As I stood at the edge of the roof, Kuzunoha imbued the soles of my boots with one of her elusive arcane sorcery. I felt a noticeable buoyancy as if I'm walking thinly above something on the current surface where I was standing.
"Looks like I won't be drawing tonight," I jested.
"You can still drown if you get smashed by that ridiculously oversized anchor that the Revenant is carrying," Kuzunoha playfully added. "Can't have your entire body to be above the water no matter what, since that will lead to numerous complications."
"I trust your words," I brandished two of my Stormhooks on both hands, as my muscles relaxed to prepare for what I'm about to do. "Otherwise, you won't be able to enjoy my delicious blood once the xenogene takes over."
Kuzunoha sighed with mixed emotions. "We have only known each other for less than a week, yet you already know me better than most people I know."
"I don't want to let you go out of my grasp, after all~"
I didn't see what kind of expression Kuzunoha made after I said that. S~eaʀᴄh the Nôvel(F)ire.ηet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.
But I knew well that her silence speaks volume, more than anyone in this bastion.
Heh.
Are you seeing this? You bastard.
Not only did you brutally murdered what was mine, but you spooked me beyond anything that I've ever perceived in this world as Narcissus. Not even the 'Clay' incident scared the shit out of me like you do, you know!?
I don't know if you're omniscient or a bored trickster, but the fact that you still haven't unleashed that aforementioned 'hell' was enough of an indication that you can't jack shit right now!
And if there is the slightest chance that you're observing this, I want you to know the kind of person you're dealing with.
From the high vantage point, the Drowned Revenant was still less a figure and more a creeping force of nature. A slow-moving blot of despair, its presence warped the landscape as it trudged forward. The tide beneath it followed like a curse, a rolling wave of brackish water spreading outward, swallowing everything in its path.
No birds flew overhead, no sound saved the distant drip of water, growing louder with every inch it advanced.
Approximately, it reached around 20 meters in height as a small part of its body was swallowed by its own rotten seawater. There should be no sane mortal that would see that and think 'I can fight it!', but my mind was already resolute.
Casting the strength of my wraithgripped-hand, my eyes drilled into the unrelenting entity of horror that was 40 meters away from me. Teeth gritted, and lips curved, I dastardly threw one of my Stormhook like I wanted to rip my hand out of my shoulder.
As one of my three Stormhooks was barbarically deployed, I continued the initiative and sprinted forward above the shallow brackish sea to make my invitation of war clearer.
'I'm your target, set your eyes on me!'
I hurtled forward, my heart hammering in my chest as the Stormhook cut through the air, a wicked arc of metal aimed at the Drowned Revenant's towering form.
The air around me was thick with the stench of salt and decay the farther I approached the revenant. My boots, imbued with Kuzunoha's arcane sorcery, kept me balanced just above the rising tide, but I could still feel the cold, brackish water sloshing at my feet, its oily texture clinging to my sole.
Then it happened—the Stormhook slowed mid-flight, its trajectory warping as though space itself twisted around the Revenant. The weapon, once a deadly missile, now hung suspended, then spiraled off course, crashing harmlessly into the distant water with a muted splash.
I guess they won't be in the Qliphoth Object category if they didn't have some kind of bullshit abilities, heh.
A sudden shift in the air sent every instinct into overdrive.
"Hmm??"
The water beneath me swirled violently, and from the depths, blackened tendrils shot upward, writhing masses of aquatic horror, twisting toward me with grotesque hunger. Each tendril moved with unnatural speed, the water itself bending to their will as they surged forward, seeking to ensnare me.
"Heh, right. I'm technically in his domain."
I dodged the first with a sharp leap, twisting mid-air to avoid its slimy grasp. The second tendril whipped around with terrifying accuracy, forcing me to roll sideways, narrowly avoiding its coil.
My breath hitched as another lashed out from the side, and I barely managed to block it with one of my Stormhooks, using the weapon's curved edge to grasp and deflect the blow.
The force of it sent a shudder through my arm, and I felt the weight of the Revenant's otherworldly presence bearing down on me.
I expected this reality of the situation—this wasn't a battle of strength alone.
The Revenant was something more, something that played with the boundaries of space and time like a child pulling at the threads of a spider's web. My movements felt slower, heavier, as if the air around me had thickened into a suffocating fog, while I was dancing my life away above the sea of death.
But neither the Revenant's target locking and my Valtherion's Blood finished their preparation.
Getting wounded now would be too severe.
I gritted my teeth and pushed forward, weaving between the tendrils as best I could. Each step felt like a gamble—too slow, and the tendrils would wrap around me, dragging me into the depths of whatever abyss the Revenant called home. Find more to read at m_v l|-NovelFire.net
Too fast, then I will lose my balance as I notice that the entity could perceive my movement, no matter how fast I maneuvered.
Suddenly, the air shifted again, a low, guttural sound reverberating through the waterlogged battlefield.
The Drowned Revenant was moving. Slow, deliberate steps, each one sending ripples through the water and shaking the ground beneath my feet. It was coming for me, drawn by my defiance.
Something foreign bound itself to me, like an uninvited curse that forces itself to lodge into the hinges of my soul.
This was definitely the sign that I became its victim, and cursed with immortality!
"You finally acknowledged me, you bastard!"