“Watch out!”
The ambush caught them off guard and only one reacted to it. Jessica placed her body between Viers and the new threat coming from behind. She didn't know Viers was someone she had met before -because of a different face and everything- but she risked life and limb for her allies nonetheless.
It was a big, colorful spider, seemingly a mix of a hundred colors. Jessica tried to punch it away but when her fist made contact, it went through. The part that she hit became gaseous before solidifying again. The spider’s march was uninterrupted, biting Jessica on her neck.
“Wha-!? Urgh!!”
The spider quickly became smaller. Its true form was an Arte. The more poison it injected into Jessica’s system, the smaller it got.
Viers acted immediately. He kicked the spider away with a satisfyingly loud thud. After some distance was made, came red lightning, different from the usual yellow, intensely electrifying the spider until nothing remained. Jessica was unsteady on her feet. A tenth of the poison of the spider had already entered her body.
Viers pushed a bottle of antidote into Jessica’s mouth without asking for her consent and a different one that he poured on her neck wound. There was a sizzling sound and smoke as the poison got purified. When the second thing happened, Jessica gripped Viers’ arm in pain. It would have drawn blood if Viers’ Unreality Field was not fully powered.
The reason Jessica’s attack was ineffective while Viers’ was, came from the difference in their Unreality Field’s might.
“Boram! Finish it!” Viers roared.
“YES, SIR!”
Boram’s aura exploded as he powered up. His master had made his wish clear. He wanted to finish this battle as soon as possible. As a dutiful disciple, there was nothing to do but obey.
Boram’s giant bloodline felt like it was boiling, but in a good way. His body grew in size until he stood ten meters tall, brimming with power.
Arte - March of the Mountain.
The Foulfly that dwarfed him in size earlier had its position reversed. Boram stomped and a boulder of crags appeared. He grabbed it and tossed it as the Foulfly took flight.
After crashing it to the ground, Boram struck it down with a blow that made the ground under him buckled. It wasn't a full-blown kaiju battle yet in scale, but it was getting there.
While this was happening in the background, Viers was focusing on Jessica. While he lay her down before she fell over, he was determining the extent of Jessica’s injury.
“A-are you… okay?” Jessica weakly said.
“Not a scratch,” Viers said.
“T-then… good…”
How could Viers tell her that her assistance was unnecessary? That he sensed a person was hiding and had seen the attack was coming? Viers was baiting that guy but it looked like Jessica got baited instead.
“Avel, how is she?” Alfred approached.
“She’s fine. Protect her.”
“Naturally.”
Viers used a movement Arte and ran towards the direction that the spider Arte came from, some distance away from the thick of the fighting against the Foulfly.
“Who the hell are you and what are you doing here?” Viers said to the cloaked figure. “There are a lot of things that I want to ask you… After I beat you up.”
Viers cracked his fingers.
“Angry for your wounded friend? How asinine.”
The man, Viers realized from his voice, sighed while dipping his head down.
Two things happened in the next moment. One, spikes of earth emerged from beneath Viers’ feet. The shadowy figure had launched a sneak attack. Two, Viers had dashed forward and closed the distance between them. The earth spikes hit only air.
Viers launched a sneak attack too. He did not mean to dodge but it came out that way as the result.
He wasn't like the pure-hearted heroes who thought sneak attacks were beneath them. He would use any sort of dirty tricks in a fight. Sneak attack was amongst the most tame of Viers’ tactics.
The shadowy figure was caught off guard on two levels. He didn't think a ‘mage-type’ like Viers would choose to engage in melee, and his opponent’s speed was far faster than he thought. When Viers came to confront the cloaked man, he didn't use his top speed for this very reason.
Before the man could make a sound of surprise from his mouth, Viers had already swung his sword at the man’s torso. The man thought that his double layer of earth and Unreality Field would block the sword and concocted a counter.
The blade sliced open his defenses like paper.
Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.
“Gaaaah!!”
Blood splattered and a right hand fell down.
Arte - Cut the Crap!
Viers frowned. He didn't think the man would be able to react in time and avoid a killing strike. His opponent was pretty good. Also, there was something strange about his body. From the gash on his chest and the stump on his wrist, the wound was emitting potent miasma. The sword that he used was already corroded and fell apart.
As for the man, he was similarly astonished by Viers’ battle aptitude. The sword was nothing special, it was clear due to its inability to withstand the prized poison inside his body. That meant the bastard cut his defensive earthen Arte and Unreality Field using pure skill. How could a mage use such a high-level sword technique? Unless, he’d misread him completely.
“How dare you!”
The cloaked figure lashed out using earth and poison, exploding rocks and breathing out green gas. In response, Viers used lightning on his left hand while his right gripped a different sword. They only managed to exchange less than ten moves before the death throes of the Foulfly spread out.
Even with Jessica out of commission, the committed Boram tipped the scales in their favor, giving the other combatants a big window to dish out powerful Artes on the monster. The result spoke for itself. The Foulfly’s HP bar quickly diminished to zero.
