It looked to be some sort of angel, going by the name, and its level was around the same as the Psuedo Drake had been. However, it felt even stronger, and it was almost as if its mana was not inhibited by the effects of this realm, going by the feeling that he got from its aura. The gods were really going all out in trying to kill him. This would not be an easy fight.
The Cherubim brought its sword around in a tight arc, its inhuman arm allowing it to pass through a far smaller range of motion than Jonathan had been expecting. He deflected the blow, using his stamina to strengthen himself. His wrist almost cracked and he let out a hiss of pain as he was forced backwards. The creature was a lot stronger than it looked. That was to be expected though, given its level and his theory about its strength.
He used the momentum to dodge a return swing, and landed about a dozen feet away from the creature, panting slightly. It regarded him with an incomprehensible expression, and then loosed a beam of white light in his direction from the center of its mass.
Behind Jonathan, the remaining Ash Prowler decided to not test its luck with the two powerful fighters, and started to slink away.
Jonathan ducked under the beam, and it burrowed through the fleeing monster. It seemed like the angel was two for two with taking out the surrounding monsters. Jonathan darted in, summoning his Hungering Decay skill to his hands. So far, nothing had been able to stand against it. The Cherubim raised its shield once more, and Jonathan slammed his fist into it, feeling something shift within the thing. However, as his skill ate through the shield, energy swirled around the angel and infused its shield with power, keeping it intact. It was not really resistance however, more like replenishment than anything else.
It whipped its sword out once more, but Jonathan was ready this time and he ducked, drawing back his fist to power another strike. Layering more of his abilities onto his fist, he rammed it forwards with the force of a cannon, and blasted the Cherubim away with a shockwave of energy.
He panted as his stamina drained from his skill use, and watched as the creature righted itself midair. Its utterly alien body seemed to have no up or down implicit in its construction, and he had no idea which way it was facing now. However, it was just as deadly.
It slashed the air with its sword multiple times in the span of a second, and arcs of light shot towards Jonathan at high speeds. He threw himself to the side, rolling across the stone, and felt the tail end of one of the strikes whoosh past him. Turning around, he saw that the arcs had carved dozens of feet into the ground, creating a network of scars in the stone behind him. If one of those had hit him, his armor would have been sorely tested by its power.
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Jonathan got to his feet as the angel blurred through the air, propelling itself forwards at high speeds. It raised its sword with one hand and brought it down, the air screaming under the force of its strike. Jonathan rolled out of the way, feeling the impact as the sword struck the ground next to him. There was a dull roar as the earth shattered and Jonathan was tossed away, skidding across the ground.
The Cherubim whooshed towards him as he moved, its sword at the ready. Jonathan was being treated as a rag doll by this thing, and it was not going his way at all. He would need to pull out all the stops to land any sort of meaningful hits on this creature. This would be good preparation for Granath. This creature was nowhere near as strong as the circle lord had been, but it was quite a bit stronger than he was. He would never be able to get to the very peak of Tier 2 by the time he had to fight Granath, and he would need to have experience with fighting against opponents much stronger than he was. Maybe he would even gain an upgrade to his Giantslayer title for killing something this much stronger than he was. However, that assumed that he was able to survive.
The way that this fight was going, he might not last that long. At least he hadn’t been engaged in combat before he had engaged in battle, seeing as his levels did not heal him anymore.
As the angel came swooping in, its sword at the ready, Jonathan exploded upwards, sending his fist flying into a vulnerable spot. The creature tried to cross its weapons to block, but it was too slow. His glowing fist crashed into its central body, and detonated, sending a pulse of purple light through its spherical form. The energy that made it up pulsed as the Void crashed into it, and the Cherubim shuddered, almost seeming to fade slightly. Then it blazed with bright white light, expelling the energy from its body and momentarily blinding Jonathan. He rolled backwards, dazed, but happy. He knew how to hurt the creature now. As a monster that was made entirely of energy, it could be damaged by flooding it with even more energy, of an opposing type. Seeing as he used the Void, a force of supreme destruction, his attacks would be even more potent. It was still more powerful than him however, and naturally resistant. It would take a lot of hits to take it down.
Jonathan was caught full on by a powerful sweep of its shield, and he flew up into the air like a rocket, straight into another strike of its sword. For a creature made of feathers and light, it was very fast. The blow almost made it through his armor, but it was turned away at the last moment, leaving a long gash in the metal. Jonathan really needed to get an upgrade to his suit before long. For now however, he would have to find some way to survive against this monstrously powerful opponent. If he didn’t, there would be no need to get an armor upgrade.