Down With The Gods

“First?” Yu asks.

“One-on-one? To the death?” Mira questions.

“Adult voice? Wait, wait! How? Why?” Wyn asks.

“Seriously? That’s more important to you right now?” Mira says, giving him a sideways glance.

“We are smarter than the demons you have met. We can converse just as well as the CATOTO family,” responds the other tabby, also in an adult voice.

“And you’re actually answering him? Unbelievable,” Mira mutters.

“Here, you get to choose the elemental specialization you want to go up against. We will summon a creature at random. Its strength will not be higher than one hundred and fifty essence. Win, and you pass. First fighter, step forward.”

Without a word, Yu and Mira look at each other before shoving Wyn to the front.

“What the heck, guys?” Wyn exclaims.

“It’s out of love, Oppa,” Mira teases.

The cats, now yawning for the fifth time, wait for Wyn to decide. At last, he opts to face a cyclone creature, hoping to learn something new from the battle.

The space behind the demons lights up, revealing a deep pit. Wyn descends into it, taking his position on the left side, as instructed. Once ready, a portal opens from the ceiling, and a burnt brown creature drops onto its sturdy hind legs. A menacing kangaroo-like creature stares straight into Wyn, as if peering into another layer of his soul. It's as tall as Wyn, but is muscular – particularly in the chest – with five sharp red claws on each hand and a bulky tail tipped in black.

“Your opponent is the crackaroo! MOEWWWwwwwwWWW.”

With explosive speed, the crackaroo propels itself toward Wyn, encased in a swirling cyclone. Wyn quickly summons a rock pillar, launching himself into the air, then pivots to hurl rocks at the enemy. It effortlessly smashes through the pillar, halting mid-charge to slash at Wyn’s projectiles with its red claws.

Wyn projects his chakrams in front of him, bracing for impact, but before he can strike, the crackaroo spin-jumps, using its tail to smack Wyn out of the air. The attack lands hard from the back of his head down to his lower back and the force sends him crashing down. Using the momentum from the tail slap, the crackaroo lands on Wyn’s back, then propels itself upward, pulling Wyn into a cyclone with it. Despite the pain, he's fortunate that the creature's black foot claws never dig into his flesh. Fighting through the agony, he manages to cyclone dash himself away, narrowly evading the crackaroo’s descending cyclone stomp. His dash sends the creature spinning, forcing it to crash into its own cyclone. While it lands on its tail, bracing against the fall, Wyn collides with the wall, his side absorbing the impact.

Above, Yu and Mira watch intently, cheering for Wyn the entire time. But the situation looks grim – he’s taken significant damage. Using the brief distance between them, Wyn catches his breath, resting on a rock pillar he desperately summoned from the wall. Spotting him, the crackaroo launches itself once more.

Wyn opts for a different strategy, conjuring a cyclone fused with rocks aimed directly at the crackaroo. The creature shields itself, raising its claws to block the oncoming attack. The clash between the two cyclones halts the crackaroo’s advance. As the swirling winds dissipate, the crackaroo propels itself upward, still airborne, then dashes at Wyn with a slashing attack. Quick on his feet, Wyn desummons the pillar beneath him, letting himself fall. As the crackaroo hovers directly above, Wyn executes a cyclone dash upward, his chakrams poised. The dash strikes the crackaroo in the stomach, and while the chakrams embed themselves, Wyn lacks the strength to cut through. Instead, he lets himself drop again, quickly dashing away to the opposite wall. The crackaroo, now distracted by the pain and trying to dislodge the chakrams, crashes headfirst into the ground.

Freed from the chakrams, the crackaroo cyclone dashes at Wyn, charging full force. Wyn hurls as many rocks as he can, forcing the crackaroo to shield itself with its claws, obscuring its vision. He then summons multiple small pillars, using them as stepping stones to ascend higher up the wall. As the crackaroo reaches his previous position, Wyn cyclone dashes downward. Chakrams in hand, he targets the back of the neck. Upon landing, the chakram blades drive deep into the crackaroo’s neck. Wyn hangs inverted, feet pointed skyward. Mimicking the crackaroo's technique, he envelops himself in a cyclone, pressing down on its neck with a powerful dash. The swirling winds prevent the crackaroo from rising or using its claws effectively. Wyn repeats the attack until the chakrams slice through the creature’s neck completely, leaving it lifeless.

“Congratulations! You have passed the test. Collect the essence and return to us. If you need assistance getting back up, just let us know.”

