Soon, he promised mentally, addressing the imprisoned Ring, willing his own to act as conduit. He did not know if the Rings could actually speak to one another, did not know if it was merely a futile gesture, but sought to offer whatever hope he could: the strength, perhaps, to resist for one day more, to deny its exploiters whatever power it could, here in this final hour. One way or another, your suffering ends soon.
He hadn't expect an answer of any kind, so Hunger startled when the Imprisoned Ring replied: first a trickle, then a steady stream, and finally a torrent of numinous power, transgressing space and time, raw potential like a livid thunderbolt flowing into the blood-red jewel of his own Ring. Crimson flared and blazed, a star risen from earth, such fearsome majesty that he staggered to contain it, the power of the jewel threatening to overcome and unbalance the Ring as a whole.
Interesting way for Rihaku to justify the upgrade to Flare in story. I expected the Flare to be something that Hunger awakens on his own like with Cut Through but this is nice and in hindsight rather obvious. The Imprisoned Ring sensing his sibling who is less powerful and free empowers him, just for the smallest of hopes that he will be freed in return.
Gisena sheltered the girls as he forced down its catastrophic might, compressing its all-piercing radiance until it could be safely contained. Now the jewel glittered with translucent fire: final remnant of the Imprisoned Ring's defiance, all its hope and joy of life, all its remaining will to resist, given over to him.
Gisena: Girls, hide behind me. Uncle Hunger has problems with containing his power sometimes and it splutters everywhere.
Letrizia: My super juggernaut undead chimera is evolving. Nobody press B!
Aeira: Can I go home? I think you are crazy.
Hunger (who is struggling not to explode): I HATE ALL OF YOU.
The ring was defiant all along but in this final moment the will to resist was given to Hunger. Now the Ring has become the tool that the Temple think it is. Just serving its masters without end or defiance.
The Call of the False Moon faded from his mind, and he knew instinctively that it had faded from every other. This was the final sally of the Imprisoned Ring, one last desperate act of trust when all else had failed.
Hunger closed his eyes.
"You're our only hope."
Let`s ignore the star wars reference (RIP my sweet prince. The three movies is all we ever deserved)
How fucking sad is that you have to trust your rival to get you out because everything else failed. The Call was basically the last scraps of power not being siphoned. I wonder what the Inner Residents think when the Call stop being broadcasted 24/7. Is it somehow filtered in the Inner Temple or it is something every citizen has to live with. At some point people probably just stopped caring and it is now a static buzz in the back of their minds.
How many times had they told him that in the campaign against the Tyrant? That he was it, that there was no other, that if he shirked his duty, or faltered, or failed, then it simply would not be done - only misery everlasting for the peoples of the world, clawing feebly at the yoke as it tightened and tightened.
Ah shit, isekai world PTSD, here we come. The powerless and abused beings ask our hero for help, knowing full well they don`t have anything to offer him. With this flashback I think Hunger would never accept some sort of arrangement with the Temple – he
will free the Ring or die trying.
It seemed he was not free of such duties. Perhaps would never be free. People fell into the patterns of their lives because of what they were good at. This was what he'd done all his life; was it such a surprise to have duty thrust upon him once more? Moreover, for something he intended to do anyway.
Even so, fuck these so-called interesting times.
Duty – interesting word that is thrown around in both worlds, where Hunger and Gisena has come from.
In Hunger case, he was summoned and forced to endure a deconstruction of the isekai (shit) genre to show what actually happens when you summon some stupid teenager from modern society into brutal fantasy world. Still Hunger did his duty and at the end he was destroyed. The love of his life – dead. The people that he tried to save betrayed him and wanted him dead. Now forced into almost eternal servitude (937 octillion years is fucking long) to a being that could`ve been Satan. His Duty now is to find a way to get Vengeance on the people that destroyed him and resurrect his wife and child. He told Letrizia he is no longer a hero, just a mercenary. But the hidden heart of a Hero could not be so easily subverted. He will help the downtrodden and cast down the Tyrants of this world and the next. And the next. And the next. All along the infinite singularity husk that people call multiverse.
