Taboo Online

Chapter 18: Make the Monster Choose

The Dread Devourer kept coming, dragging its claws across the arena and leaving long black marks in the stone. Luke felt every step through the soles of his boots while Yvonne watched futures unfold around the boss.

"You make that sound simple," she said.

"It probably isn’t."

"That’s not reassuring."

"I’m trying to be honest."

A notification appeared.

[A truthful statement has been detected.]

[Minor stamina restored.]

Yvonne released a breath that nearly became a laugh.

"Of course the dungeon rewards you for that."

Luke kept his attention on the approaching monster. "Can you find a future where I reach the spear and survive?"

"I can look."

"Start with the one we already saw. Don’t search through everything at once."

Yvonne raised two fingers to her temple, and the violet thread between them brightened.

The vision returned. Luke ran at the Dread Devourer, slipped beneath its claw, and passed between its legs. He reached the spear before the boss turned left and crushed him beneath its foot.

"What happens if I don’t pick up the spear?" Luke asked.

The vision shifted, showing his future self running past the weapon and continuing toward the edge. The Dread Devourer still turned left, but its foot landed beside the spear instead of on Luke.

"It follows you," Yvonne said.

"Good."

"Why is that good?"

Beyond the monster, the damaged edge of the arena gave Luke an idea.

"If I keep running, will it charge?"

Several new possibilities formed. In one, the monster pursued him at a steady pace. Another showed Luke stopping near the edge before being swatted into the clouds.

Yvonne suddenly gasped.

"I see something."

"What happens?"

"You stop at the edge and look back. It thinks you’re trapped, so it charges."

"Does it catch me?"

"In most futures."

"And in the one we want?"

"You use Quickstep at the last moment. It tries to stop, turns left, and steps on your spear. The shaft breaks, but the blade stays lodged in its foot."

Luke grimaced. "Losing my weapon doesn’t sound ideal." ƒree𝑤ebnσvel.com

"I’d rather lose the spear than you."

His gaze settled on the spear lying across the arena. The weapon had survived being grabbed, struck, and thrown throughout their first battle, but the weight of the boss would probably snap it easily. Losing the shaft meant giving up most of his reach.

Still, a blade buried in the creature’s foot might slow it down.

"Does it bleed?"

"A little."

"Is the blood black?"

"Yes."

The smaller monsters had bled the same way before dissolving from their wounds. This boss could be hurt too. They only needed to reach something vital.

"We’ll use that future," Luke said.

Yvonne turned toward him. "The one where your weapon breaks?"

"It’s better than the ones where I die."

"That’s a pretty low standard."

The monster was getting close, so Luke rolled his shoulders and flexed his fingers.

"Tell me when to run."

"Quickstep already made you fall while you were carrying me. If you mistime it near the edge, you’re gone."

"I know," Luke said. "That’s why I need you watching."

The Dread Devourer raised its head and inhaled. A small amount of gray mist escaped Yvonne, although far less than before, and the monster’s grin returned as it tasted her fear.

Luke moved in front of her.

"You don’t need to watch every possible way I can die," he said. "Watch the one where this works."

Yvonne pressed her lips together.

"That isn’t how fear works."

"No, but it might be how trust works."

The violet thread between their wrists pulsed. Yvonne went still, and the mist surrounding her weakened.

[A truthful statement has been detected.]

[Partner resonance strengthened.]

With a furious roar, the Dread Devourer lunged toward them.

"Run!" Yvonne shouted.

Luke charged directly at it. Every instinct told him to turn around, but the creature filled more of his vision with each step, and its right claw rose above him.

"Wait," Yvonne said.

Luke kept running.

The claw began to fall.

"Now!"

Quickstep activated.

The arena blurred as Luke slipped beneath the descending arm. Wind from the attack struck his back, and he reappeared beside the creature’s hip.

His foot slid across the stone, forcing him to throw himself forward before its leg could come down on him. The space beneath its stomach was dark and stank of rotten meat. Something shifted beneath the stretched flesh overhead, but Luke refused to look closely.

Dropping into a slide, he passed between the boss’s legs. The spear lay directly ahead, yet he ignored it and kept running.

Behind him, the Dread Devourer bellowed. Stone cracked as it turned left and followed.

The edge of the arena approached quickly.

"Slow down!" Yvonne called.

A glance over his shoulder showed the monster pursuing him, but it had not started charging.

Luke forced himself to reduce his pace. Slowing down felt completely wrong when every part of his body wanted to run faster, but the Dread Devourer noticed the change and widened its grin.

Luke deliberately stumbled.

The creature lowered its shoulders.

Violet light flared across Yvonne’s blindfold.

"It’s taking the bait."

Only a few steps remained before the arena ended, with clouds rolling far beneath the drop.

Luke stopped at the edge and turned.

The Dread Devourer charged.

For a moment, fear wiped every plan from his mind. The creature crossed the arena with terrifying speed, smashing the stone beneath its feet while its swollen stomach bounced with each stride.

"Not yet," Yvonne warned.

Luke could not understand how she expected him to wait.

The monster raised both claws.

"Not yet."

Its mouth opened, and black saliva stretched between its teeth.

"Yvonne!"

"Now!"

Luke activated Quickstep and selected a position to the creature’s right.

His body vanished.

The Dread Devourer tried to stop, but its weight carried it forward. One foot struck the broken edge, while the other twisted left and came down on the spear.

The wooden shaft snapped as the blade drove upward into the center of the boss’s foot.

A deafening roar shook the platform.

Several yards away, Luke reappeared and crashed onto his side. Pain flared through his shoulder, but he was alive.

The monster ripped its injured foot away from the broken weapon. Black blood sprayed across the arena, leaving the spearhead buried deep in its flesh.

"We did it," Yvonne said, sounding surprised.

Luke pushed himself onto his knees. "You don’t sound like you expected that to work."

"I watched you die seven different ways while you were running."

"You were supposed to watch the good future."

"I tried!"

The boss turned toward him, dragging its wounded foot across the stone. Every step now came more slowly than before.

Luke climbed to his feet and searched for the remains of his weapon. Half of the broken shaft lay beneath the monster, while the other piece had been thrown near the center of the arena. The blade was still stuck inside the creature’s foot.

Then the Dread Devourer rushed him again.