43 Wrathful Hunter (1/2)

A result of Kilian transmuting his bone armor into a light power armor, the obsidian energy armor gave Kilian's physical abilities a massive boost, while also strengthening his energy blasts and weapons.

The gargantuan blast embroiled the Desolate Knives' leader, sending him hurtling through the night sky and tumble in disarray. But before the leader's form could touch the ground, Kilian turned toward the two surviving High Emissaries and 28 templars. Sky-blue dra burst from Kilian's propulsors, propelling him at thrice his maximum speed to land before the first High Emissary.

*CRACK*

Swinging his right fist in a hook, Kilian smashed the armored punch into the High Emissary's jaw, breaking through his helmet to make him spiral across the air, and blast all his teeth in one go. He crashed on a distant tree—unconscious, but very much alive.

Faster than his opponents could follow, Kilian vanished to reappear above the remaining High Emissary, slammed his elbow into the helmet, shattering it, and fracturing the emissary's skull.

Stomping his foot, Kilian whirled to lunge at the 28 remaining templars, and with a single kick, sent them all spiraling across the air to crash in various locations. Only now did the Desolate Knives' leader tumble onto the ground, without catching his breath, Kilian charged him with a dra-coated, double punch!

But as his punches neared the cloaked leader, in an uncanny display of arcane skills, he sank into his shadow and vanished from Kilian's sight!

In utter silence, the man emerged from Kilian's shadow and thrust his fist into his back. Pitch black, shadow spikes emerged from his knuckles, threatening to sink past Kilian's armor.

Without looking back, Kilian threw a back kick at his assailant's fist, smashing into the left side of the blow with his dra-coated, armored foot.

*BANG*

In the instant fist and kick met, the propulsors in Kilian's foot denoted, triggering an energy blast that propelled him forward while pushing his foe back! Landing on his foot, instead of spinning to assess the assailant's position, Kilian sprinted toward the opposite tree, then backflipped three meters.

The man's dual knifehand thrusts nailed his afterimage.

The two now turned to assess one another.

”Incomprehensible. With just this level of strength, how can you possess such keen senses, and even warp space? No, there has to be something else. A mutation perhaps? Oh, I see. The legendary Eye of Fehl and its first two forms,” the leader hypothesized. Through their exchange, he could see that while Kilian's strength far outpaced that of High Emissaries, it had yet to reach Archon territory.

That being the case, to say nothing of warping space, he shouldn't possess such astonishing reflexes. The only explanation was that underneath his helmet, a third eye hid, with its hue alternating between crimson and dark grey—the Eye of Fehl!

Thinking of that possibility, the leader teemed with glee. From the start, unaware of the depth of Kilian's abilities, he hid in the shadows and used his men as decoys to draw out the full measure of Kilian's skills. At the same time, he prepared a Sacrifice Ritual to turn the blood of the fallen into a power source ready to detonate at the opportune moment.

Little did he expect that from the very beginning, Kilian saw through his schemes, and played the lamb to eat the wolf—so to speak. If not for his cloak being a magical artifact, he couldn't even imagine his current fate. And even then, he'd sustained serious injuries.

But now, none of that mattered!

That Kilian wasn't an Archon, and therefore, couldn't challenge him!

”Boy, I admire your aptitudes and skills. The Technocracy's dominion is inevitable. Arcadia will soon bow to our order. Know that the right choice will open splendid doors to you, and you still have the opportunity to make it,” the Archon leader reiterated the previous offer. As far as he was concerned, obliterating Kilian was no difficult task. Capturing him unharmed, however, was a wholly different matter.

The highest of all fehl mutations—the Eye of Fehl. If he could bring back such a living specimen, his position in the Technocracy would rise to a brand-new level! Alas, in Kilian's ears, such an offer deserved only one answer.

*BANG*

A spiked knee strike into the face!

But shockingly, though the spikes pierced the Archon's flesh, no blood poured forth. Following the initial impact, his face dissolved in a veil of darkness, making Kilian fly across his frame.

”To think those technocrats would immediately dispatch an Archon. What terrible luck. Breaching the hierarchy of magical ranks is no mean feat. Without Archon level dra control, Kilian might get the short end of the stick,” Jezebel remarked with her back resting against a distant tree. Although Kilian's strength scaled on his dra reserves, an unavoidable condition was that he took his dra control to the next level. Otherwise, his dra reserves couldn't provide maximum use.

And while Kilian only stood a step away from the Archon level in dra control, that last step made all the difference. But hearing Jezebel's assessment, Lena vigorously disagreed.

”Impossible! If that's really the case, why didn't his excellency take us away in a dimensional rift? He must have a plan,” Lena countered, standing beside Jezebel with her eyes gleaming confidence. However, Jezebel shook her head.

”It's not that he doesn't want to. The question is, can he?

Those born mighty often look down on the magical abilities of weaker races—a tragic mistake. The requirements to reach the Archon level ensure that without shortcuts, only those with high aptitude and perseverance can reach that step.

Especially first generation Archons like this one. Let's ignore the fact that Archons all possess Arcane Bloodlines. Their dra control enables them to use a unique ability—the first shackle: the Dra Shackle. Before that ability, regardless of how strong their body is, every non-Archon becomes powerless.

When all the dra across 100 meters, his included, turns against him, how can Kilian win?” Jezebel rhetorically asked, making Lena gawk in a stupor. Indeed, when faced with such an ability, the odds seemed stacked against them.

”Fortunately, this one is but a low-level Archon. For someone at his level, using the Dra Shackle will come at a hefty cost. Unless absolutely necessary, he won't. The hesitation can open opportunities. Opportunities Kilian will never miss.

But even if he does use it, my Lothario is not entirely helpless,” Jezebel pursued, and her lips curled into a mild smile. With the strength of a Fehl Noble or above hidden within his soul, anomalies such as Klaus aside, there weren't many Archons Kilian couldn't deal with.