Chương 269

Rudra tried to sidestep, but the 50% speed reduction anchored his boots to the ground. Piaro stepped into the gap. The farmer didn't try to use any of his swordsmanship or farming technique to block the attack. He just raised his polished steel sword like a shield to redirect the residual strike meant for his lord. The grey force snapped the steel blade in half but was slightly redirected. It carried through, cleanly severing Piaro's right arm at the shoulder. Blood sprayed across Rudra's black coat.

Piaro didn't fall. He just shifted his weight to maintain his balance, holding his trusty hand plow tightly in his remaining left hand.

"Focus, My Liege," Piaro said quietly, his face entirely pale. Rudra's expression turned completely cold. He gripped Extortion with both hands. Above them, the air crackled with blinding ozone. Vritra snapped out of his instinctual terror. The sight of the blood and the sheer humiliation of his own fear triggered his own innate pride. The Storm Serpent roared, gathering a massive sphere of white lightning and black ice breath in his jaws. He fired the breath attack at point-blank range, aiming directly at Lucious.

Lucious still didn't move his feet. He just raised his right hand and backhanded the air. The physical force of the gesture shattered the serpent's breath like cheap glass. The invisible wave of pressure slammed directly into Vritra's lower jaw. The massive serpent choked. Vritra was thrown backward, crashing violently through the castle's thick outer wall. Stone blocks rained down as the dragon slid through the dirt. Vritra tried to push himself up, but his massive body was shaking violently.

The terror returned, pinning the serpent to the ground. The ambient pressure of the clash rippled outward. The standard stone buildings in the sector turned into fine grey dust, leaving flat ground behind. The various Named Facilities survived the shockwaves but not without severe damage. Deep fissures ran up the sides of the Magic Tower and the heavy slate roof of the Academy caved in. The Barracks fractured right down the middle. Rudra stepped around Piaro. He glanced at [Super Sensitivity].

The stat was completely silent. It couldn't find a single weak point to attack or block.

"Okay," Rudra breathed. He pushed off his back foot. [Saint's Momentum] triggered, ignoring a fraction of the speed penalty and launching him forward. He couldn't use buffs, so he relied entirely on raw momentum. He swung Extortion in a wide, sweeping arc. [Thunderfall] activated. A massive pillar of white electricity crashed down from the sky. Lucious simply leaned his upper body to the left. His feet stayed planted. The lightning struck the empty cobblestones, leaving a scorched crater.

Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings. Rudra didn't stop. He used the momentum of the miss to spin. [Comet]. He thrust the butt of the staff forward like a spear. Lucious raised his pinky finger and tapped the incoming strike. The trajectory of the staff shifted instantly, deflecting harmlessly over the Devil Monarch's shoulder. [Avalanche]. [Typhoon]. [Rhythm of Agony]. Rudra became a blur of motion. He didn't think about his swings.

He let his instincts take over entirely, chaining his skills together in a wild, unpredictable dance. He struck from the left, spun low to sweep the legs, vaulted backward, and drove the staff down from above. Lucious just shifted his torso. He tilted his head, swayed his shoulders, and casually deflected blows with his bare hands. He didn't even look strained. He never took a single step. Rudra yanked the staff back. He was breathing heavily, sweat stinging his eyes. Nothing was working.

He needed to change the rules. He remembered [Elemental Convergence]. It was a skill designed to combine multiple magic elements together to create one strong attack. And it explicitly allows him to substitute his mana with other resources which might suit the element. And he had an alternate resource for light and darkness and he was even able to combine them. Rudra activated [Spell Store] on his staff and then activated the [Elemental Convergence] Spell.

He first sent the 8 magic elements into the spell and then pulled on his Divine Energy to substitute for the light elemental mana. Then, he pulled on his Demonic Force to substitute for the dark elemental mana. He slammed them together and his staff started shaking and Rudra could notice that his staff's durability was slowly decreasing. He stepped inside Lucious's guard and shoved his staff directly toward the Devil Monarch's chest. Lucious's eyes widened a fraction of a millimeter.

"Oh?" For the first time since he arrived, the Devil Monarch actually raised a hand to block a direct strike. He brought his right palm up, catching Rudra's staff just inches from his suit. The makeshift convergence orb exploded. A blinding flash of grey light consumed the center of the courtyard, followed by a deafening roar. The shockwave threw Rudra backward. He tumbled across the dirt, using Extortion to dig into the ground and slow his momentum. The smoke cleared quickly.

Lucious was standing in the exact same spot. His feet hadn't shifted. His suit was perfectly clean. He was looking at his right palm, where a faint, barely noticeable red mark had appeared on his pale skin.

"A clever trick," Lucious said, sounding genuinely intrigued.

"You substituted the elemental mana with the divine and demonic energies to create a volatile mana. Very crude, but conceptually sound. You have an interesting mind." Rudra spat a mouthful of blood into the dirt. He tried to cast [Pressure Zone]. Red text immediately flashed across his vision. [The aura denies your domain.] The magical backlash rebounded directly into his chest. Rudra dropped to one knee. He leaned heavily on Extortion, his breath coming in ragged, painful gasps. His arms felt like lead.

His mana pool was completely dry. His health regeneration was still zero. He looked up. Lucious was standing a few feet away, entirely unharmed.

"Are you finished?" Lucious asked quietly. He didn't sound angry. He sounded like a teacher observing a struggling student.

"I expected more from you," Lucious murmured.

"You managed to balance the extremes, yet your output is so incredibly frail." The Devil Monarch looked at the bleeding, unconscious bodies littering the courtyard. He looked at Piaro clutching his stump, and Singuled lying in the dirt.

"Perhaps associating with these weaklings has made you dull," Lucious said.

"An anchor dragging you down." He tilted his head. His dark eyes were wide and genuinely curious.

"If I butcher them all right now," Lucious said, his tone perfectly polite and entirely innocent.

"If I turn this little city to ash and erase every tether you have... I wonder. Will you finally become interesting?" A cold sweat broke out across Rudra's neck. He squeezed the leather grip of his staff until his knuckles turned white.