Chapter 201: Unique Skill: Dance, Marionette.

"Dance, Black Marionette..."

Black threads wrapped themselves around Calio's limbs.

'These threads are more troublesome than I thought.' Manny's eyes narrowed when he saw this strange phenomenon.

"You might have a lot of mana, but you'll lose if you don't know how to use it, idiot!" Calio had a wide grin on his face as he charged at Manny.

Eyes narrowing, Manny spread his legs and held his blade horizontal to his body. With a slight tap of his toes, a burst of mana surged out of his legs and he was propelled forward.

"These black threads might make you fast, but I'm faster," Manny said as he swung his blades accurately at Calio.

A grin made its way onto Calio's face as he pressed forward. Just before the two clashed, Calio'd body moved strangely...

Initially charging forward, his body shifted so quickly, Manny was unable to react in time. Before he knew it, Calio was already above him.

"See? You lose..."

A kick, followed by two shots from his bow instantly slammed into Manny. However, it wasn't so easy to take someone as skilled as Manny out.

Although the kick managed to land, Manny was fast enough to use his blades to slash the arrows in two...

Kicking against the ground, Manny quickly leaped away from Calio.

"The black threads..." Manny said, his eyes narrowing into slits.

"Hehe... This is an advanced form of my skill, {Dance, Marionette}. With this skill, I'm practically invincible. You should run back to your little group now." Calio said smugly.

However, Manny paid him no mind as he stared at the black threads...

'The threads are made from finely woven darkness elemental mana. Because of this, it develops unique properties that I can't quite get a hold of. All I know is that it allows him quickly change trajectories mid-fight.' Manny thought to himself.

Trying to understand an opponent's skills in battle was something that Manny tried to do. After all, how else was he supposed to improve his...

"Hehehe... Fighting you is fun." Manny had a wide, nearly mad smile on his face as he charged at Calio at full speed.

He loved nothing more than a strong opponent to fight. It was only by devouring the strong he could grow. If he saw walls of steel, he would break them down If he saw a cunning animal about to escape, he would capture it and tear it limb from limb with his own cunning and skills.

Seeing the way Calio fought had awakened his predatorial instincts. Now, he wanted to devour him whole...

Probably sensing the change in Manny, Calio grew wary but still had a confident smile. After all, he had complete hope in his skills. He believed someone as unrefined as Manny would be unable to defeat him...

The power of his skill lay not in great power, but in the skillful application of said power. The strings tugged at his body, making his body dance like a puppet under his control. It was an eerie sight, but Manny wasn't put off by this.

The two clashed once again. One confident in his power, the other confident in his wits...

Firing arrows at Manny who swung his blades at the rain of arrows, Calio activated his {Black Marionette} once again. His body was wrapped in black threads, and he was briefly suspended above the ground.

Before Manny could get to him, Calio was already behind him.

BANG!

Without hesitation, Calio delivered a punch to the center of his back, then a kick to his ribs. Using his forearm to block the second blow, Manny spun around with his blade in an attempt to draw some blood, but the slippery Calio was no longer there.

Sensing the incoming danger, Manny lay down on the ground as fast as he could. Two arrows whizzed past him, embedding themselves shaft deep into the ground.

"Tch!"

"Tch!"

Both combatants clicked their tongues at the same time as they charged at one another again...

***

"What's taking that idiot so long?!" Vincent yelled, impatiently tapping his feet on the ground. He, Dan, and Hunter had moved away from the bridge and closer to the buildings that were in inhospitable conditions.

"I wonder if the rest of the world is like this," Dan said softly, his eyes scanning through the rubble.

"Probably so... Those missiles from that night are most likely the cause. Normal human life is long gone..." Hunter said slowly.

"Oi, are you two even listening? That idiot is taking so long. Aren't you concerned?" Vincent said with a raised brow.

"You are concerned about him? I think he is the last person to be concerned about..." Dan said scratching his head.

"Him? How?" Vincent said, finding it hard to understand.

"He's just as dangerous as that bastard, Cain. Height does not show it, but it is very obvious to me; he's strong. He can take care of himself." Hunter said dismissively.

"Back to more important topics, Dan..." Hunter said, signaling to Dan.

"From what I can tell, the central region was hit just as bad as we did. However, because it is much bigger and there are much more buildings, I think there is a chance that more people survived on here." Dan said, his eyes furrowed as though he was deep in thought.

"Ha...!"

Suddenly, a sigh escaped from Vincent's lips...

"What is it?" Hunter said, turning to Vincent inquisitively.

"Even though the world is going through terraformation, that doesn't mean it's mutating into some strange purple planet or something. Well, I can't say much about the future, but for now, the layout of the world should be similar to the way things were before it all went to shit." Vincent said, his head raised with pride as he spoke.

"Get to the point..." Hunter said, his irritation becoming evident.

