Chapter 175: Miscalculated

"Alright, that's done." I have to just leave it up for Feran to bring those two. "Now... this guy..."

"Listen. Here. I'll. Give. You. Another. Chance. To. Leave. This. Place. Just. Give. It. To. Me. The. Book. That. You. Stole." The manticore menacingly asked of me.

"We don't have it. I don't even know what you're talking about. The only two things that we got from this place is the book of Deep Dark arts and a simple dagger that's now soul bound to Neco."

"You're. Lying. GIVE. IT. TO. ME! MY. BOOK! I've. Received. It. From. Someone. That. Surpasses. Gods. Themselves. I. Can't. Ask. To. Get. That. Book. Again!"

"A being that surpasses god..? I don't know what you're talking about but that's impossible." Even we are still having with Tartarus monsters, how will we even face gods when they can make those in like a snap. Argh... No need to think about that. "What's the book that you're talking about anyway and why do you need it?"

"Why. Do. I. Need. IT!? LOOK. AT. THIS!" He pointed his scorpion tail at the top of his head. And I didn't notice until now but that's...

"That's a player indicator..." But this one is hollowed out inside. There's no color. It's just black and empty hovering above his head. "You're... a player?"

"I. Am. A. Remnant. Of. A. Battle. Royale. Five. Hundred. Years. Ago. I. Was. Supposed. To. Win. I. WAS! BUT. THAT. DAMNED. CHEATER. CAME. OUT. OF. NOWHERE. AND. KILLED. US. ALL! I. Will. Never. NEVER. FORGIVE. HIM!"

"Five... hundred years ago..? Then that means you've survived five battle royales?"

"No. I've. Only. Seen. Three. Battle. Royales."

"What? How does that work?"

"If. Someone. Ended. A. Battle. Royale. On. 120. The. Next. One. Won't. Happen. On. Year. 200. But. On. 220. Everytime. A. Battle. Royale. Finishes. There's. A. Cooldown. Of. 100. Years. That's. Why. I'M. TIRED. OF WAITING! THAT. BOOK. WILL. RESTORE. ME. OF. EVERYTHING. THAT. I'VE LOST! My. Youth. My. Age. My Lover. My. Friends. And. Everyone. That. I. Loved."

"For five hundred years you've searched for this book... But what is it that drives you this far..?"

"THE. BOOK. OF. RESURRECTION!"

"Resurrection!?"

"I. Was. Going. To. Kill. Myself. And. Be. Reborn. As. A. Normal. Human. Being. I. Was. Also. Going. To. Revive. Everyone. That. I. Loved. But... YOU! YOU. DAMNED. THIEVES! ARAGHHHHHHHHHH!"

I can understand his intentions but there's a big misunderstanding here. If I was on the same shoes as him, I'd probably be angered too. It's just five hundred years of pure loneliness and seeking for something that might not exist.

The manticore stomped his feet, "Rising. Flame. Tide!" The ground cracked and split.

"Oh crap-" He broke through the barrier that I casted on the whole artifact dungeon with ease. This place is going to crumble. "Dispel!" I took off Torched Body so that I could cast other spells. "Free Form Barrier!" I then filled the broken ravine that he created with a barrier. "Lightning Pulse!" I created a cloud of lightning that spews out lightning every interval at the enemy.

"ARGH!" Three lightning hit him in quick succession. "ANNOYING! Roaring Cannon!" A defeaning roar was heard and large shockwaves of his blast blew me away until I hit a wall. The cloud I casted dispersed and disappeared.

"Judgment!" A heavy pressure was put up on him.

"This. Is. What. You. Call. Heavy?" He isn't even fazed by the pressure I'm putting up on him. "Magic. Amplification." His body glowed in red then disappeared. "Judgment!"

"Oh-" I can feel myself getting heavier and heavier and it's difficult to stand up. "Devil's Advocate! Come, Bloodlust!" Lightning came out of nowhere and struck the entirety of my body. It summoned my armor and both of my weapons. I rushed at him like there was no pressure was felt. This caught the manticore off guard.

"Immovable!"

"Twin Blade Form: Rising Wind!" A giant tornado was formed with a single swing I just did and the manticore was lifted up in the air. I then retracted back my other weapon and grasped my other one with both hands. "Summoned Swords!" Eight swords spawned circular in the air. I grabbed one and did an upward slash which brought us even higher. The other summoned swords followed us.

