409 On Both Sides Of The Barrier!
"Come on, now. Let's play for a bit! Let's have some fun!" Zino shouted excitedly as sparks of blueish lightning moved up and down his arms.
The white-scaled Monster had remained unmoving for a bit, deep in thought.
'More my time inside the Dungeon, I know that Aura is somehow linked to one's mind. Fighting spirit, anger, resolve... All of those influence the strength and quantity of Aura produced. That and Titles. As a General of Wrath, he might be something like a Berserker? But in a different way than that Commander. His Title will influence his strength the more his resembles a General Of Wrath, the more he acts like a General of Wrath, the angrier he gets. That's why...'
"Come on!" Zino leaped forward, his claws imbued with lightning. 'He's fast...!'
Slash-
Mark jumped back.
"Ha! So you can at least dodge this. Good! Good!"
Slashes, leg kicks, punches.
"Huh... You're pretty boring." Zino muttered after his clenched fist landed on the white-scaled Monster's side. The power was enough to push Mark a handful of steps away, but not enough to make his feet leave the ground.
"All you're doing is-"
The white-scaled Monster suddenly took a leap closer. The General Of Wrath's lips curled upwards, just as they had started curling downwards.
Mark threw a punch, but it was blocked. The claws on his left hand moved, but his wrist was grabbed before those claws could reach. Flames rose from his left arm. But he was pulled with such strength that his whole body was lifted into the air. BAM-
Mark's back was slammed against the ground.
He quickly extended his right hand towards the enemy. But Zino was well aware. The General's hand moved to block whatever was going to come from that right hand but...
Zino jumped back.
"Cheap trick." He snorted, obviously amused. It took no effort for his hand to form a fist, shattering the ice that had been formed around it.
'He's not taking me seriously. You want to have fun, huh?' Mark's lips curled slightly. 'I'm glad.'
He quickly got back onto his feet.
'There was a time when this would have made me so angry. Enraged by it... So insecure.'
The General's fists collided, and gauntlets of lightning covered them.
"Let's pick up the pace, okay? I really want to have fun!"
Zino's movements were swift, but Mark's eye did not leave him.
'Those eyes looking at me from above... Not seeing me like a threat... Just like the eyes those used to have, taking pity on me, feeling sorry for me... Oh, how angry it used to make me.'
The white-scaled Monster managed to dodge or block close to every hit.
'But I've shown to many that I shouldn't be underestimated. Guardian upon Guardian... They underestimated me, and I showed them. It felt good proving them wrong, but it always enraged me. That's why I'm glad. I'm glad that I've grown enough...'
Three Fire Balls were shot. They were cut in two by the General's claws. The explosion they left in their wake felt even less threatening than the sparks born from the collision of their claws.
'To feel happy about being underestimated. I'm glad that I've grown enough... That I can now see it as an opportunity.'
The white-scaled Monster spread its wings.
"Going to fly away?"
The next second, hundreds and hundreds of purple and venomous particles were emitted into the air.
Just when the General was about to step back, spikes exited the ground, aimed at his back.
"Ha!" Attacked from both front and back, Zino jumped into the air.
'Nothing more fun than seeing a variety of tricks and Magic Types, right? Since most can only use one or two Magic Types.'
The hairs covering the General's body stood on end. 'That venomous cloud... It's only there to hide his next move?!'
The next second, the purple cloud was pierced through!
A Dark Corrupting Spear moved with high speed, aimed at the General's heart!
"Fun..." Zino whispered as he pointed with his index finger.
Mark's eye stared through the hole in the cloud left by the Spear. The General pointed at that eye.
The white-scaled Monster's body suddenly shuddered!
Quick. Fast. No, neither could describe the speed at which it moved.
There was only one way to describe it. Ironically, Mark had described things that way many times. He realized how wrong he had been to compare those speeds to the real thing.
From the tip of the General's index finger to the cloud of purple particles, moving through the Dark Corrupting Spear.
It was just as fast as Lightning. Because it was.
Before Mark could even register what had happened, the Dark Corrupting Spear had been pierced through, and so had the purple cloud hiding his body.
