Darren was cold stricken as he stared at those abyss-like eyes.
He tried pulling his sword out but found it hard to even flinch it.
Suddenly, Arthur waved his arms, it was a simple swipe.
*Splat!
Blood splattered across the roof the truck!
Darren looked down and saw that his gut was sliced open! He held his stomach and noticed Arthur's severed arm had now been replaced by a bloody blade. It was curved like the fangs of a beast.
Darren paled as he slowly backed away-
It didn't take long before he finally lost his balance, his inside was on the verge of spilling out.
"Bastard!" Kain was about to perform a powerful attack, but he was repelled by dark spikes that sprang from Arthur's shadows-
Darren soon fell off the truck and just as he was falling, he saw Hansel being patched by Jasmin. In a split-second Hansel opened her eyes just in time to see Darren's descent. Time came to a halt as the two slightly reached out for one another.
"PLAIN FACE!" Butch chased after Darren but was held back by chains, Kain on the other hand was kneeling. His thighs and abdomen had holes on them.
Darren's body rolled and stumbled as he fell on the road and soon was covered in the dust clouds.
…
Arthur slowly stood up, his wounds were closing at a pace the naked eye could observe. His blood wiggled like slimes and before his opponent knew it, his chopped off arm had reattached itself and all of his previous injuries were now gone. Now although he managed to fix his body, he couldn't do anything about his attire.
"I've played enough." Arthur whispered as his eyes looked at the moon up above, it was already in the midst of fading. The sun was about to rise.
Kain heard his voice and was afflicted by Deja vu. He had heard this voice before, but he wondered where.
"Come!" Arthur commanded and soon the sky darkened. Dark clouds blocked the moon and the stars- it seemed to be clouds.
Before long a hundred thousand screeching bats loomed over the horizon.
Arthur leaped and before anyone could react, countless bats slammed over the armored vehicle!
*Bang! The small creatures exploded upon impact, and they didn't seem to mind. Countless more arrived to take the place of those that perished and under their resilient and maddened attack, they swept the truck like a dark tide causing it to tumble! Roll! And Crash!
Arthur gently landed on the ground. He walked towards the overturned truck. His footsteps light, his demeanor calm and his eyes cold.
*Bang! The door of the cabin was forcibly kicked. Shannon, followed by Harry, got out of the wreckage.
*Cough! *Cough!
"Damn! Wh- what the hell just happened!" Shannon asked. Both she and Harry were inside when all of a sudden their vision darkened and the next thing they knew they were tumbling and rolling inside.
Soon they regained their bearings and were shocked to see hundreds of bats flying about.
*Tap *Tap *Tap
Footsteps echoed along with the screeches of the vermin. Harry and Shannon simultaneously turned only to see the bats making way for Arthur. His dark splendor froze the two in place-
"It's you!"
-but it was only for a moment.
Shannon immediately took out her gun and a baton from her waist. Harry on the other hand pulled out a circular disk and before anyone could ask what it was, it morphed into a shield half his size.
"Get behind me!" Harry positioned himself in front of the lady. With a loud thud, he heavily planted his shield on the ground. Shannon rested her gun wielding arm on Harry's shoulder and fired without warning.
*Bang! *Bang! *Bang!
Armor piercing bullet imbued with Aera escaped the barrel and headed straight for Arthur.
With cold calmness, Arthur deflected each bullet with a wave of his arm. His nails now covered by darkness, grew longer and sharper and with each bullet blocked, sparks popped out as the sound of metal hitting metal reverberated.
Arthur walked unperturbed but his heart was trembling! He looked at the shield and the baton with scrutiny, he felt a revolting force coming off from these weapons.
He brought his palm forth and conjured six red magic circles. He probed them- Dark spears manifested and fired toward Shannon.
Arthur's instinct perceived these weapons to be a hidden danger, more dangerous than Kain and Butch. So, he had to end their wielder as soon as possible.
"Fortress of Light!" Harry recited. His shield glowed golden. The runes that were engraved on his weapon released golden energy that disintegrated Arthur's attack upon contact.
'Sure enough, I was right' Arthur surmised.
He was about to attack again, a sneak attack from behind to finish Harry and Shannon.
