Carnis did not utter another word.
He simply stood upon the colossal Grimm Worm's head as though enthroned upon a living mountain, watching with eerie stillness while the creature obeyed the silent command hidden beneath the crimson glow of the mask resting over his face.
The Transcendent Grimm surged forward, its building-sized body rippling beneath overlapping plates of black armor as its gargantuan segmented maw peeled open wider and wider, each concentric ring of rotating teeth grinding against the next with a metallic shriek that echoed across the crimson plains.
Oscar did not retreat.
He remained exactly where he stood, eyes fixed upon the descending mouth as the shadow engulfed him completely.
The instant the final sliver of crimson light disappeared behind walls of spinning fangs, Oscar vanished. Blink folded space around him with practiced precision, transporting his real body away before the Grimm's throat could close while leaving behind only a dense sphere of violet toxin suspended within the creature's throat.
The orb remained exactly where Oscar had intended, swirling with poisonous mist that immediately began eating into the Grimm's inner flesh as the enormous jaws snapped shut upon nothing at all.
Simultaneously Oscar reappeared atop the Worm's broad skull, directly before Carnis, his momentum never interrupted as twin blades composed entirely of concentrated toxin condensed around his hands.
Their edges shimmered with an unsettling shade of deep violet so concentrated that the surrounding air hissed wherever the blades passed.
Carnis moved before Oscar's blades completed their descent. He neither dodged nor stepped aside. Instead he simply raised both forearms, allowing the toxin blades to carve directly into them. The poison bit deeply, slicing through flesh that had moments earlier resisted Oscar's ordinary weapons with infuriating ease, before spreading in branching purple veins beneath the Sleepless operative's skin.
The corruption crawled across his massive arms, tracing grotesque vascular patterns that continued toward his shoulders and chest, yet Carnis displayed no visible concern whatsoever. Hidden behind the Grimm mask, Oscar could no longer read the man's expression beyond the slight inclination of his head and the relaxed posture with which he accepted the wounds.
There was no satisfaction, irritation or urgency. More importantly, there was none of the playful restraint Carnis had displayed earlier. The casual amusement that had accompanied their previous exchanges had disappeared completely. The giant was no longer testing Oscar nor indulging the duel for entertainment. Every movement now possessed terrifying economy, each shift of weight suggesting that Carnis had quietly decided the fight had gone on long enough.
Oscar immediately disengaged, blinking dozens of meters backward before Carnis's counterattack could materialize. His mind raced even as his feet slid across the crimson earth to stabilize himself. He had already abandoned the idea of defeating Carnis through conventional damage. Every slash, wound and detonation had revealed the same horrifying truth.
The more his toxin damaged Carnis, the stronger the monster seemed to become. Oscar refused to continue feeding whatever grotesque mechanism governed Carnis's body. He had absolutely no intention of discovering whether that enhancement possessed a ceiling. If there was one, reaching it might very well doom every awakened currently running for their lives beyond the horizon.
That realization had forced him toward an entirely different solution. Rather than create another corrosive toxin designed to consume flesh, Oscar had condensed something fundamentally different. This poison existed solely to neutralize the remnants of his previous toxin, stripping away the lingering corruption that continued empowering Carnis's bizarre physiology.
On paper the strategy bordered on absurd. Poisoning someone with an antidote to one's own poison sounded completely nonsensical, yet within the framework of Oscar's Rune it represented perfect logic. If his earlier toxin served as fuel for Carnis, then depriving him of that fuel might rob the Sleepless operative of whatever hidden advantage his flesh manipulation possessed.
Carnis lunged. The distance separating them disappeared almost instantaneously. Even after experiencing it repeatedly, Oscar still found the speed difficult to process. Carnis simply became a freight train given human form, an unstoppable avalanche of flesh and muscle whose raw physical power eclipsed Oscar's own Force-enhanced movement.
