Chapter 442 Angel VS Void Beast (3)

442 Angel VS Void Beast (3)

Now that I have what I need to fight the Void Beast, it's finally time to go serious.

"[Lifeblood: 200%]!"

Lifeblood, one of my oldest, simplest, but most trustworthy powerup skills, was technically limitless. The only limiting factor for it was the penalty if you used it beyond your body's capacity.

At the 9th stage, my body could hold the backlash of 100% output without side effects, practically able to keep it running 24/7. However, it's not like 100% is the maximum.

Activating 200% output would lead to a quite heavy penalty, losing almost a year of my lifespan in one minute. But at the 9th stage, my lifespan was basically stretched to over 200 years, so I could spare some, at least.

'There's no use for my remaining lifespan if I'm dead anyway!'

With [Lifeblood] activated, the black marks on my body turned a deep red instead, with a red blood fog seeping out of my skin. It was painful just to maintain the technique, but I had no choice but to use it.

The more time that passes, the higher the possibility that Ember and Namia's "blessing" will fade!

"AZRAEL!"

I roared to the top of my lungs, not minding even if the blood vessels in my vocal cords ruptured.

Azrael noticed me calling him and realized what I was about to do. Thanks to the Energy Recovery Potion I got from Ember, my energy was back to about a quarter. I should be able to fight well enough with that much.

By kicking the ground, I shot forward at lightning speed. In just three steps, I reached the area where the two giants were fighting.

"Take this!"

As soon as I saw an opening, I swung both swords and slashed against the shell protecting the Void Beast. With one hit from the two blades, simultaneously, the shell cracked, and the swords even managed to touch the back of the Void Beast's leg. Updated from novelbIn.(c)om

"...!"

After the strike, the protective shell was weakened for a short moment. Azrael, true to his words, didn't miss the chance and swung his blade. His target was the exact same spot as before, where the flames from his Flamberg were still burning brightly.

[Dieeeee...!]

He raised a deafening roar, powerful enough to shake the entire space around them. I even had to back away just to avoid having my eardrums ruptured.

However, in the end, even the slash he did just now wasn't enough to finish off the Void Beast.

"As expected, it wouldn't go down that easily...!"

With [Lifeblood] activated and using Minerva's psychic barriers as a platform, I could move around and change directions at any given moment. However, my speed was still far from being comparable to that of beyond-god-level beings.

"...!"

A fist appeared at the spot I was approaching, causing me to make an emergency stop and jump up to evade. However, as if predicting my movements, the Void Beast's mouth was already aiming there, about to fire.

Although the Void Beast was using only two attack patterns—physical attacks or its energy beam—it was still hard to actually evade each of them successively!

*SLASH!*

"Can I do it?"

I checked my energy, and thanks to the effect of the potion still going strong, I was near 75% of my capacity even while I was using skills actively. With this much, it should be enough.

"System! Use Forced Cooldown on the Guardian Halo!"

[Calculating... The System's Guardian Halo's maximum remaining cooldown time is 23 hours, 55 minutes, and 3 seconds. Do you confirm using Forced Cooldown to reset all cooldown timers?]

"Yes!"

I didn't even need to listen to the System's voice to the end before giving my consent. As soon as I did, a mix of gold and silver light covered my body before the system's announcement echoed in my ears once again.

[Forced Cooldown was applied successfully. Consumed energy: 5%]

"That was cheaper than I expected..."

As I mused about the unexpected cost of the Forced Cooldown, I turned to Azrael and used the Guardian Halo once again.

"Stand up, Azrael! Finish him!"

I cheered as the golden light started to cover his body. However, before it could be completed, a warning came along with extreme fatigue.

[Warning! You don't have sufficient energy to complete the activation of the Guardian Halo. Prioritizing the healing of the important parts... Error. Injury is applied with a strong curse and needs to be healed all at once... Do you wish to consume life force in exchange for energy?]

"...!"

The system is... asking me to offer my life to heal Azrael?! That's crazy! With him being a beyond-god-level monster, I'm not even sure if offering my entire life would fit the bill!

Just as I was starting to panic, a warm hand was placed on my shoulder.

"You brat, running out of energy all the time...!"

It was Namia's voice coming from behind. Furthermore, a familiar arm circled around my neck before a familiar face approached mine, with our lips touching firmly.

'Ember...!'

From her mouth, pure, non-elemental energy started to pour into my body through my mouth. The same goes for Namia, with a warm stream of energy flowing from her hand to my shoulders and going straight to my core.

[Notice! The energy level reached the required amount. Completing activation of the System's Guardian Halo... Success!]

After the notification echoed in my ears, Ember's face slowly went away, her face beet red from kissing. Although my face was probably the same, now's not the time for that.

"Azrael...!"

Just as I turned to where he was, I saw him slowly standing up, looking at his body with eyes filled with confusion.

[I'm... healed again? Is this your doing, human—no, Will?]

"No time to chat! Finish him!"

Although he was still confused, Azrael knew that we were tight on time. He took a step forward, extending his hand, about to grab his flamberge once again...