Embodying the frontliners who prepared for the collision of their war, both Delamuion and Naraka embraced themselves to stand guard against the misty charade and wait for the ordinance of awe.
Those two might not be able to see their enemy, let alone pinpoint their location, but their senses have been forged by numerous battles that were carried by the driving force of finding the Untethered One.
They know that the perpetrator of the blossoming fire eruption was still in this meadow.
Although in this case, it seemed like the invisible mist had been affecting them for a while.
Hence why they couldn't pinpoint Kivas' location.
-Pledges:
-Survive for 120 seconds: 101 seconds left-
-Reward:
-30 seconds of blessing of life-
'Still, a little bit weird for those two powerhouses to not pick me up under their radar. Is it related to the nature of this realm?'
It wasn't connected to the nature of this realm at all.
Kivas had been secreting Impurities nonstop ever since he got his Xuanlong's Constitution upgrade, but there was one thing that he didn't notice despite the hints that have been given to him throughout his journey ever since he met with the rodent lass.
The reason why the rodent lass was so shocked when Kivas approached her in the bushes was not because she was found out to be peeping from there.
It was because she didn't sense the presence of Kivas at all until he got close to her. As for what she was doing on those bushes back then, it would be a whole different matter to tell.
The force that was masking Kivas' presence from the demi-sapient was the invisible gas that was secreted when the production of the Impurity was halted for stealth purposes. The invisible gas deluded into the surrounding and wrapped itself around Kivas, reflecting the light and dampening the sound and smell.
It all comes back to the description that the [Xuanlong's Constitution: Black Water Scales] provided.
-The depth of truth is obnoxious. Would thou dare to defy what is in the right? They are the color of vengeance that many once feared. The fluttering black smokes from the crevice between each scales, are only visible when the repercussions are near-
If Kivas were to acquire [Tautology] before selecting this boon, he would get this description.
-The defensive utilities provided by the hardness of the Xuanlong's scales are not only meant to protect oneself. The inks that were drawn from the exhaust crevices predominant on the rear side of the body should envelop the owner of the Torch of Blight with two kinds of protection. The Yin ink secreted by the dark trenches will appear to be illustrious black. It will invade, distress, mutate, intimidate, curse, and weaken anything that comes in contact with it aside from the host. The effect might overlap and vary depending on the desire and state of mind of the torch's owner.
-The Yang ink secreted by the dark trenches will always appear invisible by all means. When enveloped, it will grant serenity, protection, isolation, guidance, and reverence to anything including the host. The effect might overlap and vary depending on the desire of the torch's owner and the level of intelligence of the affected lifeform-
Kivas might not be able to fully understand it until the near future, but he seemed to be able to tell its effect by his instinct alone.
And that instinct ensured Kivas that no matter what happened, unless he was fully perceived from top to bottom, the duo warrior that he faced won't ever be able to comprehend his existence.
'Seeing how I didn't appear for a while, they might be waiting with a great caution.'
Kivas planned to make this hide and seek a little bit more longer, but it seemed like his prayer was scoffed off by those above.
"Is it ready?" asked Delamuion calmly.
"30 Swords."
"Good." He loomed his hands in front of his chest, before pushing both sides of the heels of his hands and twisting them in opposing directions. Bluish discharges began to erupt rather chaotic from the friction of his palm to all over his body and the vicinity. "Begin the purge."
In vortex formation, a swarm of floating cylinders began to sweep the map as they continuously fired hundreds of rays in endless volleys while they curled Delamuion's position and expanded from the center of the vortex.
'The spray and pray, not like it was a bad choice.'
Kivas anticipated accordingly and moved when the next wave of swarm began to get close. Kivas might be blinded outside of 10 meters of his peripheral vision, but he was equipped with enough battle experience and intuition that came from understanding human nature.
And clearly, he was facing none other than a pair of humans if he was still alive by the end of this encounter.
Of course, Kivas' reflex and intuition was not absolute and godly. In fact, he got some of his scales and plates damaged and scratched by not moving at the right timing and failed to predict the next wave. Especially since Delamuion purposely made his purging to be inconsistent and almost random with the sudden turns and acceleration of the shooter flocks.
And just as when Kivas was dealt enough damage for there was an inconsistency in sounds made by the flurry of rays made by the sweepers, Naraka pinpointed the location and dropped a giant if not bigger hulking mass of a sword than the one he was currently holding right now.
Many times in a row, Kivas was only one inch away from being crushed under the weight of concentrated iron. If he were to be hit by one of them, the giant sword that hit him might as well be his tombstone for him to rest after this stressful encounter.
-Pledges:
-Survive for 120 seconds: 45 seconds left-
'45 more seconds!' Kivas gritted his sharp teeth as he went on with his intense guerilla action. 'Gah! Just what kind of sorcery to have fantasy guns flocking around like starling birds like this!??'
And because of the large scales of sweepings and incoherent pattern when not seen by a wider picture, Kivas was having a hard time pinpointing the location of the duo warriors.
To further braise the salt on his wound, both Delamuion and Naraka were coated by similar energy that made Kivas' presence hard to notice and pinpoint.
Kivas felt lost.
That was until he put more thoughts on the swords that were dropped from the sky every time he got hit by the rats of the sweep.
He then tried to memorize and remembered all of the giant swords' position, angle, size, and all details that encompass them as a whole.
While most details of the swords that were dropped on him were blur within his memory because of how panicked he was when a giant sword suddenly came out of nowhere at mach 2 from above, he could still deduce the rest of the missing truth by calculating how close he was to one of the sharp edges when he ran scared and shitless away from the former locations.
"I'm afraid that our target might be trickier than we thought," said Naraka.
"Big or small. No matter what kind of ability it has, be it swimming underground and fully adapting to the background, we will locate it eventually as we stress it out of its comfort zone."
Kivas then tried to go to a different location that was significantly farther than the area that he was mostly going back and forth all around. There, he purposely let the tip of his tail be hit by the flurry of rays released by the sweepers.
Just like before, he felt the same intense aching and sharp shudder on the body part that was exposed to incoming danger. Usually, he would be running away instinctively, but because he was doing this purposely, he managed to hold his ground and pulled his tail with perfect timing.
"This one is farther away than the estimated zone," said Naraka after he unleashed the hulking steel of a sword that he stored somewhere inside his dimensional pocket. "Seems like the creature is either capable of teleporting or moving around really fast."
After that sword was planted onto the ground, Kivas laughed for he had finally solved the location.
'Whoever throws this sword perfectly up and down vertically from the sky is always making one of the blunt sides to be directed at them.'
Kivas Immediately made his move and rushed down towards the location where all of the angles of the blunt edge intersected with the others.
'Human always feel the need for safety, so if they are capable of miraculously dropping something from the sky, they will make sure the sharp edges and dangerous parts are not pointed at them!'
-All pledges have been fulfilled-
With extra speed and strength gained by the timing of the uptime from the Pledge of Survival, Kivas brandished his sharp limbs and lunged toward his target.
The scattered flower petals fluttered invertedly from their direction and created a swirling wind tunnel in the air near the clashing point, welcoming the entrance of the new phase of combat.