It was a strike meant to obliterate, to end her existence in one swift blow.
Despite her kinetic vision as a grandmaster, Eliza could not even see it coming.
By the time the sound of his movement even got close to her ears, the man's fist was already less than half a metre away from her face.
'Paladin + Blessing of Destruction + Limit Break. Everlasting Chains + Elemental Shield.'
Yet, before his fist could connect with his intended target, barely 40 cm away, Evan unleashed a synchronized symphony of five skills, his obsidian black blade, the Unforged, slashing through the air while covered in a mix of reddish gold aura and rainbow-coloured flames.
His aim: to instantly sever the dragon kin's wrist.
At that crucial moment, their gazes locked, and the man read Evan's intentions.
He instantly readjusted his course, pulling back his fist and redirecting his attack towards Evan himself.
The Ultra Rare Skill, Time Difference, which had been active ever since his appearance had granted Evan the ability to perceive his supersonic assault.
Even though the dragonkin knew Evan could perceive his movements, he was not deterred.
His fist surged forward with precision and power, seeking the new target that was Evan.
The young hero saw this and reacted appropriately, reversing his grip on his sword and raising it in front of himself to block while summoning another Elemental shield as a last line of defence.
But it proved futile in the face of the dragonkin's powerful strength.
His fist shattered the hastily cast barrier, colliding with the Unforged.
**BOOOMMMM!!!
The sheer amount of force and energy behind the punch sent Evan hurtling through the air like a discarded puppet.
He rag-dolled on the ground for a few dozen metres before a loud impact reverberated through the surroundings as he crashed onto the mountain behind him.
**BAMM!!!!
Spider-web-like cracks spread out omnidirectionally from the crater formed where Evan crashed. Blood trickled from his lips and his vision blurred, his senses temporarily overwhelmed by the devastating blow.
|….|
|...…..|
Some system notifications flashed before him but he could barely comprehend their content in his disoriented state.
Meanwhile, the Dragon Kin was looking at Evan with a gaze filled with both surprise and a tinge of admiration.
Despite the overwhelming odds, he had shown cunning and resourcefulness, using Everlasting Chains to pull Eliza out of harm's way in that same instant he was hit by the strike.
As such, when the man tried to attack Eliza once more, he was surprised to see she was now out of melee range.
'So, this is the power that killed Lord Eighth, huh?'
He thought to himself as he looked at the bleeding burns on his fist, noting that his health values had gone down a bit, owing to the True Damage Values of BoD plus Mesarthim's effect.
|When used offensively, Mesarthim has a fixed chance to ignore a percentage of the target's durability and resistances, dealing percentage damage in accordance with their maximum Health Values. |
Due to these two factors, the man had actually taken damage despite the fact that he was the one attacking.
'And the wounds are not healing. I also cannot regenerate the lost health too.
With the Soul Damage; this skill is truly dangerous.'
"Huh? The kid managed to wound you?"
The questioning voice of the Dragonkin's pale-skinned companion, a top lower-middle ranked demon rang out as he came over and noticed the blood dripping from his hands
"Mhmm."
Just when the Dragonkin was about to Elaborate, a Great Spirit's bellow of rage rang out, resonating through the air as the skies were shrouded in darkness.
The essence of nature bent to her will as a colossal pearl of golden lightning materialized from the ominous clouds, its electrifying power cascading down on the world below.
With swift agility, the ash-haired armoured man evaded the deadly bolts of lightning, but despite this, his gaze remained fixed on the lightning spirit hurling towards the dragonkin man at sonic speed, activating a multitude of skills in the process.
But before any of said skills could hit their mark, the voice of the hero she was contracted to rang out, piercing through the chaotic noise.
[KAYLA, BACK AWAY!!!!!]
His voice infused with energy evoked the power of the contract between them, serving as a command mantra to pull Kayla back.
