Evira yelped in pain when she felt that cold metal digging into her skin. She used the other end of her spear and tabbed back which actually hit Onyx. She then fell on the ground, panting. The pain that was coming from her back couldn't be compared with the wounds she experienced before.
She mobilized the holy power in her to heal the wound but she could still feel her back numbing. She did not understand what was happening. Her holy mana should have healed the wound and purified any impurities within it.
Evira tried to stand but she once again fell to the ground in a kneeling position.
She then started to cough out blood and that was not always a good sign. She tried to neutralize the poison on her body but it was doing nothing. She could still feel her muscles numbing.
"This is the thing about holy knights. They are really powerful but they still succumb to simple tricks like poison. They rely too much on their healing abilities and the purification ability of their mana. That's why I developed a poison that could spread faster than your healing abilities." Onyx appeared behind the woman with a smirk on his face.
The armor on his body returned to its original state. He crouched down beside the woman and looked at her face that was slowly getting paler and paler. She could not stop from coughing out blood.
"You-you m-monster..." she said in between her coughing fits. She couldn't believe that one small wound could bring her to her knees.
"I am not a monster. The monster is my master and you are lucky for not facing him in this battle because if you did, you would have died brutally. Be thankful that you died by my hand." Onyx patted the woman's back like he was making her feel better.
Evira slumped on the ground as her eyes slowly glazed over and her breath started to get short. Before she could take her last breath, Cygnus appeared and pulled her collar. He placed his face near hers as he mumbled some words that were not meant for the woman. He then threw the woman's body away and dusted his palms that held her collar.
"Will they be coming?" Onyx asked with curiosity as he looked at the man. He knew who the master had talked to using the holy knight.nOve-lb(In
"Maybe? I'm not sure because they are cowards. They won't be coming down from where they are." Cygnus shook his head. He already tried to provoke them so many times but only one god came to him. "They must have been intimidated by what I did to that woman."
He was referring to the goddess of beauty and life that he killed. The fallen goddess was still one of them so he was sure that the others would be furious because of what he did. And yet after waiting, none of them brought down their wrath.
Having a holy knight in this place also came as a surprise. Even he who was sensitive to the power of the gods did not feel the woman's holy mana. He frowned and looked at the dying woman once again and walked up to her.
He let his black mana appear and surrounded the woman. She still had holy mana left so what he did made the Onyx grin. Cygnus absorbed the woman's mana and he turned it into his own. Amongst all of them, the master was the only one who could absorb mana and turn it into his own.
Onyx was waiting for the master to finish when he suddenly laughed. The black knight looked at his master who was bent down and was laughing hard. He straightened his body and had his head lifted up.
"They've really done it. I cannot believe that the god of war would resort to this kind of tactic just to hide this woman from me." Cygnus opened his eyes and laughed once again.
"What are you talking about master?" Onyx's curiosity was roused for the second time because of what he heard.
"I could taste darkness within this power. Darkness that I have been familiar with because it also exists within me. To think that they would collude with the beings that they hated the most. Hypocrites." Cygnus was laughing like a maniac for a couple of minutes before he abruptly stopped and changed into his serious look.
Those gods must have had enough of the master's craziness that they decided to swallow their pride and work with demons. "Were they working with higher demons?" Onyx asked.
Cygnus shook his head. "They couldn't afford to go that path. The lesser demons were easy to manipulate and add to that the fact that they had abilities which are very useful, they are more likely the targets. If they ever try to work with the higher demons, he would know and I would also know."
"They did a good job," Onyx commented. "Fascinating that they broke their own rule and used those 'filthy things' according to them."
"They would deny that claim if you confront them but I don't care. They could use all resources they could find but they won't be able to make a dent on me if they don't come down on their own." Cygnus turned around and walked towards the gate that appeared a while ago while he was still facing the woman's body.
Onyx followed behind since his job was done. He had no intention of joining the fray and just wanted to witness it with the master. It was also better for him to stay out of the fight and let the monsters enjoy their freedom.
They appeared on the invisible platform above where the master was spectating a while ago. From that point, Onyx could clearly see what was going down below. The giant was defeated and now the monsters were rampaging. The generals and dukes were doing their best to fend them all together with their pitiful army of warriors.
On the other hand, Arcaine and Ignius were nowhere to be found within the vicinity of the forest. Onyx raised an eyebrow at that and when he was about to ask the master, Cygnus pointed at a projection. Apparently, they were already at the forest behind the palace and having the greatest time of their lives.
Onyx could already tell at once glance that the dragon was not using his full power. He was obviously playing with the man because if he used his full strength the man would have already died. If he would be completely honest, amongst them all that had followed the master, the dragon was the oldest, the most powerful and the longest one who had been accompanying the master.
Just as Onyx's conclusion, the dragon was indeed having a great time while fighting the hero. He found it amusing that the hero was still insistent on fighting him even though he was aware of the disparity in power between the two of them. The hero was just exhausting himself.
Arcaine jumped in the air and raised his sword as he chopped down towards the man who had a silly grin on his face. Ignius used his palms to block the sword and he even took that chance to grip the sword. He then grinned and lifted the sword before kicking the man on his stomach and throwing him to the back.
The hero crashed on the trees behind them and landed heavily on the ground. His body was full of bruises and scratches even after he had been fighting the dragon for sometime now. He did not have any fatal injuries too which already gave him the idea that the dragon was only playing with him.
He knew that he was no match for the dragon but foolishly, he was still fighting against him. He pushed himself up and saw his reflection on the sword. His face was full of grime and dirt and his hair was no longer pristine. He was totally a mess.
"Why don't you try running away?" Ignius whispered beside his ear as he appeared beside him. "Because that's what you are good with right, running away and being a coward."
The voice was taunting and in annoyance, Arcaine swung his sword to the side where the dragon was. He did not hit him but his attack halved the tree on the side. He then heard the dragon laughing and it even echoed in the forest which made it more eerie.
"I won't run." Arcaine answered with a firm tone. He won't be running away again because he knew that there was no use in running. He would rather die fighting than die like a coward. He had been earning his keep ever since that incident so there was no reason for him to run away again.
With that realization, Arcaine suddenly felt power coursing through his veins. It was different and refreshing at the same time. He had never felt like that before. He could even tell where the dragon was and with that, he swung his sword which created a blue arc that flew towards the north.