章節 63: Air Decay
"Mhmmhm!"
Pretta Oro Ricca Oro seized any attempt to free herself. She fearfully looked at the stone-faced maid while glueing her back against the towering wall of Blackcrest.
The spot they were in was deadly quiet and rarely, if not ever, frequented by anyone. Basically, it was a rotten and nauseating place that should be avoided lest any unfortunate soul would contract a disease.
Following Arthur's instruction, Evelyn went to specific spots around the green rune engraved on the ground.
Even though her knowledge was relatively lackluster, Pretta still recognized the liquid poured around the rune; It was a common flammable magical oil, commonly used in smithies.
"Be quiet." Coldly spat Evelyn as she gave the girl a deathly glare.
The moaning of the noble lady came to a sudden halt as tears poured down her eyes. The gag made her unable to talk, thus eliminating any possibility of trying to strike a bargain with the maid. She could only sit there and smell the strong smell of the flammable oil, which was more intense than the foul scent of the clustered trash in the area.
In a solitary backstreet within the Slave Market, the usual peace was broken twice tonight. The first time was when the Militant Guards were dispatched by the Duke, thus patrolling almost all the streets, and the second when an explosive fight broke out.
The Merchants and Slave Traders were awakened and fearfully went to check on their goods, though none approached the backstreet in which chaos was unfolding.
Pretta's Knight, with his large sword in hand, arrived at the spot mentioned in the letter. However, before he could break inside, the masked agent from Faceless Death, revealed himself.
He looked surprised to see his pursuer right at his doorstep, but he still maintained composure and swung his semi-invisible sword, leading a metallic clash that resulted in shock waves.
Half a minute later, Armen and Amare joined the fight, the first vertically swung his thorny black sword whereas the latter used her mysterious purple-colored magic.
Armen's attack, although performed from a distance, sent dozens of small thorny projectiles that distracted the agent and allowed the Knight to successfully land a clean sword thrust.
The relatively thick sword pierced the masked man's shoulder, causing blood to gush out. Before he could free himself, however, Amare's magical threads wrapped around his ankles and waist, immobilizing long enough for Armen to reach the target and swing his blade again.
The masked man grunted as he sustained a long wound across his chest, one that ripped his tight black clothes and revealed his tattooed chest. Even with the three ganging up on him, the man did not give up as he held his invisible weapon with two hands and muttered an unfamiliar archaic chant.
Unlike earlier, in which the moon the agent conjured was illusory, this one was big and resplendent. It hung above his head and pulsated twice, the first pulse letting out a powerful shockwave that blew both the Knight and Armen to the back, and second one causing the moon to split in half then plaster itself on the man's back.
A bit of steam came out of his body as he leapt in the air and thrust his words multiple times, shooting silver beams at each of his targets.
Just as the beams struck their targets, the agent saw a green mist appear from a dark corner and slip into the basement. Sensing that something was amiss, the agent did not continue his assault and, instead, rushed downwards.
A burst of golden light was unleashed, followed by the reappearance of the Knight, who spat blood and, with an angered roar, chased after the masked man. The two vampires too, ran after him as they signaled each other.
Amare was the last to enter as she paused for ten seconds and raised both hands, her purple eyes glowing brighter than before.
As she finished casting her spell, her face became remarkably pale and her hand shook, but she was grinning in satisfaction.
The abandoned building was encompassed in a spherical purple cage made of innumerable magical threads of the same color. It was a costly entrapment spell that would ensure her target would not be able to escape.
However, just as she was about to enter the basement, there was a violent tremor followed right after by an explosion that shook the entire building, almost making it collapse on itself.
The vampire girl dodged the debris and finally went into the basement, welcomed by an unexpected sight.
There, inside the cramped and dusty place, there was a familiar green mist swirling in a corner while Armen and the Knight were next to each other, equally dumbfounded.
The masked man had his back against the wall, blood gushing out of his fresh wounds but he seemed uncaring as his attention was wholly focused on a hideous man with a scarred face.
The silent inactivity was brief as the agent swung his blade at lightning speed, unleashing a sharp and rapid attack that hit the parasite.
Arthur's stats had increased drastically, but he still could not see the attack or fully dodge it. The mist around him provided enough obscurity, rendering the masked man's impeccable accuracy to fail him.
Still, the parasite felt a cold sensation as his head wobbled to the left. He was hit in the neck, but the mist and a timely usage of Leonis' ability allowed him to dodge fatality.
Much to everyone's surprise, even after getting hit, the 'Bloated Murderer' remained on his feet. The box filled with shiny Blood Crystals his left arm, which was why the agent opted to get rid of the unknown enemy first. He did not want the vampires to get their hands on the Blood Crystals, so much so that he risked his life and came to the basement, which was an unfavorable fighting place due to the numerical disadvantage.
With looks of absolute dumbfoundedness, the two vampires, the Knight, and the agent, stared at the parasite, who used his free hand to stop his head from falling to the side.
The sustained injury cut nearly half of Arthur's neck, but, apparently, it wasn't considered 'decapitation' by the System's standards.
Like a fountain, blood gushed out of Arthur's neck, soaking the ground, his clothes, and even the Blood Crystals. Unexpectedly, the crystals splattered by his blood shone brighter and brighter then turned jet black, all light dissipating from them.
The first to snap out of it and retaliate was the agent; Like a lightning bolt, he shot at Arthur but his invisible blade hit nothing but air. In a split second, the room was covered by a dense green mist that limited everyone's vision.
The only source of illumination was the golden light emitting from the Knight and Amare's glowing eyes.
There should have been chaos and a violent battle within that basement, but everything turned into silence once Arthur used [Air Decay].
The air grew still and all four humans were robbed of their ability to breathe. Armen and the agent were the most resistant, nonetheless, they weren't able to use their magic or escape.