Oscar Blinked again without hesitation, tearing open space to relocate hundreds of meters away in a single seamless motion. His boots had scarcely touched the ground before his attention snapped toward the Worm beneath Carnis. The toxin sphere left inside the creature should have been spreading throughout its massive anatomy.
Instead Oscar watched sections of the Worm's colossal body shift unnaturally. Individual armored segments separated by fractions before opening narrow seams through which violet mist erupted. His toxin poured harmlessly from dozens of points along the Grimm's body like steam escaping pressure valves, splattering across the crimson landscape below where it hissed violently against the lunar earth before dissipating into the air. Oscar's brow furrowed. The Worm had not merely resisted the toxin but could deliberately expell it.
His eyes flicked back toward Carnis just in time to witness the giant pausing. Carnis slowly lifted one arm before his masked face, observing the purple veins that had crawled beneath his flesh only moments earlier.
Gradually those veins faded.
The corruption retreated until every trace disappeared completely, leaving only unmarred skin beneath the blackened musculature. Carnis clicked his tongue once in quiet annoyance. It was the first genuine reaction Oscar had managed to provoke since the battle began.
However, the Sleepless operative did not comment further.
He merely lowered his arm again as though acknowledging a minor inconvenience before redirecting his attention elsewhere. Oscar allowed himself the smallest flicker of hope. The neutralizing toxin had worked.
It had removed whatever lingering poison remained inside Carnis's body. Yet that fragile optimism vanished almost immediately. The Worm continued surging toward the distant Rank Ones with terrifying momentum. Whatever tiny victory Oscar had earned meant absolutely nothing if the monster reached the fleeing awakened before he could stop it.
Without wasting another second Oscar accumulated Force beneath his body until invisible kinetic energy compressed around his limbs. He Blinked beneath the Worm's advancing jaw, reappearing directly beneath the enormous skull where thousands of tons of Grimm flesh thundered overhead.
Every muscle in his body tightened as Force multiplied the kinetic energy behind a single upward strike.
Rather than slash, Oscar drove his fist into the underside of the Worm's jaw and released every ounce of stored momentum simultaneously. The impact detonated with explosive violence. Invisible force erupted upward through the Worm's skull, sending shockwaves rippling along its immense body as the colossal creature staggered sideways for the first time since appearing. Entire ridges of crimson stone fractured beneath its displaced weight.
Yet despite the spectacular collision, the Worm itself appeared almost completely unharmed. Before Oscar could capitalize upon the brief imbalance, the Grimm retaliated. Its enormous head whipped downward with terrifying speed, attempting to crush him beneath unimaginable mass. Oscar launched himself backward through a combination of Force and raw athleticism, the acceleration hurling him skyward until he soared nearly a hundred meters above the battlefield. There, rather than falling, he continued running. Each step utilizing Aura Echo to suspend his body in the air itself, allowing him to sprint across empty sky as though gravity had momentarily forgotten its purpose.
His breathing remained steady, though his thoughts grew increasingly grim. This Grimm was unlike anything he had ever encountered. Poison accomplished nothing and conventional force barely staggered it. Even its powers remained largely unknown because it had yet to reveal any Rune unique to Grimm beyond overwhelming physical durability.
Oscar knew Rank 2 Grimm often possessed powers rivaling awakened Runes. The fact that this creature had relied solely upon its natural body thus far suggested that its true abilities remained hidden. That possibility unsettled him far more than its colossal size ever could. From his elevated position he glanced toward Carnis, expecting another attack.
Instead the Sleepless operative remained standing casually atop the Worm's broad skull, arms folded at his chest as the giant beast carried him forward. Carnis made no attempt to interfere. He simply watched, almost lazily, as though curious to discover whether Oscar possessed any remaining tricks worth observing. The indifference irritated Oscar more than any taunt could have. It implied complete confidence that neither he nor the Worm required assistance to accomplish their objective.
