Chapter 218 Pressure
Sylas became unprecedentedly serious. He could feel the spine-tingling danger, but he had already made a decision in the volcano that day.
He turned back and leapt up the wall using his kunai. He knew that this night was destined not to be a short one.
His mind was already surging with thoughts, wondering if he should be making a break for Lucius' City or not.
It was quite a distance away, and even if he was at 100% and truly desperate, it would take him over half an hour.
Considering how casual that man was being, he was definitely confident in catching Sylas long before that. And Sylas had already felt the probe on his mind. While he couldn't even see the man's Grade, it was likely that all of his stats had been seen through, maybe even in detail.
The only surprises he would have in store were his Skills and potentially his Madness. He truly had no idea if he could hold out.
However, the more he thought about it, the colder his gaze became.
A lot of people said they wanted to change after making a mistake, but very few could actually follow through.
How lucky of him to get an opportunity to do just that days later?
Something stirred in Sylas, but he was much too focused to notice. He leapt over the other side of the wall, rushing away into the night at his fastest speed given his injured state. He knew that there was a true monster on his tail.
At the same time, he knew that he had stumbled into something odd.
Why would there be a human in a pig demon village? It seemed that his skin was blue, but Sylas had already realized that this was only because his Aether was actually thrumming with life, likely because of a Skill he activated that Sylas couldn't see through.
Something was going on.
Sylas pulled out an Elixir and downed it. Ignoring the ramifications, he took out a second healing Elixir in quick succession, chugging it as well.
A violent warmth rippled through his body.
He knew he wouldn't have enough time to heal to the point of being able to use Fusion. He could only hope to get his body back in shape just the slightest bit.
And since he knew trying to hide his tracks was likely equally as worthless, he activated <Maddened Enlightenment> to its fullest extent, greedily swallowing up the Aether in the surroundings and replenishing his mind.
All the while, he never stopped sprinting forward at his fastest speed.
...
Azrael leisurely walked forward, stopping by the fallen outpost before giving a glance toward where Sylas had gone. He truly seemed unhurried and unbothered by it all.
Pig demons rushed toward the location, but when they saw him, they all froze and then bowed in deference.
Soon, he was given a report of what happened and some of Sylas' Skills. With a curt nod, he waved them away, then leapt over the walls with his hands clasped behind his back.
It seemed he would have to go hunting today.
An interesting human to be sure.
He glided forward, his black and blue robes fluttering as he kicked off lightning, landing on a thin tree branch and then rushing forward.
...
Sylas felt danger bearing down on his neck. He was already using his three kunai at full force, leaping from tree to tree to avoid any beasts he might encounter on the ground.
The further he traveled, the larger the feeling of danger was, and the calmer he became.
He knew where these spikes of danger were coming from. The last time he had felt it, he had had a feeling that Casstle Main was in trouble, and he had concluded that it was related to his Luck.
After some time, he had come to realize that it wasn't that his Luck gave him anything, but that it amplified intangible senses and increased his intuition.
It wasn't to the point that he could see the future, but it sharpened his visualization to the point that he could see in vibrant colors even without his eyes. And when there was danger looming on the horizon like this…
He could feel it as clear as day.
And then it came.
Azrael appeared at the edge of his visualization, appearing like a dazzling star of silver-blue.
The instant he stepped into range, he cut the distance by half in another second.
He raised his leg to take another step, and right then, Sylas had the feeling that their figures were about to overlap. The clash was jarring and all the hair on his body seemed to stand at attention.
As calm as he tried to force himself to be, when the moment came, it still felt like his heart was being slammed by a sledgehammer.
The flickering green of his irises danced in the night before he suddenly plummeted from above, using up some of the Aether he barely managed to cobble together to use <Momentum Shift> downward.
He crashed into the ground heavily and Azrael soared over his head. At the same time, his three kunai swarmed the man that looked like a beacon of Aether in the night.
Basic Aetherflow rumbled through his body and he punched out at the same time.
The timing was perfect, so much so that it almost looked like an ambush. Azrael overshot Sylas, and was pincered from four directions at once, three kunai and a fist of green rumbling through the night sky.
However, right at that moment, a sphere of Aether appeared around Azrael.
PENG! PENG! PENG!
BANG!
Aether splashed across its surface and the sphere wavered only slightly.
High in the trees, Azrael came to a stop, his back still to Sylas. However, he likely didn't know that Sylas could see his every expression.
There was no obvious surprise on his face, but at the same time, he still seemed to be taking a moment to gather himself.
When he turned back, the pressure on Sylas multiplied countless times over.