Chapter 129 [Club House Competition] [End]
Chapter 129 [Club House Competition] [End]
A boy with black hair and golden eyes flew out from the same building.
His body twisted mid-air, about to helplessly crash into the building in front.
But just as he was about to collide, two circles left his hand—one opening a portal behind him, the other moving up into the air.
The purplish portal swallowed him, and he found himself high in the air, still in motion.
The air around him constricted before softening, breaking his momentum and catching him in its soft embrace.
Oliver opened another portal, emerging beside Aimar, who stood on the terrace of an adjacent building.
"What is that?" Aimar mumbled, squinting his eyes at the broken wall below.
Mikhail emerged from the shattered wall.
His wrist, previously cut clean, now looked even more gruesome as his entire hand split into five parts, including the bone.
The blood vessels in his body protruded like worms crawling under his skin.
Crimson blood trickled from his pores as he looked around.
The five splits of his hand transformed into cold, black, smooth threads floating in the air, each as thick as a child\'s arm, resembling the tentacles of some monstrous creature.
Mikhail\'s head abruptly shifted as he looked up, directly at them.
Even looking at them triggered him, as an awful killing intent leaked from him.
He suddenly squatted down before jumping towards them, shrieking, "I WILL KILL YOU!!"
His shrill and terrifying voice, laced with anger, reverberated as he swung his tentacle hand.
"Move!!" Oliver shouted as two portals formed beside them.
A formless force emerged from Mikhail\'s tentacles, cleaving down the place where they had been moments ago.
The building\'s walls cracked, and a large chunk fell down.
His gaze subconsciously shifted to his sides, noticing the two portals emerging from the corners of his eyes.
Instantly, two of his tentacles enlarged, moving in front, coiling like a centipede, forming a shield that he pushed in front of the portals.
A thunderous sound erupted as Mikhail blocked both Aimar\'s spear and Oliver\'s punch simultaneously.
Despite his efforts, he wasn\'t left unscathed—one of his tentacles had a hole ruptured in the middle, while the other burst into pieces.
But in the next instant, they healed, turning anew.
Suddenly, both Oliver and Aimar felt goosebumps, their senses tingling from the impending danger.
They quickly opened a portal, attempting to escape inside.
"Fuck!!"
But before they could be fully submerged, Mikhail\'s tentacles grabbed them by their legs, dragging them out.
Turning them upside down, he grinned before smashing Oliver into the ground.
Oliver fell at an incomprehensible speed, his vision blurring as he slammed heavily onto the ground below.
"ARGHH!!"
He spat a mouthful of blood onto the ground, his face turning pale as extreme pain filled his mind.
"Oliver!!"
Aimar shouted, trying to break free. Mikhail smirked, watching him struggle.
"Fuck."
Aimar cursed softly as he looked at Mikhail\'s lips parting, the corners of his mouth cracking open all the way up to his ears.
A beam of sinister energy started to concentrate, aimed at Aimar.
A portal emerged from below, engulfing him, but it was already too late as Mikhail was ready to attack.
Whoosh!!
But before he could release the energy, an axe-hammer came flying, chopping his tentacle into two, freeing Aimar.
BOOM!!
The beam of energy shot its projectile, hitting a building and causing it to vanish as Mikhail looked back at the intruder.
***
***
***
[A Few Minutes Earlier]
In the streets close to a crumbling building, a girl knelt, tightly embracing a boy while nursing him.
His purple hair was drenched with blood as she applied pressure to stop the bleeding.
"Idiot, idiot, idiot," she grumbled softly, glaring at him while keeping an eye on her brother, who lay just beside her.
Azariah head comfortably on her chest, breathing slowly.
"Argh... Cough... Cough..." Abruptly, his eyes snapped open, and he sat up straight, frowning in discomfort.
"A-Az," Christina\'s voice trembled as she quickly applied more pressure to his head and pleaded, bringing his head back down slowly, "...Lay down."
Still confused, Azariah leaned back, closing his eyes, her sweet smell bringing him some calmness.
BOOM!!!!
The deafening sound of a building crumbling made him alert, his eyes snapping open.
"I have to go," he said, remembering his promise to Oliver as he stood up.
"No!! You aren\'t going anywhere, you are staying with me!!" Christina yelled, grabbing his hand, "and what happened to your eyes."
"I will be fine," he insisted, ignoring her second question.
"Fine!?" She stormed, glaring at him. "Look at your hand, it\'s broken!!"
