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CHAPTER 48

After an arduous fight, Kreegan was finally able to flank the beast thanks to this bigger cavern. Kreegan said,

"Lex, just hold its attention for a few seconds. After that, let it charge toward me."

"Okay!"

Lex started to turn into his Half tiger form, and the blue aura around him began to condense on his claws. Then he charged at the beast to keep it busy. Kreegan flanked it and got in front of a wall. Then he gave the signal to Lex. Kreegan stood before the beast like a cornered rabbit. The urchin started to roll toward him, but just as he was about to crush him.

He used Expeditious Retreat, Cat's Grace, and Vanish; with explosive speed, he ran out of the way, and the beast crushed onto the cavern's wall. Right after it, Lex charged and grabbed it by its needles and then, with all his might, started to push it to the wall while sending it all the lightning it could send.

While Lex pinned it against the wall, Kreegan using its needles climbed on it and got close to its face. Then anchored his feet around the needles and made himself as stable as possible. He held Ichinami by its pommel and rested its bottom in his palm, keeping the sword's hilt straight.

"Perfect Strike, Arcane Accuracy, Corrosive Touch, Ittoryu: KOSEN! (Tiger Drill)"

Starting from his legs, Kreegan created a rotational power and thrust his sword. This thrust is performed while using the rotation of the whole body to increase the penetrating power of the blade. All that power was condensed at the tip of the blade and penetrated the carapace while shattering it. Arcane pool enchantments and the Corrosive Touch spell boosted the destructive power of the blade and started to melt the inside of the beast. With an ear-scratching scream, the beast stopped its movement.

Lex returned to his human form, and it looked like he had lost some weight again, but he was not a mummy like he used this skill the first time. Maybe because he didn't use it for too long, or he was getting more used to it. We could only know that with time. Lex sat down on the ground with an exhausted body and dropped himself. After looking at the dark ceiling of the cave for a while, he began to laugh.

"Hahahah! We managed to kill the beast without nearing dead. Did we get stronger, or was this one so much weaker?"

"This one was definitely weaker, but we killed it without even bleeding, so I think it is both."

Kreegan sat down on top of a rock and started laughing too. He turned his attention to the top of the temple to the crimson light, and he started to feel like it was calling him. Lex was saying something to him, but he was not hearing him anymore.

At this moment, Kreegan felt a gut-wrenching ache in his stomach, but this was not physical. It was like an impending doom. It just kept growing. Kreegan jumped off the rock he was sitting on out of reflex, and a small explosion happened there.

Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

Lex jumped up from the ground, and both of them looked where the shot came from. If Kreegan's buffs were inactive, he couldn't escape this explosion fast enough. He still had 2 minutes on Cat's Grace and 1 minute on Expeditious Retreat.

When they turned around, they saw a 2-meter-tall skeleton holding a Gatling gun-like pistol pointed at them. First, the skeleton didn't have a head, but after a red light, a skull appeared on top of his shoulders. This skeleton had glowing red eyes and retained his black beard like Brook had his afro.

He had a red epauleted captain overcoat and a colorful bandana on top of his head. His coat had its left sleeve and part of the chest torn off. From those tears, they could see the skeletal arm and his ribs.

Lex looked like his mouth was going to reach the floor, but Kreegan was so calm because he knew there were zombies and skeletons in this whacky world. All Kreegan was thinking was: Brook was alive, so to speak, so he couldn't be revived with revive-revive fruit. Could he be one of Moria's that wasn't likely to?

There were two other options: another fruit provided with revival or... He looked at the crimson light with the tip of his eye. Or that treasure is the reason. He wouldn't wait for five years if he had a fruit power like a revival. So, the guardians were the reason. Kreegan said,

"You are that bat, right? I presume Captain Joke is the name."

The skeleton made a fake bow and said,

"At your service. Hahahah, thank you for the help. Thanks to you, I will have everything I have ever dreamt of."

Kreegan looked at the power level of Captain Joke, and it was a dark yellow 3. So, he is close to level 4 but not there yet. He didn't have any spells left, and he couldn't waste more time. He had to take care of him before his buffs ran out, but that gun was the problem.

If it was a normal pistol, he could take one or two shots to the chest, thanks to his 20 AC rating, but that explosive rounds were a problem, and he wouldn't receive yellow level 3 just because of that gun. Lex turned into a half-tiger and wanted to charge at him, but he changed direction like he was dodging something.

Then Joke fired a round at him and hit him. Lex dropped to the ground while the smoke was rising from his body. His eyes were all white, and smoke came out of his mouth. He was already spent because of his technique; it was normal for him to go down in one shot. Kreegan believed that the shot was not the reason Lex passed out. It was just the last drop, but the gun created a nasty burn on his chest. If he gets hit, it will cause a great disadvantage to him.

Kreegan couldn't understand why Lex had stopped charging and tried to dodge while nothing was there. He raised both of his hands and sent a flying sword attack at him.

"Nanajuni Pound Ho (72 Pound Phoenix)"

The spiraling sword strike reached Captain Joke and sent him flying toward the temple, and Kreegan saw his bones were shattered and he was ripped in two, but this didn't feel right. This was too easy; Kreegan didn't send that strike to beat him; it was a probing strike.

This was not the power level of someone at yellow level 3. Kreegan was still on edge, and suddenly he felt that gut-wrenching feeling. This time it was more powerful, and he didn't have time, so he shielded himself with Yubashiri and his right arm.

BAAM!

His right arm was bleeding and was burned. Yubashiri falls to the ground, he is able to move his hand, but there isn't enough strength to hold on to his sword. Kreegan started to breathe heavily, and now he understood why Lex dodged. This guy had some kind of illusion ability. He couldn't trust anything he saw anymore. The one standing in front of him might not be the real one.

He was on alert and trying to perceive anything of importance that could indicate where he was. While Captain Joke was in front of him, he heard some pebbles move from the left side, and he jumped backward and heard someone fire from that side. He could feel the wind from the bullet's passing, which exploded on the wall. A voice comes from that side,

"How did you do that?"

"This is the second time you are dodging my attack while your back is turned. Actually, it doesn't matter. You are going to die anyway."

He fired a few more rounds, and Kreegan dodged them and came close to him. Then he stopped laughing and shooting. Kreegan came close to him, swung Ichinami, and cut him in two again. With this slash, he didn't feel anything, it was like his sword was cutting the air. He jumped back right away and started looking around.

Right at that moment, Kreegan realized he could create images but not sound. That is why he stopped shooting or talking every time he was dodging. His ability was projection, not illusion. He could hear muffled steps, but because of the echo inside the cavern, he could only know the general direction of him. he only had 30 sec on his buff when Expeditious Retreat ran out. Cat's Grace won’t be enough to dodge bullets.