I blinked to the other one, horizontal slash, then blinked again to other one, a stab, again and again, upward slash, downward slash, thrust, sideward slash and for the finale, I blinked to the last one and did a downward slash to slam him onto the ground below.

I might overdid it since the entire location quaked and there's a small crack in the barrier. But there's this weird feeling when I was hitting him. It felt like I was swinging a baseball bat. I couldn't feel any of my attacks cutting through.

"Is. That. All?" That voice was menacing and absolutely scary. It seems that all of my attacks did nothing. Was it that skill? Immovable?

So that's why I felt like I was using a baseball bat. I couldn't cut anything. "Not at all!" I charged up two elements on both of my hands, "Brightest Dark!" A giant ray of light and dark magic came blasting through like a laser on my hands as I shot it on the manticore.

"Hellfire. BLAST!" Both of our spells collided together and a combination of light, dark and fire magic knocked us both away.

"...Damn."

"Your. Skill. It's. Enough. To. Cancel. Out. My. Own. Skill? But. Your. Level. Is. Far. Inferior. Than. Mine. And. You. Invested. Most. Of. Your. Stats. At. Your. Strength."

I then heard something being struck. But it was neither of us. "That sound..."

"It seems that your allies have arrived. Mana Search."

"It seems that they're here. Mana Search." Yeah. There's the three of them trying to get in the barrier. But I could feel another source of mana. It's incredibly concentrated and condensed. I looked over at the manticore and it's charging up another skill.

"Hellfire..."

"WHA-" I didn't notice it but he's completely aiming at the three of them. I could cast Brightest Dark again but it won't reach since he already started his. Damn it. It's just faster to do this. "Lightning Body!" Lightning surrounded my body. I ran until I went up near the wall and ran up to where the manticore was firing.

Right now, I felt like I'm nearing the speed of lightning. Every step I took, a trail of burnt surface was being created. I ran and ran and it felt like time was slow.

I jumped to where the manticore was aiming and braced myself.

"BLAST!"

Woosh! A bright red light became bigger and bigger until it overtook my whole body. I couldn't feel a single thing but my body is getting incredibly damaged.

Those three seconds that I spent in that blast of his, I couldn't feel my arms or legs and I could only see with my one eye.

I see. I've lost a portion of my face and all of my limbs.

"Zi..nd!!!" I could faintly hear their voices as I fell down. I'm glad that they're okay.

As I fell to the ground due to that massive explosion the manticore casted, my armor disappeared into nothingness along with my weapon. The barrier I casted around the whole area disappeared and the shapeshift on Neco too disappeared seeing how he's out of the bottomless box.

"No..." I could see them going in but if they go now we'll all just die. With the last bit of my strength, "Barrier!" I recasted the entirety of this place to be covered in barrier. The won't get in now. "Sta...tus..."

[HP: 1,242/24,430]

[Mana: 301,430/330,532]

[Stamina: 10/100]

[Buffs]

-------

[Debuffs:]

Buff Seal

Burning (x59)

Damage Received Increased

Exhaustion

Lightning Body Life Cost

Mana Deficiency

Missing Arms

Missing Eye

Missing Legs (x2)

Missing Limbs (x3)

Damn... I'm practically gonna die at this rate.

"How. Pitiful. Sacrificing. Yourself. All. Of. This. Could've. Been. Avoided. If. You. Just. Gave. Me. The. Book. But. We. Have. Come. To. This. Conclusion. Don't. Blame. Me. For. Your. Death. All. The. Decisions. You. Made. Led. Up. To. This. Point."

But even though 70% of my body is already destroyed. I can still fight back. "Lightning... Manipulation." With the last of my mana, I made myself a pseudo arm and a leg. I can barely stand up with the exhaustion I'm feeling and this thing is incredibly unstable. With lightning body still active, I appeared in front of Neco and lifted him up. He'scompletely unconscious so I have to carry him with these lightning arms. I know he's gonna get damaged but our survival matters.

I jumped on one of the walls with Neco on my arms and everytime that I move, a portion of my health decreases.

[-100 HP]

I jumped to the side and the manticore tried to attack me with its scorpion tail but I was too fast for him to follow me. After jumping three more times, I went to the place the manticore shot earlier and dispelled the barrier. I let the water go in the whole dungeon.

I don't care if this dungeon is destroyed. All that matters is survival.

I threw Neco first into the water and I could hear the voices of Helga, Rize and Feran. "Zieglind!"

This is fine... Neco's gonna be...

Saved...