Chapter 219: Stay Out of My Way

Point-of-View: Shiro Blanc

———————————————————————————

What the-...that sound is the warning that's supposed to trigger if the protective barrier is breached...don't tell me he just walked right in!? Has he snapped and lost his mind? Or is he just that confident? Tch, no, I need to calm down...this is my chance to finish him!

"Hey, is that the protective barrier?" Inquired Rai with a confused look. 

"Shiro, is he...is he in?" Asked Persia warily. 

"Yeah, he is...I have to go and kill him quickly, before he has the chance to kill anyone else," I replied, keeping up the act...soon enough, I'll no longer need to keep pretending like this. 

"Sober us up," Remarked Azyl, his eyes slowly blinking open.

Hm...yeah, why not? But I should act hesitant in accepting their help... 

"Fine, but...you have to promise me that you won't get close, he's too dangerous with all those unknown abilities, who knows what he can do now."

I then entered Soul-Eater Mode and sobered them all up one by one with my claws. 

"That sounded like it came from the west...can you sense him there, Shiro?" Inquired Key, getting off the couch and standing up. 

"Yeah, he's a bit far away from here at the moment, but that won't be the case for long. Let's go, you guys stay a fair distance behind me, got it?" I instructed, acting concerned. 

It won't be long before I don't have to put up with this act anymore, I can't wait to see their faces when I 'betray' them after I kill Kuro... 

———————————————————————————

Point-of-View: Kuro Black

———————————————————————————

"Don't take another step further!" Warned Ekai, entering his True Anima Mode, as the rain began to grow heavier, a flash of lightning erupting across the sky. 

"Ekai, don't do this, it's like I said before, your memories have been altered!" Pleaded Fuo, from behind me. 

"You don't know what you're saying, you have been brainwashed, Fuo, it's impossible for everyone but you to have had their memories altered just like that!" Retorted Ekai firmly. 

A technically valid argument, considering that all memories regarding reincarnation and parallel worlds had been replaced. He'd appeared and confronted us shortly after we entered through the open gateway. But it doesn't matter, he's no threat to me... 

"Do you really think you can stop me? Don't bother...you don't stand a chance against me. It'll be a waste of effort on your part. So, get out of my way."

"Don't underestimate me!" He snarled, before sprinting towards me rapidly. 

I entered Lazarus Mode as he closed in, his claws raised, intense flames swirling around his arms and claws, the raindrops around him evaporating. My wings grew out and spread open, as a red pattern appeared on my face, arms and chest. This form is a fair amount more than twice as strong as my old Vampire Mode form. I'm far stronger than he is. I evaded effortlessly as he swung his flame-enhanced claws at me, before springing back and charged up flames in his mouth. 

Right as he began to fire, I used Teleport to slip behind him and used Repulsion to slam him onto the ground on his front, his flames dissipated as he let out a gasp of pain, I then fired out a large spiderweb net from my fingers, pinning him down onto the ground on his front. I fired additional spiderwebs at his limbs to further restrain him, as the rain began to get heavier. 

"Like I said...you don't stand a chance against me."

Fuo caught up with me as I continued heading forward, reverting to my base form. 

"Hey, wasn't that kinda rough?" She said with a look of concern. 

"At most, he has a few fractures on his ribcage, nothing more. No serious damage was inflicted."

"I...guess you're right, but still..."

"I won't make the same mistakes I made before...not this time."

That's right, this time, no one will stand in my way, I won't let them. I will emerge victorious, and I won't kill anyone but Shiro, however, that doesn't mean that I won't fight back...incapacitating them without killing them is a simple matter. Inflicting a little pain and damage in the process is inconsequential...it's all a means to an end, so long as I reach my objective, how I do so doesn't matter. 

"Um, Kuro...," Said Fuo nervously, looking around. 

Hm, looks like the barrier alarm attracted a lot of pests... 

"I'll warn you once, back off and get out of my way...you won't die if you fight me, but I can assure you that it will hurt, a lot," I remarked, as they surrounded me. 

Adventurers, A-Ranked and above, from the looks of it. Some of the S-Ranks were here as well. 

"Get out of our nation, monster!" 

"You're not even a real person, get lost!" 

In a way, that's true...I'm most certainly not human anymore, even my base form is somewhat monstrous now. The bloodlust being directed at me was quite palpable, though most of it seemed to be driven by fear instead of hate...I suppose I can't blame them for being scared. They're facing the most powerful being in this world, after all. I'll take care of them without transforming. 

"Stand back, Fuo," I remarked, before stepping forward. 

One of the Adventurers panicked as I did, and fired out a ball of flames at me...what a weak attack, and it's growing even weaker thanks to the rain...I coated my fingertip in flames, and as the fireball reached me...I flicked it with my finger, sending it right back where it came from. The Adventurer narrowly got out of the way, as he leapt aside in alarm.

I then used Quintuple to form four copies of myself, five in total including myself. Before the Adventurers could react, all five of us fired out spiderweb nets at them, restraining the majority of them in a matter of seconds, as they let out cries of panic and struggled to try and break free, to no avail. 

I had coated the webs in a weakened version of my acid venom...it wasn't corrosive in this state, but it was a lot thicker than before, like mucus...it served as insulation, the webs could still be weakened with hot water or steam, but it would require significantly more heat than before, so much so that it would be impossible to weaken the webs without severely burning the captives. 

Hm, looks like some managed to avoid getting ensnared. And I see some familiar faces among those...Rex, Rion, Azeria, Selesa, Les and Misen, along with a few A-Ranked Adventurers as well. Forming four copies with the Quintuple Cross divides my power by five...I suppose it shouldn't be unexpected that some managed to evade my webs. No matter, I have plenty more options in my arsenal. 

