1031 YUNYUE VS SANGUIS (V)
XU RU could tell that there was something obstructing his vision and fooling his senses. Among the members of team Yunyue, he couldn't think of anyone who could have illusion skills. But with the process of elimination, it's easy to guess who it was. The fox pet of Noctis.
Which meant he was in the right place. Because either the fox was protecting this area until Noctis arrived, or Noctis was already there and this illusion was so no one here would be able to get in the way of Noctis putting the relic in its designated place.
Whichever it was, it didn't matter. All Xu Ru had to do was to destroy this illusion.
Ilusions were called illusions because they were not real. So, what he's seeing right now had no physical form. Meaning, if there's a wide-area attack that could bombard this place right now, that fox would definitely be hit. Not that he had an AoE skill for that. He's an Assassin, AoE attack was not his thing. But he had an item that could give the same effect.
He wondered what would happen if a game pet died in battle? Would their data be completely gone as well? He shrugged. Not that he cared.
Xu Ru took out the needed item out of his inventory. It was a bomb called 'Bloody Monday'. As the name suggested, it was a blood bomb. Something that would produce a rainfall of blood once it exploded. Of course, it would not just be an ordinary blood shower.
The drops of blood that would explode out of the bomb would turn into small, sharp needles. The damage of each of these 'needles' was quite significant, and if combined together, it's enough to kill a fox pet.
He turned on the detonator of the bomb and threw it up in the sky. At the same time, he jumped away from the expected blast radius of the bomb. And just as he did, the bomb exploded.
The sky above his location transformed in an instant, painting it with a vivid crimson hue as a cascade of blood-red droplets descended. It appeared as though the sky itself wept tears of crimson sorrow.
From a distance, it looked beautiful. In that macabre kind of way. But if one looked closely, they could see that those red droplets were like small thin knife raining down from above.
Xu Ru waited to see what would happen next.
It didn't take long for a change in the surrounding to occur. The space in front of him twisted and warped. Then cracks appeared until it broke like a glass fragment. He was looking forward to seeing what happened to the fox. Would he be a bloody fox now?
But despite his seemingly laissez-faire attitude, he was on guard and was ready to attack or defend himself against any incoming attack.
When the rain of blood finally settled down and the illusion had completely been broken, Xu Ru still couldn't help but be surprised. Because, right in front of him, there was nothing there.
Only a small altar.
Before he could ponder what was happening, he felt something coming from behind. Like a sharp bloodlust that was about to slice his neck. And that would have definitely happened if he didn't bend his body to the side. As evidence of the dagger that flashed by the side of his neck.
Long, dainty fingers held the dagger. If not for the situation, he would have admired those fingers more. But he couldn't, under good conscience, do that now. Because if he did, then the owner of that dagger would definitely not hesitate to stab him until he had no more HP left.
He glanced to the side and saw Noctis. The other didn't even give him the time to breathe. Noctis quickly attacked once again. Xu Ru countered swiftly. He took out his own dagger, and it surged forward like a striking snake. Noctis reacted with grace and precision, blocking the attack with one of his twin daggers. The clash produced a shower of sparks.
Noctis' lithe form was a flurry of motion. His dainty fingers danced with expertise, guiding the two daggers in a relentless assault. He closed the gap with incredible speed, launching a barrage of strikes at Xu Ru. The blades of his daggers glinted menacingly in the harsh daylight.
Xu Ru parried, deflected, and countered each of Noctis strikes with calculated movement. His dagger, a weapon with a menacing red blade, left a chilling trail of red light in its wake.
As their daggers met once again, Xu Ru asked with a playful grin. "Where's the foox? Did it die?"
Luo Yan felt a vein on his forehead throbbing because of the vampire's annoying grin. When he received Eclipse's telephathic message, he was already close to the center. But he was still not fast enough.
The moment he arrived, this vampire had already thrown that bomb.
He wasn't sure what effect it would have. But he knew Eclipse would be in danger if he didn't do anything. With no time left to counter, the best thing he could do in the situation was to cancel Eclipse's 'battle' status. Which would automatically kicked the other out of the game.
It was an instinctive move for someone who didn't want to see someone important get hurt. Many people might say that Eclipse was not real, and he's just a bunch of data. But for Luo Yan, he's very real.
Yes, Eclipse might not truly disappear once he's HP turned to zero. He could probably be revived just like any other player. But Luo Yan didn't want to gamble. So, he did what he did.
This was the first time that he actually used that function in this qualifying round of the Arcadia Cup. It's like calling back a special summon or something. Eclipse would definitely be pissed.
That's why hearing Alucard's mocking tone and seeing his unpleasant grin made it even more grating.
"Don't worry, my fox is all fine and good," Luo Yan said with a sweet smile. "Instead, worry for yourself. Because I'm going to kick your sorry ass."
Mini-theater: