Chapter 167: Ash Dyed

Chapter 167: Ash Dyed

Is this really necessary? Vir asked, Leaping alongside Cirayus as he cautiously approached a Garga Ash Beast that had separated from its herd.

He did not intend to kill but to lure.

One does not survive long in this realm being reckless, lad. The degree of confidence you show to your enemy should be proportional to how well you understand them. Ive never before laid eyes on those gangly creatures, Cirayus replied, referring to the horde of humanoids theyd come across. No amount of caution is too much.

Vir didnt disagreehed declined to fight the Phantomblade a week ago for precisely the same reasonbut Cirayus took it to an extreme, especially considering his strength.

Cirayus activated Balancer of Scales. Stay back, he ordered, before surging at the unwitting Garga beast.

Vir expected him to strike the beast with his poleax or greatsword. Or, at the very least, bash its face with his shield.

The four-armed giant did none of these things, instead opting to slap the oversized bull across the snout with his free hand.

The echo was so loud, even Vir heard it clearly, a full forty paces away.

There was a moment of brief silence, and Vir could almost feel the beasts shock through its blank stare.

Then it roared and charged Cirayus. The demon easily avoided its vicious horns, jumping back twenty paces at a time, taunting it all the while.

Whats wrong? Show me your strength! Is that all you have?

The same words Cirayus had used against Vir were now being used on a mindless bull. Vir did his best to ignore that fact. Especially since his last namethe name of his clanwas none other than the name of this beast.

The beast that was blindly raging forward, chasing after Cirayus.

I really hope the Gargans dont take after that thing

Assuming, of course, any were still left after the Chitrans coup.

Vir followed Cirayus and the beast while keeping a safe distance. Mixed feelings roiled in his chest. He wanted to see his homeland and interact with the Gargans.

Even so, he wasnt ready to call himself a prince, and he certainly wasnt about to lead a rebellion. Hed lived his whole life without even being aware of Clan Garga. To suddenly be expected to restore a clan he knew nothing about? It was unreasonable, no matter how much Cirayus said otherwise.

The Garga charged faster and faster and then it Blinked. Right to Vir.

The action took him completely by surprise, but Vir wasnt the same person hed been in the tunnels under Daha when its brethren had gored him.

Leveraging his newfound vitality, Vir hurled his body aside, his legs grazing the Garga as it charged past. Seeing an opportunity, he Blinked off the Gargas sinewy body, sending him flying away at breakneck speed.

It was another interesting ability hed uncovered recently; Ash Beasts universally used Ash prana. So did he, which meant he could suck the prana right out of them. Instead of consuming ground Ash Prana, every enemy he met acted like a prana reserve. Not just that; consuming his enemies prana weakened them as much as it strengthened him. In essence, all of his defensive Talents had now become offensive ones, even if they did require direct contact.

The Garga Blinked back to Vir, but Cirayus intercepted it, grabbing its horns and throwing it aside as if it weighed no more than a baby. This was likely true, given how drastically Balancer of Scales could alter the weight of things.

Having recognized Cirayus as the greater threat, the beast charged again after the giant, and Vir soon had to Leap at full power to keep up with the thing. There was no stopping the raging bull now.

With the deft movements of someone intimately familiar with guiding animals, Cirayus led the Garga back to the horde of humanoid beasts, before jumping high into the air.Updated from novelb(i)n.c(o)m

The Garga hardly noticed. Blinded by rage, it sought the nearest targeta humanoid beast near the periphery of the swarmand charged.

The deformed human stood no chance. The Gargas horn skewered it through, then continued to the one behind him. And the next. On each horn, four humanoid beasts writhed in throes of death, impaled, before the Garga flung its head, sending them flying to their deaths.

They dont seem all that strong, Vir thought. He didnt know what other tricks the Garga had up its sleeveor horns, ratherbut if the charge was its only attack, Vir felt he could take it down himself, so long as he was careful.

The humanoid beasts couldnt even do that.

Still too far from the humanoids, Vir waited, keeping both arms outside the shadows to allow time to pass. Precious few exits were available to him; this part of the ash was a barren landscape that stretched forever, but even here, rocks of various sizes dotted the scenery, casting small shadows of their own.

