Capítulo 16: Chapter 16: Nightmare Mode
Julius's hair and clothes swayed strongly as he walked towards the Undead Knight which held up a massive ball of flames.
For the first time, he faced an opponent his abilities had no effect on. An opponent which had no need for sleep. An undead.
His new skill was his only option to avoid dragging the battle out.
"Nightmare Mode."
[Nightmare Level 2: Nightmare Mode.]
Julius took one more step before collapsing to the floor in front of him. He snored loudly indicating that he had fallen into a slumber.
The eyes of both Ruby and Lyra grew wide when they saw this.
"J-Julius!?" Lyra called out to him.
"Wait! Don't come out of hiding!" Ruby shouted out, hearing the anxiety in Lyra's voice. "He said he wanted to try something out, we should believe in him and-
Suddenly, the Undead Knight hurled hellfire at Julius.
In its descent towards Julius, the ball, many times bigger than Julius, resembled a comet. Ruby and Lyra's faces were drenched in cold sweat as they watched.
"This is part of your plan, right…? So hurry up and wake up… Julius!" Lyra yelled out inwardly.
*Twitch!*
Right before Julius was struck by the giant ball of flames, his head twitched. And in that instant-
*Fwoosh!*
The ball of flames was enveloped in shadows and suspended up in the air above him.
"!"
In awe, the girls watched Julius rise up from the ground with his arm raised toward the large shadow.
When he closed his hand, the ball began to shrink as it quickly compressed. Within seconds, it was the size of a baseball.
Upon grabbing it, its shape changed into that of a large scythe made from shadows. Whilst walking towards the undead knight, Julius dragged the scythe across the floor.
His posture was slouched and he was staggering. He looked as if he would fall at any moment. His eyes were shut as he continued to snore.
Watching, the two girls were speechless.
'He's… sleep walking?!' They both thought simultaneously.
In response, the Undead Knight made its move, appearing in front of Julius with a horizontal swing in motion.
Ruby's face twitched when she saw this. The Undead Knight was many times faster than Julius. Julius had no chance of winning in close combat.
Or so she thought-
*Fwoosh!*
But in that moment, the swing passed right by him, completely missing Julius as he ducked.
"!"
Forming a sharp arc, the Undead Knight swung downwards at Julius, using the momentum from its first swing.
*Fwoosh!*
Once again, Julius had evaded with a step to the right before the swing began, forcing it to blow right past him.
Following that, The Undead Knight unleashed a storm of attacks, but not a single one hit Julius.
Lyra gaped whereas Ruby grinned nervously as they watched.
'I can't believe it… Because he's slower, he's moving before the Undead Knight makes its move… it's as if he can see where it will attack..!'
Death Knight swung his sword diagonally, this time empowered by frustration. A gale of wind swept through the room showing just how powerful it was.
'It's truly strong… But no matter how much force it puts, it's useless if it doesn't hit its target.' Ruby stated.
Julius had evaded once again, swaying his entire body to the side.
*Slash!*
And In that instant, the Undead Knight's arms flew across the air.
Julius had finally countered, having formed an unpleasant arc when he had swung his scythe. Upon striking the holes through the Undead Knight's armour, its arms were severed.
The Undead Knight retreated, leaping back to create some distance as it was put at a disadvantage.
As if having anticipated it, Julius shot the compressed ball of flames at it and because it was mid-air, it had no means of avoiding-
*BOOM!*
The flames erupted upon contact with the Undead Knights chest. Warm air filled the room as the flames engulfed the Undead Knight.
It was a clean hit.
The Undead Knight, however, emerged unscathed from it. Fire didn't seem to be one of its weaknesses. But that didn't matter, after all, it was only a distraction.
When the Death Knight landed, a shadow-like string wrapped itself around its back and pulled it towards Julius, who had created a round arc as he swung his scythe.
*Slash!*
The swing collided with its waist, causing its body to be severed cleanly in half.
*Chunk!*
A thunderous sound of steel collapsing echoed through the chamber as Lyra, who watched, stood frozen, unable to look away.
Julius walked up to the Undead Knight's upper half and when he reached it, he grabbed its head, lifting it and its chest up into the air.
Immediately, however, he dropped the Undead Knight, as flames burst through the armour gaps, engulfing its body.
[Hellfire.]
Despite having lost any means of fighting back, the Undead Knight refused to yield.
But so did Julius.
*Pierce!*
It was raised into the air by a shadowy spear that pierced accurately through the armour's back opening.
"!?"
Its spear of shadows was resistant to the flames. It wouldn't melt no matter how strongly the flames burnt.
In its moment of confusion, Julius slowly raised his scythe into the air while preparing to swing.
Julius swung the scythe downward, tracing another lazy arc as he slashed through the undead knight's burning body.
*Slash!*
The swing had passed smoothly through it's armour, but not a scratch could be seen on it.
*Shatter!*
In the armour, however, the Undead Knight's hidden core had shattered, causing the pinpoints of light it had for eyes to dim and fade.
In that instant, the flames that engulfed its body dispersed, and its rotten flesh inside the armour turned to ash, leaving only pieces of armor behind.
Immediately after it died, a red portal that led outside formed at the end of the room. The chamber's layout shook as a secret room seemed to have opened up beside the portal too.
But they didn't care, at that moment, their attention was glued to Julius who slowly turned to them.
'...I can't believe it. He really killed a high-rank monster on his own while sleeping…' Lyra thought to herself as she stared at the centre of the room. 'But why hasn't he woken up yet…?'
Lyra flinched when he took a step toward them. With that single step that he took, they felt an overwhelming sense of danger directed at them.
Slouching, Julius staggered left and right while dragging his scythe as he walked towards them.
Seeing this, Ruby smiled nervously.
'So we're the next targets, huh… looks like there's no choice.'
After kicking off the ground, Ruby dashed at Julius, her figure blurring as kicked at him.
*Clang!*
Julius blocked the kick with the scythe, sliding a few steps backwards.
"Lyra, I'll buy you some time! Run out of the portal with Ava before-"
❖Third Stage curse effects: Suffocation.
Ruby was interrupted as suddenly, she found herself unable to speak or breathe. She frowned and looked up at the sky.
The half of the full moon which had been exposed had shifted to three quarters of the moon being exposed. It had become a Waxing Gibbous moon.
'Ah… Damn it. It's too late…' Ruby thought to herself as she held her breath.
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