Chapter 158 Foe Steeped In Darkness

With pure intent to kill, Emilio focused a condensed conjuration of fire in front of his staff, unleashing it into a tight flamethrower that extended through the length of the corridor, roaring out towards the eccentric stranger.

Shammoth laughed as the glow of the orange flames stretched through the halls, utilizing another contortion of his body as he held his arms out in front of him, causing them to morph into the shape of a shield of flesh before being further reinforced by protruded bone.

“Come on, show me your heat,” Shammoth challenged.

He can freely manipulate his body, and even his bones? I’ve never seen magic like this, Emilio thought, he’s probably right–I can’t apply logic to him. I just have to fight vigilantly!

It didn’t take long before the wave of flames clashed against the organic shield held by the Viscount of Farmaya, causing the heated air to whip through the corridor into an intense breeze.

“Ghh–!” Emilio focused as his blonde-and-black locks were brushed.

Melisande kept her distance, having to hold her arms in front of herself from the incoming heated winds.

He glanced back to make sure the girl was a safe distance away from the dangerous clash of forces, only to look forward to witness another unorthodox feat.

“–?!”

Sprouting from the depths of the flames, flesh-colored spikes extended throughout the hall, stabbing into the walls and carpet, jutting out in an attempt to skewer him as he jumped back, having to relinquish his hold on the flamethrower spell.

That was too close…! He thought.

As the flames vanished, leaving smoke and embers, Shammoth’s laughter rang out as the shape he’d taken was revealed; his shield-turned arms, held together in a broad, stalwart shape, had also extended into fleshy lances.

There were only light burn marks left, and even those quickly faded as the abnormal flesh belonging to the stitched-bodied man rebuilt itself quickly.

He healed all of that…? He’s just like Vandread, he thought.

Thinking there was a moment to catch his breath, he was proven wrong as the spiked shield of transformed flesh and bone seemed to grow closer and closer, causing the corridor to rumble.

He’s charging?! He realized.

There was no space left in the width of the hall with Shammoth running down it, attempting to skewer him completely.

He turned around, running down the hall as he quickly grabbed Melisande and jumped into the previous chamber just before the spikes slammed into the back of the hall.

“Grhh–!”

Though he was successful in evading being stabbed, an unpleasant landing was met as he fell into the vast pool devoid of water, landing on his back so that Melisande was free from the impact.

“Emilio…!” Melisande called his name out worriedly.

As he groaned, looking up, he was given no time to respond to the girl as a blur came into his vision, forcing him to act quickly as he held Melisande and rolled to the side.

The last-moment dodge saved him from being pierced violently as Shammoth landed on the spot he moved from, stabbing into the fiberglass with an arm transformed into a grotesque lance.

“–You’re quick for a brat,” Shammoth laughed.

He didn’t reply as he jumped to his feet, forcing Melisande behind him as he held both his sword and his staff, watching as the unorthodox figure that straddled the line between human and something malevolent plucked his limb from the ground of the dry pool.

“What kind of magic is that?…What are you?” Emilio asked, catching his breath.

Though his question was half a ploy to buy time for Melisande to get out of the crossfire and to buy him time to think, he was also curious as to what the nature of Shammoth’s power was.

The stranger smiled, rolling the sleeve on his left arm up to reveal stitches that ran vertically up his forearm. Alongside the stitches were tattoos of hieroglyphics, holding known meaning.

“Curious, are we?…Would you like to witness the ‘Abyss’, child?” Shammoth asked with a malignant smile.

As he asked this, the Viscount of Farmaya pinched the end of the stitches, pulling as it began to unravel, causing his forearm to open up, revealing a darkness contained in his flesh.

What is this…? Emilio questioned.

What was released was an abyssal mana, dense with evil and sublime in its potency; the darkness manifested itself around the opened arm of Shammoth, taking a tangible form and solidifying like an armor.

A transformation? He thought.

“Fire, water, rock, and wind…those are the four elements you may be familiar with, but darkness exists everywhere,” Shammoth told him with a small smile, presenting his new arm.

It was like his entire limb had been replaced by a hide of sleek, onyx steel, giving it twice the size and oozing a primordial strength.

“–” He remained quiet, trying to focus on his next move.