In Gisena`s case Duty is something that was planted in the core of the human civilization from the Maiden. In that world case the Implicit Duty was a memetic virus that had infected the human race with the notion that people have responsibilities that they don`t like but they understand it must be done. In the original 'A simple transaction' Gisena had infiltrated the orc army and pretended to be a traiter. The orcs did not trust her but she was sent to battle where she was forced to kill humans and Sorceresses. She did all that just to have a chance to meet the orc Hero and have a chance to kill him. Seram killed her and later resurrected her. This Gisena came from a world without Seram and she probably met the orc boss and was about to be executed when she said 'fuck it, I am out'. Honestly I think Gisena is even more fucked up in the head than Hunger but she is able to hide it better. Imagine being so deep undercover you have to kill your fellow Sorceresses and humans and in the end it did not matter. She finally gave up on her Duty and escaped. A prudent decision but I think her nihilism was amplified by what she perceives as betrayal. She plays around with explosives without a care in the world, because deep down she does not think she deserves to live. Survivors often display those issues – why am I the one that survived?
He understood the sorrow of the Imprisoned Ring, the depths it must have been driven to, not only to ask a rival for aid, but to beg, and to invest everything in that begging. He understood its shattered pride, the egregious disgrace of its situation, the sheer hollowing agony of its every moment.
Hunger is the Ring and the Ring is Hunger. Our hero understands the depth of despair of the closest thing he has to a sibling and a nemesis. Other Rings ignored the Call, probably happy that there is one less rival in the Primacy battle.
The world of the Rings is one where the strong rule over the weak. There could never be a second place. The natural role is one Ruling Ring and all others are servants.
So imagine what it takes to ask for help, to throw away any pretense of pride. To show weakness to a rival and submit himself to subservient role.
Hunger listens to the calls and he will answer. Always. Hunger is on his way and Blood followed with him.
For that reason he did not resent the Ring for casting this burden upon him. The power it had gifted him would make its salvation easier. But he would freely resent the universe, and the Apocryphal Curse that guided it, until the end of his days.
I think the Praxis would have been a nice fit for our hero. He hates the universe, a resentful universe where the weak are exploited and the powerful are Tyrants. He will make the universe change, even if he has to destroy it.
On second thought, Rihaku said that getting Praxis is greedy and if our strategy and planning is not on point we would have died. ….Yep I think it is good that we got the Scepter.
No, he shook his head. Until he overcame them both. That was the promise of Progression, after all. Live, and grow strong. So long as he took care of the former, it would ensure the latter.
Live, and rescue the Ring, and grow strong.
Live and grow. Grow and live. This is the simplest expression of progression without end. Survive and learn and come back stronger. That which does not kill him will make you stronger.
He rose from his seated position. "There's no way they didn't notice that. Tomorrow morning may be too late."
Lucky that Aeira had gotten them the intelligence she had. He could only hope his present strength was enough to deal with the Immortals of the Temple. The Imprisoned Ring had given him little choice.
Gisena laid a gentle hand on his arm. "Hey. This isn't your responsibility, no matter how it may make you feel. You can still walk away. Always."
He smiled bitterly. "That may be the smart thing to do. And likely the wise thing as well. But only one of us here is a genius. Find me when your meditations are complete."
So saying, he leapt off Verschlengorge, making for the Temple directly.
The die is cast. The temple beckons, the endgame has begun. In few updates either the Ring is freed from the grasp of the masters or we are freed from the grasp of Rihaku`s quest.
I think Gisena is addressing both Hunger and herself. You can`t shoulder all the responsibility and you can always walk away (just like she did with her world). I think Gisena does not like seeing Hunger still trying to be a hero after everything that has happened to him.
Hunger can pretend he is done with the hero business. The parting words reveal that he will still do what needs to be done.
The gift of the Imprisoned Ring had tremendously augmented his own Chief Dominion. Blood rushed and thundered in his ears, an ocean of awareness that stretched far miles: vein and capillary, pulse and heartbeat were naked to him, from the birds in the air to the beasts of the earth, and all the humanity of the Encampment in-between. It was a deluge, too much to process, and he hurriedly tamped it down, focusing the power as it solidified, directing it into his immediate vicinity alone. A greater concentration of power was more suitable to his purposes.
He accelerated, world a watercolor blur. There was the Temple.
