94 Flee (1/2)

Helial looked terribly serious. His eyes glistened in white reflecting of the pure tongues of fire that slowly put out in front of him.

Helial gazed down at his palms. He turned his hands downwards. He shook his head no. Not enough.

”You sure you don't wanna leave her? You're damn weak. How will you survive without any equipment? Do you really think you'll be able to take care of her when you clearly can't even take care of yourself?” These words - Hades' last words before abandoning him - boomed out inside his head. To Hades' eyes, Helial had never been more than a weak damn burden. He had always been treated like a deadbeat. And despite his attempts to grow stronger, Helial was still feeling as if the millstone of weakness kept weighting his ankles down.

But how could he feel weak after gaining two overpowerful Legacies, the guidance of the most fearsome master in the universe, and the funds of Orma's best Clan at his disposal?

Helial was terribly shocked by himself.

Weak?

With slow and seductive moves, the Queen of Spider stepped outside the pool of smoke caused by the blaze.

Helial wasted no time. He let go of the hilt of Curse of the Demon and pushed it aside. Then he stretched both hands outwards, his palms joined, and they slowly distanced them. The flames split up as his will commanded.

In that very moment, every fear that had dwelled Helial's heart was left behind. Now there was only him and his outstanding Aura.

The boy turned towards Lumia and slowly nodded.

Lumia nodded back. They didn't really words to communicate. The girl immediately reinforced the Titan's Shield.

”The fuck are you doing?” cursed Snowflake. Just like the two Goblins, the cat believed that it was finally time for them to come into play. Helial though, instead of having the shield dissolved, just asked to strengthen it up.

”Let's trust him,” Lumia whispered.

Snowflake was speechless. He knew perfectly well how strong Helial was, but that Boss was truly too dangerous. Before that monster, he himself felt somehow helpless. He had sensed the Queen of Spiders' presence long before stumbling across her, after all. Despite the fact the her Race posed no threat to a Heavenly Star Tiger, the entire one Phase gap between them actually did. Also, she was no ordinary monster. She was a Boss whose Stats were exponentially amplified by the Dungeon special effect.

”Weak?” Helial murmured as his eyes got bloodshot.

Before him, the Queen of Spiders was looking perfectly fine. ”Still on our feet after that blow?”

Helial activated Perception to examine the inflicted damage.

Skill Activated:

Perception

Queen of Spiders

Health: 100,234/180,234 HP

Level: 167

The attack had depleted a great amount of his Mental Energy, but the Queen of Spiders' HP hadn't even halved.

And yet Helial didn't panic. There was no room for fear. His previous terror had been replaced by some strange self-confidence.

”Looks like I underestimated you, brat,” said the Queen of Spiders in a low, slightly irritated voice.

Bear in mind that at the very core of a melee-combat isn't the sword, but the hand that wields it. Learn to fight in a small range. Be the King of what lies within your arm's reach and you'll be the Emperor of what lies within the reach of your weapon. Helial kept repeating these words to himself. It was something the Devil had told him one day during the training.

And now, in an act of unheard of arrogance, he had decided to fight bare-handed.

A strange smile hung on the Devil's face. His blood was seething.

”Exactly,” the kid whispered to himself as he drew the straw to his lips.

Body of the Qilin guaranteed Helial a strength of over 3,500 kilograms per arm.

The Queen of Spiders might as well be fast, but could she be as strong as he was?