"Ehem... Well, since that's the case, then we need to look at things objectively. Even though there are a lot of buildings, we are still talking about missiles. Unless there are people powerful enough to stop those things, then entire towns can be decimated overnight. Not only that but there are still devils and mutant beasts to deal with.

So what makes you think there might be so many people here?" Vincent said, turning to Dan.

"That's..." Dan looked a bit confused. Turning to Hunter, the half-human Hunter simply turned to admire the weather, completely betraying his friend.

"At the same time, there could be a decent amount to could survive the missile bombardment. If there are people with the strength to rival ours here, then that shouldn't be much of a hassle. Defeating devils and mutant beasts should also be within their capabilities..."

"Get to the point damnit!" Hunter said coldly.

"Hehe... What we need to consider now, isn't how many people are here, but the amount of resistance we are about to face as we head forward. Judging from how strong this guy is, then the upper brass should be just as powerful if not more powerful than he is..." Vincent explained.

"I see..." Hunter said, nodding his head.

"So what do you suggest we do?" Dan said, staring at Vincent.

"Well, we can't do anything until we get some information. That's why I want us to hurry up. Manny is taking too long to beat that guy!"

"Let's not interfere with their battle. Although we need info, it isn't that urgent." Hunter said. Once he was done speaking, he sat down on the ground and closed his eyes.

With a shrug, a coat of white ice covered Dan's body. In a few seconds, he had disappeared from Vincent's eyes.

"Bastards!" Vincent cursed under his breath before plopping down to the ground and sulking while watching Calio and Manny fight.

***

Meanwhile, the battle between Calio and Manny was reaching its climax...

"Ha... Ha... Ha... You truly are a demon." Calio said to Manny with a tired smile on his face. His breathing was heavy, and his face a little pale. Meanwhile, Manny's breathing was only slightly disturbed.

"Demon? Hahaha! That's interesting... What's even more interesting is this skill of yours." Manny said with a smile.

"You've figured it out?" Calio said, his face dropping a bit.

"Not quite. However, I know enough to beat you." Manny said confidently.

"Is that so..." Cslio said with a relieved expression.

Without saying anything more, Manny ran forward. Swinging his blades vertically, he forced Calio to jump back. Following it up was a high kick toward his neck. However, Calio dodged all the attacks smoothly.

Tapping lightly against the ground, Calio was airborne immediately. Seeing this, Manny swung his blades at him, attempting to drag him down. However, Calio danced around his blade like a worm and landed a punch squarely on his face.

As soon as the punch landed, Manny's eyes took on a strange green glow that was much different from the usual one.

In his eyes, strange symbols danced around, eventually solidifying into a single rune.

"Devil Eye: Blindspot!"

Manny's blades seemed to steal away the dim illumination of the moon as they flashed around his target.

The Sound of taut threads being cut up filled the air.

"You have figured it out!" Calio stared at Manny like he was a monster.

"Not really... I just used a skill, so I guess you can call it cheating." The black threads around Calio quickly unraveled, leaving Calio there with a frown.

"Your skill is definitely something I haven't seen before. By using strings of mana you attached to the air, and the surrounding material, you can change not only your trajectory but your orientation in space in a split second." Manny said confidently.

'Damn it!' Calio took a few steps back, traces of fear appearing on his face.

"While this skill is very clever, it isn't without its downsides. Because the skill uses these magic threads, as long as the threads are cut, the skill will come unraveled. To mask this downside, you used darkness elemental mana to activate the skill. In the end, the strings become unnoticeable to the normal eye.

Even if you have very good perception, because of how thin the threads are, it is very unlikely for them to be noticed in time." Manny explained.

"Just what eyes do you have?!" Calio couldn't help but ask.

"My eyes?" A smile crept onto Manny's face, "They are called {Devil Eyes}."

"Devil Eyes?" Calio whispered to himself with a frown.

"Alright! Do you surrender?" Manny said, pointing his blade at Calio.

"Ha... Fine." Calio said with a defeated smile on his face.

"Really? That was easier than I thought..." Manny scratched his head and said.

"What do you expect me to do in this hopeless situa-"

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Before Calio could complete his words, A bolt of mana slammed into the side of his head, knocking him out cold.

"Eh?" Manny exclaimed with a perplexed look on his face.

"Get him down here, you idiot!" Vincent yelled at Manny, lowering his gun that had smoke streaming from its nozzle.

"Damn... Did you kill him?" Manny said, staring at Calio with a weird expression on his face.

"No. He's just unconscious. While talking to you, he was planning to use his string magic to escape." Vincent explained coldly.

"Eh? How could you tell?" Manny asked with wide eyes. He was so close to Calio, and couldn't detect him making such a move.

A proud smile made its way onto Vincent's face as he said confidently, "That's 'cause my eyes are sharper than yours..."

The unique glint of the {True Sight} Devil Eyes could be seen in his eyes turning his casual stare into something more than an ordinary gaze...