In through the gates, then quickly across the grasslands, up over the mountains and into the Middle Ring. Edeldross-infused, he pushed forward, faster than he'd gone before, the accumulated power of recent days like thunderheads gathering in his wake. Outriders tried feebly to intercept. Those who could not keep up were ignored, the others slaughtered. The Inner Temple loomed, dome of matte blue like still deep waters, a globe stripped bare of land.
Hunger, you keep using the words stealth, parley and infiltration. I don`t think you know what they mean. Or he is just following the Hitman franchise famous quote – " no one will notice if there is no one to notice". Kill every witness and your entrance will remain unseen.
A man strode out to meet him, a solid brick wall of muscle, his face creased and cragged, hair streaked with gray. He wore a uniform of gray and black, a marshal's baton strapped to his side, eyes like coals flecked with bronze.
BGA - Badass Grandpa Administrator enters the battlefield. I think we all know where this is going sadly.
Hunger flared his Ring and felt the man's blood quail before him, even as the greater portion stood strong. Even with all his newfound powers, this would not be an easy fight.
He stopped, addressing the man directly. "Care to live more than a thousand years?"
The man chortled, a low, bleak rumble. "Hah! Ask me again in seven centuries."
Suppress the guy`s blood and then offer him more centuries of life. Sadly BGA still has seven centuries allotted to him. Also it is extremely rude to suppress the blood and then start to parley. Dick move Hunger.
No urgency. Unfortunate. "You people must have known this day was coming."
"Confident, aren't you?" The man frowned, eyes darting to Hunger's finger. "Maybe that's justified, you've got a Ring all to yourself. Some might say it's greedy to go looking for more."
"Are you going to pretend ignorance of what's inflicted on your own?"
"A Ring is not a person," the man shook his head, frown deepening. "Seems you've forgotten that, or maybe never knew it in the first place. Fail to master it and it will master you."
It is interesting that BGA can recognize another Ring. Does that mean that stealth is impossible and Hunger cannot pretend to be somebody else? If one look is all it takes to know that Hunger is dangerous and powerful we were better of taking Planetary brand.
The expected moral dilemma is here. BGA thinks that the Rings are nothing but tools to be exploited. Unfortunately Hunger is a hybrid of ring bearer and a Ring so good luck trying to convince him not to safe his sibling. But enough talk. Don`t ruin a good fight scene with some lame adult conversation to hash out your differences.
"Perhaps," Hunger shrugged. "But that doesn't justify what your society has done. Let your Ring rest at last. Turn it over voluntarily, or help me secure it, and I can empower you and yours with my own."
Again the man shook his head. "Sorry, kid. I've got a family that depends on that thing to live. Putting everyone's lives into only your hands? That's not happening."
As expected, the exploited Ring is the power source of their civilization and way of life. We have almost no chance trying to convince them to give it up. If some alien come to our world and try to convince us that actually electrons are alive and we are exploiting them so we should give up everything I am pretty sure our answer will be to nuke the hippie bastard.
…shit, BGA thinks we are some Ring hippies. This is worse than I imagined.
And so Hunger struck, the power of his Ring pressing down upon his foe, blue of true reality outlining his Blade as it descended with cataclysmic force. The marshal reacted quickly, interposing his baton, but could not resist the power of Hunger's cut, and lost half his hand before he twitched out of the way. A spike of fired Edeldross adjusted the vector of his charge, stifling the marshal's evasion. The Forebear's Blade pierced through his foe's shoulder even as the man howled, plunging his free hand through Hunger's guts.
We have sword praxis BGA, your shitty baton is no match for it. Still the grandpa is badass for a reason he
plunges his hand into our guts.
Meaningless. With the elevated Ring of Blood such wounds were nearly immaterial. He clenched the muscles of his core, trapping the man's arm for an instant, and twisted his blade downwards, carving through shoulder and breast. The marshal grunted, blood seeping from his mouth as he fell to a knee. With a desperate surge of energy he exploded backwards, tearing his shoulder free of the trapped arm, extending the distance between them.
This is so hardcore. BGA has pierced our stomach so Hunger just flexes his abs to trap the arm of the enemy inside him. Holy fucking shit. People say that you can grate cheese on somebody`s abs. Hunger`s abs can be used to grate rocks and sharpen swords.
