none that I could find. I hated to admit it, but for the second…or third time, I lost. This time to a final boss instead of a Challenge. 

Pain coursed through me. My missing hand and leg still dripping blood. The hole in my side made another coughing fit hit me. Huge globs of blood and organs had to be spit out before I could stare at them again. 

This time they were near me. Within arm’s reach. “You did good. You humans took more of us down than ever before. But the Rulers were your true trump card. You were doomed when they gave in.”

“Yeah yeah, fuck you, World-” I cut off as he appeared. Not only Easton but Tabi as well. 

The cat spit blue chakra flames at me, making the Monarchs jump back and disperse. The flame died as they escaped, barely taking any health. 

“Weston!” Easton yelled, flying to me. The chalice in his hand. It felt like rebirth. It exuded a second chance. I looked around, knowing I had lost. I might as well go back in time ten years and try again. I would probably go to other worlds to get stronger and somehow end the canon like Jinwoo had. At least if I drank from it, Hancock should be able to get her body back, but who knew if she would be herself or the previous Hancock from this world.

“Fuck it,” I said as I reached for it. 

-Don’t!- He sent. I hesitated as Antares threw a blast at Easton. He rolled with it, dropping the chalice. I pushed Full Heal. My body glowed white as Antares went for the chalice. My limbs growing back, my health, mana, chakra, and everything raised back to full in seconds. As it did my shadow clones ended their transformation jutsu. 

A dozen me’s moved for the chalice. Antares groaned, reaching it first by a hair. A shadow moved for him, trying to stop him. I used Light’s Hope, discreetly stabbing the shadow from Jinwoo. I didn’t want him to go for the chalice either. 

“Do you really think-” Antares yelled, but my shadow clones didn’t give up. I attacked the other Monarchs full force as Tabi and Easton did as well. Antares cursed, seeing his friends under attack. One of my clones got to the chalice, they began to wrestle and water from the glass spilled onto Antares. 

I felt it then. The hidden energy behind the chalice. Unsure how he did it, Easton had made the Cup of Death feel like the Cup of Reincarnation. As the water spilled onto Antares, he began to disintegrate. His eyes wide, his skin turned black. As it did, I heard a roar from above. A dragon flying overhead began to disintegrate as well. 

Another roared, I could see it. They were all dying, every single dragon was being wiped out as their king was. Antares stared at his body. The top half separated from the bottom as where the water touched ate away at everything. Slowly as it spread up, he locked eyes with me. True despair there as he realized he had gone for the wrong cup. 

The last I saw of him were his eyes. The eyes of a man that had spent thousands of years trying to help his people, his friends. With that look, I knew I wasn’t the good guy in this. There was no such thing as evil. Just beings trying to help those they cared for. Trying to struggle through life. It almost made me laugh. A fact I hadn’t realized before. 

“Noooo!” Hancock yelled, or rather the Monarch of Venom did. 

“We must go!” One of the remaining Monarchs yelled as a blue and black portal appeared behind them.

“No!” I yelled, using Townsend to get to them, but they were through in an instant. Disappearing into the portal right before it closed. “Fuck!” I yelled. 

“I’m gonna be careful with this,” Easton said as he picked up the dropped chalice. There was no water inside but he used a towel to hold it before throwing it in his sub space. 

I raged, unsure what to do. “Take me there!” I yelled to Easton. 

“Dude, I wasn’t paying attention,” he said. “I was too busy grabbing this species killer.” 

“Fuck!” I said. “World Escape.” As I said the words it all turned red as I appeared in the Red Room. Stepping back, I began to think furiously. While I did, Easton appeared. 

“What’s wrong?” He asked. 

“They have Hancock,” I said. “Fuck, fuck, fuck.”

“So, we can get her…probably,” he said.

“I know, sorry, I just… I wanted this to end differently,” I said, pushing back my anger. I looked at him with all the seriousness I could muster. “Did you get all three?”

“I did,” he said, opening his subspace he revealed the Cups. He pulled the two living ones out. “That one is creepy as shit. Did you know it would kill Antares entire species?”