But before he could-
"Hmm?" he felt a presence. Dark spikes once more sprang out from his shadow, like a dark flower blooming with him at the center. The spikes exposed a figure in the dark, it was Jasmin holding a curved dagger.
Her affinity with darkness is quite high, she managed to become one with the dark, she concealed her presence completely. Sound, scent, it was perfectly hidden.
But who was Arthur, he was a Progenitor of a Vampire race. Beings who ruled over blood and darkness. It was easy for him to detect those who had blood coursing through their veins. And anyone who uses Darkness in his presence was simply courting death.
"Tch!" Jasmin narrowly avoided getting impaled. 'His perception is high!'
"Jasmin!" Harry and Shannon were ecstatic, now with three of them they would surely have a higher chance of contending.
"Be careful! This guy killed Darren!" Jasmin saw the moment Darren fell off the truck. Darren was one of their best fighters, so him being killed despite Kain and Butch being there means Arthur had the means to kill.
The news made Harry and Shannon clench their fist and grit their teeth. "I told you it was a man!"
"Shut up!" Shannon flared! They had to focus right now. They already knew Hansel was in a critical condition, but to think Arthur would take out Darren as well, he's indeed powerful.
Jasmin abruptly blended with the darkness once more, leaving her teammates to face Arthur. They were used to this, Jasmin was more effective this way as this was her fighting style. Her strikes were unpredictable and deadly. She was weak in a face-to-face confrontation anyway so she might as well conserve her strength and burst out with attacks more powerful than the last.
*Bang!
A tree was lifted and thrown aside, beneath the wreckage was Butch. His eyes were reddened, and his muscles were bulging abnormally with veins as thick as a baby's arm squirming about. "GRAAAGH!" Like a titan Butch grew taller and bulkier, his eyes burned with rage and Arthur was at the receiving end of it.
"Oh no! He's gone mad again!" Harry recoiled after seeing the mad titan. Whenever Butch enters this state, the only thing that would calm him down was if everything around him died or was destroyed. Harry remembered some unpleasant memories where he and his whole team had no choice but to flee and watch Butch destroy a small town.
'I don't know whether to be glad or be horrified!' He thought as he looked at Butch like a ray of hope.
'Someone with a berserker gene? A fine specimen' A surprise look flashed in Arthur's visage, but it was quickly overtaken by a smile.
…
*Shiiiing!
The sound of a sword being dragged on the ground was then heard. Behind the dust clouds, Kain slowly made his entrance. At the last minute he managed to jump off the truck and roll to safety.
Five versus one!
'Perfect!!' Arthur thought as he got surrounded. Despite the predicament, he had a wide smile plastered on his face.
With no time to waste-
A suffocating aura suddenly burst out from Arthur, a red magic circle appeared from his back! Like a spider breaking out, eight dark chains appeared on his back, each with varying points and edges. Some had a dagger-like point, and some were like wrecking balls covered with spikes. Another was like a sword with serrated edges.
Arthur wasn't finished!
At the same time, he retracted his sharp nails and black magic circles manifested on his hands. Two obsidian cross swords materialized on his palms. He clenched their handles and swung! Black crescent energy hurriedly headed straight to Kain and Butch.
Make no mistake, all of this happened in an instant. The moment he unleashed his power Arthur managed to shock his opponent making them defensive. Otherwise, Kain and the others would have attacked him during his preparation. Even Butch who had lost his reasoning recoiled against the thick bloodlust.
Arthur didn't wait for his opponents and attacked as soon as he was ready. He kept Kain and Butch occupied then ran straight toward Harry, his target was Shannon.
She wasn't oblivious to this as she could feel his malevolent gaze.
"Ah fuck! You think I'm an easy target don't you!" She reloaded and fired all her rounds toward the fastly approaching inhuman thing.
'Come on!' She thought inwardly, she wasn't perturbed in the slightest that Arthur was coming for her. She held her baton and braced for the collision.
As Arthur was advancing, Jasmin who was hidden in the dark made her move! She intercepted Arthur, her dagger was like a blur appearing inches away from his neck.
