You pivot and meet its charge head-on, jabbing and weaving from a fencer's stance as Moonfucker throws heat from every conceivable angle. These aren't the careful, probing blows from before, but the wild "fuck you" haymakers of someone who really, really doesn't want to deal with this anymore. The bursts of electricity from your own glancing blows only ramp up its recklessness until it's practically falling over itself an an effort to be rid of you.
Good luck with that, dickhead. You stay on him like stink on a Protestant as the exchanges grow ever fiercer, running your mouth all the while.
"Come on, is that all the big bad chessmaster's got? I know ye look like a kindergartner's macaroni art but I expected better. Ye tryin' ta hurt me or touch my heart through the power o' dance?"
be quiet.
"Fuckin' make me, ye colossal prick. Why don't ye call yer whore mollusk of a mother and have her take a swing if I'm hurtin' yer feelings so bad?"
The creature breaks away with a powerful leap, offering no rebuttal as to his mom's celestial sluttiness. At the peak of its arc, it rears back and sends another of its blasts roaring down. Your shin finally gives out again as you jump out of its way, leaving only your good leg and your ruined arm in the blast radius as the earth rumbles beneath the impact. Your sleeve and pant leg disintegrate and the flesh beneath them doesn't fare much better, stripped away until two of your limbs resemble tilled fields of battered muscle with bone hillocks scattered haphazardly throughout.
It hurts like a motherfucker. Specifically, like someone trying to fuck YOUR mother. Papa Anderson went through a lot of painkillers during the conception process.
You don't have time to bitch, however, because Moonfucker just hit the ground in an every-point landing. Its remaining arm folds beneath it when it tries to rise and its legs succeed only in accomplishing a very brief and very humiliating wheelbarrow impression. As you stagger to your feet, grumbling about how much grass and dirt you're going to have to pick out of your bits before your skin grows back, its body begins to shimmer and come apart. For a moment, you think it's finished, but then it raises its head to watch you.
The bastard's pussing out like a bitch.
"Oh no you don't," you say, dragging yourself forward through sheer anger. "Oh no you don't. Oh no you-"
Oh no you don't!
The creature slams back into solidity with a near-audible crunch. It flings its head about wildly before fixing it on a point behind your shoulder. Ebrietas, still tiny but dripping confidence alongside her usual drippings, hovers triumphantly near the fenceline.
I may be a child, but you were so busy losing to Father Anderson that you lost your grip on this place. I'm making the rules now, and the first rule is "no leaving without my permission."
"What if it's got an escort?" you say with an ear-to-ear grin.
Well, she replies with the mental equivalent of a smirk,
I suppose that would be fine.
You put the bident back in your sleeves and pull out the Boom Flail, gritting through the weight as you march forward. A certain monologue comes to mind, not exactly biblically accurate but too appropriate not to use.
"The path o' the righteous man is beset on all sides by the inequities of the selfish and the tyranny of evil men. Blessed is he who, in the name o' charity and good will, shepherds the weak through the valley of the darkness. For he is truly his brother's keeper and the finder of lost children."
Moonfucker still can't recover from its last shot, writhing angrily but going nowhere as you close the distance.
"And I will strike down upon thee with great vengeance and furious anger those who attempt to poison and destroy my brothers. And you will know I am the LORD when I lay my vengeance upon you."
It tries to "say" something, but you can't make it out over the sound of a giant lump of Amygdala slamming into its face at high speeds. You press the button and limp away as it detonates, destroying the creature's head and engulfing the rest in hungry flames.
Huh. Going by the smell, it could have actually made a pretty decent calamari appetizer.
NIGHTMARE SLAIN
Well, now that you're done being a cool guy who doesn't look at explosions, this seems like the perfect time to collapse and sleep for a few hours/days/months. Moonfucker roasts behind you and you wobble to the ground, shutting your eyes and ignoring the unpleasant sounds of your regeneration slowly getting back to work.
Moments later, you're shoved back into lucidity by the ground wobbling and the sky smelling a bit turquoise.
Sorry! Sorry! Still getting used to it.
"Don't worry about it," you say, rolling over onto your back. "Just make sure that fire doesn't spread too much."
Hope kneels down beside you, watching the creature burn.
"Ebrietas did not aid you against Gehrman because I told her not to. I believed Gehrman had a plan. I am sorry for the pain he put you through."
"He did what he had to and so did ye. No hard feelin's. Could have warned me about that sword beam, though. Or at least showed me how ta do it."
"I am afraid that is a secret he took to his grave, Hunter Anderson."
"Bollocks."
The two of you bask in the morbid warmth for some time, Ebrietas helpfully snuffing out any enterprising sparks. Hope looks down on you and smiles. "Do not get too comfortable. As you said, we still have quite a bit of work to do."
You force yourself to a seated position and give an exaggerated sigh.
"Yeah we do, don't we."
[] Epilogue