“You know, you’ve gotten either really stupid or brave since the last time I saw you. But what I want to ask is WHY ARE YOU STILL ALIVE YOU FUCKER!”

Irvan seethed with anger. He drew his longsword and eyed down the tip pointed at Kihet.

“YOU CAUSED ALL OF THIS! WHY IS A SINNER LIKE YOU WALKING AROUND AS IF NOTHING HAPPENED?!”

Kihet knew if uttered a word, Irvan would take it as a threat. The two would no longer be able to communicate and be forced to fight.

He didn’t expect to encounter Irvan this early in the battle. He had planned to return and defeat Alc’Bruk first before guiding the Scalemen to the Tower where they would finally confront each other.

“Say something, asshole! What? You can’t talk? Can you even hear me? Are you deaf and mute?”

Kihet kept silent as Irvan barraged him with insults. He quietly unsheathed his leaf bladed knife and glared at Irvan.

“Irvan. There’s no need to waste your breath. You’re going to tire yourself.” Elius said. “This may the best chance to defeat him right here right now to not further complicate your role as the Oracle.”

“Fine. Shoot some spells at him. I want to see how the dispelling work but leave his life for me. I’ll be the one to take him down.”

“Understood.” Elius sighed. He quickly thrust his staff to the air. Ten ghastly swords materialized over him and shot at Kihet.

In response, silver flames erupted from the ground and scorched the flying magic swords to nothing.

Elius expected it and relentlessly launched spell after spell. He understood the curtain of silver flames also served as a smokescreen which blocked vision. He nodded to Irvan while he kept Kihet on the defensive.

Irvan jumped onto the rooftops to find an opening in the ring of fire. It was his first time witnessing these flames with a unique property to dispel magic. He was disgusted how Kihet came to possess this cheat like ability. Most of all, it was identical to the flames he witnessed Kihet brought a long time ago.

He was the real Oracle, not the sinner. Irvan ground his teeth as flashback of the incident replayed in his mind. He could never forgive Kihet for killing so many of the village’s hunters. Maybe he should have killed him long ago even if it meant he would receive the Creator’s punishment.

Irvan leapt into the ring of silver flames and before his overhead slash connected to the ground. He found Kihet leaping several meters away.

Irvan drew a small flintlock firearm and squeezed the trigger. His shot went wide, finding Kihet instantly leaping away from the opposite direction of his projectile.

There was an ethereal presence like [Ribbon] attached to Kihet. It rattled and sounded like a [Chain].

“Damn you…!”

Irvan deemed Kihet an inferior being in terms of his swordsmanship to magic. Rightfully so since Kihet wasn’t blessed by the Elemental Spirits to cast spells or had talent as a competent hunter like him. It infuriated him to think Kihet was chosen to be one of the Crest holders and not him. Why? He was better and stronger in every aspect as a chosen one should be!

Was he being played as a mere fool from the very beginning?

“I’ll fucking show you…!”

Irvan squeezed the grip of his sword and quickly zeroed in at Kihet. He slid a magic crystal over his blade, enveloping it with a fire enchantment. He grabbed the next magical sword imbued with the power of wind.

“You still have the tendency to attack head on after your initial plan fails.” Kihet said, sheathing his knife and covered his face. “This will jog your memory.”

The area was hit by dazzling light and loud fireworks.

“Kuh… fuck!”

Irvan was dazzled by various flashes. He was lucky he didn’t go blind, but he spotted Kihet flying at him with a firelance in tow.

Irvan deflected the thrust and swiftly performed an uppercut slash which clashed with the shaft of Kihet’s weapon.

“Fuck you!” Irvan snatched the closest floating longsword carried by his [Ribbon] and brandished it.

The sound of clashing metal reached his ears before he noticed what had happened. His sword was caught by a nostalgic shape humiliated him from their duel a decade prior.

“How about this? Doesn’t it look familiar?”

The bladed comb, swordbreaker, trapped his sword. Irvan was perplexed as to why his enchanted weapon did not cut through Kihet’s blade. There was a layer of void preventing the weapons from touching.

Irvan then spotted a leaf bladed knife attached to a [Chain] hovering above him. He was held down like a prey captured by a scorpion’s claw about to be stung by its tail.

He raised his leg in attempt to kick Kihet away, but his foot was quickly stepped on and head butted.

“You fucker!”

Irvan abandoned his weapon, narrowly avoiding a knife to his face and drew a third weapon hanging from his waist. “You could never fight fair. Fine! I’m going to kill you now!”

It emitted radiant golden light as it was unsheathed from its scabbard.

“[Coiling Dragon], give me strength to kill this Sinner!”

The sword faintly glowed as Irvan called upon the named weapon. The light formed a blade aura extending its reach.

Then, as quick as lightning, Irvan chained a series of blinding slashes, an attack he proudly named [Swords of Flashing Lightning]. It first delivered one slash, then two, then a flurry of four, then a storm of eight. The aura flailed around like a whip yet as sharp as a sword lashed at Kihet in nearly unpredictable angles. Some strikes bounced off Kihet’s armor, some deflected, and a few connected.

