Chương 75: Chapter : 75

Naomi was the only one who could even somewhat keep up with his speed. Her green wind magic was pushed to the absolute limit. She dashed around the giant monster, trying to find a weak spot. She slashed her daggers at his back, but Vane's new skin was covered in thick, leathery, dark gray scales. Her sharp steel blades just bounced right off, barely leaving a scratch.

"His skin is too thick!" Naomi shouted in frustration, dodging a massive claw swipe that sliced right through a nearby concrete pillar.

"I need a clear shot at his throat or his chest!" Princess Iris stood near the back of the room, gripping her silver rapier. She felt incredibly helpless. She wanted to fight, but she knew that stepping into that brawl would only force Sayma and Naomi to protect her instead of attacking. And then, there was Ken Eliot. While the girls were fighting for their lives, Ken was doing exactly what he did best: being completely, absolutely useless.

He was currently hiding behind a tipped-over desk in the corner of the penthouse. He had his hands wrapped tightly around his own head, peeking out with wide, terrified eyes. He was putting on a masterclass of comedic panic.

"Oh no! A giant, ugly bat!" Ken screamed at the top of his lungs, his voice cracking like a terrified cartoon character.

"Somebody call animal control! Or a pest exterminator! Does anybody have a giant rolled-up newspaper?! We need to swat him!" Naomi dodged another heavy punch from Vane and glared at Ken's hiding spot.

"Ken! For once in your life, shut up and throw something at him! Distract him!"

"I don't have anything to throw!" Ken yelled back, looking frantically around the floor. He picked up a tiny, broken piece of a wooden pencil and tossed it weakly into the air. It landed about two feet away from him.

"There! I threw a pencil! Did it work? Is he defeated yet?!"

"I hate you!" Naomi screamed, narrowly avoiding a blast of dark, suffocating mana from Vane's wings. Inside his mind, Ken was completely unfazed. He was totally calm, just watching the fight with a lazy, analytical eye.

"Man, this guy is really annoying," Ken thought to himself, completely ignoring the danger.

"He keeps jumping around. Naomi is getting exhausted. Sayma's barrier is going to break in about thirty seconds. I could just snap my fingers and turn this giant bat into a very small, very harmless toad. But if I do that, I ruin my cover. I have to let them figure this out." Naomi took a deep breath. She knew she couldn't keep running forever. Her legs were burning, and her lungs felt like they were on fire. She needed to end this right now. She focused all of her remaining wind magic into her boots.

She saw Vane raise both of his arms to smash Sayma's shield again. It was a tiny opening, but it was all she needed. Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit.

"Now!" Naomi told herself. She moved faster than the eye could follow. She slipped perfectly past Vane's guard, sliding right under his massive arms. She twisted her body, gripping her dagger with both hands, and drove the blade as hard as she could upward, aiming right for the softer, unscaled spot just below his ribs. Slash! The steel sank deep into Vane's side. Dark, foul-smelling blood sprayed onto the concrete. Naomi grinned. She had done it. She had finally landed a critical hit.

She thought she had put him on the back foot. She thought the fight was about to turn in their favor. But as she looked up into Vane's face, her confident smile vanished instantly. Vane wasn't screaming in pain. He wasn't stumbling backward. Instead, he was looking right down at her, and he was smiling. It was a terrifying, fanged grin that sent a block of pure ice sliding down Naomi's spine. She hadn't found an opening. He had let her get close on purpose.

"Got you," Vane whispered, his demonic voice rumbling right in her ear.

Vane raised his massive right hand. He didn't try to punch her. Instead, the toxic green light in his eyes flared up brilliantly. He pulled on the absolute darkest, most concentrated core of his Curse magic. In a fraction of a second, the dark mana gathered in his palm, solidifying into a long, jagged spear made of pure, highly concentrated curse energy. It dripped with a sickening green poison. He aimed the deadly, magical spear directly down at Naomi's exposed chest, right at her heart.

"Naomi! Move!" Sayma screamed, desperately trying to throw a golden barrier over her friend. But Naomi was too close. She had committed all her momentum to the attack. Her boots were planted, and her dagger was still stuck in Vane's side. She couldn't dodge. She couldn't block. She just stared up at the deadly spear, her green eyes wide with sudden, absolute terror. Time seemed to slow down to an absolute crawl for Ken Eliot. From his hiding spot behind the desk, Ken's lazy, sleepy eyes snapped wide open.

The goofy, slacker persona completely vanished from his mind in a single heartbeat.

"That is pure, dense Curse magic," Ken analyzed in a fraction of a millisecond.

"Sayma's barrier won't form in time, and even if it does, it can't block a curse that concentrated. It will pierce right through the light and hit her." He knew Naomi was going to die right there on the dusty floor. Ken had a choice. He could easily use his Sovereign magic. He could teleport her away. He could erase the spear. He could freeze time.

But if he did any of those things out in the open, in front of Princess Iris and Sayma, his identity as the most powerful mage on the planet would be instantly, permanently blown. His dream of a slow, peaceful life would burn to ashes. Making a split-second decision, Ken dropped the coward act entirely. He chose the most normal, most painful, and most foolproof option available to a simple commoner. He didn't use magic. He just used his legs. Ken exploded out from behind the desk.

He lunged forward with everything he had, throwing his entire body across the room. He didn't look like a legendary fighter. He looked like a desperate kid diving for a baseball. He slammed his body heavily into Naomi's side just as Vane thrust the cursed spear downward. Ken physically shoved Naomi hard out of the way. She hit the concrete floor, rolling safely out of the direct line of fire. But Ken took her place. SHINK! The deadly, toxic spear of pure Curse magic pierced deeply into Ken's left shoulder.

"AGH!" Ken yelled. This time, it wasn't a fake, comedic scream. He fake the real sound of agonizing pain. The sheer force of the blow sent Ken crashing hard to the ground. He hit the floor, sliding a few feet before coming to a stop in a cloud of dust. Blood immediately began to pour from his shoulder, soaking his cheap, untucked dark blue shirt in a dark, messy red. (Ken acted as if it gave him a fatal blow.)