Chapter 173 Something Powerful [Part 3]
The devil stood gallantly, waiting for the terrifying gale that streaked toward it from afar.
Dark Terror stood motionless like an onyx four-armed statue.
And as the far gale slowly got closer, the redness in its eyes seemed to burn brighter.
After a couple of seconds, a tremendous explosion burst out in front of it—the devil was still unmoving.
In mere seconds, everywhere was encased in gigantic spikes of ice, including Dark Terror.
Ryan slowly turned to look at the perfect work of ice art he had showcased. In just a swing of motion, he had managed to—
SLAM!
Arlem landed voraciously, softly shaking the ground.
"Uh? Has it ended before I came?"
Ryan turned his face toward the brown-skinned guy and turned away indifferently, slowly materializing a sharp ice cone with his gaze fixed upon the rest of the Corpse Eaters that were still running for their lives.
Arlem looked at him for a couple of seconds and shook his head.
'Really, I hate prodigies...'
Like many that Arlem knew, Ryan also happened to be a kid born with an outstanding talent.
As if that was not enough, he turned out to be a hardworking and creative individual—those two values gave him an overwhelming advantage to his talent.
Even though Ryan was a Nomad rank drifter, he could stand toe-to-toe with a Master like Annette.
Although if the battle got drawn out, he was bound to lose. But to be able to stand his ground with a Master was impressive enough.
'Those darn SSS talents,' Arlem cursed inwardly.
Ryan was about to dash away when he suddenly stopped and slowly narrowed his eyes.
Arlem was backing the humongous spikes of ice, looking fiercely at Ryan.
So when the guy suddenly turned around, his brows instinctively rose.
Ryan looked beyond Arlem, his eyes burrowing straight into the ice.
Something was wrong.
Before both of them could put their fingers on it, the entire surrounding was filled with cold, cloudy air.
Arlem frowned and repositioned his blade, pointing the tip to the ground.
"Looks like you have slacked with your training."
Ryan said nothing, but a deep frown could be seen clouding his facial features.
His face contorted with a mixture of anger and confusion.
"Ah, looks like you did a very poor job, R.y.a.n," Arlem curled his lips with a jeering expression.
Ryan visibly gritted his teeth but only for a short while. His focus sank forward as seconds ticked by. And the cold air spread wider, clouding the entire surrounding.
Suddenly, he narrowed his eyes and encased himself in a large shard of ice.
Simultaneously, Arlem threw his saber blade over his face.
KANG!
A vibrating sound of metal reverberated through the desolation, clouding the space in its echoes for a few moments.
They didn't catch even a glimpse of what it was, but—Arlem, in particular—they felt its force.
Such that Arlem staggered back a couple of steps, even though he did manage to defend himself successfully.
He could still feel his hand stiffen from blocking that single strike.
'What in the world is that monster? I have never faced anything as such.'
When it came to pure strength, it was not a fluke to say that Arlem was the leading party leader.
Of course, he lacked techniques and didn't have aesthetically amazing skills like Ryan or many others did.
But when it came to brute strength and defensive skills, he was confident in his abilities.
So the fact that a monster could push him back just by its attack alone petrified his entire mind.
It made him freeze with fear.
'How?' His senses questioned.
For a moment, it looked like nothing made sense anymore.
'What is this monster? Where did it come from? What rank is it?'
Arlem's mind raced with many questions. But amidst it all, a wide grin slowly formed on his face.
He swung his sword powerfully and stabbed it into the ground. Then he whispered,
"Full armor equip."
White shards of light began to shimmer on his chest; in their embrace, the glossy blue armor with brown engravings crept across his exposed skin.
As the shards of light disappeared, a sentinel was revealed, fully clad in blue armor, and a tattered cape flowing out of his epauliere.
'This time, I'll be ready!'
The freezing mist swirled thicker and thicker, making the air feel heavy and ominous.
Arlem stared hard into the soupy fog, straining his eyes to catch any hint of the evil presence hiding within.
Without warning, there was a deafening crack as a massive volley of jagged ice shards exploded out of the gloom.
Arlem braced himself as the shards rained down like meteors against his ensorcelled armor, screeching and pounding his locked stance.
One bone-rattling impact after another slammed onto his sword; this time, Arlem stood his ground, powerfully resisting the pushing force of the unseen devil.
In a blur of motion, he finally caught a glimpse of a slight blur. That was all he needed!
With a thunderous yell, Arlem burst forward, his sword trailing brilliant streaks of light.
He swung the saber blade up in a blinding arc, aiming to cut straight through the swirling fog bulging outward.
For just a split second, the steel hovered at the peak of its sweep...then bounced off with a teeth-rattling clang.
Arlem staggered back, his guard broken as a blinding white flare seared his vision.
When he could see again, a bipedal monster stood in front of him - a grotesque fusion of onyx sinews with four strong hands protruding from its body.
The devil opened its cavernous mouth and released a guttural roar.
It reared back, its arms positioned, preparing to lunge toward Arlem.
Time seemed to slow as the devil disappeared into the air, and the shadow of those obscene skewers descended toward him—
*
*
*
*
[A/N]
Author here, hope I'm not disturbing your reading. We are finally delving into other characters and here I am worried if it will bore readers.
But it shouldn't be boring since Dark Terror is still around.
Also, thank you guys for the support.
Our book is top #2 on the popular rankings, that's some achievement yoo.
This is the first time for me so permit my excitement.
Thank you for reading and supporting.
Onto the next.