The truth was, he wasn’t blessed with an exorbitant amount of mana at the moment, especially after the Dragon Hurricane he had just used.

I could keep throwing random spells at him, hoping one will stick, but what’s more likely is he’ll just brute force through them like earlier…He thought, my best bet will be to fight him head-on until I find an opening for one, big spell.

Going for a fakeout, he pointed his staff forward without any hesitation, causing Shammoth to raise his arm as a shield.

Though no spell came; instead, he sheathed his staff on his back and dashed forward with Silver Wing in his hand, taking advantage of the brief moment he bought.

“A frontal assault? I didn’t expect that from a brat your size,” Shammoth said with a smile, “By all means, come tr–”

“–Wind Blast!”

Before Shammoth could finish his antagonizing speech, he was interrupted as a blast of wind pelted against his back, nearly knocking him forward as he faltered momentarily.

Glancing back, the Viscount of Farmaya saw the silver-haired girl standing a fair distance away with her hand held forward, huffing.

pAn,dan0vel.c0m The girl? Shammoth thought with a twisted smile forming, guess I’ll handle her, too.

Though the patchwork man found himself surprised again as he returned his gaze forward, finding the blonde-and-black haired boy already in front of him, midway through a slash.

Quite speedy, are you? Shammoth thought with surprised delight.

“Graaagh-!” Emilio roared out.

Utilizing magical reinforcement, his strength was amplified, allowing his slash to come faster and with more strength behind it as the steel of his blade etched itself across the man’s vest, cutting through it and into his abnormal flesh.

It was an odd feeling; the skin belonging to Shammoth and the flesh beneath felt far too light.

Rather than pain being experienced, Shammoth seemed to be simply surprised as he jumped back before the sword could fully be dragged across his chest.

The mysterious stranger held his slashed chest for a moment as black blood seeped out from his wound, holding a smile.

“You’re definitely a strange one. Wielding magic and possessing such strength, yet a child–strange, very strange,” Shammoth noted.

Again, the wounds possessed by the man lasted no more than a few moments before stitches appeared on his skin, sewing his wound shut without fail.

There’s that healing again. I’ll need a lot of firepower in one attack to bring him down, Emilio thought.

“My turn,” Shammoth said, holding his abyssal-armored arm in front of him.

“–?!” Emilio’s eyes widened.

A pulsation of darkness propelled from the palm of the stranger’s clad palm, stretching out like a malevolent shock wave that caused the fiberglass of the pool ground to crack, shatter, and lift before pelting against the young man’s body.

“Grgh….!” Emilio gritted his teeth.

“Emilio!” Melisande yelled out worriedly.

It was a perplexing sensation caused by the powerful shock wave of shadows; it caused his skin to ripple and a sickness to swirl in his stomach as unintelligible, rapid whispers flowed into his ear as the voice of the darkness.

Am I dying?…He questioned.

At last, the pulsation came to an end, causing him to suck in air through his empty lungs and fall to his knees, coughing out.

Shammoth lowered his hand with a small smile, “That’s the natural essence of the Abyss. That’s the air I breathe, the weather I storm, and the songs I listen to. But for a brat like you, it’s death.”

Blood seeped from the boy’s ears as his ears were left in agony, still hearing faint whispers that were like an itch in the canals of his ears.

Beginning to rush over to his side, Melisande tried approaching Emilio, but the boy rejected any help, raising his hand as he used wind magic to guide her away from the battle, gently pushing her into the next room.

“Emilio–?!” Melisande let out in confusion.

–

It was just the two of them now, leaving the boy picking himself up to his feet as his equilibrium seemed compromised with his knees quivering just from standing.

Shammoth watched almost as if taking joy in it all, “Smart move. I was about to kill the girl.”

A single one of the man’s fingers had turned into an elongated blade, but returned to its normal shape afterward.

BA-DUMP. BA-DUMP. BA-DUMP.

The adrenaline pumping through his veins worked in synergy with his desperate desire to win, flooding through his body with fiery blood. Veins pressed against his skin as his pupils shifted to their bestial shape; even dark-blue scales began to armor his forearms and portions of skin.

[Dragonheart System Activated]

[Current Stage: Dragon Son | 2/10]