Azariah glanced at his wrist, broken in two.
Willis?
Dada!!
Can you do something about it?
Da?
No, I am not playing any games.
Dada!!
...One hour.
Da!!
...Fine, two hours.
Dada!!
After finishing coaxing his child spirit, Azariah glanced at his broken wrist.
The veins pulsed with an orange hue before his hand began to petrify.
Christina gasped in surprise but quickly calmed down, remembering his spirit.
The petrified hand broke off before another pale, almost white hand took its place.
The wrist that was completely broken started to heal at an extraordinary speed, and in no time, it was reattached, ready to use.
The hand petrified again before returning to his normal hand.
Frowning, Christina asked, "Was that—?"
"Bloodsucker\'s regeneration," Azariah completed her sentence, rotating his wrist. "...To a certain extent, Willis can mimic other races\' abilities, but I don\'t know which one."
Neplh.
Looking around, he picked up his axe-hammer while Neplh froze all the places from where blood gushed out.
Turning back, he noticed Christina had stood up as well, both her hands clasping twin swords.
"No," he said before she could speak, his lips parting. "...Stay here and look after Alan."
"Az," her helpless voice reached his ears, making him walk towards her.
"Like I said, I will be fine," he whispered, reaching for both her hands.
She did the same, grabbing his hands tightly.
"...Umm, I wanted to borrow the swords," Azariah mumbled awkwardly, looking at her.
"...Urghh... take it!" Christina whimpered, passing the swords to him.
Another thunderous sound echoed, making Azariah turn in that direction.
"I will kill you if something happens to you," she warned as he moved past her.
"Sure, unreasonable girl," Azariah grumbled, drawing out his katana as well.
"Huff..." He exhaled softly, his lips parting. "...Andarnaur\'s first ring."
A small purple imprint glowed on all four weapons in his hand.
He gently loosened his grip, but the weapons didn\'t fall; they hovered around him, rotating slowly like planets orbiting a sun.
"Amun-Ra\'s blessing: sefīgá."
His body glowed with a gentle silvery hue.
Willis.
Dada!!
He took a step forward, his legs petrifying before turning silvery—an angel\'s legs. The scenery around him changed as he found himself tens of meters away from where he stood.
Two steps...
Three steps...
Four steps...
...
...
...
At the tenth step, he reached the site of the explosion, his eyes landing on Mikhail, who had Aimar by his leg.
Without thinking, he grabbed his axe-hammer and spun his body, throwing it with full force. It connected, chopping the tentacle cleanly.
***
***
"Azariah!!"
Both Oliver and Aimar shouted simultaneously as two portals emerged, swallowing them and depositing them beside Azariah.
"Are you alright?" Azariah asked, glancing at Oliver, who knelt down beside him.
"That doesn\'t concern you, peasant," Oliver replied, standing up.
"Whatever you say, Your Highness," Azariah quipped nonchalantly.
"Any idea what to do about that?" Aimar asked, looking at Mikhail, who stood menacingly, waiting for them to make a move.
"I can kill him," Oliver boasted arrogantly.
"His body is infused with a drop of their mother\'s blood,"
Azariah explained, touching both Oliver and Aimar, including Aimar\'s spear. A purple imprint glowed on their shirts.
"Though it increases his power, he is still within the range of being killed."
"Hmph, I told you," Oliver snorted, shrugging his hand away.
"How long, Oliver?" Azariah asked softly.
"...Five minutes," Oliver replied, his eyes glowing a gentle gold.
BOOM!!
Azariah nodded as Mikhail leaped, his tentacles reaching towards them.
CLANG!!!
The axe side of the axe-hammer struck Mikhail from behind, unbalancing him before it returned to hover around Azariah.
Both Aimar and Oliver opened their portals, rushing in while Azariah prowled towards Mikhail.
Boom!!
His angelic leg increased his speed as he reached Mikhail in no time.
Mikhail\'s tentacles enlarged, moving towards him like blades. Grabbing his sword, Azariah swung it backward.
Boom!! n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om
They collided, propelling Azariah backward before he rushed forward again.
All five tentacles reached for him from different directions.
Azariah ducked, twisted, and sidestepped, avoiding the barrage of attacks as he grabbed his sword again.
Mana condensed in his hand, glowing silver, cutting one tentacle instantly, but it grew back the next instant.
With Mikhail\'s working hand, he threw a punch at Azariah, who avoided it by tilting his head.
