R-a - Volume 3 - Chapter 49

R-a - Chapter 207 (In editing-v0) (Let me know if I made any mistakes!)

Silver 2’s neck was guarded by a thin plate of reinforced metal, the same armor used by most of the warriors within the Beasts of Providence. While he was also actively using the Asura’s Tears Ability, lowering his defensive prowess, he was still an expert warrior that could take heavy hits and keep on fighting.

That metal guard crumpled like paper as a titanic impact slammed into it, detonating against the man’s neck with a nigh-unstoppable amount of force.

It took less than a fraction of a second for that impact to spread to the rest of Silver 2’s skull.

In one moment, the warrior’s eyes glared at Micheal, tears of red light dripping from them as he prepared to strike Micheal down.

In the next moment…

Silver 2’s head vanished.

There was no loud crash, no overt spurt of blood or crashing collision.

His head was there…

And then it wasn’t.

The warrior’s neck, skull, and head were, for all intents and purposes, erased from existence, obliterated into dust and ash as the massive force Micheal released annihilated everything in its path. It was an instantaneous blow that came with no build-up, no time for any warrior to prepare or guard against.

Just like that, Silver 2 died.

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—-Points Notification—-

Points Obtained: 37,227

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As for Silver 1…

In the immediate aftermath of Micheal’s sudden strike, Silver 1 surprisingly managed to survive.

Micheal’s suicidal sword attack, cutting through his own chest to get at Silver 1, was an attack the strong fighter had absolutely not been prepared for. It was a move that was so incredibly unpredictable, it would astonish even the wiliest of elites.

Silver 1 had readied himself for practically every other avenue conceivable, whether it was an attempt to flee, to break forward through the somewhat weaker trio of Blue Tailed Monkey users at the front, or to try to spin around and confront him and Silver 2 directly.

If Micheal had tried anything along those lines, Silver 1 was supremely confident he could handle that. Even when the world around him distorted, somehow interfering with Silverback’s Celestial Aura, Silver 1 knew he was more than capable of completing his attack.

The one thing he did not expect was that his target would try to kill himself in an attempt to ambush him.

By the time Silver 1 reacted to the attack, the deadly sharp weapon had already pierced past his metal armor and cut half an inch (1.3 cm) into his chest.

It was a fast strike, one that was initially under some type of time acceleration technique, something Silver 1 had seen many times before. It seemed to lose this acceleration after it hit him, but its abrupt arrival meant that mattered little.

However…

Even with all of that, Silver 1 was still confident he could survive this and ensure Micheal’s death.

The moment he realized what was happening, Silver 1 let go of his spear and gave up on the rest of his attack entirely. He was already satisfied with the damage he’d dealt and instead opted to use this moment to stamp down hard with his right foot, cracking the earth and launching himself backwards.

His target’s attack was devious, but because of the odd angle that Micheal was forced to attack at, it wasn’t a particularly fast or powerful blow, even when initially time-accelerated. There was a deadly cutting edge within the strike that made confronting it head-on suicidal, but all that really meant was that Silver 1 needed to move back a bit.

He’d taken a small amount of damage, but it wasn’t yet a fatal injury, while his target, Micheal, was already at death’s door. The fight was as good as over as far as Silver 1 was concerned, all he needed to do now was survive.

And it was here, as Silver 1 was in the midst of leaping backwards, that his body abruptly, and unnaturally, jerked to a halt in mid-air.

When Micheal was hit by Silver 1’s spear strike, not only did he shift his body and the speed of the strike to ensure he wouldn’t die outright, but he also concentrated intently on doing several things.

His main focus here had been on using his ‘Impact Release’ Ability to absorb this impact. Micheal’s powerful Soul, combined with the sheer overwhelming force behind Silver 1’s spear strike, meant he was able to store and utilize that impact as soon as he absorbed it, letting him use it to take out Silver 2.

However… that wasn’t the only thing Micheal did then.

He also sent two of his Life Orbs fluttering up, directing them to help drag his bedraggled body upward and allow his foot to, just barely, touch the neck of Silver 2, giving him the leeway he needed to unleash the massive impact he had just stored.

Micheal had only used 2 Life Orbs to accomplish this.

That didn’t mean he only had 2 Life Orbs under his control.

On the contrary, he currently had 3.

While those first 2 orbs were flying up to ensure one half of his plan worked, the sole, last remaining orb flew out on a different mission.

It shot down between the legs of Silver 1 and then flew up, floating to a stand right behind the back of the warrior.

Thus, in that vitally important moment where Silver 1 jumped backwards…

He ran into the floating orb and was jerked to a halt.

The orb wavered from the impact, but held steady for a single moment.

A moment later, this particular orb shattered as Micheal’s body well and truly died, the orb giving off faint particles of blue and white light.

This freed Silver 1 and allowed him to continue his desperate retreat.

By that point, however, it was already too late.

That single moment the Life Orb used to block Silver 1 bought enough time for Micheal’s Crystal Millennium Sword to pierce clean through the chest of the speed-boosted warrior.

The Advanced Tier Sword Energy, no longer guided by Micheal’s now actually dead hand, went wild at the impact, ravaging Silver 1’s body from the inside out. In a single heartbeat, every major organ and a majority of the bones in Silver 1’s body were ripped to shreds by the violent power, cutting through everything in its path.

Without realizing it, Silver 1 joined his comrades, killed in a way he could not even comprehend.

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—-Points Notification—-

Points Obtained: 38,007

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The next few moments were hazy in Micheal’s recollection.

He returned to the ephemeral, empty world where he waited before coming back to life, adrift in a sea of endless fog. Flashes of light echoed in this world, vague waves that seemed to move of their own will.

