Chapter 132: Ch170. Sickness - 25 (Awakening call)
The effects, as soon as the unknown object, which Octavius called the ’heart of Kha’Ur’, passed through his throat, were almost immediate.
A powerful energetic aura emanated from his body, making all the surrounding wielders, friend and foe alike, tremble.
A primal terror taking over their hearts, as if they were facing something much more powerful than any Beast they had ever encountered in life.
Worse, perhaps.
It was as if they were face to face with a God.
"And now..." Octavius said, still looking at the camera, posted in front of the Association building, without a cameraman to control it, or even to cut the transmission. "It’s show time..."
The Dread Paladin snapped his fingers.
A unique and simple movement.
And immediately, everyone around burst into blood.
Friends and enemies, all dead, as if none of that mattered to the Dread Paladin.
"Try this power, my sons and daughters. And you will be blessed with victory!"
With a maniacal, evil laugh echoing from the back of his throat, Octavius snapped his fingers again, and the transmission ended, the camera falling to the floor in countless pieces.
***
Around the world, however, the situation did not go exactly as predicted for many of New Dawn’s members and acolytes.
When they swallowed the bloody spheres, some of them didn’t seem to undergo any kind of change, except for their eyes, glowing a bright, bloody red.
These immediately began to display such absurd power, that when several enemy wielders did not die at once, before their merciless and extremely powerful attacks, the opposing wielders needed to join together in dozens, sometimes even hundreds, to be able to face the deadly enemy.
Others, however, were not so lucky.
Upon absorbing the unknown item, the first reaction was pain, followed by violent spasms, which began to deform every part of their bodies.
Not even minutes later, there were no more human beings standing before the members of Task Force Shadow.
Just inhuman beasts, who could one day be considered human beings.
Or at least to a certain extent.
In Japan, Toshinori and his subordinates faced a creature the size of a bus, which looked at them hungrily, a grotesque, greenish drool running down between its fangs.
"Now you will understand for yourself... What the power of New Dawn is!"
"INCOMING!" Asahi said, preparing his katana for the attack. "BUFFS, NOW!"
The magicians at the rear of the special attack team began to chant incantations, and at the same moment that the creature was about to reach Toshinori’s group, in the vanguard, a very powerful and extremely resistant barrier appeared in front of the monstrosity.
Daichi smiled, knowing that his barrier was at least a hundred times stronger than when they had visited the United States.
The sound of glass breaking, however, ripped the smile from Daichi’s lips as quickly as lightning crosses the skies.
As powerful as just a barrier created by Daichi, with the help of at least a dozen mage wielders giving all sorts of magical buffs to it, the barrier shattered into millions of tiny fragments of energy, dissipating into the air immediately.
"It can’t be..." Daichi exclaimed, seeing his life flash before his eyes, as the claws of that inhuman thing approached, fast as only them.
Toshinori and Asahi raised their swords, ready to protect their friends, and prepared to sacrifice their lives if it meant a chance to find an opening, however small it might be, to put an end to this monstrosity.
"Over my dead body!" Rodrick’s voice sounded, coming from the rear like a bolt of lightning. ’These Japanese mages’ buffs are incredible...’ He thought, feeling his body as light as the wind, as he crossed the distance between the rearguard and the line of fire in the blink of an eye. ’Is this how Kurt felt when... Wait... What did I just think?’
Rodrick struggled to stay focused, disturbed by the sudden intrusive thought.
It took less than a second for him to reach the deformed beast, already activating his innate ability.
With the reinforcement of his Iron Body, Rodrick threw a precise and direct punch, aiming for the open fist of the thing in front of him.
’I hope the strength buff is as good as the speed buff...’ Rodrick smiled slightly, feeling his fist collide with the monster’s hand.
The blow did not have the effect Rodrick expected.
However, it was enough to prevent Toshinori and Asahi from being sent to certain death.
The monstrosity’s massive hand recoiled from the sudden impact, causing it to release a deafening roar into the heavens.