Armen tried to pull Amare close to him for safety but he could not locate her. As for the agent, he gasped for breath and aimlessly swung his blade.
For ten, seemingly long seconds, none were able to properly retaliate. Surprisingly, however, once that duration was over, the mist completely dispersed and there were no signs of the parasite or the Blood Crystals.
The only harmed individual was Amare, who had a small on the back of her hand. She felt something squeeze around her body and momentarily immobilize her, rendering her incapable of stopping the Bloated Murderer's attack. Strangely enough, he did not try to kill her, he just cut her hand then disappeared, which left her perplexed.
"Where is she!"
Having had enough, the Knight unleashed all of his power and slashed with his sword, releasing a devastating strike that shattered the ground and cut the walls. The building could no longer sustain all the damage and collapsed, forcing everyone to hastily retreat outside.
The agent, further hit by the Knight's attack, received more injuries and was visibly slower and struggling to keep up. Nevertheless, he abandoned all thoughts of continuing this fight and, after swiftly gulping down an Elixir, he manifested the brilliant mood for the last time and used its shockwave as a momentum to flee.
Alas, the magical bird-cage previously cast by Amare blocked his path. He tried forcing his way through but not even his sharp invisible blade was capable of causing any harm to the thin purple threads.
Soon, Armen caught up to the agent and several clashes followed. The thorny black sword was much more superior to the masked man's invisible blade, which gave the vampire overwhelming advantage, especially since his opponent was severely injured and exhausted.
The Knight, looking spent, was adamant on finding his mistress. He no longer shone with that golden light, neither did he find a chance to sneak in an opportune attack.
Lastly, Amare, who contended with staying at the back and assisting the rampaging Armen.
Agile and slippery as he was, the Faceless Death agent was no match for the two vampires. He was sustaining more and more wounds and his attacks were either missing or getting easily blocked.
Desperate and reaching his wit's end, he jumped to the back, barely dodging the thorny projectiles regularly shot by Armen, and used the last bit of his strength to cast a magical spell.
His fighting style was more oriented toward close-quarters so it was unexpected to see him abandon his weapon and use his all for a spell. Still, Armen was wise enough to retreat next to his companion, who raised a barrier just in time.
Regrettably, the Knight wasn't as fortunate as he was caught up in the agent's spell. The incantation and cast of the spell did not take long, and by the end of it, there was a massive tornado made of sharp illusory blades.
The knight tried to defend himself but he was caught up inside, his armor pierced multiple times and a small sharp slash wound riddled his body.
The tornado was specifically aimed at Amare's bird-cage, successfully opening a space big enough for its caster to slip through and escape.
In fact, even after all of that, the agent wasn't going to let go of the Blood Crystals. It was uncertain what method he used, but he was able to track down the parasite and, in a matter of minutes, reach the foot of the city's wall, precisely where Pretta was.
The girl was tied to a half-broken wooden log stuck to the ground, and when she saw the white-haired agent, she panicked and tried to free herself. As they stared at each other, she shook continuously as if trying to warn him not to get close. Unfortunately, he did not heed her words as he saw the box dozens of meters away from her.
Even in his dire situation, he did not recklessly toward the obvious bait and, instead, tried to circle around it. Much to his surprise, a rapid figure dashed from a small mountain of trash, slashing at his back.
He blocked just in time as he locked gazes with Evelyn.
"Numb-"
He couldn't finish as he was something blunt and powerful hit him from the side, blowing him to the side; His body rolled on the ground, and before he could recover, he felt a suffocating heat.
The maid did not continue her assault and, as per Arthur's instructions, she hastily left the scene, but not after setting the ground aflame, subsequently leading to a series of minor explosions centred all around the agent.
Were he in his peak state, the series of explosions wouldn't have caused much harm, but the circumstances were different right now.
The man was hit by no less than five of the explosions; He saw fire rise up as he coughed blood, his back charred and his breathing heavy.
He no longer had the strength to perform long leaps to run away. In fact, he was so weakened and on the brink that he failed to block the incoming Armen.
The vampire's thorny black sword went through the agent's chest, piercing his heart and ending it once and for all.
The flames all around were quelled by Amare's magic. She looked around and spotted the crying Pretta, bound by a rope and gagged.
There were no signs of the Blood Crystals or the Bloated Murderer. The girl looked at the superficial wound on the back of her hand, realising that everything was a set up. Yet, she still could not understand why he did not kill her and contented with just inflicting such an inconsequential wound.
"Halric… Halric!"
Terden Sidus was fuming as he paced around the office. He was usually a composed individual, but the succession of unsettling matters occurring tonight made him feel on edge.
The black-haired boy, Halric, appeared once his name was called. Unlike his employer, he was calm and had a soft smile on his young face.
"What the fuck is going on?! An undead in my city? What's happening in the Slave Market?"
"Calm yourself, sir. It's unbecoming for a Duke to behave like this."
The Duke glared at Halric, holding himself back from spouting any vulgarity.
"Where the damn's undead?"
"It's gone. It escaped the city."
With a hand pressed against his aching temples, Terden halted his steps and controlled his tone.
"Escaped? You couldn't even catch one undead?"
Halric shrugged his shoulders, seemingly disinterested. "Why should I catch it? My job is to protect the city, not get rid of Undead. It's not like it was doing any harm."
"..."
"You pay me to ensure nothing 'problematic' happens within Blackcrest. Dealing with undead is not part of my job. Also, as a reminder, I'm here to protect the city… not its people."
"Fine! I'll pay you however much you want! I want you to catch the undead before dawn!"
"No can do, sir." Halric walked to the window and pointed at the Western wall.
"I told you it escaped. I operate inside the city only. No exceptions."
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