Chapter 624: Thryskai [Bonus]
[Mortal Tier Thryskai tend to be heavily reliant on Will-type skills and abilities, and often rely on Rune Mastery if they have the talent for it. However, their bodies are relatively weak and their Physical stats tend to be less than half of their Mental stats.]
[...Demi-God...]
For once, the Madness Key gave Sylas even more information than he needed.
'Thryskai, is it...'
He had yet to finish dealing with the Sylphs, but here he was facing off against yet another enemy far too grand for him to fathom.
But for some reason, Sylas felt like his heartbeat resonated deeper in his chest, and his blood churned.
The disgust he felt turned into a righteous sort of indignation.
For a long while now, he could feel someone or something smirking at him as he tried to deepen his Rune Mastery. Every time he reached a bottleneck, it was like that gaze would make its presence known, as though it was laughing at him.
And finally... he felt that he had at least finally caught onto the tail of this individual.
Was Aki them?
Sylas had no way of knowing.
But he knew that this person was most definitely related to the events that overturned the situation on Earth all those years ago. And right now...
He wanted nothing more than to wipe that smug smile from his face.
Sensing a threatening intent, the sleeping Rotten Chimera suddenly opened all of its eyes. One would think that there were just six, but there were nine, each one of the heads also having a split in its forehead.
Beams of red light shot out and pierced toward Sylas in a torrent.
However...
BANG! BANG! BANG!
They clashed against a shield of Will.
Sparks of red flew in all directions.
Growls filled the air as the chimera stood to its feet, its wings spreading out and forming waves of pressurized wind in all directions.
"Stay near me," Sylas said calmly as he took a step forward.
A frosty sort of energy pooled around Sylas, his intent flaring.
<Woodland Frost Domain>.
A chuckle came from Aki, and there was a sudden aura that descended from above at the same instant.
Sylas felt like he was cut off from the Aether in the surroundings, and his skill was likewise forcefully canceled. However, to his astonishment, his Aether reserves still fell by over 20%.
He didn't get to keep his Aether after his skill was canceled. It just dissipated into the air as though grasping at straws.
Was this what normally happened when he canceled the skills of opponents? Or was it a special tactic of Aki?
"Go on, Aki boy. Shred them to pieces. But leave the kingly boy a little alive. Who knows? Maybe he will come to his senses."
SHUU!
All Sylas felt was a wall of wind. He didn't even get a chance to breathe in the acrid scent before a heavy paw was already swinging down for him.
The Rotten Chimera was at least three meters tall at its full height, and its large wings made it feel even bigger. When it swiped down like this, it was like the world was collapsing around Sylas.
BANG!
Sylas reacted on instinct, hurling an Ice Bolt at the paw and circulating <Arctic Howl Mutant> at the same time.
His Skill was once again interrupted, and he lost his Aether for nothing. But he was ready for it as he rolled to the side.
The Ice Bolt slowed the creature just enough for Sylas to roll beneath its body. Sylas didn't trust a dodge to the side, at least not before he understood the full range of abilities that the chimera might have. In that case, it was best that he take the most unpredictable option.
His choice was proven correct not even a moment later as three barbed tails snapped out from the chimera's back, lashing out in the directions it thought Sylas might dodge in.
The creature's paw became encased in ice, but when it crashed down to the ground, the residual frost from the bolt shattered on impact.
Sylas' eyes narrowed. That paw swipe alone actually had more than 2000 Attack.
The realization didn't make him slow his movement. He wanted to use the opportunity he had beneath the chimera to attack its soft belly, or at least what he hoped would be a soft belly, but he was still rolling. There was simply no such opportunity.
He sprang up behind the chimera, turning his back to Aki as though he wasn't even there and unleashing a powerful punch.
BANG!
The chimera hardly took a step forward, and from what Sylas could see, that was because it was off balance due to the ice and the attack on its paw, not because his strike was so great.
'Its total Defenses are above 3000 between its Constitution and Aether protections.'
Sylas calmly analyzed what he could, using the rebounding force to accelerate backward and out of the way of the counter of the tails.
Coming to a stop, Sylas was ready for the chimera to come after him again, but it actually changed targets, surging toward Alex.
Sylas' eyes narrowed. This could become very troublesome. He much preferred the chimera to attack him directly while the other two could support him from the back, but why would the enemy do exactly what he wanted?
What he worried for wasn't if Alex or Cole could hold up against the physical attacks; the problem was the Will attacks. Especially if their skills were being continuously canceled.
But to Sylas' surprise, Alex successfully used a shadow-moving technique, disappearing from his location and appearing beneath one of the chimera's wings.
It was a movement method that Sylas hadn't seen him use before. It instantly put him in a vulnerable location for the chimera as he unleashed a vicious strike at its wing, looking to cripple it with his dagger in a single blow.
But...
CLANG!
Alex's dagger sparked, and his arm was repelled.