Korlic swung his axe into the Hunger's regenerating mass, the blade shimmering with the glow of the Frenzy skill. With every swing, the frequency of his attacks accelerated. For an average Barbarian, five stacks of acceleration was the limit. With the legendary Bastion's Power in hand, that limit increased by another five.
But for Korlic, the man who had forged the legend of this weapon, as long as his body could endure the physical strain of infinite acceleration, he could become faster without end. If the body was strong enough, delivering a thousand strikes in a single heartbeat was no impossibility. The only thing limiting Korlic's power was the very concept of "strength" itself.
"Korlic! I thought you'd go find the Maiden of Lust to finish what you started..."
The Hunger's voice rose again. From the crushed remains, a slightly smaller version of the demon crawled out, its belly-mouth beginning to consume its previous corpse. But it never finished its sentence.
The words were enough to send Korlic into a blinding rage.
"FUCK YOU!"
Korlic roared, his great axe stirring up a localized hurricane as it fell upon the Hunger. He was only clearing the way for Madawc, ensuring his comrade wouldn't be delayed by some disgusting freak before he could fulfill his vow. He didn't want to hear the Maiden of Lust's name from anyone ever again—demon or otherwise. That remained his sole humiliation.
"Barbarians never have the patience to listen to a demon, not even in death," the Hunger whispered, its toxic mist beginning to spread once more.
It hadn't been a match for the Three Ancients in life, and death hadn't changed that. However, it could certainly try to wear them down. Even as it spoke, it had already taken over a dozen heavy hacks. Korlic's axe left deep gouges in its flesh, exposing nauseating layers of fat and venom.
Yet, it wasn't enough to stop the demon. The Hunger possessed a legendary resistance to slashing weapons. Its thick blubber allowed it to preserve its combat effectiveness even under a hail of blades. To a Hunger, there wasn't much difference between Korlic and Madawc—both used axes. Had they used hammers, the demon might have actually been worried.
"What do you think I want to hear from you?! A demon with nothing but a title isn't worthy!"
Korlic roared. His axe moved so fast now that the human eye couldn't even track the angle of his strikes. The Hunger extended its stubby arms—too short even to scratch its own belly—and dropped several ochre-colored venom orbs on the ground.
In a confined space, the Hunger could turn an entire area into a toxic death trap. But this was the Sacred Mountain. The venomous fog was instantly caught by the frigid gales, weakened and purified by the ambient power of the Barbarian ancestors.
Korlic didn't know that until recently, this purifying power had been guided by Kanai. Now, that duty had passed to Vorusk.
This Hunger was supposed to have fought in the fortress of Harrogath, but in the previous battle, it had run into Cassius. Even though Cassius had been a mere soul then, his innate nature made him the perfect counter to the Hunger. The demon had been used as a punching bag, beaten into a literal meat paste by the ancestor's fists.
Thus, it had swapped targets with the Maiden of Lust this time. At least against blades, the Hunger wouldn't feel like a literal sandbag.
"By the way, the Maiden of Lust said she found you... underwhelming. She's going to go try her luck with Cassius instead."
The Hunger spoke the truth, though when the Maiden had said those words earlier, she had done so with a hint of lingering fear. Korlic's speed was an ever-accelerating nightmare, and he possessed the top-tier stamina of the Barbarian race. To adapt to an endless, uncapped Frenzy...
That battle hadn't just been Korlic's humiliation; it had been the Maiden's nightmare as well.
Having finished its taunt, the Hunger's belly-mouth lunged at Korlic. Simultaneously, a spray of toxic blood erupted from its wounds, flying straight for Korlic's face.
A poison-laden counterattack. Wounds only made a Hunger more dangerous. The toxins were potent enough to ravage a Barbarian's body; after all, in terms of pure resistance, Barbarians were never the strongest among the Nephalem.
"Dammit! That guy!"
Korlic gritted his teeth. He tucked his axe into his belt and slammed a fist directly into the Hunger's maw of serrated teeth. Killing it with an axe was easy, but it wasn't satisfying enough.
"I'm going to punch you into a slurry, one blow at a time, then scoop you up in a helmet to make broth!"
Korlic's fists shimmered with the light of Frenzy. His punches fell like a torrential downpour upon the Hunger's belly, sounding like the rapid beat of a war drum. Toxic blood drenched Korlic's head, the intense acidity causing acrid smoke to rise from his skin. But his fists—even faster and more violent than Cassius's—were now a blur. The sound of leather being struck melded into a singular, continuous thrum.
In a stationary, face-to-face slugfest, a Korlic wielding Bastion's Power was the ultimate force. In every sense of the word, he was a pile-driver. The Hunger's biggest mistake was picking Korlic out of fear of Cassius.
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