Chapter 84: How to Kill A Pathfinder, Turning Strength Into Weakness

Faust blocked one of the spider legs, jumped up and performed a spinning slash. The move was rash and reckless. But it was also hard to predict and it put Negan on the back foot.

Which allowed Faust to press forward, taking glancing blows that cracked his bones, but delivering deadly strikes.

Smiling, He sent his axe through a Narrow Path. The axe head disappeared and reappeared behind Negan. But his dragon flail blocked it.

He used Mirage, Shadow Step and Narrow Path to stop Negan’s armor and Schema from getting a lock on his next move.

Negan was a better striker than him, but worse at defence without relying on his armor. Faust struck repeatedly, sending him crashing through buildings and tearing painful gashes into Negan’s black armor.

Annihilation was like a ball of black fire in Faust’s chest. Each time he used it it got smaller. He only had around two strikes left with Annihilation and he needed them to be the strongest.

Even as he was manhandled, Negan was still resourceful. He was from an advanced race after all. His armor clicked and injected something into his body.

Faust clicked his tongue as he saw Negan’s injuries close and heal

"The Annihilation effect is good for killing blows and breaking through armor, but it doesn’t stop healing," Negan muttered almost to himself. His voice was grating and discordant as always, but now it was subdued. "Unlike Corruption and Blood Feud, I can heal. This isn’t over."

Faust charged through the smoke and slashed. His axe bounced off a transparent blue shield.

This was the second time Negan had used this shield skill. "And you can’t use Annihilation with all your attacks," Negan hissed.

The cooldown for the shield should be around fifteen seconds.

It was strange to think that this wonderful battle had gone on for only two minutes. They were both moving and striking at an extreme speed.

"It’s nice to hear your voice," Faust taunted. "Not really, since it sounds so horrible, but you get what I mean."

"Foolish human," Negan spat. They circled each other again. "You forget that Walker of Narrow Roads is a Schema my people have had for centuries.... We have our ways of killing Pathfinders!"

Blue lasers erupted from Negan’s body, illuminating the dark night and the destroyed building around them. They crisscrossed and covered the entire space in a grid.

Faust moved to enter the Narrow Path, but he saw something. Some of the lasers didn’t melt the ground, instead they disappeared into thin air.

He’s flooding as many Narrow Paths with the lasers as possible. Jump in recklessly and those lasers might be in my path.

But finding a good path would stress my brain too much.

It was a smart way to deal with a Pathfinder.

But not Faust.

Instance Replication!

Light flared as replicated lasers intercepted their originals. A terrible hiss filled the world, along with heat.

And then the light was gone.

Faust blinked the white spots out of his eyes. Negan watched the scene with confusion.

Faust whistled. "That was close."

Negan was at a loss for words for a moment. "No. No? I can’t lose to you? A human?! It’s impossible!"

Faust frowned. "What are you talking about, bro? The fight isn’t even over yet. Looks like your heart rate is becoming a bit abnormal."

Negan flinched and touched his chest.

Faust smirked. "Relax. I was joking."

Negan grabbed his head, shaking. "Shut up. Shut up! SHUT UP!"

Lasers erupted from around Negan. Faust jumped back and intercepted them with Instance Replication. He was back up to ten replications so he wasn’t worried.

Negan crossed the distance between them like a mad train. His blows lost their elegance and certainty, relying on just speed.

Faust used Dash to get around them and slashed off one of Negan’s legs.

"Gahhh!" Negan cried, but he kept attacking frantically.

"You said my heart rate was abnormal," Faust mused as he dodged Negan’s attacks. "But that’s how it always is when I get into a fight. I used to think my anxiety would make me weaker. I was afraid of losing."

He slashed upward at one of Negan’s legs, but the axe bounced off the steel. He didn’t use Annihilation there.

Still, Negan yelped and jumped back, giving Faust some breathing room.

"Relax. I’m not ending the fight yet. What was I saying?" Faust rubbed his chin. "Ahh, I was talking about my anxiety. I began to enjoy being anxious at one point. I can’t remember when. But it was proof that I was challenging myself to do more."

"What are you rambling about?" Negan sneered. "Is Pathfinder damaging your brain?"

He had been hiding it but Blood Regeneration was actually healing the damage done to his brain. Albeit slower than he expected. No wonder Neurosurgeons were so highly paid.

Faust chuckled. "It’s just that I felt this kinship with you; we had so much in common. But now I see that you don’t challenge yourself to go higher. You challenge yourself to polish your pride."

"Haahh," Faust sighed disappointedly. "In the end, you’re just a tourist."

Negan trembled where he stood. His head was lowered as those feelings warred in him.

Then without warning, he swung his hand forward and used the glowing spider skill. Yellow energy erupted from his hand to form a giant yellow spider pouncing on Faust.

Faust dashed sideways but it followed him. Negan shot a ridiculous amount of lasers into open space and the Narrow Path, then he closed the distance between them in a burst of motion.

Instance Replication!

The giant yellow spider construct clashed against a replicated version of it, but he couldn’t block the lasers on time. They crept towards him with certainty. He had to use Narrow Path and push his brain with Pathfinder.

A massive explosion bloomed around them as the skills clashed.

Both of them stepped out of this dimension to escape that.

Reality expanded and turned pitch black as Faust entered a specific Narrow Path. One Negan had been predicted would be his only escape. Negan was smart even without his armor’s abilities.

But Faust understood something more important than predictions.

He understood where he was weak and where he was strong. He knew the same for Negan.

Negan was a Pathfinder through and through. Faust’s strength was Annihilation, but Negan’s was the Narrow Path. And the opposite was their weaknesses. 𝕗𝐫𝚎𝗲𝘄𝐞𝕓𝐧𝕠𝘃𝕖𝐥.𝐜𝚘𝚖

So how could Faust turn Negan’s strength into a weakness?

If Negan knew where Faust was going to be, then Faust knew where Negan would be.

The Arachne Pathfinder was there, rushing towards him, staggering because of his severed leg. His hand was outstretched and glowing with a dark purple energy.

That’s your trump card? Let me show you mine.

Instance Replication!