“That was amazing!” Mira exclaims, hugging Wyn as he ascends to the pit’s edge with a rock pillar.

“Ouch! Take it easy! I’m still hurt!”

“I’m dead…There’s no way I can win a fight like that,” Yu says.

“Maybe I got the toughest one. That thing was worth a full hundred and fifty essence – the difficulty cap,” Wyn replies.

“The multiple pillars, the enveloping dash, how did you do all that?” Mira asks.

“Remember how a pillar stays up as long as I want it to? Turns out we don’t have to touch the ground to summon one. Just charge it with your hand like normal, but instead of reaching for a surface, visualize where you want it to appear,” Wyn explains. “And the dash, it’s like the regular one, but I can expand the radius so it surrounds me while I dash.”

“The more essence you collect, the more resistant you become to your own attacks. And once you are experienced enough, you can even direct some attacks with just your eyes!” one of the demon cats chimes in, eager to keep things moving. “Now, who is next?”

As usual, Mira volunteers Yu by pushing him forward. Following Wyn’s lead and hoping to learn more about the water element, he chooses to fight a water-type creature.

“I present to you, the motherchoad!”

An angry, large, chunky toad lands with a splat on the battleground. Moss green with a white belly, it sports bright yellow spots on its back, and its eyes, fingertips, and toe tips are jet black. On the demon’s “MOEWWWwwwwwWWW,” the toad glares down at Yu, croaks once, and fires a torrent of water from its mouth. Unprepared, Yu is blasted off his feet, landing hard on his back. As the water attack ceases, the toad lashes out its long tongue at him. Noticing his friend still struggling on the ground, Wyn swiftly summons a rock pillar between Yu and the tongue, diverting its aim. Mira stares at Wyn, her mouth agape, while Wyn glances at the demons – no reaction from them.

“You’re gonna have to dodge like there’s no tomorrow!” Wyn shouts.

In Yu’s first attempt at summoning five water fountains simultaneously, they vary in strength and height. His strategy is to leap from one fountain to another, using the water streams to propel himself upward when transitioning from shorter to taller fountains. This unpredictability in his movement pattern proves effective in evading the toad's tongue lashes. Frustrated, the toad stomps its front legs on the ground before ceasing all movement. With its mouth closed and its belly expanding, it unleashes a wide, continuous water stream directly at Yu. Wyn tries to assist, but a cat intercepts, halting his arm with its paw and displaying sharp claws.

Unfazed, Yu quickly jets himself down to the ground, summoning a small fountain beneath to cushion his landing. However, the toad slowly turns its head, following Yu's movements with the water stream inching closer.

“Get closer to it from the ground! That’s how you dodge!” Wyn shouts.

Following Wyn’s advice, Yu water dashes toward the toad. As he closes in, he thrusts his blade into one of the toad's longer toes. The water stream abruptly stops, and the toad lets out a scream as it lifts its wounded leg, sending Yu flying backward. He skillfully lands on his feet and dashes right back toward the creature. The toad retreats, moving slowly on all fours due to its limited cognitive abilities, giving Yu a chance to stab another toe. Again, he’s flung backward by the toad’s reaction.

Before he can charge in again, the toad leaps to the other side of the pit. But by the time it turns to face him, Yu is already airborne, supported by a fountain summoned beneath him. With a fully-charged water dash, he thrusts his blade into the creature’s eye. The toad thrashes violently, but Yu clings to the lodged blade with all his strength. As it opens its mouth to unleash another water stream, Yu, still holding onto the blade, jets himself up into a crouching position atop his weapon.

“You gotta admit, he looks funny in that position,” Mira comments, and Wyn nods in agreement.

“Jump from your weapon and jab the choad’s brain,” Wyn suggests.

Struggling to find the right moment to jump, Yu finally seizes his chance when the toad’s head tilts upward. Overshooting slightly, he resummons his blade while airborne. With a downward water dash, he drives the blade into the toad’s flesh with both hands. Once again, he hangs from the lodged blade. The toad thrashes, but the more it struggles, the further Yu’s blade slices down its back. Suddenly, the toad leaps high into the air. The impact from its landing drives the blade even deeper, sliding all the way down to its buttocks. Yu hyperventilates, his eyes wide open, and loses track of the events leading to the toad’s final moments. When he regains his senses, he finds himself standing on the ground behind the toad's glorious buttcrack. The creature yields a total of one hundred and fifteen essence.

“Congratulations! You have passed the test.”