Arthur eyed her action calmly. Jasmin stabbed him in a heartbeat and seeing her attack connect, made her heart palpitate with glee. Unfortunately, what happened next was not something she was expecting-
'How-' She was shocked.
Arthur's body dissipated like smoke then appeared once more a few distance ahead. Using a technique called [Shadow Step], he managed to become like a shadow for a second. He then left a shadow image of his former self tricking Jasmin.
Upon arriving a few meters from Harry, he suddenly jumped. Harry was shielding Shannon, so in this manner Arthur managed to perceive Shannon better. While in midair he spread the chains on his back, like a dark wing it slightly flapped, then all of its edges pointed toward Shannon. He was about to make them fly in different directions to counter Harry's shield.
His chains were like missiles that homed in on the gunner, but before Arthur could proceed, Harry who was already preparing from the start unexpectedly made his move!
"Illumina!" His shield glowed golden once more and a magic circle encased his defensive weapon. Like a beacon in the dark, his shield glowed with blinding light, temporarily making Arthur squint. Then from within the light, a bident shot forward!
'Hmm!' Arthur could feel the danger from this weapon! He crossed his sword to defend but as soon as he made contact, cracks immediately appeared on his blades!
'Holy Attribute!' His expression darkened seeing how potent the holy energy was on this weapon.
*Shunk!
With a quick spin in midair, Arthur retracted the many chains and wrapped it around his body creating a chainmail that stopped the bident in its tracks. But that wasn't all-
Two of the chains with serrated edges had simultaneously gone into the light. Its trajectory was the spot where the bident came from. Harry managed to block one but the other one took a different direction!
"Ugh! A groan was heard and when the light dimmed, everyone saw Shannon was holding her bleeding side. It was but a graze, but because of the serrated edges, her skin was cut wide open.
Harry looked back and saw her poor state. "Fuck!" he cursed.
If he used 'Illumina' after Arthur thrusted his chains, would Shannon's attack have connected? Arthur failed to defend using his sword alone, so he made use of the chains. But would he be able to protect Shannon from Arthur's attack? He certainly wasn't confident. A lot of 'what ifs' flooded Harry's mind, this was his bad habit. He lacked decisiveness and confidence, causing him to overthink everything.
'What if the numerous chains hit Shannon?' Just the thought of it made his heart tremble.
All of his second guessing only came to a stop when a smack hit him on the head!
"Focus on the fight damn it!" Shannon's words managed to wake him up from his endless overthinking.
He saw that her wound was now closed and on her hand was the bident that attacked Arthur.
He looked in front and saw that Kain and Butch had already engaged Arthur in a full-frontal battle. He slapped his own cheek with great force! 'What the hell am I doing?' He thought. With a determined look he held his shield more firmly than before.
It was a wonder how Harry survived till now. He always got easily distracted with unnecessary thoughts making him unaware that the fight had already progressed so far.
…
Butch, the titan bent his knees and like a spring he pounced toward Arthur, it was but a simple leap, but he arrived quickly and swung his gigantic arms. His axe now coated with destructive Aera grew in size to accommodate his large physique.
*Boom!
Butch roared with every attack he released, he was left with only one axe now. His other axe had already fallen after Arthur ejected it from his body when he was recovering.
Wind whistled and dust would be blown away with his every move!
There was no pause to his movement or control for that matter, a hundred percent of his everything was always induced into his every strike. But because of his unsophisticated movement and straightforward attack, Arthur easily dodged them without a sweat.
Kain on the other hand was a master swordsman, but so what? He had already exhausted half of his Aera reserve and had received a lot of damage from Arthur already.
Because Arthur was now focused on estimating his Aera capacity, spell lethality and techniques, his movement and the way he fights had also changed. If before he was swift and deadly, now he was graceful yet domineering!
The chains on his back danced like it had a mind of its own. Defense and offence were but a simple action for these chains. Combination attack with faints, along with swordplay and a little bit of spearman ship could be clearly observed. These attacks were the reason Kain had been riddled with wounds, it's like he was fighting eight people at once.
Although hope seemed to be gone, Kain believed Arthur was also nearing his limit.
Kain could see that Arthur was already sluggish in his movements compared to earlier. If they just hold on for a while, they could survive this catastrophe.