He didnt wait long. Cirayus laid down a suppression field with Balancer of Scales that covered the entire region, crushing the humanoids.

Seizing the chance, Vir sprung from a nearby boulders shadow, Leaping near where the creatures roamed before falling into his own shadow again. Vir considered using Blink but rejected it. The ability was useful for moving blindingly fast, but due to how it worked, it wasnt very useful for covering long distances at a stretch. It operated identically to Leap, just with all the power condensed for short-range bursts of terrifying speed.

Now within range, Vir had a multitude of exits to choose from. He picked a target somewhat separated from the others and snaked his katar from its own shadow. Prana shot out from his arm, coating the seric with Prana Blade.

Empowering the arm and activating Prana Channeling, Vir swung at the humanoids ankles, bracing for the resistance the creatures prana armor would inevitably give him.

Hed braced for nothing; there was no resistance. Vir didnt even feel his blade pass through the gangly creatures bones, and he wondered for a moment if his foe had detected his attack and dodged.

But a shadow was inevitable, escape impossible. The Ash Beasts ankle separated, making the beast fall.

It also caused the shadow hed been using to collapse. Cirayus had mentioned the dangers of thisthat several Iksana lost limbs while learning to use the ability. Not wishing to have his arm amputated, Vir hastily retracted his blade, then attacked again from a nearby shadow, ensuring he kept the bulk of his body within his realm as instructed.

He aimed for the same beast, but this time targeted its neck. As before, his blade met no resistance, making him wonder if he even needed his pranic abilities against these foes.

Vir! Cirayus bellowed from a distance. You may leave the shadows if you wish. If you wish for an extra challenge, sheathe your weapon and fight barehanded!

Surprised, Vir shifted his attention to the giant from within the Shadow Realm. If his body wasnt frozen while inside, hed have gawked.

Over four hundred beasts had roamed around the den when theyd started. Now, barely half that number remained. They lay crumpled on the ground, crushed under the tremendous weight of Balancer of Scales.

In the time Vir had taken to kill just one of these beasts, Cirayus had downed two hundred.

This is why his Balar Rank was so high in the Human Realm. Because he can end entire battalions in a single blow.

No matter how good Vir was at killing powerful mejai, he lacked any ability that allowed him to exert his power over a large area.

And he wants me to fight barehanded? Okay, bring it.

Vir Leaped out of the shadows and crashed into a nearby mob. The moment his feet touched ash, he spun, converting his forward momentum into a deadly spin of prana and fist.

Chunks of the skulking creatures blew apart as Vir ducked, bobbed, and weaved through them like a reaper. For while his fist was hardly deadly, the prana surrounding it absolutely was.

He was gone before their bodies had hit the ground, targeting another clump of enemies. Lacking an ability like Balancer, he had to be tactical about which enemies he chose if he wanted to maximize the impact.

Be warned! Cirayus bellowed. Theyre moving faster now!

Sure enough, the creatures had come out of their stupor, moving with such speed and dexterity that Vir could no longer dominate them with agility alone.

Razor-sharp claws lashed at him, but while he no longer had absolute superiority in this battle, neither was he pressured by their speed. He could evade them if he was careful. When he couldnt, he sank back into the shadows.

Vir switched back to his katar, reaping their lives one after another, albeit at a much-reduced pace. A pace that continued to decline as the mob thinned out.

Acting on a whim, Vir Empowered his arms and began lobbing chakrams instead of Leaping to his foes. To his immense surprise, the strategy worked, tearing into the beasts with ease.

When he ran out of chakrams, he switched to the smaller chakris, which were only slightly less lethal but demanded more careful aim. As deadly as these creatures were, their defense was only slightly better than that of an average human.

It was only when Cirayus squashed the last of them, when Vir stood in a field of broken bones, tattered robes, and ash, that he learned why.

For on their robes was sewn a most familiar symbol. An emblem composed of three identical circles, enjoined by an equilateral triangle. The very same symbol that occupied the center of Virs own chest tattoo. Except, instead of white, it was black. Its perfect inverse.

The symbol of the Children of Ash.