He was vaguely aware that the remnants of his body were being corroded and destroyed by the surviving trio of Blue Tailed Monkey users, seeing both this empty world and the real world at the same time. The bodies of the two Great Ape users each collapsed to the ground in the same moment, water flung through the air as they hit the earth.

It took Micheal a couple of seconds to gather his mind, his thoughts unclear and fuzzy.

Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, but in reality was approximately 4 seconds, Micheal found himself able to think clearly.

‘Huh. I can get Points even when I'm dead.’ It was the first thing he noticed. The last Great Ape user he’d killed had died after Micheal died, yet Micheal still obtained a very sizable number of Points from him. 

Right after that, the scenes of battle rushed back into his mind as he focused on the present.

His secretive use of his Impact Release Ability had successfully paid off.

It was an Ability he planned on removing soon, to clear up space for other Abilities he desired. While its usefulness was gradually running its course, especially as his enemies grew tougher, it was still a deadly Ability when used properly.

With his now-much-stronger Soul stat, Micheal was able to shorten the amount of time required to absorb an impact. When this combined with the raw, unadulterated level of force behind the first Great Ape user’s Hammer Energy-infused strikes, it meant he could take in a monumental amount of power in a tiny fraction of a second.

He couldn’t absorb the full impact, but he took in enough to easily ensure Silver 2’s death.

He hadn’t planned on his Impact Release Ability being one of his trump cards, but had kept it in the back of his head, factoring it into all of his plans while he still had it.

Micheal’s gaze centered on the trio of Blue Tailed Monkey users as he felt a tugging sensation in his Soul, indicating that he was about to return to life.

The group of warriors were currently staring at the dead bodies of their comrades, almost in shock, as if they couldn’t believe the two speed-boosted warriors had perished.

It was then, when one of them was just walking forward towards one of the corpses, that Micheal finished activating his Life Orb Ability, drawing on the energy from the shattered Life Orb.

Micheal’s corpse, including bits of his clothes and all the remnants of his body that had been splattered over the area, dissipated into dust.

In that same moment…

Micheal came back to life.

He reappeared perfectly unharmed, his Spatial Ring returned to his hand and his green robes became whole once more, as if time had turned back. As he’d tested before, things purchased through the Shop or ‘bound’ to him came back with him when he returned to life.

Micheal decided to come back right next to where his Crystal Millennium Sword had fallen, kicking it up into his right hand with a light tap of his foot. He slipped his Silk Strider Gloves onto both of his hands in an instant, pulling out his Aura Nullification Necklace and placing it around his neck as he activated it.

The rain was just now beginning to die down, though the dark clouds above maintained their ominous presence. 

By the time he finished preparing, the trio of warriors had just noticed his arrival.

Without questioning how he could possibly still be alive, the trio all universally took a single step back, their bodies tensed with shock. A half-second later, the area around the three of them began to distort as they each activated their Fast Retreat Ability, intent on falling back.

It was clear to them, now, that they didn’t stand a chance against Micheal in direct combat. If they pivoted to constant ambushes and guerrilla tactics, their Squad’s specialty, the trio reasoned they might fare somewhat better.

Micheal didn’t allow them that chance.

The half-second this trio took to react gave Micheal just enough time to send out a net of titanium threads. As these warriors’ bodies began to distort, space around them twisting, several glowing-red metal threads wrapped around each of them.

The Fast Retreat Ability was certainly a very useful Ability, but it did have one rather notable weakness.

The Ability could be used to dip and dive around the field of combat, shifting through space…

But, like many other Abilities, it was dependent on the Soul, and thus the Soul stat, of its user. The Ability would only work as long as the user did not resist it, and the number of times one could shift through reality relied on one’s Soul stat.

All three of the warriors had immediately activated their Fast Retreat Ability, attempting to flee.

However… through the titanium threads, and the Sword Energy that linked them to Micheal, Micheal had formed a connection with each of these three warriors. It wasn’t a permanent one, only enough to last for a few moments while they were entangled in his metal strings…

But it was enough.

They all tried to teleport through space and flee and, as a result, came face to face with Micheal’s Soul.

Like using a loaf of bread to try and break down a castle wall, each attempt to flee failed miserably, leaving the warriors unable to break through Micheal’s defenses.

Their Fast Retreat Ability, in light of this, shut down.

The distorted space began to settle.

And, as reality returned to normal...

Micheal clenched his fists.

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—-Points Notification—-

Points Obtained: 29,307

.

—-Points Notification—-

Points Obtained: 28,565

.

—-Points Notification—-

Points Obtained: 30,089

.

Three thuds echoed out as the bodies of the last standing Squad of the Ape Division fell to the ground, eviscerated as Micheal shot down their attempts to flee. Unlike with the Squad on the roof, Micheal was not hit with any type of noticeable backlash, only a stint of exhaustion from the extended battles he had been fighting.

His Energized Physique did its best to offset that as he retracted his titanium threads and stored his sword, studying the remnants of the now-dead warriors. He pulled out his Cloud Stepping Shoes now, as well as the gold bracelet he had stored in his Spatial Ring, putting both on.

His eyes drifted over to the warehouse that hid the hidden Farian research site, the Artifacts that were still blocking out all types of signals, the black Seeds that began to rise from the dead bodies of those around him…

And finally, his gaze settled on the lone warrior that was still alive.

The Great Ape user that had both of his arms broken and was blasted away, back near the beginning of this battle. The warrior was terribly wounded and had been knocked unconscious, but was still alive, his resilient body hanging on by a thread.

Micheal’s eyes gleamed as he took everything in and made a decision.

It was time to enact the final part of his plan to save Myla Hannis and stop the Great Disaster.

But first…

It was time to tie up a few loose ends.

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