In the blink of an eye, Evan's decision proved crucial; for in the very next moment, a demonic energy-infused axe descended with brutal force, obliterating the area where Kayla was mere seconds ago.
The impact shattered the earth, rending a massive fissure that stretched for hundreds of meters, leaving behind a trail of destruction that blasted apart a small piece of the mountain range behind them.
"This kid's sharp."
The demon spoke with a lightly impressed voice as he rose his axe and placed it back atop his shoulder, as if he did not just release an attack that could instantly end the life of anything level 300 and below on contact.
He turned his eyes towards Evan who fearlessly met his gaze, the rainbow-coloured flames on his sword flaring up as if challenging him.
"That attack should have at least shattered all the bones in your forearm."
"At least? Man, you took out my both arms with just that."
Evan replied as he flexed his arm while twirling his sword around, allowing the Dragonkin to notice the fading green light that covered it.
He turned his gaze to the side and saw Eliza who was discarding the bottle of the magic potion she just drank, instantly understanding she was the one responsible for Evan's quick recovery.
Meanwhile, the young hero in question was appraising the three new entrants, and despite his casual expression, he was sweating bullets on the inside.
'No fucking way the Demonic Hand would have sent that many lower-Senior Members without at least one of these guys here.
And the last Fake Hero too….'
"Sending you three after just me, seems the Demonic Hand really wants me dead."
"Isn't that obvious?"
The Demon casually replied to Evan's words, with the boy taking a closer look at his stats and cursing internally.
'Fuck! He's a nonstandard type like me.
They're all nonstandard types, people who can fight beings above their levels with ease and win.
This demon is a Level 500 Grandmaster but his stats put him capable of defeating inferior stage Epic levels with ease.'
He then turned his gaze towards the Fake Hero who was silently watching them, and then the Dragonkin man who was the Leader of the attack squad and the person the Demonic Hand members were referring to as 'Senior'.
'Senior Member of the Demonic Hand's First Division, Craitid.
He's the Dragonkin who was the leader of the Squad sent to take out the 'Second Hero' in the game too.'
Despite the fact that he was the strongest person among the trio, the man, Craitid, was the one whom Evan could sense the least amount of power from.
Even so, Danger Sense skill was ringing more alarm bells in his head than it did with Silverwing, and all the ambient spirits nearby had scampered away in fear at the man's mere presence.
'Still, why the heck did he not show up from the start? Why is he only appearing now?'
That was the real question that had been plaguing Evan's mind from the start.
If Craitid had shown up from the start, then the Demonic Hand would have actually succeeded in dealing with Evan by now.
So Evan could not understand why the man had waited for all the others to die first.
If only he knew Craitid was just as confused about the situation as he was.
The Demonic Hand had split the forces targeting the three Heroes they were aware of according to the estimated level of difficulty in dealing with them.
For Abigail who had Zestari with her, they sent the Legendary Level Fake Hero to deal with the Living Legend, while the other Grandmaster and Epic levels were to take out the princess in the meantime.
Sadly, Zestari brought along the Elven Empire's Epic Level knights so that didn't turn out as planned.
For Laurene who was definitely going to have a guard detail of grandmasters and possibly some of the Empire's hidden Epic Level existences, they sent the Epic level Fake Heroes and Superior Stage Grandmaster members and Demons.
But Luke's presence nullified that attempt.
Now for Evan, the one who had the least—or rather, zero external protection since he mostly moved alone, they allotted the lowest amount of forces to deal with him, but still enough to defeat him based on their estimation of his higher-than-normal power.
Unfortunately, their estimations were very wrong, and even though they dispatched multiple intermediate-stage grandmasters, Evan still prevailed despite the odds thanks to the fact that he was a nonstandard existence.
However, just like the other two, the Demonic Hand sent along beings with existence levels and powers far above that of the Heroes.
And the three standing in front of Evan were among those beings.
The Epic Level Fake Hero #12, the Epic Level Senior member Craitid, and his peak grandmaster contracted demon.
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