Seeing the tide was turning, the cloaked man gritted his teeth in frustration. He’d made a bad call and got held up by an annoying opponent. If he kept himself hidden… No, that wouldn't work either. They surely would dispose of the Foulfly thoroughly. No matter what, the Foulfly was lost.
Only one thing left to do.
“I admit it is my loss,” the mysterious man jumped back, avoiding Viers’ slash. “Enjoy your short-lived victory.”
The man retreated. Viers gave chase. He wanted to find out that man’s identity and claim his cloak as a bonus. No doubt it was a magic item. Even after intense physical exertions, the hooded part of the cloak kept the upper part of the man’s face hidden, sometimes dyeing it in shadow. Ezio’s blood within Viers screamed with greed.
“Stay, pay your fee,” Viers gave chase. He wouldn’t sleep well if his opponent lived to see another day. The world was vast and he would make many enemies. If he didn't actively cull the numbers then wouldn't he be flooded with enemies one day? It was simple logic.
But before he could catch the mystery man, an eruption of poisonous gas emerged from the ground, cutting his chase short. It wasn't the only one, multiple gas geysers broke out all over. Viers felt the earthquake through his feet.
“What’s happening!?”
“Not good!”
Croix and the elves also had no idea. This shouldn't happen.
That man… He did something. If this was where he lurked, he could set things up in advance.
Viers' suspicion was on the money. The monster hunt was over but the situation was not looking good. The tremor was getting stronger and the poison was getting thicker.
“The Biome… is getting destroyed!” Alfred said grimly.
Of course! The Cradle of Serenity is a Biome. That guy meant to bury us all in it!
“We have to go, now!” Viers returned to his companions. Boram looked drained after his Arte. He was back to his normal size.
“Can you still run?” Viers asked while putting Jessica’s arm on his shoulder. She was in bad shape and unable to run.
“I-I’m fine,” Boram wheezed.
“Elves, we need an exit!” Croix said. Another eruption erupted. It was close.
It was getting painful to breathe, even with Viers’ powerful Unreality Field. If he was like that then the others had it worse. But even though the situation was dire, the elves looked hesitant.
“The Cradle… Our ancestors…”
“Get a grip on yourself! We have to leave!” Alfred shook the shoulders of the Level 4 elf.
“...Right.”
The elves employed the method they did to enter the Biome, but nothing happened.
“...It’s gone.”
“What's gone?” Croix asked. His emotions ran high.
“The exit, it's gone!” One of the younger elves said with disbelief.
“It must be the opponent that Master fought!” Boram said.
Oooo, this is bad. Like really, really bad.
Viers had to give it to the mystery man. His preparations weren't lacking. This was the risk of going into the fortified villain's lair. Who knew what kind of trap lay dormant?
“We can't give up! There has to be a way!” Croix urged.
The Level 4 elf took a moment to think. “The Cradle is fraying apart. There could be a path to the outside that we can make use of. Stay close to me.”
The hunting party waded through the thick mist of poison following the Level 4 elf, although, not even he knew where to go. Before that, Viers yanked the Foulfly’s butt stinger without wasting the party’s time. Loot was loot.
Minutes passed and things weren't looking good. The humans were coughing badly and the weakest elf had died. The concentration of poison was too much and there were the wounds sustained from the earlier battle. Jessica’s breath on Viers' back was also getting weaker.
Just as the shadow of death loomed over them and Viers was about to call on Dia, he saw something in the distance. With how blurry his vision was, he thought he was seeing things.
“Hurry! This way! There’s an exit here!”
“Come on! There’s an exit!” Viers broke apart from the group, running to his vision.
“Yes! Hurry, hurry!”
Everyone followed after Viers. Visibility was bad, but soon, they saw a fissure in space. Trees were on the other side. On this side, all the trees had withered. Their legs were heavy but they ran. Run or die.
They got out and the air they inhaled had never felt so sweet.
“Good, good,” the source of the voice said in relief.
The fissure in space shut not long after. Viers and the others immediately used their own methods to combat the poison. Since Jessica was unconscious, Viers gave her the aid she needed. He burned an incense with strong antidote properties.
“Fuuh… Fuhh… Avel, you saved us,” Croix said between heavy gasps.
“True, how did you know where to go?” Alfred asked.
“There was a voice. I followed it.”
“What voice, Master?”
Viers saw the faces of his companions and found only confusion. As if they didn't hear it. He then turned to the one that gave him direction.
It was an elf. Someone that he’d seen before.
The old elf of Liapris, the leader of the three elders. The Level 5.
At least, a soul with that person’s appearance.
“...Young human, can you see me? Can you hear my voice?” The elf soul asked because Viers was looking straight at him.
Viers gave a silent nod.
What is the meaning of this? How can the elf elder be here as a soul of the dead? If so, who the fuck is the elder elf I met back at the village?
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Chapter 388 - Can You See Me?