"In your wildest dream. Moron!"
Thard-Harl pulled out the razor-sharp claws attached to his forearm and removed his helm, revealing his slick-back blond hair and upward-shaped brows that sat right atop his deep eyes that housed a Crimson eyeball, and within those scowling eyes was a stare that said to Raith "I will rip your heart out"
Ignoring his warning signals, Raith dashed forward again with the same intent but this time it was different...
[Perk 'Devourer' is explosively in use]
[Your strength stat has increased by 5 points]
[Your agility stat has increased by 10 points]
[Your endurance stat has increased by 3 points]
[Your agility stat has increased by 10 points]
An explosive increase in his stat because he was in a try-hard-or-die moment. Noting more intriguing to boost the confidence of a striving man.
~thwuoom!~
His heel peeled the ground as he took off and zoomed off blistering through the night wind and reaching the asura faster than his eyes could account for –he threw a punch forward to not crash into Thard-Harl who despite anticipating him was caught off-guard.
~whack~
His fist delved into the asura's face tossing him away like a spinning coin and crashing his back against the only standing stone statue with a crumbled upper body.
The asura's body helplessly toppled to the ground after the tremendous shock.
"Eh?"
Raith's eyes widened, he endlessly exchanged glances between his smoking fist and the Thard-Harl who was now getting up.
'Did I really throw that punch?'
Raith was finding it hard to believe but it was the truth. He landed a body-flinging punch on the asura. Even if he died, he would be happy.
'Was this because of the sudden increase in my strength stat?'
Raith thought of the possibility but could not come to a certain conclusion since it was not like he had others around to guide him through the life of being a hero like others.
Everyone tried their best to avoid him since he was chosen by a death archon.
"How splendid."
Thard-Harl said as he stood up and wiped the blue blood off his mouth his hand, then spat out the one in his mouth.
He cracked his neck tilting it left and right.
"I will show you insignificant pipsqueak that you are not on the same level as I am."
~fuuuu~
The asura began to exhale breeze through his mouth and softly mumbled.
"Mirage walk"
Right there in front of his visual, Raith lost him. But his back immediately tingled–
As he was about to turn his back to see what was behind him he felt a quick snap in his neck but instead of rendering him unconscious, –in his case dead, he was brought back to the moment where he was about to turn his head.
From the instincts of experience, he leaped to the front without looking back and the asura's hand swung through the air in an attempt to snap his neck.
The asura was as shocked as Raith.
'...he has grown this much from how many hours?'
'What was that?! What happened just now... while it was like a feeling but it also was like my neck snapped.'
Raith was not inexperienced in a lot of things, everything that he should be exposed to, he has learned of while preparing for his trial with the archons. This was a new area of knowledge for him.
He knew not what it was but there was one thing that he learned from the brief and sudden experience.
'I need to recreate it! I escaped death because of whatever played out at that moment'
Raith understood the fact that he wouldn't have to always die if he could manage to recreate the feel of what happened just a moment ago.
Taking a gamble, he plunged into the asura's space. Besides, he was sure the asura's blow wouldn't hurt as much since he had dropped his weapon.
~whim~
'What th–
~pattk~
~pattk~
~pow~
~pow~
~pow~
~pow~
~whack!!~
It happened faster than his eyes could follow. It was just pure hands, the asura released a series of acute palm strikes into his elbows immediately rendering them useless, next was an elbow jack-up and a quick pull down with his shirt with two punches into his neck then using both palms, he lunged his final blow into the middle of his chest cracking his chest bone and sending him on a flight journey that ended with his body losing all will to move.
Raith's body rolled on the ground and he entered a state of paralysis, unable to move anything but his legs which he used to crawl further away from the asura as he slowly walked closer to him.
He couldn't even grit his teeth as he wished to because he had a dislocated jaw and was drooling ceaselessly.
"While I admire your will and strong desire to devour me, to be stronger than I am. It is just an act of foolishness, you don't know your place. Fel should have thought you this much if he wanted you to defeat me in a fight... I am a #%@%@#$ of over a thousand years old. Think again human, can you defeat me?"
He reached Raith and stepped on his left leg.
"I don't know how you entered this place but when you get out... tell your master I dare him to dare to confront me himself."
He squeezed his iron boots into Raith's leg and twisted it causing the young man to let out a loud cry of agony.
"I will take my time killing you from now on."