Oscar forced himself to stop thinking about Carnis. The Worm represented the immediate threat. Every second spent worrying about its rider granted the monster more ground toward the retreating Rank Ones. He inhaled slowly before Force gathered once more throughout his body. Space folded and Blink carried him directly into the Worm's path, positioning him before its advancing maw. This time brute strength would accomplish nothing. Oscar condensed every ounce of accumulated Force inward rather than outward, compressing it until the energy occupied a point finer than the tip of a sewing needle.
It no longer resembled overwhelming impact. Instead it became absolute penetration. As the Worm surged forward Oscar thrust his hand outward. The invisible needle of Force struck first, piercing through the Grimm's armored hide with startling ease before continuing completely through the creature's gargantuan body and emerging from its opposite side. For the first time since the battle began Oscar had genuinely penetrated the Worm's defenses.
Then reality immediately diminished the accomplishment.
The hole measured scarcely wider than a finger.
Perhaps against a rank 0 Grimm, such a damage would have been enough to annihilate it instantly. However, against a creature the size of a building, the wound bordered upon meaningless. The Worm barely acknowledged the injury. Its enormous body continued undulating forward with relentless momentum, the tiny channel through its flesh already beginning to seal behind it.
Oscar stared at the insignificant wound before lowering his hand slowly. His expression did not darken. Instead it became strangely thoughtful. Precision was worthless, which meant his only option was to use overwhelming force.
Failing that... then perhaps it's size itself could be used against it. His gaze lingered upon the impossibly massive Grimm as ideas quietly rearranged themselves within his mind. One thought, dangerous and incomplete, surfaced from the chaos of battle.
Oscar gathered Force once more, invisible runic energy spiraling around his body in increasingly violent currents as the air itself seemed to bend beneath the pressure. His jaw tightened until his teeth ground together, not because he doubted the technique would work, but because he understood exactly what it would cost.
This was not something he had ever attempted before. Every previous application of Force had revolved around singular impacts, concentrated penetration, explosive momentum or localized detonations.
What he intended now demanded something entirely different. It required him to divide an enormous quantity of runic energy into countless smaller constructs while maintaining absolute precision over every single one simultaneously.
Even for a Rank 2 awakened, that level of control was very hard. Oscar could already feel the aura draining before the technique had even fully formed.
Ever since arriving within the Crimson Moon Realm he had scarcely been granted a few moments to recover. He had fought Grimm almost continuously, rescued scattered awakened, crossed impossible distances and now stood locked in combat against one of Sleepless' most terrifying commanders.
His reserves had steadily dwindled until only around forty percent remained. The technique gathering around him would likely consume another ten percent in a single execution. Under ordinary circumstances such extravagance would have been foolish. Against Carnis and the monstrous Worm beneath him, however, moderation had long since ceased being an option.
Force erupted beneath Oscar's feet. Space folded around him as Blink activated once again, depositing him directly before the Transcendent Grimm's advancing maw. The colossal creature seemed almost eager to receive him.
Layer after layer of rotating teeth unfolded like the grinding gears of some ancient machine as the cavernous mouth descended, swallowing Oscar for a second time. Unlike before, he did not vanish immediately. He willingly allowed himself to pass beyond the outer rings of teeth and into the living tunnel beyond. The pressure became suffocating almost instantly. Every segment contracted rhythmically, attempting to crush anything caught within the Grimm's digestive tract into unrecognizable pulp.
Hundreds of serrated teeth rotated in overlapping circles along the interior walls, chewing continuously despite the absence of prey. Oscar reacted by extending dozens of miniature Force barriers around his body.
Unlike ordinary shields, these constructs were scarcely larger than dinner plates, overlapping one another in constantly shifting layers that intercepted the grinding teeth before they could reach his flesh. Sparks of invisible kinetic energy burst with every collision as the shields shattered and reformed in rapid succession. Each impact consumed more aura, yet Oscar ignored the mounting cost. He accelerated deeper into the creature's body, sprinting through its immense interior while simultaneously hurling tiny shimmering spheres of compressed Force into the surrounding flesh.