“Hell no,” I said.

“Why the hell didn’t it kill humans? His vessel was a human?” He asked. My gut clenched, not having thought of that. “Do you think it would kill our species if I got some of the water on me too?” He asked. 

“I don’t fucking know, man,” I said. “Maybe it did that because he was the King of the Dragons.” It made more sense than just killing him. There was a reason it was such a special cup. The Cup of Life allowed you to steal life, maybe the Cup of Death had judged him because of all the death he caused. I didn’t know, in the end it didn’t matter. 

“How the hell did you do that, anyway?” Easton looked at me confused. “How did you make the cup feel so alive? I thought for sure it was the Cup of Reincarnation.”

“Just a little Hoken,” he said, his fingers sparking with electricity. “Turns out some electricity, nen, and Haki could mask the death it exuded.” 

“Awesome,” I said. My limbs and strength back thanks to the Full Heal, I was starting to feel like myself again. But I had more plans in the works. “Are you ready?” I asked, taking the Cup of Reincarnation from him. 

“Oh, you were serious,” he said, getting excited then frowning. “We are going to try it?”

“I think so,” I said. The Cup should work here, sending us back in time 10 years. Though I hated Returners, I only hated them if it wasn’t me. “I-” I was cut off as the Cup glowed red. My hand forced from it, it hovered in the air as a red aura engulfed it. “What-”

“Mother fucker!” A voice said, very unlike the character. I turned to see L, or the Moderator. He was angry. “Mother fucking Weston!” He spat and the other two cups were floated from Easton’s subspace glowing red as well. 

“What?” I asked, playing dumb. 

“You fucking know what,” he said. “These are off-limits here.”

“I didn’t see that in any rules,” I said. 

“Doesn’t matter, they are still against the rules,” he said. “You shouldn’t have even been able to take them out here.” He gave Easton a death glare. “Looks like I’ll have to tweak your skill.”

“Hey, that’s not fair,” he said.

“Fair? You’re asking me about fair? You were about to go back in time 10 years,” he said. “Before your Challenges.”

“So?” I said. “Would it have worked?” I couldn’t help but ask.

“Fuck…probably,” he said, not wanting to admit it. “You two shitheads are a pain in my ass. I have about 5 different charges that used the Cup of Reincarnation. Why the hell couldn’t you do that?” 

“Because that was bullshit,” I said. “You know it. The Cup of Death was right there. Why wouldn’t I try it?” 

“Yeah, yeah,” he said. “Looks like this worlds god actually saw you assholes coming.” I felt some recognition from Easton, but L continued on. “What do you want?”

“What do you mean?” I asked hesitantly.

“I can’t forcibly take these,” he grumbled, pointing at the red glowing cups. “You got them here. They are yours. All I can do is stop you from using them. Which means…I would have to stay here. Every time either of you came out, I would have to be here, making sure you followed the rules. I, for one, am sick of babysitting you. So, what do you want in exchange for them?” 

“What would happen to them if we gave them up?” Easton asked.

“I’d put them back where they belong,” he said. I cursed, not wanting to waste questions on that sort of thing.

“This world is done,” I said, phrasing it as a statement and not a question.

“Yes, you succeeded. The big bad Monarch is no more, as are dragons…which hasn’t been done before, but oh well. Either way, congratulations. I will give you your rewards for doing so, once I leave.”

“Fine, for starters I want Hancock back,” I said 

“I can’t do that,” he said, his face serious. 

“What?!” I yelled without meaning to. “Why the fuck not!?”

“Because….the rules,” he said.

“I don’t give a shit about your rules. That is what I want. Give her back to me,” I said, serious as all hell. 

“I can’t!” He yelled. His look of anger uncharacteristic on L, he could see I wouldn’t budge from this. “That is the whole point of this!”

“What?” Easton asked.

