Chapter 122: Battle [2] – An Old Man’s Appearance
’Damn it! She’s way too fierce!’
Caelum gritted his teeth as his sword repeatedly clashed against the Enhanced Aura coating the scythes.
Clang!
Every collision sent violent vibrations through his arms and his hands threatened to go numb from the impact.
This was by far the fiercest battle of his life.
His expression became increasingly grave.
He knew Bonjour and Jojo were having difficulties as well.
The Present’s Enhanced Aura made direct confrontation extremely dangerous, forcing both of them into a defensive position.
Meanwhile, Caelum himself was busy preventing attacks from reaching the others.
The [Soul Banner of an Evil Cultivator] floated around him, moving according to his thoughts as it intercepted strikes and swallowed wandering spirits.
[KYSAAAHHHHH—!]
The Present released another horrifying screech as the sound struck their minds directly.
Caelum felt his vision blur.
For a moment, the battlefield spun.
Then he felt something warm trickling down his cheek.
Instinctively touching it, he looked at his fingers.
Blood.
It was his own blood.
For a brief moment, Caelum froze, then anger rose within him.
They had been dragged into this place against their will swallowed by that black stone and were now forced to fight for their lives over and over again.
So why?
Why were they the ones suffering?
Why were they the ones struggling to survive?
Caelum never felt genuine killing intent toward someone.
But at this moment, he truly wanted to beat this thing black and blue.
"You are done now..." he said as his eyes shone with a dangerous light as he kept the black rectangular box in his inventory.
Then the Soul Banner trembled as countless souls burst from it.
Ghostly figures poured into the battlefield like a flood.
What made the scene even more terrifying was their identity.
These souls had once been the Present’s own underlings.
The ghosts she had personally commanded.
Now they turned around and attacked their former master.
Seeing this, the Present became even more enraged and her distorted face twisted violently.
Meanwhile, far away from the main battlefield, Bonjour slowly stood up.
A short while ago, he had been sent flying by one of the Present’s attacks.
Pain covered his entire body and several bones felt cracked.
Yet something strange was happening.
The black skull tattoos covering his body began glowing ominously and dark Arder leaked from the tattoos.
It spread across the battlefield like black smoke.
Every ghostly specter touched by the black Arder released a miserable scream before being devoured.
The more ghosts were consumed, the faster Bonjour’s wounds healed.
His injuries visibly recovered and his eyes changed.
Darkness filled them as his pupils vanished entirely.
Only two black voids remained.
When he looked toward the Present once more, even she paused feeling a chill.
An instinctive warning, as if she were being stared at by another predator.
Growling, she immediately reacted.
Ten black spears condensed around her and with a single thought, they shot toward Bonjour.
Then, a massive shadow suddenly fell over the battlefield.
Everyone instinctively looked upward before freezing.
A gigantic Power Panda stood there nearly fifty feet tall.
Jojo had transformed into the Super Panda Mode as his body radiated overwhelming power.
The black fur covering his body seemed to absorb everything around it.
Meanwhile, the white fur on the other side shimmered brilliantly.
The contrast created an almost divine appearance.
The Present’s attention immediately shifted toward him.
Jojo slowly opened his mouth and a terrifying energy began gathering inside.
The atmosphere trembled.
BOOM!
A concentrated beam of energy erupted from his mouth.
At almost the same moment, two long horns emerged from the Present’s forehead before a point of dark light condensed between them.
The surrounding ghostly energy was instantly drawn toward that point.
Then she fired.
A dark beam exploded outward and the two attacks collided.
For a brief moment, the battlefield became silent.
BOOOOOOM!
The collision shook the surroundings as shockwaves tore through the battlefield.
The ground cracked and the sky dimmed.
For a single moment, neither side gave way as Jojo and the Present engaged in a direct clash of power.
***
Ryan was fighting the smaller ghosts alongside Sénior while the others battled elsewhere.
Unlike Caelum, Bonjour, or Jojo, he wasn’t powerful enough to directly confront the Present.
So he focused on the small fries.
’Dodge right!’ A familiar voice echoed inside his mind.
’There are too many enemies, keep your eyes open and don’t think of anything else!’ Ryan followed the instructions.
’Top right! Dodge the ball!’
Ryan moved as a spherical ghost crashed into the ground where he had been standing moments earlier.
Boom!
Before it could attack again, a small totem descended from above and crushed it.
Ryan glanced toward Sénior.
The Barbarian was controlling multiple totems at once while fighting dozens of ghosts.
’That barbarian is talented,’ the old sword spirit commented.
’Normal swordsmanship isn’t very effective against ghosts, you need something else.’
’Like what?’ Ryan thought while bringing another specter towards the totem.
’Hope.’
Ryan nearly stumbled.
Meanwhile, Skyler groaned nearby as he blasted another ghost with divine power.
Then Sénior’s voice sounded from behind them.
"Ryan, are you alright?"
The boy nodded, unfortunately, Sénior continued speaking.
"This isn’t the time to rest, if you have some hidden power, use it now."
Another ghost exploded under a totem strike.
"We are in desperate need of it, even Paul revealed his hidden courage and trump card."
’Damn it!’ Ryan froze, he almost wanted to cry.
’Where am I supposed to find a hidden trump card now? Old man, help me!’
The old sword spirit immediately snorted.
’Look at that barbarian, always hiding something, he is truly faithful to his culture.’ His tone sounded annoyed.
Then he became even more annoyed.
’Meanwhile, look at you. If not for me, you would become a laughingstock in the future.’
Ryan suddenly felt insulted but before he could argue, the old man spoke again.
’Surrender yourself to our family’s sword.’
Ryan blinked, not knowing what to do.
’What does that mean?’
For a moment, he continued leading ghosts toward Sénior’s totems while thinking.
Then he stopped.
Slowly calming his mind, Ryan focused entirely on the sword in his hand.
He let go of unnecessary thoughts.
Fear, doubt, confusion.
Everything faded as he accepted the sword.
Accepting the old man’s will.
Nearby, Skyler happened to arrive.
Seeing Ryan standing motionless amidst the battle, he nearly had a heart attack.
"Hey! What are you doing?!"
’I suppose there is some advantage to being a child with a pure mind.’ The old sword spirit sounded satisfied.
In the next moment, a strange aura erupted from Ryan.
His hair grew slightly longer and his black eyes turned grey.
A profound depth appeared within those eyes and even his posture changed.
For a moment, it felt as if an entirely different person stood there.
"Hmm..." Ryan looked at his hand before looking around.
The battlefield reflected in his eyes and without hesitation, he raised the blade.
Light gathered at its tip as Ryan smiled slightly.
"This child has a great will, though his body has not well trained..."
Ryan slowly swung his sword.
The motion was simple.
So simple that it resembled a child swinging a stick, or maybe this was truly happening.
Yet the moment the sword descended.
A brilliant light illuminated the battlefield.
[Emotion Sword] — Hope
"WOOOOFOFOFOFOF~!"
Voomie who was about to descend from the great fall, was suddenly send back flying again in the air due to tremendous pressure, as if the the world itself refused to let her touch the ground.
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