"None of you stand a chance against me," I warned them, as I rejoined with my copies, "I'll say it again...back off and get out of my way."

"I, uh...kinda feel like listening to him," Remarked Rex nervously. 

"Come on, bro, we'll literally never get a challenge like this again!" Argued Rion, slamming his fists together with a grin...impressive, he's genuinely not afraid...or maybe he's just stupid... 

"Yeah, I'm with Rex on this...," Chimed in Selesa with a gulp. 

"Mhm, my instincts are screaming at me to run away," Agreed Azeria, taking a wary step back. 

Les and Misen didn't say anything, but by the nervous grimaces on their faces, it was likely that they didn't want to fight either. This is a waste of time, I'll just keep heading forward...and I'll strike down anyone who tries to get in my way. Like I said, I'll make sure I don't kill them, but beyond that, I won't hold back. 

They stiffened as I stepped forward and walked towards them, some of the A-Ranked Adventurers getting out of the way with fear in their eyes. Rion flew up and swooped down at me with black flames around his fist, enhanced by swirling wind. As he closed in and swung his fist down towards me, I evaded it and slammed a punch onto his forearm, snapping the bone in half, before swinging my other fist at the side of his jaw. 

I struck it with a powerful impact, dislocating his jaw and knocking in a couple of teeth, as well as knocking him unconscious. He collapsed down as he went limp, water splashing as he fell onto a puddle on the unevenly-paved ground. Rex then sprang up to my left with a rifle pointed at me head, while Azeria appeared to my right with lava projectiles swirling around her. 

Both of them...lack intensity. They're afraid of me, and as a result, their movements aren't as sharp as usual...not that it matters, even if they were at their best, they wouldn't stand a chance against me. I swung both my arms out, pointed my palms at them, and used Beckon to rapidly pull them in towards me. 

At the last second, I used Teleport to get out of the way, as the two of them crashed onto each other, losing consciousness as their heads slammed against each other. Les then closed in behind me, with a rapidly-spinning water drill around his right arm. He drove it towards my back as he stepped in close...hm, that won't get past my reinforced skeleton, but it will ruin my clothes. 

I swiftly spun around, let the drill hit my palm as I formed more reinforced bone in that spot, before opening my mouth and blasting his head with a sonic blast. The water drill dissipated, as he stumbled away with a dazed look and collapsed backwards, splashing onto a puddle. 

Misen then flung his dagger at me, charged with lightning. I evaded it and caught the handle, before using Teleport to slip behind him and brushed the tip of the Lightning Crystal blade against the back of his neck, transferring a fraction of the charged lightning into him, he let out a garbled cry of pain, his hair standing up, before collapsing onto the ground.

Hm, that was more effective that I thought, likely due to the rain. Looks like most of the other Adventurers who hadn't been caught in webs had all run away...the only one left was Selesa. She stiffened and stepped back with a nervy smile as I took a step forward, fear in her eyes. 

"Are you going to get in my way too?" I inquired, letting black lightning crackle around my arms. 

"N-nope, wouldn't dream of it!" 

"For once, a smart decision from you."

She collapsed onto her knees as I walked past her, Fuo following after me with an apprehensive look on her face. 

"Hey, I really think that you should take it a bit eas-," She began, when I suddenly felt a spike of bloodlust swooping down towards me from behind. 

I shuffled across to get out the way as it closed in, I felt a slight scratch against my right cheek as it shot past me. Oh, it's Gela. She must have just arrived, she isn't capable of suppressing her bloodlust, so I would have noticed if she'd gotten here sooner. 

"I've got you!" She exclaimed, driving her talons towards my throat. 

I grabbed her wrist before she could pierce my skin, and tightened my grip to prevent her from getting away. 

"No...I've got you," I replied, before swinging her over my shoulder. 

"Wha-...oof!" She let out a gasp of pain as blood came out of her mouth, as I slammed her onto the ground on her back with a resounding impact. 

That takes care of that, and I didn't have to go beyond my base form to do so. Now, then, to find the imposter...oh, never mind, he's already here. 

"You've got some nerve, showing up here after what you've done, Imposter!" He exclaimed, before narrowing his eyes as I met his gaze, "What form is that? Tch, I see you've gain a new transformation."

"Hm, this?" I inquired, before using Teleport to instantly close the gap between us, "This is just my normal state now. And I think you'll find that...I pack quite a punch."

Lightning was crackling around my hands, and his eyes were on them...just as I wanted. As quickly as I could, I then formed and burst out a massive fist out of my midsection using my Healing Factor, the large fist slammed onto his chest with a devastating impact and sent him flying back at a blinding speed, crashing through several buildings before eventually coming to a stop several hundred meters away...

Hm, that was more powerful that I thought it'd be...like I said, I pack quite a punch. Literally. The occupants of the buildings were rushing out in a panic and running away. What they do doesn't concern me, the lives of random civilians are meaningless to me. I then sprang back as Persia and then others stared me down warily, their weapons at the ready. 

I returned my midsection to normal and entered Lazarus Mode...too bad, that last attack tore my t-shirt. Well, that's irrelevant...I can always get a new one...after I kill Shiro. And I have no reason to rush right now...I can maintain Lazarus Mode for thirty minutes. 

"This won't be like last time...if you try and stop me from killing him, I will fight back, even against the four of you...so I'll warn you just once...get out of my way," I remarked, as the rain pelted down in a torrential downpour, lightning crackling across the dark night sky...

_____________________________

Thank you for reading, I hope you enjoyed this chapter! Don't forget to vote, and feel free to leave a comment, I appreciate any and all feedback and criticism!

Also, check out my Instagram account @aimdaqs for posts relating to this book.