“Somehow, I return…,” Yu mutters, now at the pit’s edge, dazed.

“You did great!” Mira says, hugging him and patting his back.

“Thanks for the save at the start!”

“Oh yeah! How was that even allowed?” Wyn asks, turning to the demons.

“Shhh! You don’t need to ask them everything!” Yu hisses.

“What? We saw nothing, so we did nothing. Now, the last soul,” one of the demons responds.

Curious to see a lava or laser creature in action, Mira instead chooses to face a fire-type enemy, following the tradition set by Wyn and Yu.

“Don’t you dare meow yet! Give me a moment to collect myself,” Mira says, turning to the demons.

In front of her is a dark yellow and dark brown lizard-like creature, reaching as tall as her thighs. From above, Wyn notes that its body is as long as a komodo dragon’s.

“Not sure if that’s a lizard, an iguana, or a komodo…But from up here, it’s clear that Mira’s shaking like crazy,” Wyn comments.

“Oh yeah. Much ‘trembling’,” Yu says.

“Behold, the mona lizard! MOEWWWwwwwwWWW.”

“YOU STUPID CATS! I SAID NOT TO MEOW YET!” Mira shouts.

The lizard unfurls its frill, forming a perfect square. The shape resembles a picture frame, with the outer rim in dark brown. Inside, the upper part is a mix of dull green and blue, while the lower part is dull brown.

“Is it smiling?” Wyn asks.

“Come look for yourself! You’re making me cry, Oppa!”

“Watch out for the tongue!” Yu adds.

The lizard screeches as it scuttles toward Mira. Every time she lashes out with her whip, the lizard dodges by awkwardly leaping with all four legs. Adding to her attacks, she summons a pillar of fire at the creature, similar to how Yu did, without touching the ground.

“Don’t attack the same spot. Whip at the creature but burn where it’s going to be, or vice versa,” Wyn advises.

“Easier said than done!”

“Then aim for the ground. Watch where it’s jumping to, then burn it.”

Mira targets the lizard's feet, and upon contact with the ground, the metal tip of her weapon explodes. The blast radius strikes the lizard’s feet, inflicting some damage, though not substantial. She alternates between lashing with her whip and summoning fire pillars. However, each time the lizard lands within a pillar, it endures the damage and retaliates by shooting a fireball at her before leaping to another spot. With the fire pillars proving ineffective, Mira switches back to using her whip alone. Her relentless strikes prevent the lizard from launching an attack – until it makes a long leap and attaches itself to the side of the pit wall beyond her whip's reach.

The lizard extends an unusually long, flaming tongue at her. Mira dodges and sets off a fire pillar from beneath it. As the pillar connects, the lizard starts scuttling around the wall, firing fireballs and lashing its tongue at every chance it gets. Struggling to keep up, Mira misses most of her attacks but manages to dodge all the assaults from the land dragon.

“It moves in a straight line!” Wyn shouts.

Armed with this information, Mira changes tactics, using one hand to hurl fireballs and distract the lizard while charging up a critical attack with the other. Once fully charged, she summons a massive fire pillar from the side of the wall, directly beneath the lizard's belly. The impact sends the creature tumbling off, and it crashes onto its back. Seeing an opportunity, Mira rushes toward its exposed belly. But before she can strike, the lizard flips itself back onto all fours and starts darting around her with incredible speed. Realizing she can’t keep pace, she freezes.

“This looks real bad,” Wyn mutters, clenching his fists.

In a swift move, the lizard leaps toward Mira, biting into her shoulder. Though the burning bite isn’t enough to tear her apart, it thrashes her violently. In response, Mira summons three fire pillars that align with the lizard’s body. With her other hand, she grabs the creature’s dewlap, flames enveloping her hand as she yanks with all her strength. It takes multiple attempts, but finally, after a well-timed pull in sync with the thrashing, the dewlap tears free. The lizard releases her, screeching on its hind feet before collapsing belly-up. As it struggles helplessly, Mira approaches its head, summoning her whip with her burned hand.

“I just got my beautiful hand back,” she mutters, repeatedly slamming the metal tip against the lizard’s head until it stops moving.

When she returns to the pit's edge on a demon’s back, she sobs into Wyn’s shoulder. Wyn embraces her, and Yu gently strokes her back.

“You did great,” Wyn says.

“That thing’s only worth a hundred essence. Only half of yours! And look at what it did to me!”

“Errr...‘half’? It’s more like two-th…you know what? Whatever. Half it is.”

“Congratulations! You have passed the test.”