Chapter 486 485 - Terrifying

Chapter 486 485 - Terrifying　　Point-of-View: Damien Romer 

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I-I'm...I'm still alive. Just barely, but I'm alive...holy shit, that was way too close. Right before the lightning could wipe me out, I fired out Obliteration Magic blasts behind me to slow it down and then turned intangible while also simultaneously activating my defense Support Magic and putting up a barrier shield to protect myself. 

But turning intangible was a really bad idea...it's fine against a few bolts of lightning or something like that, but against such a massive lightning blast, I nearly got torn apart at a molecular level, which would've killed me instantly. 

I don't really understand how it works, but if I'm entirely engulfed in lightning or fire while intangible, without even a millimeter of a finger outside of the blast range, I'll sustain damage, and an extreme amount of it at that. 

It works the same with Obliteration Magic blasts too. If it's just a blast that's big enough to envelop half my body, for instance, I'll be fine if I turn intangible. But if it envelops my entire body while intangible...then I'm completely and utterly screwed. 

Anyway, I was currently sprawled inside a crater, where the trade center town I'd attacked had been, my body severely burnt, and my insides were in pretty bad shape too.

Fortunately, I managed to avoid sustaining any fatal damage, but I'm in some serious pain right now, I can't even get up. 

I winced as I began healing myself, coughing hoarsely as I tried to move and aggravated my damaged organs. Ow...that hurts so fucking bad, damn it. 

Damn it, damn it, damn it...I didn't think that any old weakling could come so freaking close to killing me, I very, very nearly died back there. I wonder how many people managed to get away...that last attack almost definitely caught more people up in the blast than just me. 

I have to say, the way intangibility works is super inconvenient. Also, confusing. Like, I can breath and stuff while intangible, and unless I want to, I don't just fall through whatever I'm standing on. 

Plus I can still generate momentum with my attacks and stuff while in that state. In fact, running and moving is actually easier, since any wind resistance passes right through me. 

Yeah, this technique definitely bends the laws of physics. I suppose that's only natural in a world of magic, huh? I just need to be careful not to make this same mistake again. I managed to survive this time, but I might not be so lucky again. 

I then let out a pained grunt as I sat up, teleporting away as I finished healing myself about one third of the way...I can't walk yet, but I can't just stay put. I need to get out of here quickly, there's no way that reinforcements aren't already on their way over here. 

And after surviving that blast just now, I really don't want to die. Well, not that I've ever wanted to die, but you know what I mean. 

I need to find a safe place to finish healing up and then rest up for a while...and after that, I'll pick my next target to launch an attack on... 

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Point-of-View: Shiro Blanc 

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Tch, I'm too late. He's already gone. The entire area has been destroyed, leaving nothing but a crater in its wake. 

"This is awful," Frowned Minise, looking around the area. 

I was here with her and Cusnai, along with some others from Liberty and Abyss. We were sent as back up to fight the Spectre, but we got here far too late. The battle's long over, and that bastard is long gone. 

"He showed up out of nowhere and started killing people, I only got away because Misen gave me a teleportation spell that took me back to Abyss," Remarked Prato with a grimace. 

"Then...he's really gone, huh?" Muttered Selesa, a look of sorrow in her eyes.

She still looked the same, she'd been paying me to use my Healing Factor to maintain her youth. But I guess she's matured on the inside, her demeanor is quite a bit different than it used to be. She's still a huge perv, but is more subdued and less vocal about it. 

"Hey, you saw what he looked like, right?" Cusnai asked Prato.

"Yeah. He had pale, pinkish white hair and black eyes, and a scruffy face. And his True Anima formed looked like an axolotl," Recalled Prato, clenching his fists with a look of frustration, "He's even faster and stronger than he was when we fought him in Abyss twenty years ago. I could barely even react to his attacks."

"How do you think he compares to my speed and power?" I inquired curiously. 

I'd been sparring with him lately, along with several others, to get them used to fighting someone overwhelmingly powerful. They may not be able to beat them, but they can at least react instead of getting killed before even realizing it. 

"Hm...I'd say his speed was actually a bit greater than yours, I believe he was using the Extra Magic Berserker, based on how aggressive he was," He replied, after a brief pause. 

He's already powered up that much, huh? 

"I suppose the biggest problem with him is how many tricks he's got up his sleeve that let him get away if things get rough. We can't beat him unless we find a way to entrap him first," I sighed, unable to think of a solution. 

"That's easier said than done...he can teleport, turn invisible, intangible and nullify magic," Pointed out Cusnai objectively. 

"What about Abyss's new enchantment? The one that makes the wearer's Mana immune to nullification?" I asked Prato. 

"That's still in the prototype phase, but it's almost complete. It works about ninety percent of the time. I think Misen was wearing a ring with that enchantment," He responded. 

"This crater...I can't imagine why Spectre would need to do this. But Misen didn't have the firepower to pull this off, did he?" I frowned in confusion. 

I bet it was probably just Spectre trying to flex his powers by leaving this crater behind, or something like that. 

"Actually, he mentioned something a while back, he'd figured out that it was possible to create an immensely powerful and destructive blast by, well, self-destructing and unleashing all Mana and life force in a devastating explosion. Well, he wasn't sure about it, since he couldn't exactly test it out, but...," Trailed off Prato, looking around at the crater. 

Hm, I see...if he was about to die anyway, there'd have been no reason to hold back on a technique like that. And I certainly wouldn't put it past him to do it. 

"Wait, does that mean that he killed the Spectre with this suicide blast?" Inquired Minise curiously and hopefully. 

"It's possible, considering this level of destruction...and of what we know of how the Support Magic intangibility works, that wouldn't have saved him. Still, with his healing capabilities, it's not impossible that he might have survived this. Unlikely, but not impossible," I surmised with a grimace. 

"Too bad all of Kuro's monsters are currently dormant. We might have been able to use them to find him," Mused Selesa wistfully. 

"And I don't have nearly enough monsters under my control to spread out a wide enough net," Sighed Minise in response. 

"If this keeps up, eventually our only option may be to just wait for him to wither away and die of old ag-...wait a second, how old did he look to you, Prato?" I inquired warily. 

"Huh? Uh...I'd say he looked like he was about in his mid-twenties or so?" He replied uncertainly.

Well, that can't be right. 

"Wait, you don't think he's...," Trailed off Minise, her eyes widening in realization. 

"Yeah...it's possible that he's figured out how to halt his aging process just like I have. His healing powers don't compare to my Healing Factor, but he has the Support Magic healing, Light Magic and his Anima is capable of regeneration, to an extent, but still. If he combines the effects of each of those, then it is possible," I stated grimly. 

"I don't like the sound of that...worst case scenario, he's immortal and terrorizes this world forever," Groaned Cusnai, looking stressed out. 

"I mean, if he does manage to live on for a long time, he'll eventually have to deal with the likes of Kuro and Belia, right?" Pointed out Selesa. 

"But with that much time, he's bound to get so powerful that his power level could even exceed Kuro's," Frowned Minise with a look of concern. 

"Are we really taking the worst case scenario seriously? Because if that does happen, it'll probably mean that he's killed me and eaten my heart by that point too," I added dryly. 

"If that happens, he'll probably get even bolder and go after everyone with significant power levels," Grimaced Cusnai. 

The fact that all of this is so plausible is what's most terrifying... 

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