After leaving small cuts all over Kihet, the blade led a ribbon of blood in its trail as if it empowered the next slash with Kihet’s blood.

Irvan confidently knew was winning. He inflicted more injuries onto Kihet more than he received. A wild grin formed over his face as he overpowered Kihet as it should have been.

“What? Is this all you got? What happened to your tough act?”

Irvan showered Kihet with new sword techniques he accumulated over the years. Each one chipped Kihet’s defense until his blade trickled with Kihet’s blood. For his final attack, Irvan leaped into the air and swung down with all his might. His [Mountain Cleaver] was confronted by Kihet’s [Full Moon, High Tide].

You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.

After seeing the shape of the moon traced in front of him, Irvan’s attack was nullified by an equal force. A loud metal ringing echoed throughout the plaza as the two of them were pushed back.

Numbness ran down Irvan’s arm. He refused to believe a rat who always dug for scraps was able to stand on equal footing with him.

Suddenly, Irvan was suddenly assailed by an eerie pressure, something beyond bloodlust but less of standing in death’s presence. Every hair on his body stood up. Tiny icy needles pricked him all over. His hand trembled more violently. His instincts screamed at him, warning him to run away.

From what?

It was after meeting Kihet’s beady eyes his body immediately broke into cold sweat like water bursting from a dam.

“Where did you get that sword?”

Irvan found himself unable to speak, almost like he was being choked from afar.

“Tell me.”

“W-what’s it to you?”

“That sword doesn’t belong to you.”

A smirk formed over Irvan’s mouth. He understood where Kihet’s hate stemmed from. It spurred from jealousy.

While Irvan earned achievements and prestige in the village, Kihet was known as a junk rat digging whatever trash to survive. Irvan could get his hands on the most valuable and the best equipment while Kihet stuck to second hand goods others pitied him with.

“Heh. Hahahaha! So that’s it! Well, I hate to break it to you. There’s no way in hell am I giving it to you after Eizan gave this magic weapon to me-.”

The elemental’s song began to play. Hearing it, Irvan’s eyes snapped open as all his senses were heightened by a rush of adrenaline. His heart beat abnormally fast, pumping blood through his veins as his muscles clenched every fiber upon receiving an impact he narrowly blocked.

Kihet’s bludgeoning weapon bashed Irvan’s blade. [Repulsion] overpowered Irvan’s defensive stance and tossed him back. When Irvan landed, the aching pain stunned him momentarily.

“Irvan, get out of there! Now!” Elius prepared spells.

He failed to launch them in time as Kihet tucked his firelance in and hooked his finger around a pin stuck into its venting hole, blasting a cloud of blackened smoke at Irvan. The shockwave from the blast flipped Irvan, throwing him into a tumble before he got on his feet.

He was lucky nothing lethal was loaded in that barrel.

He was covered in soot and a high pitched ring deafened him. His vision turned wobbly, unable to balance himself on his feet. His surrounding was masked by a curtain of silver flames disintegrating Elius’ magic.

“Damn you. Why won’t you stop using these cheap fucking tricks and fight fairly for once!” Irvan roared. “Ugk!”

Kihet wielded the firelance like a mace and mercilessly barraged Irvan with bludgeoning strikes.

“Toh!” Kihet spat at Irvan’s eyes. The mixture of blood and saliva blinded his foe.

He then delivered a kick at Irvan’s ribs and watched him squirmed a bit before turning to Elius. Pillars of stalagmites sprouted from the ground, wrapping over Kihet to trap him. Before the magic manipulating the earth vanished, he burned a hole through and escaped.

Kihet found Irvan’s blade, and before he could claim it, a flock of [Firebolt] demanded his attention. He was quickly overwhelmed by their increasing number and was forced to raise a curtain of Oracle Flames to dispel them.

Elius snatched the blade and tossed it back into Irvan’s hands. “It pains me to admit it, but I misjudged the Faker.”

“No! I refuse to believe it! There’s no way that fucker could be this strong-!”

“Get down!”

Elius yanked Irvan back down the instant he heard the air cracked. The cover protecting them was hit by a shower of shrapnel. Irvan would’ve been shredded to bits if Elius hadn’t noticed.

“He only has one shot left.”

However, Elius was unsure whether it was loaded with non-lethal ammunition or deadly shrapnel. Although he could easily defend himself with magic, he didn’t want to make anymore mistakes. Anything could be loaded in that last barrel, causing Elius to doubt himself even more.

“I have a plan.” He adjusted his glasses while pulling out a stack of talismans. “The sword you’re holding seems to be the Fake’s objective. His attention will be on you while I’ll flank him.”

“But I’ll be taking the final blow.” Irvan growled.

The two of them mentally counted down for their synchronized attack. Irvan jumped from his cover and dashed towards Kihet, while Elius prepared his spells.

However, Irvan was stopped by a deafening noise. The base of the Tower, a few blocks from them exploded and rain large stone fragments on their surroundings.

“This one’s strength stretches beyond the mortal limit. The action of this one once annihilated those who dare join the corruption, even if it meant to destroy the world and start life anew.”