They embedded themselves throughout the Worm's anatomy like seeds scattered across fertile soil. One lodged between contracting muscle fibers. Another disappeared into a fold of living tissue. Dozens more vanished into every direction as Oscar continued descending through the immense biological labyrinth, placing them wherever he could before the increasingly overwhelming pressure threatened to overwhelm even his reinforced defenses.
Eventually the crushing force became unbearable. Oscar felt several Force shields collapse simultaneously beneath the relentless compression as fresh layers hurriedly formed to replace them. Even so, he knew he had reached his limit. Remaining inside any longer would accomplish nothing beyond wasting precious aura.
Blink activated without hesitation, wrenching him free from the Worm's interior just as another series of grinding teeth slammed together where his torso had occupied a heartbeat earlier. He reappeared high above the battlefield, breathing slightly heavier than before, violet eyes fixed upon the immense Grimm below. For one brief moment nothing happened.
Then Oscar quietly whispered,
"Break."
His hand closed into a fist.
The effect was immediate.
Hidden throughout the Worm's colossal anatomy, every tiny sphere of Force detonated simultaneously. They did not explode outward with overwhelming shockwaves. Instead each sphere compressed its stored energy into impossibly fine needles before releasing them in every direction.
Thousands upon thousands of microscopic projectiles erupted through muscle, organs and armored flesh from the inside outward. The attack transformed the Worm's own body into the weapon used against itself.
Oscar's thoughts remained perfectly calm despite the spectacle unfolding before him. A single ant could never hope to kill an elephant. Yet what if there were not one ant but a trillion? Quantity possessed a quality entirely its own.
Each individual needle while strong, lacked the strength to inflict meaningful damage. Together, however, they became an avalanche of relentless precision. The Worm convulsed violently as innumerable punctures blossomed across its gargantuan frame.
Black Grimm ichor erupted from countless tiny wounds, spraying into the crimson air while entire sections of its body writhed in visible discomfort. The colossal creature twisted violently, segments bending in unnatural directions as pain coursed through its immense nervous system. Oscar watched carefully, waiting for signs of collapse.
It never came.
The damage had been immense and entire sections of the Worm now resembled sieves riddled with thousands of tiny perforations. Yet, for a creature of such impossible scale, even catastrophic internal trauma failed to prove fatal.
Oscar released a slow breath through clenched teeth.
The technique had worked exactly as intended but it simply had not been enough.
While Oscar was caught in his own thoughts, the battlefield changed.
Without warning the crimson earth surrounding the Worm began to soften. The hard lunar stone lost all structure, dissolving into thick, viscous mud that spread outward in widening circles beneath the creature's body.
Oscar's eyes narrowed immediately.
Before he could react, the colossal Worm plunged downward. Its tremendous bulk vanished beneath the liquefied ground with astonishing ease, diving through solid earth as though it had become an ordinary sea. Within seconds only rippling crimson sludge remained where moments earlier an enormous Grimm had towered.
Oscar felt his own footing disappear.
The ground beneath him liquefied as well, his boots sinking rapidly into the unnatural mire. Instinct reacted faster than conscious thought. Force exploded beneath his feet, launching him skyward before the ground could swallow him alongside the Worm.
Invisible platforms formed beneath his steps as Aura Echo allowed him to stand upon air, high above the battlefield. From his elevated position Oscar scanned the shifting landscape below, searching for any sign of the vanished monster.
Nothing.
The crimson mud gradually solidified once more, leaving behind only cracked earth as though the phenomenon had never occurred. Oscar frowned thoughtfully. At least one mystery had been answered.
The Worm possessed a Rune entirely separate from its overwhelming physical might. It could alter the terrain itself, transforming solid ground into navigable fluid that allowed its impossible body to swim beneath the earth.
