Chapitre 35: Chapter Thirty-Five: Unique Power

Chapter Thirty-Five: Unique Power

Dusken entered the palace, but then a voice sounded, telling him what needed to be done in the second phase.

"Reach the end of this hall and you shall pass." These were the words of the voice.

Dusken stared around him. A long carpet was spread across the ground, leading to the far, distant end of the long corridor.

He inhaled sharply and took a step forward. Suddenly, a chaotic sound echoed behind him.

He turned to look and saw that an armoured knight had appeared behind him. It was nothing but a pile of metal; no real human being was inside.

Still, it drew its blade and took a step forward towards Dusken.

'So, this is what I have to survive against, to reach the end of the hall.' He thought, moving forward with swift momentum.

Under his command, a shadow separated from his, slowly transforming into Ebon. Ebon charged at the armoured knight, and a clash between them erupted.

The knight swung his greatsword, aiming for Ebon's throat. The death guard didn't defend, instead pouncing on the armoured entity, trying to tear it apart.

The sword's angle was disrupted, and the knight staggered backwards. However, Ebon wasn't finished. This was only the beginning.

Moments later, several dozen blows had already been exchanged between Ebon and the knight, but no matter how many times the armoured entity was pulled apart by Ebon, a magical force always made it reform.

'It's only a waste of time. This isn't worth it.' Dusken thought inwardly while running.

He called Ebon back, as it was clear that continuing the fight would accomplish nothing.

The armoured knight couldn't die; instead, it was the death guard sustaining injuries for no reason.

Dusken's move was very logical. After all, he had only been probing the extent of what the knight could do, and the distance between them had considerably increased, all thanks to Ebon's distraction with the being.

The torches in the hall flickered like the dying hopes of history.

The air that flowed through the corridor was stale and ancient, as total silence stung the ears far more than any noise could achieve.

Dusken ran with all his might, but no matter how far the distance between him and the armoured knight grew, every minute, he would find the knight walking just tens of metres behind him.

'Interesting.' He thought to himself while advancing.

Soon, however, his stamina began to take a huge hit, and his speed visibly decreased.

Even so, the knight kept on walking with a leisurely yet systematic pace.

It looked like an amateur controlling a character in a game. A foreboding feeling suddenly crept into Dusken's heart as he wondered to himself.

The passage ahead still seemed endless; hope was bleak, and the future was filled with uncertainties.

'Curse it. Move faster, Dusken.' He encouraged himself inwardly as the knight drew nearer.

Ten metres, nine metres, eight metres, seven metres…

With no other option, he once again sent Ebon out to slow the armoured knight down and gain precious time.

He would have loved to stop and fight just for the exhilaration of it.

However, the voice had told him to survive, not defeat the being. What if Dusken were to try that and the fell into a trap?

Ebon crawled through the marble floor of the corridor in its shadow form, heading for the armoured being.

Then it lunged at the knight, but what met Ebon's charge was a wide arc slash of the knight's greatsword. The air whistled in the blade's wake as it headed for Ebon's throat.

For a brief moment, Dusken paused his steps, a flickering light in his eyes.

However, just as the blade was about to cut down Ebon, it transformed into its shadow form.

With a loud boom, the armoured knight fell to the ground, having missed its target.

The greatsword flew from its hand, landing with a faint metallic clink.

Ebon swiftly moved through the shadows and materialised before the sword. Without hesitation, it took the huge sword and ran toward Dusken.

Slight relief hit Dusken as he let out a light sigh. Without lingering, he turned and ran forward.

Ebon followed not far behind him, while the armoured knight got up, smoke rising from its metallic body, billowing into the air.

The knight suddenly took massive steps forward, starting to run. Huge thuds echoed in its wake.

'Seems like it's mad.' Dusken thought with amusement. Although the knight had given him problems before, it hadn't run—only walked.

But now, this was no longer the case. Tremors ran through the ground as the knight pursued Dusken and Ebon.

However, Dusken smirked, the knight had put him in a difficult situation… this was a payback.

"I don't think I'll make it in time.' The armoured being was only a dozen metres away, yet with each step it took, it covered Dusken's five steps.

Dusken felt a sense of bitter rage at how pathetic he was. The hall's temperature was mild but tilted in favour of heat.

Sweat rolled down his forehead as exhaustion began to press down on him.

'I can't give up. I won't give up.' His breaths came out in short, ragged rhythms, softly echoing through the corridor.

The huge stride of the armoured being resounded in the area as it charged down the hall.

Dusken's heart skipped a beat, realising now why whoever had cleared the second phase had taken so long.

Five metres, four metres, three metres…

Dusken tried everything he could. He pushed himself to his limits, even surpassing them. However, this was real life.

Even if a person had perseverance in their heart, so what? Even if a person didn't want to give up and clung to life, so what? Even if they had wills, aims, and goals, so what?

These were the limits. Mortal limitations. Something no human had ever transcended. A concept thought upon by many.

Ebon ran side by side with Dusken, as though to declare that they would die together. After all, it was a death guard. It had already died once and was now a shadow with some skills and abilities.

Even so, Dusken was grim on the inside.

Today, he had faced deadly situations time and time again.

However, the powerlessness he felt in front of Madonna and the weakness he felt due to the knight both pressed down on him, as he pondered his goal in life.

The air roared as the armoured being pounced at him with overwhelming weight.

Dusken stared at this, his heart raging in turmoil, a memory suddenly flashed in his mind, one that he had overlooked.

During the battle with the beastman in the forest, something, a power had projected the alien's arrow in his mind.

'What was that?' Dusken thought, feeling that this was an important issue.

Still, the knight was crashing down, and there was nothing he could do except… following his instincts, he called upon that power, his Innate ability.

As he unsheathed his sword, strapped to his back, dark flame rose from the depths of his being, burning the blade in a black fury.

The blade of the sword instantly caught fire as it slashed through the knight, sending metallic parts scattering in all directions.