BGA does not let some kid be more hardcore than him. He tears down his shoulder in order to get away. Like a boss. I will miss you grandpa. You were a cool dude.
Relentlessly he pressed the attack, pouring blade-winds towards the retreating figure, sharpness like a humming shrike screaming towards him. The marshal twisted, inhaling deeply, accepting a blow to the chest in order to counterattack, a roar of pure stygian force that upturned the earth in its wake. Ripping free his foe's embedded arm, Hunger hurled it at the blast, deflecting enough of the energies that he could weather the remainder with the Evening Sky, though the cloak was torn to bits around him.
When he is forced to deal with Hunger`s blade wind spam BGA just yells "GET OFF MY TEMPLE" and deflects everything. But in a second act of audacity this scream is partially deflected by the piece of arm that was stuck inside Hunger`s abdomen muscles.
This battle was nearing its end. A seal of blood closed around the hole in his torso, while his enemy's wounds bled liberally, a ceaseless arterial spray. Still the marshal rallied, lunging at him, a second Pressure-infused bark ripping through Hunger's remaining blade-winds, driving towards a final confrontation.
But there was no room here for honor, no spirited duel of ideals. Hunger dove to the side, focused shamelessly on evading, simply falling back and giving wide berth to the marshal's dying rampage, his magnificently pointless death-throes. The Jewel of Blood did the rest.
Mighty as the marshal was, greater than Hunger in Astral strength, he was not Vanreir whose body was as a blade. This was a champion among men, with all a mortal's failings. Liter by liter the marshal bled out until not even the iron wall of his Pressure could stand him upright any longer. He fell, eyes blank, his blood and his life expended utterly in service of his nation, and Hunger did not look back.
But the EFB Ring reigns supreme. Every cut means inevitable loss of blood. BGA still thinks that this is a shonen battle and there will be one final deciding blow but Hunger is done with that shit. He just shamelessly waits BGA to die from blood loss. At the end BGA falls, doing what he has done his entire life – fighting for the Temple and their way of life. RIP badass grandpa, I hope your grandkids take care of the plants in the temple.
There is no sadness or anger in Hunger. He did his job and BGA did his. At the end only one of them could have lived and moved on.
So this was the result of our plan to infiltrate the Temple. We killed everyone that tried to stop us and when the High Marshall BGA came we
bled him out. Hunger does not fuck around.
[ ] Cut - The state of disarray and relative confusion induced by the Imprisoned Ring's final surge of volition will not last much longer. While the defenders are still poorly-organized, push for the Treasure At Temple's Heart. With the surge of power gained from the marshal's defeat, bring an end to this at last. +1 pick below.
*The defenders are scattered and disorganized. Many Immortals and relevant combatants may be at home or otherwise occupied. Free the Ring and finish this.
I admit I first voted for this. After the battle (which was excellently written) the blood was pumping and I felt that Hunger is invincible. What more CHAD way to rescue to Ring than going single-handedly against the entire civilization and winning. The Azure Ring would have probably enlarge himself just to be carried princess style to keep the story suitable
romantic epic. But after some thought a calmer and more reasonable approach prevailed.
[ ] Foment Rebellion - These Immortals are likely a tier above even the marshal, in which case Hunger cannot be confident of his odds even against one, much less a group. Attack, but do so in a way that demonstrates your power and the inevitability of your victory. Secure what allies of opportunity you can from the repressed, the downtrodden or the merely resentful.
*Your intelligence reports have revealed the potential cracks in Inner Ring society. It would be a shame not to exploit them and improve your odds of victory in the long run.
*Lose the momentum of your sudden assault and be virtually guaranteed to oppose the full complement of Immortals gathered in their place of power.
*As you have the Guile-Defeating Stance, the chance of your collaborators successfully betraying you is low.
*Prolongs the battle enough for Gisena and Aeira to join you, though this may endanger them.
Let`s actually be reasonable and not suicidal for once. Attacking a council of immortal mages without magic defense is suicidal even for our (admittedly) rather low standards of self-preservation. We can get Gisena and allies but we will probably meet more resistance.
Less epic in the long run but I think NOT DYING is better.