A tentacle reached from beneath, aiming at his midsection, but before it could connect, Azariah delivered a round kick, making Mikhail stumble backward.
A portal emerged behind Mikhail, and a spear rushed forward.
He barely had time to twist his body to avoid it, but his face hardened as the spear started to hover around Azariah.
Grabbing it, Azariah spun his body, impaling the spear into Mikhail\'s side.
"ARGHH!!!"
Mikhail groaned in pain but quickly became alert as another portal opened, and a boy with a grin plastered on his face threw a punch.
The punch connected, making Mikhail fall, but he gritted his teeth and used his tentacles to bounce back.
He swung his tentacles at Oliver, who dodged it, a portal opening just above him.
Mikhail\'s tentacles halted and swung backward, hitting nothing but air as Oliver emerged a few meters away.
Azariah rushed again, grabbing the axe-hammer and sweeping it from below.
Mikhail dodged and threw a punch, which connected but only increased Azariah\'s mana. Leaving the axe-hammer to hover, Azariah grabbed both swords, spinning his body with his hands parallel.
The sword cut one of Mikhail\'s tentacles, and before it could grow back, Azariah loosened the sword and grabbed it.
Neplh!!
"ARGHH!!!"
A shrill cry escaped Mikhail\'s mouth as the tentacle froze and shattered like snow on the ground below.
Mikhail propelled back, looking at his hand while taking the spear out.
He looked back, his voice filled with madness. "It\'s impossible to stop my regeneration! No wonder Mother desires you!!!"
He dashed towards Azariah. "I will get you!! I will show Mother what a wonderful species you are!!!"
Azariah dashed towards him, followed by Oliver and Aimar.
Greenish mana condensed beneath the twins, increasing their speed.
A punch and a spear lunged at Mikhail, but he quickly halted and spun his body like a windmill.
The twins were too late to change their trajectory and were helplessly about to be cut by the tentacles.
But before that happened, Azariah extended his hands, spreading them sideways.
The twins followed his movements, propelling backward.
"ARGHH!!!!"
Mikhail groaned in frustration, having enough of their tricks.
He slashed two of his tentacles towards Azariah, and surprisingly, they connected, grazing his shoulder.
His blood now soaking Mikhail\'s tentacles, Azariah\'s lips curled up as he whispered, "Muspelh."
"Arghh!!!"
Mikhail\'s horrified scream resonated as he looked at his burning hand.
Thinking quickly, he severed his own tentacles.
Before he could lament his loss, two portals emerged beside him.
The air around him constricted, and a punch landed on his face, breaking his jaw.
His body fell sideways into a portal, and a spear thrust into his ribs using his own momentum to rupture inside his body.
But his madness didn\'t subside as he grabbed Aimar by his leg and threw him away.
Aimar collided with a building, cracking the walls.
Before Aimar fell, he threw two circles at Oliver. Oliver rushed again, the circles in his hand joining together to form a chain.
He twisted his body before throwing the chain at Mikhail.
The chains surged towards Mikhail, entangling him almost instantly and bounding him firmly on the spot.
A kick from Oliver made Mikhail kneel.
"Huff..."
In the midst of all this, Azariah grabbed his katana, lowering his body, glowing brightly in a silver hue.
Iaiken Arts: First Form.
Mana condensed at his feet, bursting all over. His body blurred, reaching Mikhail instantly.
Snowflakes.
His katana blurred, making six cuts simultaneously, chopping Mikhail\'s head into six different parts.
Blood and filth fell, and so did Mikhail.
"Huff... Huff..."
Azariah and Oliver fell to their knees, exhausted.
Oliver\'s face was extremely pale as he looked at Azariah, whispering, "...See you in a few weeks."
Azariah gently nodded as Oliver collapsed.
"Arghh."
Grunting, Azariah stood up, looking in a certain direction—at the top of a building where a lone man with a burned face stood.
They locked eyes, neither moving.
***
***
"He\'s back," Delwyn mumbled, looking at the destruction around Azariah and Oliver.
"Why are you not killing him now?" a voice echoed behind Delwyn as he looked down at Azariah.
"...I do not see fear in his eyes," he replied, gaze still locked. "Until I see the fear, I can\'t bring myself to kill him."
"...Do I have to do it then?" the voice questioned, filled with doubt and confusion.
"...It\'s all up to you now," Delwyn stated, turning around. "I have already asked it twice... Can you kill that monster?"