Chapter - 9

Due to the conversation, Rex had forgotten to look outside and observe his situation.

"Please, Sir. We will get off here. The Pope is eager to meet you. He is surely excited about your-....Arnor? What are these....halflings doing here? Get those filthy things out of here!" (Raize)

"Forgive me, Senior. However, these lowly slaves were caught enacting a summoning ritual. Luckily, we were able to catch them before they were able to succeed. We are now going to execute them and use their corpses for fertilizing the field." (Arnor)

"I see. At least, in death, they will be useful. Ah! Your Highness!" (Raize)

As this rather unpleasant conversation was going on, a man dressed in white ceremonial robes with a golden crown adorning his head and a man dressed in resplendent white and gold armour with a straight sword strapped to his side appeared in their line of sight.

'The Pope and...his bodyguard? Why does that armoured fellow give off such a familiar feeling? Wait, isn't that.....shit!' (Rex Vagus)

"Alexander King, I thought you were dead. You disappeared from my sights. What was with that Houdini act of yours?" (White-Armoured Swordsman)

With an ill-disposed smirk on his face, Arthur Weiss greeted Rex. 

"It's Rex Vagus, Arty." (Rex)

"It seems our Hero is well acquainted with our guest?" (Pope)

"Hero? Your Highness, this man here claims to have been brought here by God." (Raize)

"Oh? Could it be that the filth managed to summon another filthy hero? Tell me, imposter. What God sent you? Some animal god?" (Pope)

Rex frowned as the Pope seemed to almost sneer at him.

"With all due respect, it was the Goddess Aria." (Rex)

"What! Don't bullshit me! No one met with any of the two Supreme Goddesses!" (Arthur)

"The Goddess of Destruction? Oh, Really?" (Pope)

Rex frowned when he heard the response to his statement.

'Stupid Aria! I thought you said Alice was handling the character creation! Plus, what's with the whole Goddess of Destruction thing!?' (Rex)

"Hero Mars, restrain yourself. I will handle this. I know that you clearly are not human, little liar. Raize! Arnor! Arrest this man!" (Pope)

"Like hell, you will!" (Rex)

Rex was a beta tester of the game before it had been refined. He had never ventured far in the beta phase but had dueled with other testers and NPCs, extensively. This was also the reason he had chosen the Draco-Elf hybrid. He considered the Human race boring. The Elven race is considered fast and light with a high affinity for magic. The Draconic race had hard scales and are slower due to them. But, their affinity for magic and physical resistance were similarly high. Together, they make a both physically capable and magically talented hybrid. 

Rex activated Earth Wall, then using the same tactic he did in the forest, he created holes and used Fire Bullet: Barrage. However, his opponents weren't some dogs. Raize and Arnur were first-class knights. A few Fireballs could barely damage them. However, Rex wasn't stupid either. He drew his short sword and charged at Arnur who was coming in from his right. 

Launching attacks one after another, Rex struck at Arnur. Following a Strike and Slash, he dodged Arnor's attack and launched an Earth Spike at the approaching Raize. He created an Earth Wall to hinder him and then used a Wind Bullet at Arnur to send him flying away.

THROB.

'Damn! I can't fend off an entire church! I have to find a way to escape! Plus, I don't even know if they implemented a resurrection system yet!' (Rex)

THROB.

Rex used Fireball: Barrage at his opponents and tried to make a run for it.

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THROB.

"Don't even try it! Holy Sword: Brilliant Strike" (Mars)

THROB.

However, Mars, Arthur Weiss's character, stopped him and launched an attack on him. 

THROB.

"Dammit!" (Rex)

THROB.

Dodging out of the way, Rex found himself trapped in a triangle formation.

THROB.

"Shit! Shit! First this goddamn headache, now this!" (Rex)

Throughout the entire fight, Rex had been experiencing a painful headache. Now the headache was only getting worse.

"Aah!" (Rex)

At the same time, Rex experienced a peak in his headache, Mars pierced Rex's abdomen with his sword.

"Haha! I've always hated you! You and your stupid posse of friends! I should've actually taken that bitch to bed before I ditched her! It would have broken you! Haha!" (Mars)

Almost maniacally, Mars gloated in front of Rex. He must have been sure that Rex would die.

'Moron! As long as one has the will, one can live!' (Rex)

"Can you shut up, you retard! I am trying to deal with this crazy headache-!?" (Rex)

KRA~KOOM! SKREE!

As Rex was speaking, suddenly a lightning bolt struck Mars in his chest and blew him away. 

"Laxavis!" (Rex)

SKREE!

Responding to his shout, Laxavis shot another attack at the other two assailants. He had appeared in his giant-sized form. He dived down and took Rex in his claws. Then, it immediately flew back in the direction of the forest. However,

"What the hell is that!?" (Rex)

In the direction of the [Lost Demon Forest], there was a massive black wave covering the entire forest. It was headed in their direction.

"AGH!" (Rex)

Compatible Deviant Element: Void detected! 

Commencing acquisition!

"What? Void...? Isn't a Deviant Element supposed to be really rare?" (Rex)

Rex was surprised at the appearance of the Void Wave. He was astonished as he noticed the wave noticeably accelerating towards him. Now that he looked closer, the wave wasn't just covering the forest. It was devouring it. A wave of fear swept through Rex.

"Evacuate the city, now! Abandon the goods! Just leave!" (Pope)

Rex was startled out of his stupor by the loud voice of the Pope. Laxavis had been circling around the church, awaiting instructions from his Bond. 

"Sire, what of the slaves?" (Arnor)

"Didn't you hear the man!? He said 'leave the goods'! Let's go!" (Mars)

Upon hearing Mars,rage swept through Rex's head. The wave, almost like responding to his emotions suddenly increased both in volume and speed. 

"No!" (Rex)

*TING*

Your Bond has the small percentage of merging with the Void Element.

However, if he does not merge, there is a high possibility of him being killed by the Void.

Do you wish for him to merge with The Void?YesNo

"Yes! Yes!" (Rex)

In his frantic attempts to save his Bond, Rex forgot to pay attention to the wave. As he looked ahead again, all he saw was,

Blackness.