Chapter 397

Chapter 397

With nowhere to run but up. I use two massive air-steps full of wind magic to boost myself upward, nearing the upper limits of the mana-shielded dome.

The orbs follow, but I swing my flaming crimson aura-covered sword downward as there is nowhere left to run. If I can't block this long-range attack, I might as well just forfeit now... That would be the easy way out.

If I fall below 10% health, I'll be instantly transported outside the ring and lose the match. If I allow that to happen, I won't be able to learn the secrets of this stronger version of the Lich King's soul energy.

It may be the one and only chance I get... So I have to continue.

As I swing my sword down, the two orange orbs continue to rise up at a faster and faster speed.

I can see the black-robed wraith far below me with its skeletal arms lifted in the air, somehow manipulating this energy.

Once the energies collide, a sizzling sound vibrates through the entire arena.Updated from novelb(i)n.c(o)m

I put my feet backward to hit the mana-shielded wall, and an extra additional force pushes me forward to face the incoming attack.

The glowing edge of my blade sinks deep into the orbs, and the energy around them starts to bubble like a hot knife dropped into a tub of butter.

The deeper it sinks in, the more they bubble, and the closer my body gets to the approaching orbs, the more the energy is dispersed.

By the time my blade slices all the way through, both balls of energy explode into plasma that continues its upward momentum to splash against the top of the arena dome. I feel an outer layer of my red hydra's buff tear away from my sword, and every point that made contact with the orbs. But in the same instant, I see the explosion of orange energy being eaten away and dissipated in the same reaction.

I continue to fall downward and catch myself from hitting the floor with a combination of earth and air magic before I get too close to a dangerous impact.

However, my eyes still stay locked on the orbs of energy dispersing above me.

Along with the trail of red energy leaking from my blade and body, the even more fascinating part about it is the two energies destroying each other on contact.

The sizzling and bubbling reactions from before were just the two soul energies fighting and disintegrating each other upon making contact. The layer around my entire body as a whole stayed intact, but this is the first time I've seen any part of the Red Hydra's buff be destroyed.

By the time the two energies colliding above me completely eat each other up, the thin crimson layer of energy that was lost from the attack regenerates around my body and sword.

It reminds me exactly of how the Ghoul's soul energy regenerated in my last matchup. Up above me, there is still some leftover red aura stagnating in the air, but it is impossible to control just like the natural red cloud that is left behind me when I activate this buff.

Before I can think too hard about it, the activation of another two orbs of magic appear in the Wraith's open palms.

My eyes widen as I watch the stone come out the other side of its wavering robes without a single drop of red aura left on them.

It's almost like the black cloak turned into an energy-sucking black hole, and once the stones fall out the other side, I even lose the connection of my manipulation skill with them. They fall to the ground with a loud series of thuds.

At the sight of this, I begin to gather even more power together.

If these attacks didn't do enough damage, I'll hit the monster straight on with my strongest element.

I charge my sword with all the mana I can infuse from the wall behind me, as fast as possible before the Wraith can recover or throw in an attack it can't possibly take head on. Then, in an instant, I swing a dense dark fire imbued blade of mana covered in a veil of crimson aura.

The monster's arms have been blown away, but it's still floating in the air, unmoving, staring straight at me.

As the blade of flames rockets directly at its torso again, I feel the dreadful aura from the beginning of the match return in even greater intensity.

The ring feels as if it's being suffocated with a dark and heavy force, but none of it is visible to the naked eye, it's all in my mind.

The second this happens, the fractured bones, hands, and arm parts come floating back to the Wraith, covered in a dense orange energy that is swirling with more black streaks than before.

Each of the fragments and bones reconnects to the Wraith's torso at the same instant that my black blade of flames makes contact with its body straight on.

The Wraith shifts its stance, taking a step to the left right before it's hit and split clean in two.

However, my mana blade's red veil of energy disintegrates and the innards of black flames fall to the floor behind it, even as it's split in two.

Its black cloak separates in half, exposing a full bone-white skeleton in a sea of churning black energy. The cloak itself isn't even a cloak, it's just an energy manifestation covering its skeletal body and keeping it floating in the air.

Deep within the Wraith's bony ribs is a bright orange pulsing heart.

My mana blade missed it by just a few centimeters... if it hadn't moved its body right before being hit, that heart would have been split in two as well.

I jump to the other side of the ring, charging up another identical attack while summoning ice, earth, and wind magic to act as miniature distractions in the meantime.

While I do, the ominous creature keeps its head pointed at me and both of its halves come back together.

Two more orbs appear in its hands. These ones are tinted black and hardly show the glimmers of orange beneath their surface.