Corruption Magic was a great weapon. Magic Skills such as Mark's Dark Corrupting Spear were deadly. After all, even if defended against, the Weapon would turn back into the liquid it had been made with, thereby possibly splashing the enemy with Corruption. But Corruption Magic had weaknesses, as all Magic Types and Magic Skills do. The first time Mark had noticed this was against the Lower Demonic Giant of the Dungeon's Second Floor. Its burning body and the flames that resided within it made the Lower Demonic Giant resistant to Corruption Magic, if not immune.
The Dark Corrupting Spear and the Corruption it held had been burnt, evaporated.
By the time Mark noticed, a large portion of the ground, four steps behind him and slightly to his left, had been scorched and destroyed.
The white-scaled Monster's hand twitched.
'He missed... On purpose...?'
Gulp-
"Phewwww! Almost got too excited there!" The General shouted as he tilted his, still airborne, body forward.
Missing him like that was both a show of strength and a show of confidence, Mark thought to himself.
'Better keep him entertained-'
Just when Mark was about to step forward, it resonated.
The belated and fearsome roar of thunder.
An attack that will kill before it is heard.
The white-scaled Monster couldn't help but smile nerveously.
Two explosions at the soles of the General's feet launched him towards that Monster.
A thick wall of ice rose and fell.
The shards of ice hung in the air momentarily.
Mark, who had disappeared from the General's field of vision for a moment, appeared behind that General.
His arm pulled back, his fist clenched.
The sharp shards of ice moved simultaneously towards the General.
Zino, a wide smile on his face, turned towards the Monster.
Just as both were about to throw a punch, Mark opened his mouth.
WIND BLAST-
The recoil of the blast pushed Mark about three steps back, which wasn't an issue, as he jumped back right when his feet touched the ground.
'Tsk.'
"Not bad. Not bad! I like this!" Zino shouted.
The General of Wrath hadn't been moved by the Magic Skill at all. It seemed to have had no effect.
Not only that but,
'The ice couldn't even reach his skin. His speed, strength, and power I can try to deal with but...'
"Let's keep this going!!"
'What's up with that thick pelt?!'
The distance was quickly closed and a clenched fist collided with Mark's cheek, sending him away.
The instant, his feet touched the ground, he leaped forward.
'I need him to underestimate me more! I need him to drop his guard but...!'
"That's it! Light up that fire in you!! Let's have some fun, Monster!!"
The white-scaled Monster suddenly stopped.
"Huh? What's up with you?"
Mark momentarily scratched his nose.
'What am I doing? After this? Even if I beat him then... What am I doing about Laylah? About Krista? What am I doing... About... Elisa?'
The white-scaled Monster opened its hands.
Slap- Slap-
'I need... To focus. I'll deal with that... When I get to it. None of that matters if I don't get past this. This... Is a test. And I'm planning on passing.'
Mark's hands slapped his cheeks a third time for good measure.
'Nothing matters... If I don't get past this. Which means that while I'm here, nothing else matters.'
The General suddenly felt a shiver go up his spine, causing his lips to curl up further.
"Yeah..." Mark nodded. He raised his fists before shouting, "Let's have some fun!"
Shivers went up and down the General's spine at those words.
Zino stared with a wide smile.
'Electrifying!' He could barely contain himself.
Both leaped towards one another.
With each exchange, Mark's movements grew a bit faster.
With each exchange, he could block and deflect a bit better.
With each exchange, his focus grew sharper!
But the reason why he could focus, was because he did not know.
Messages that should have reached him didn't, as he had muted the System earlier.
[Your Underling "Krista" is Evolving rapidly!]
[Your Underling "Krista" is Evolving rapidly!]
Unbeknowst to Mark, the fighting wasn't restricted to within the Barrier.
"You'll probably fetch a good price. Or maybe I'll skin you instead?" A peculiar-looking being resembling an Ogre, though too short and skinny to be one, sneered as he tapped his palm with the rolled-up whip he held in his other hand.
The Lioness opened her mouth wide.
ROARR-
Krista faces off against a Commander of Wrath!!
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