Chapter 111: The Tales of Cinder [5]
Specters don’t usually reason with the people they attack. They’re so blinded by the emotions that bind them to the world that they don’t even think about it. They destroy, protect, lament, or remain silent. In the end, those entities are nothing more than a corrupted version of a person.
It was rare for specters to speak to people—but this one was different.
Her broken voice, as she swung the gigantic crystal sword through the air toward Mitsuki’s face, said:
"Weak..."
Mitsuki had only a tiny fraction of a second to regret charging in first. His body, guided by the skill "Premonition," moved to protect itself. He raised the shapeshifting sword in front of him, aligning it with the crystal blade, and tensed every muscle in his body.
An instant later, metal clashed against crystal with a deafening boom. The shockwave sent Mitsuki flying into one of the columns, blasting through it and crashing into the wall. Dust rose, revealing a crater in the bricks.
There lay Mitsuki—broken. Blood splattered across the wall, accompanied by a faint, fleeting groan that sounded like a dying breath.
"Shit!" Marco shouted, not even having time to look back as the second giant sword slammed into the ground.
The blade followed him. Desperate, Marco leapt and rolled to the side. He got back up immediately, but the impact of the sword against the ground triggered flames that exploded outward, sending him flying and leaving him stunned.
His armor glowed red-hot as he tumbled, finally stopping several meters away.
"Weak... weak heroes..." she said, her voice still sorrowful.
Of course... they weren’t the heroes she had been waiting for.
A dozen arrows whistled through the air and exploded against the Lady’s face, forcing her back a few centimeters. She turned her gaze toward Azel, who was already drawing more arrows to continue the assault—but she wasn’t going to allow that.
She plunged one of her swords into the ground, creating a crack from which deadly flames burst forth. The fissure raced toward Azel, who clicked his tongue and leapt onto the broken pillar Mitsuki had created earlier, narrowly avoiding the scorching strike.
Meanwhile, Monar focused with everything he had. His words in the elven language doubled in speed. The glow of his spells intensified, illuminating the crater where Mitsuki lay.
The blood stopped flowing.
In fact, it began to move—crawling back across the rubble as if time had reversed, returning to its origin.
Flesh scattered across the stone twisted grotesquely like a blood-soaked worm, reattaching itself to the bones that formed Mitsuki’s body.
In an instant, Mitsuki was healed.
He opened his eyes wide. Aside from the terror of facing certain death, he wanted to charge in again.
’She didn’t give me time to turn intangible.’
One mistake—one that had almost cost him his life. He wouldn’t make it again. With that single exchange, dozens of strategies began forming in his mind.
[ Your combat skills have activated simultaneously. ]
[ The system has begun the update. ]
Ignoring the system messages, he placed both hands on the edge of the crater. He concentrated all his mana into his next attack. Active ash swirled around him, gathering explosive power.
[ The skill "Ash Manipulation Lv. 1" has begun to take effect. ]
[ Your titles resonate with the moment. ]
[ The world has begun to tell a story. ]
The ash vortex exploded, launching Mitsuki forward.
He appeared and disappeared within the ash, propelling himself relentlessly. Azel had to stop firing to avoid hitting him.
The Lady of Cinder didn’t seem concerned. In a blink, she raised her sword and prepared another devastating strike—but Mitsuki wasn’t going to fall for it again. With his abilities at full output, he had enough reaction time to turn intangible.
The ash split apart, flowing around the blade, then reformed behind the Lady’s head.
Mitsuki was there, aiming his shotgun.
He didn’t hesitate—click and bang in perfect timing. The massive fire round spread like shotgun pellets, engulfing the specter’s entire head.
After that, Mitsuki landed behind her, hoping he had dealt at least some damage. But the moment his boots touched the ground and he looked up—
The sweeping blade of the crystal sword was already there, mere centimeters from splitting him in half.
As for the specter’s head... it showed nothing more than faint scratches on its surface.
’Oh...’
His survival instinct kicked in. He activated Ash Propulsion at the last possible moment—but before his body fully dissolved, the blade grazed his forehead.
He propelled himself sideways in desperation. Yet the moment he regained his form—with a small cut on his forehead—the sword was already coming down to split him in half again.
Panicking, he used the same trick, barely escaping once more.
Azel frowned and unleashed a barrage of light arrows. They did little more than distract the Ash Lady—just like Mitsuki’s earlier shot, they barely left a mark.
She stopped paying attention to Mitsuki for a moment and turned toward Azel. She raised one of her swords high. The weapon began to glow intensely with the colors of fire.
That wasn’t a good sign.
From atop the broken pillar, Azel leapt into the air. A fraction of a second later, the specter swung her sword, releasing a massive blade of searing flames that shot toward the wall in an instant.
And that wasn’t even the worst part—the flaming blade didn’t stop. It continued forward, melting the stone and turning it into crimson magma that poured down like a waterfall.
Monar clicked his tongue and tightened his grip on his staff.
"It’s still not enough. Burn more of my memories! Use my childhood memories!"
She turned her gaze toward the dark elf—clearly intending to kill him.
Azel recovered from the previous attack and climbed back onto the pillar, drawing his bow once more.
He nocked an invisible arrow onto the bow, which quickly began to hum as the wind swirled around it. His eyes locked onto the specter’s face, looming imposingly with both swords that could tear everything to pieces.