Kapitel 15: Ruin(II)
Amon appeared in front of the Cyclope in a flash. If he didn't want their entire party wiped out in a single go, he had to face it directly.
'Let's try and minimise the risks…'
Seeing this, the Cyclope's dirty yet sharp teeth flashed as it madly grinned and shot forward, leaving the air trembling and whistling.
PAH!
Amon spat out a mouthful of blood as he blocked the monster's punch with his pole, sliding back several meters as the monster followed, then jumped into the air to land a falling kick.
BANG!
He sidestepped, twirling as he stepped to the monster's left, and his blade swam across the air, digging into its flesh to tear a nasty gash on its arm.
Immediately, he rolled back, dodging an enraged, blood-covered punch, then shot forward again, planting his foot to thrust viciously in and out of its chest.
His sharp gaze was filled with a vicious yet controlled light as he allowed his blade to tear it apart.
"EHHHHHHH!"
The Cyclope roared in pain and stumbled backward, but just as Amon closed in once more, its grin returned and its eye scintillated with the light of a million stars.
Amon's pupils widened as he froze under the monster's ability, helplessly watching as a huge fist, full of power and aether, slammed into his chest, sending him flying back with several broken bones.
A nasty sound echoed as bones broke, flesh tore and organs ruptured under the mighty power of this colossus.
Despite this, the Cyclope roared in pain as the arm it used to punch Amon began to melt and decay.
It soon began to bubble and ooze off a digusting smell as cancerous mounds of flesh began to erupt from its body.
A decisive glint flashed in its one eye as it tore off its arm before the rest of the decay spread.
Toxic green blood showered the Cyclope's body, but with keen indifference, it threw away its arm and rushed at Amon.
SHAH!
Before it could do so, a blade tore across its lower belly, prying it open and spilling its intestines. It fell to a knee, but in the next moment, a hand covered in cherry-colored aether rained down, snatching its head from its neck.
Within Awa's hand, the Cyclope's head had a widened eye, unable to understand what had just happened, but before it could roar once more in a last-ditch effort, flames burnt its head to ashes and its mighty body fell, leaving the ground quaking.
"Good job, Amon."
Sat leaning on a wall, bloodied, beaten, and tired, Amon merely nodded, giving a thumbs-up to Amato.
Awa rushed toward him, her flames manifesting as she began casting healing spells.
"Why didn't you directly decay it?" she asked with a frown, seeing how beaten up he was.
"Its skin was too thick, and it had a layer of thick aether atop it, making it even worse. So I had to first shatter the aether layer, then draw blood. Once blood is drawn, I can directly affect its blood."
He groaned in pain.
"Amato was able to sneak up on it because it was still fighting the decay in its blood. Merely ripping its arm off wasn't going to do much."
Awa nodded in understanding.
"Okay, don't talk anymore; it'll only tire you more."
As she continued to heal him and Amato began to dissect the Cyclope's body, the third Prince walked over.
He looked at Amon, his gaze narrowing as he crouched down.
"Good job."
***
Thus, a cycle that reflected their past began.
They noticed that this maze wasn't simple and had about ten floors, each with a series of twelve mazes they had to navigate.
Each maze took them weeks to clear, requiring them to complete puzzles, trials, and battles with monsters. As each maze became harder, they also had to decipher the writings on the walls.
As his vassals fought, the third Prince took on this task, slowly unveiling the truths of a warlock's path.
After six months, the third Prince bypassed his status as a cripple and began to form aether marks.
By the end of the first year, he partook in battles, and by the end of the third, he was an entirely different man.
Time continued to pass, and they went deeper into the ruins and its levels.
Amato and Awa's strength soared as more pure aether flowed into their bodies and they formed aether mark after aether mark.
The cycle continued.
**
PAH!
The body of a skyscraper-sized bird fell onto the cold floor of the ruins.
From its stomach, the third Prince emerged, covered in blood.
Physically, he looked the same, not having aged, yet his aura told a different story.
Slicking his hair back, he looked around until his gaze landed on a grand gate, the same one they'd seen at the mountain's foot, the one they'd used to enter the ruins of death ten years ago.
In ten years, the cycle had been the same: endless slaughter and struggle for life, endless moments of life and death.
To say they had been tempered by this trial was an understatement. These last ten years had been more intense than their time being tortured by the third Prince.
Even with his newfound power, the third Prince struggled along with them.
He sighed and rotated his shoulder.
While he'd gained the ability to cultivate and form aether marks thanks to the legacy he deciphered on the maze walls, it wasn't entirely true.
The method he'd found had a massive flaw, a deadly one, and the only way to fix this flaw was beyond these metal doors—the legacy of the First Warlock.
Just as he was about to speak, two black spears zipped by him, mere inches away, and his body was drenched in a thin layer of cold sweat.
He hadn't been able to react, let alone see it coming.
Behind him, the two spears had pierced into the head of the bird he'd just killed.
"It wasn't fully dead."
Geschenke
-- Geschenk
erhalten Wöchentlicher Energiestatus
-- Power-
Rangliste 
-- Power-
Stein