Chapter 114: Chapter 114: System's Rage

"Tell them, Elio! Do they think they can survive without a competent leader? Without the barrier, EVERYONE will die!"

Fathoran's revelation fell like a bombshell among those present.

Murmurs of disbelief and fear began to spread like wildfire through the crowd.

Elio, feeling the pressure of hundreds of eyes upon him, clenched his fists. Anger boiled within him, not just at Fathoran's words, but at the truth they contained. He had hoped to address this issue differently, in a time and place of his choosing.

Now, that choice had been ripped away from him.

"Is that your pathetic excuse?" Elio roared, his voice charged with fury that echoed off the walls. "Is that why we should bow our heads while you hoard all the resources and prevent us from advancing? Your way of acting is what led us to this in the first place!"

Elio took a step forward, his armor gleaming in the dim light, a physical manifestation of his resolve. "Hundreds of women with rotating stays in your family's harem to produce children as if there were no tomorrow! Forty years ago, the wall's army was more than double what it is now. Lucien told me, you damned hypocrite!"

Fathoran, far from being intimidated, let out a laugh that chilled the blood of those present. It was a sound devoid of joy, filled instead with contempt and madness.

"It's necessary! God willed it so! My descendants, my family is what will unite this city. The rest are just extras!"

With those last words, Fathoran launched his devastating combo. The spheres of wind and ice collided in the air, creating an explosion of shards that advanced towards the trapped crowd.

Fathoran Mana: 32

Elio, reacting on instinct, extended his hands. A carbon barrier began to form in front of the soldiers, but it was evident that it wouldn't be enough to stop Fathoran's attack.

Elio Mana: 32

Something wasn't right.

The control he felt over the element wasn't as fluid, as natural as when he had eliminated Fathoran's descendants. The sensation of absolute power he had experienced then eluded him now.

Lucien and Selene, comprehending the gravity of the situation, united their forces with Elio's. Their swifts created air currents that attempted to deflect the attack, their faces etched with determination and concern.

Lucien-Selene Mana : 31

In his desperation to protect others, Elio neglected his own defense. Fragments of sharp ice impacted against his body and his System's Armor. Elio felt an acute pain pierce his face, but he stood firm, refusing to fall.

Elio: 548 - 25 crit = 25 Resistance / 478 Armor Resistance.

Elio: 503 - 25 crit = 1 Resistance / 457 Armor Resistance.

Selene Mana: 30

"Elio!" Lucien shouted, but was forced to retreat when another dagger passed dangerously close to him.

Elio spun, trying to keep all the daggers in sight, but it was an impossible task.

Selene and Lucien repositioned him, but Fathoran's daggers were often faster.

Two, three, six impacts. Each cut burned like liquid fire.

Lucien-Selene Mana : 24

Fathoran Mana: 19

Elio: 458 - 225 = 1 Resistance / 233 Armor Resistance.

Fathoran, with a cruel smile, manipulated the daggers with mastery. He made them spin and turn, attacking Elio from all possible angles. It was as if he were playing with his prey, demonstrating the difference in experience and control.

Fathoran activated his other 5 daggers.

Fathoran Mana: 14

With a movement of his hand, all the daggers converged on Elio from all directions.

Fathoran Mana: 12

In that critical moment, as the daggers approached at lethal speed, Elio closed his eyes. Not out of fear, but in concentration.

That sensation returned, the carbon responded better when Elio was...

Made of rage.

Elio abruptly raised his arms and ten stakes simulating the fingers of his hands appeared around him. But they weren't formed just of carbon; veins of something bright ran through their bodies.

The 10 daggers were caught in each of Elio's new weaponised fingers.