Chapter 71: An unexpected outcome (1/2)

Looking at the black substance that substituted as blood, Aiden thought back to the illusion. The quest he received from the system said that he had to banish and cleanse the Nightmare, this unknown entity that corrupted their host's minds.

Every time he banished one, and as their hosts overcame their clouded thoughts, feelings, or died in the case of the terrorists, a similar substance evaporated into the air. It was only for a fragment of a moment, but Aiden still managed to catch the sight several times.

While not completely the same, the feeling he got from looking at the oozing thick black substance was the same.

'So, he is also affected by the Nightmare… Their influence on him is probably higher than in the previous cases. Hmm…' Aiden was thinking to himself.

The old man was looking at him with those black emotionless eyes of his tirelessly gazing in his direction. Slowly he lifted his right arm and held his palm in the air. A black whirlpool formed in front of it, and from it, a black energy-formed tentacle, similar to before shot out, flying towards Aiden, ready to impale him.

However, before it could reach halfway, a light green energy projectile crashed into it. As the sound faded away and the dust settled, both the tentacle and the arrow was gone for good. Lily's giggle could be heard from behind.

”Ehehehe, are you tired, do you want me to take over brother? We have merely scratched him!”

Scratching the back of his head, Aiden laughed as he replied.

”Haha, I was only catching my breath sis! Let's go in again!”

As he finished, he already vanished from his spot only to appear before the old man again with both of his fists swinging at the side of his head from left and right. A moment later another arrow enchanted with Nature's power was zipping through the air aimed at the middle of the Old Man's forehead.

She aimed deliberately there hoping he can't possibly defend against all 3 attacks. And even if he did, she already had the next arrow set.

Aiden's arms transformed midway, the golden scales grew out from his skin, his fingers became thicker and the terrifying thick black claws appeared at the tips. He knew that the old man could most likely defend against their normal hits, so by combining his now enhanced but temporary state and his [Dragon's Wrath] innate he might just gain enough to push through.

The downside was that the energy consumption spiked to dangerous levels, rapidly draining his reserves. New notifications rang in his ear, but even without checking them, she could also hear Enya's voice berating him.

[What are you doing Aiden?! You can't sustain both forms!! Your reserves are tanked, the drain shot up, and the system's previous estimation of 10 minutes is now out of the window! You only have about a minute left before all of your reserves are drained empty!]

Instead of answering, Aiden grit his teeth, as he pulled even more strength into his arms. With his inhumane speed, the old man raised both of his arms to block both of Aiden's attacks, while not really caring about the arrow for some reason. His arms created several afterimages in the air at the speed he raised them.

Seeing this, Aiden's eye glowed brightly in its golden luster, and with a thundering voice, he bellowed.

”HOW DARE YOU SQUIRM AGAINST ME YOU LOWLY MAGGOT?! KNOW YOUR PLACE!”

As he said that, both his lizard-like draconic tail and his scaled wings appeared on his back. The air around him suddenly became thicker, and the remaining golden lightning bolts that still sparked all around his skin gathered into his arm.

It all happened in the split of a second, and Aiden only felt a sudden surge of power. Not questioning it at the moment, he pulled everything into his arms as it crashed against the insurmountable wall that the Old Man's arms represented.

Unlike in the previous cases, this time, however, the claws managed to dig deep into the steel-like flesh of the old man, ripping skin, meat, and bones in the process as it completely destroyed the living obstacle.

Although the pain most likely has been inhumane, not a shred of emotion could be seen on the Old Man's face as both of his arms became a mess of lingering flesh in a second.