“Do you really think it’s hard to end the canon? That’s just the fucking start. After you get a few under your belt, it probably gets easy. All of you little fuckers running around like you’re the worlds gift to both sides. No! You knew of these worlds. You knew what could happen and how to cheat. The true rewards, the true stories, don’t start until you’ve conquered all of them. All of you just think ending the canons is the point? No, these are messed up worlds. You saw it in Gantz didn’t you? In Walking Dead? The story keeps going. Life happens, and the world goes to shit. That’s what the secret is. That’s the endgame. Living on, and making these worlds whole.”

“Fuck,” I mumbled. I hadn’t expected that. Like he said, I thought just making all the worlds go from red to green was the point. Hell, it said that there were no more Challenger Slots available in the worlds. I assumed that meant all the good stuff was gone. I almost asked if he was serious, but I could feel that he was.

“Oh,” Easton said.

“I’m counting that information as a reward,” he said and the Cup of Reincarnation disappeared. The other two still hovered there, and we were at a stalemate for a moment.

“If I can’t have Hancock, how can I get her back?” I asked. 

“It’s possible, but I can’t give you any more answers, kid,” he said with a defeated sigh. “This is what I can give you.” As he said that, a screen appeared in front of me. 

I read through the list as he spoke. “A few of these you know.” I nodded, I already had Achilles Greaves. “These are the Tier 6 rewards. Most are Easter Eggs. Given in random quests throughout the worlds. I can only give one Hall Fragment, but I know you want to get back to Manga. Reward Choice would give you the choice of three random abilities of your most recent foe. Antares was strong, you might want that.”

“And the others?”

“I can’t explain any of the others, they’re the Eggs. Before you say it, I can’t answer because of rules that go so far beyond you and me, that I can’t even begin to talk about it,” he said. “As you know, the Achilles Greaves eliminate weaknesses. Achilles was a man with a weakness; this eliminates weaknesses. I’m sure you can infer what the others do based on their names. That’s all you get.” 

I nodded, not liking this at all but our play had bought us more rewards. I had no idea what Holy Grail would do, Golden Egg probably dealt with infinite money, Hearth and Home sounded nice, but no idea, Excalibur could be a strong weapon or one that made you a king. Crown of Thorns maybe made you a messiah. Lazarus would most likely be a free life. I didn’t know about the others. 

“How many do we get?” Easton asked. 

“One.”

“One each?” L frowned but shook his head. 

“Fuckers,” we said as one. 

“What do you think?” I asked Easton. 

“I think these are shit,” he said. “He just said these are hidden throughout the worlds.”

“True,” I said, focusing on the rewards I didn’t know the uses of. 

“He said time was the most important aspect,” Easton mumbled. 

“What?”

“Time. He said going past the canon was the most important thing,” he said. “We need more time.” I read through the rewards but didn’t see anything related to more time. “We want another activation of Gemini.”

“What?” L and I asked. 

“It’s obvious. We have three halls. Less than four years to keep it going. If we are going to beat the others, we need to do this,” he said. “Remember how I met future me in Marvel? Future you probably had him help with Hancock too. He was at the same point we are. I didn’t see anything like this on him.” He said, pointing at the screen. “If these items were so important, he would have worn them. And the other stuff, I feel like maybe we will find it.”

“Maybe you with your luck,” I mumbled.

“True,” he laughed. “But come on. It proved helpful in this world. Having two of us. What about three?” I nodded; he really had been useful. I wouldn’t have been as successful without him. If Easton wasn’t here, I would have given up on Solo Leveling. Hell, I never would have thought to look in Comics for a solution. Just kept at these worlds. I would have pushed to become stronger, but would have experienced it all without Hancock. Looked like I was stuck without her no matter what, though. 

“Fine,” I said. 

“Alright, you can have another activation-” He said the words, almost happy about it. Giving me pause.

“Without dying,” I said. “And we want the worlds updated with him.”

“I can’t do the last,” L said. “You just updated; you have to wait a while for activations of those. But I will make it so you have the same Challenge and all that other crap.” With a nod he asked, “Agreed?”

I hesitated a long time. He almost acted eager to grant us this wish. But as I read the possible rewards, I knew Easton was right. We needed time. “Fine, agreed,” we said, and notifications popped up as L disappeared.