The realization settled uneasily within his mind.
But where had it gone?
The answer arrived almost instantly and Oscar's pupils contracted.
Without another moment's hesitation Blink activated.
Thousands of meters away the fleeing Rank Ones continued sprinting across the scarlet plains, desperately weaving between lesser Grimm attempting to intercept their escape. Before any of them fully comprehended what had happened, Oscar materialized directly beside them.
Mocha barely had time to widen her eyes before Oscar caught her by the waist with one arm while the other extended outward. Blink's runic energy expanded in brilliant waves, enveloping every nearby awakened within its shimmering field. Space folded around the entire group.
They vanished.
Five hundred meters away they reappeared in perfect formation, skipping entirely over the swarm of lesser Grimm that had been attacking around them only moments before. Confused gasps barely escaped the awakened before the world behind them exploded.
The ground they had occupied an instant earlier erupted upward in spectacular violence. Crimson stone, shattered earth, Grimm corpses and entire sections of the battlefield disappeared into an enormous maw that burst from beneath the surface. Accompanying the maw was runic energy that seemed to echo and extend the attack to an even greater phantom distance than it's mouth was capable of.
The Worm's gigantic jaws had expanded even further, easily spanning fifty meters across as concentric rings of teeth snapped shut with enough force to pulverize everything caught between them. Countless lesser Grimm vanished alongside massive quantities of rock and soil, swallowed whole before the jaws descended once more beneath the trembling earth. Oscar stared toward the collapsing crater, his expression hardening.
There it was. The second Rune.
Burrowing alone could not explain that attack. The Worm had projected its jaws through the terrain itself with terrifying precision.
Yet even that realization paled beside what followed.
The Worm did not descend again, instead it continued rising.
Higher and higher still.
Oscar's expression slowly transformed from concentration into genuine alarm as the creature's immense body continued climbing into the crimson sky. Black-red runic energy clung to its jaws like burning smoke while the countless wounds Oscar had inflicted earlier had changed.
Flesh bulged outward around every puncture. Tendrils burst from some openings. Others split apart entirely as clawed hands emerged by the dozens, grasping blindly at empty air before attaching themselves firmly to the Worm's armored segments. Long ropes of living flesh unfurled between the newly formed limbs while grotesque appendages continued multiplying across its impossible body.
Then, with sickening inevitability, massive wings tore free from its sides. They were not feathered like a Nevermore's nor membranous like a bat's. They resembled vast slabs of writhing black flesh stretched across skeletal frameworks of bone and tendon. One thunderous flap sent shockwaves racing through the crimson ground as the Transcendent beast stabilized itself in midair.
Oscar's eyes darted toward the Worm's head.
Carnis was gone.
Only moments earlier the Sleepless commander had stood calmly atop the creature, observing the battle with folded arms. Now there remained no trace of him whatsoever.
The answer arrived before Oscar could fully articulate the thought.
The monstrous Worm slowly rotated in the air until its newly transformed body faced directly toward the scattered awakened. Dozens of clawed limbs flexed in eerie synchronization while the enormous wings spread wider, casting an immense shadow across the battlefield below. Then a voice rolled across the crimson plains.
"Are you surprised?" it asked.
The sound was unmistakable.
It was Carnis.
The voice emerged not from a rider but from the creature itself, reverberating through every segment of its grotesquely transformed anatomy.
"Don't worry," it continued, carrying the same calm certainty Oscar had heard throughout their duel.
"Your slaughter will be pleasing to Her."
Understanding struck Oscar with crushing force.
Carnis had not dismounted, he had merged with the damned creature.
Somehow, through means Oscar neither understood nor had ever imagined possible, the Sleepless commander had fused himself with the already monstrous Rank 2 Grimm, creating something infinitely worse than either opponent alone.
Oscar stared upward for only the briefest heartbeat before the weight of the situation settled fully upon him.
"...Damn it," he cursed quietly.