A voice pierced into his mind. Irvan foolishly ignored it and continued making his way towards Kihet. But once he saw the dread filled expression on Kihet’s face, it was impossible to be curious of what stumbled out of the Tower.

Standing at the edge of his narrow vision, a shadowed cloaked figure heaved its large axe over its shoulders. The pressure exerted from its presence outshone Kihet’s bloodlust directed at Irvan moments ago.

“A shadow?” Irvan muttered.

He never saw anything the Tower threw at him similar to the figure standing before them. The Shadowed ones he thought were merely small fry, but one glance could tell him this one was different and exceptionally dangerous.

“Which one is it? Oh well. I’ll just have to tear apart the both of them to retrieve the key.”

Kihet aimed his firelance into the air and shot a flare into the sky to warn his allies about the Acolyte.

It only caught the Acolyte’s attention as it charged towards him. Using his [Chain] Kihet yanked himself into the air. He unleashed a blast of Silver Flames to deter the Shadow from advancing but it simply cut its way through and hacked the ground.

It opened a fissure leading down to a bottomless void stretching farther than the city’s walls.

The Acolyte plucked a javelin from its back, aiming at Kihet. It hurled it with great power and collided against [Tree Feller]. The sheer strength pierced his enchantment and damaged one of the barrels of his firelance. The javelin exploded but its fragments made shredded one side of Kihet’s mantle.

His whole right arm was pricked with splinters, piercing through his sleeves. Kihet suddenly saw a flash of bright colors and waved quickly dispelled the incoming magic.

“Elius! I should be the least of your worries!”

“You are a priority.” Elius objected, aiming his staff at him. “After you’re out if the equation, Irvan will defeat that thing.”

“Take this!”

“Perhaps this one has the key?”

The Acolyte closed in on Irvan. It feinted a sloppy left hook to lure its opponent to dodge. Once Irvan flinched, it grab his arm in the middle of its swing and tossed him through five buildings. The damaged structures exploded and toppled down like a child’s building block set.

“What’s the deal with this thing?! It’s different than all the other shadows we fought!” Elius yelled.

“It’s an Acolyte! These guys were Heroes of the past and if we let it rampage, all of us are going to die!”

“That one did not have the key. It must be you.” The Acolyte pointed to Kihet. “Give us back the key.”

Kihet latched his [Chain] onto the Tower and slung himself around. He quickly found the Shaman met him on the other end with a hand formed into a fist. Kihet quickly pulled down and continue swinging away with the Shaman tightly pursuing him.

Suddenly a javelin flew by. The gale force winds it brought from its supersonic speed knocked Kihet off his feet and sent him tumbling across the street.

“Kerse, Ulos, Apyr, Larv, Exlas, Bast, Ruh, Cirk, Val!”

He rolled back on his feet and stretched his hand in the Shaman’s general direction. He casted [Repulsion] to create an expanding zone pushing everything outwards.

A second javelin flew off course through his barrier and carved a section of the road next to him. Kihet saw it heaved another, popping a smoke bomb for immediate cover.

The Shaman decided to leap into the smokescreen, swinging its axe wildly. While Kihet narrowly avoided death from each attack, he remembered the Acolyte of Defiance’s warning.

He must avoid breaking the Shaman’s axe.

Retreating with [Crescent Moon Dance], Kihet withdrew to a safe distance. Shooting star like projectiles then filled his view as arrows rained upon the Shaman.

“Is that one of them?”

Standing on the fence of a terrace, Lily reached into the orb perched on her shoulders and drew an abundance of magical arrows. Unlike Kihet’s flames used to purify shadowed unleashed by the Towers, Lily possessed arrows of light with the same effectiveness.

“Be careful. It’s the Acolyte of Fury. Don’t break its axe.”

“En. Something bad happens, right?” Lily drew her bow and began peppering the Shaman.

Under covering fire, Kihet dashed at the Acolyte. He enchanted purifying silver flames over his sword and cut at the enemy’s arm. Before it grabbed him, it’s body was skewered by spears in a way it locked its limbs.

Aten backstabbed the Shaman and his spear violently pierced out of its chest. The Dragonfly pulled out another spear from his back, but before he was able to use it, the Shaman flexed its muscles and shattered its restraints.

It launched a backhand, but Aten nimbly zipped away.

“Are the others still fighting?”

[Yizdra, Ainig assist front. Your friend, Tama, Wolf against Alc’Bruk.]

“Hilaqi and Krullu are fighting Kaz’Bruk. I just escaped from the Alf and Fairy.”

“Dammit. We got people scrambled all over the place. What about Salith and Carmyn?”

[Salith turned. Carmyn unknown.]

“What?! How could that happen?!”

“Kihet, watch out!”

Upon receiving Lily’s warning, Aten plucked Kihet into the air and dropped him onto the roofs. A large mushroom cloud plumed into the sky, raining pebbles and sand thrown up by the Shaman’s power.

The wind quickly swept across the area and cleared the area of billowing dust.

The Shaman stood next to the Tower and casted its haunting gaze at it. It reeled its axe and chopped the base. The explosive blast caved one face of the Tower, toppling it towards Kihet in one swing.

“Run!”