"Looks like I have a worthy opponent... ACOLYTES, TAKE CARE OF EACH OTHER!" The monstrosity spoke, green drool continuing to drip from between its fangs.
The acolytes followed the monster’s orders, and began to occupy Toshinori’s main group, leaving their misshapen leader alone with Rodrick.
"Are you capable of handling my full strength... Human...?" The monstrosity asked, a crooked smile appearing on its hideous lips.
"We’ll only know after we exchange punches..." Rodrick returned the smile.
And without any greeting, the two began to exchange punches.
***
"Why did you choose black?" Nikolai asked Robby, upon seeing his new combat suit for the first time.
Robby smiled shyly.
"Kurt likes black, and he told me something before he got sick... So... I want to honor his request, so he’ll be happy when he comes back."
Evellyn, in front of the two, at the rear of the German advance group, smiled, knowing what was happening.
"Believe me..." She retorted, with a smile on her face. "...He’ll be proud to have you as a pupil."
Nikolai’s jaw dropped.
"Wait... Kurt’s going to... Teach? The short guy here?"
Robby glared at him, pouting.
"This little guy here will make your jaw drop on the battlefield, you... Your... Funny accent..."
Evellyn couldn’t hold back her laughter, nor did Nikolai.
Robby really was a figure, and he had changed a lot since he discovered that Kurt wasn’t his brother’s killer.
He really wanted to remedy the hatred he had felt for so long towards the young man, and he seemed to be willing to do anything.
Even fighting on that desperate battlefield on the German front.
"GET READY!" Melissa screamed.
She had been assigned as leader of the advance strike group on the German front, and for some reason, had specifically requested that Evellyn, Nikolai, and Robby accompany her to the battlefield.
And there was a very specific reason for that.
After she discovered Nikolai’s affinity for firearms, Robby’s affinity for lightning, and Evellyn’s specialty, a plan formed in her mind.
"BARRIERS!" Evellyn screamed, hidden by a wall of people Melissa had specially summoned to protect her.
"See you on the other side." Evellyn said to Nikolai and Robby, kissing each of their cheeks.
Robby blushed slightly at that, while Nikolai remained impassive.
The two frowned, assuming determined and deadly serious expressions, turning their backs on Evellyn, and heading towards the vanguard.
***
Kurt opened his eyes, still standing in front of Mono, who was watching him intently.
"Oho... You really are much more interesting than I imagined..." Mono smiled a wide smile, showing rows of sharp teeth. "You were able to not only withstand my mental attack, but return here with your own willpower..."
Kurt just looked at Mono, his face covered in an inscrutable expression.
"No..." Mono’s expression changed from calm, cynical contentment to one of almost manic interest. "Something about you seems different... What happened to you inside your mind...?"
Kurt continued looking at Mono for a few more moments, several thoughts running through his mind.
His face, still impassive.
"What it was?" Mono asked, his lips trembling ever so slightly. A strange sensation taking over your being.
Could it be fear?
"The cat ate your tongue?" He asked in a lower tone, his voice vibrating ever so slightly.
Looking more closely, the Conqueror could discern a soft greenish glow emanating from the young man’s eyes.
That made the alien feel goosebumps all over his body.
"You..."
And suddenly, he started laughing uncontrollably.
"YOU HAVE VISITED ANOTHER ECHO, INSIDE YOUR OWN MIND! THIS IS MAGNIFICENT!"
Kurt lifted his head a little.
"Magnificent...?" The question came out in a dull tone from Kurt’s throat.
Mono prepared to respond, but before he could say a single word, Kurt began to slowly disappear from in front of him.
That was nothing more than an afterimage...
And before Kurt’s afterimage could even disappear completely, Mono felt a violent impact on his back.
A scream of pain echoed from the Conqueror’s throat, and he went flying towards a building.
"You might not know why you’re getting beaten to a pulp." Kurt said, in a dark tone. "But I know why I’m doing this..."
Kurt clenched his fists, feeling the surge of power flowing through his body, and disappeared within the shadows.
The next thing the conqueror felt, was Kurt’s hand grasping his ankle.
And dragging him into the shadows.
