Chapter 587 - 532: Arthur and Zodiak (1) (1/2)
”Another plate to the table!”
Sol'khin snickered as he unleashed a freezing burst which extinguished the fire and pushed the quad-spirit, it then followed with a skill similar to [Absolute Zero], turning the whole area into a gigantic block of ice. Even Arthur was instantly frozen though he managed to break it in a few seconds. Zodiak wasn't as lucky as the flying cloud became sky-blue then crashed into the ground, no longer being in its untouchable state.
However, it wasn't that easy to defeat Arthur's spirit, which is proficient in more than one or two attributes.
It quickly got back up, pulled a golden spear from the ground before facing the blue phoenix again. A dark armor materialized around its flaming body and a grey crown appeared above its head, drastically transforming its appearance.
Sensing a bit of danger from the spirit, Sol'khin gave up the phoenix form and changed into a more ridiculous appearance. A golden and blinding brilliance emanated from his body, he seemed like an unshakable statue, motionless but extremely deadly.
”Buddha?”-Arthur
Seeing this ludicrous sight, Arthur's shock deepened, even feeling a bit of helplessness. He glanced at Zodiak and found him back on his feet but, strangely, he seemed to be in a not-so-good condition.
Buddha and the quad-spirit clashed with each other, shaking the whole floor and causing unprecedented devastating. A third of the Western part of the city was destroyed but there were few if no casualties thanks to the lord's quick evacuation.
It was clear that there's no room for normal soldiers to join this battle of giants so the city lord wisely ordered the retreat of all the forces to the royal castle, where most of the citizens were too. There's no telling what will be left of the city once everything ends and the safest area is the castle, which is protected by a tough magical barrier constantly being nourished by more than 500 mages.
Sol'khin continued to defend using Buddha's golden light, easily blocking the spirit's attacks of four combined attributes and, at some point, it retaliated, firing a thick blast from the heavens. It struck the unsuspecting spirit, pinned it on the ground and not only shattered the dark armor but also broke the crown in two pieces.
Before any further damage was done, Arthur intervened by conjuring two dark hands that appeared above the spirit and blocked the rest. Half-conscious, the spirit automatically returned to its owner consciousness after its best. If the floor didn't restrict the skills and techniques, it could have defeated Sol'khin but, unfortunately, it isn't the case right now.
The situation soon returned to the beginning with Zodiak and Arthur battling Sol'khin.
”He's going to change again as Buddha's magic is vulnerable against Dark Magic.”-Zodiak
Who, after coughing a bit of black blood, returned to a healthier state, straightened his back and warned Arthur. Right after his warning, the ginormous Buddha statue vanished, leaving in its place a dense fog that blocked their visions.
A few seconds later, black wings that were, at least, 200 meters in length, rose high up in the sky, followed by a deafening dragon roar. Before Sol'khin's appearance was shown, the ground started heavily shaking and the gravity became ten times stronger, causing Zodiak's body to fall while Arthur managed to resist thanks his high affinity with Earth Magic. The skills were disabled attribute affinities are an inborn thing and, thanks to his race, he has a high affinity with all the basic attributes.
*****
”What the hell are they doing?!”
Celes, who was along with the others in the waiting room, looked at the big screen displaying the events happening on the 4th floor currently. Not only here but everyone who passed through the Sky Door was teleported here and waiting for the last two to come so the next task is given. Sadly, both Arthur and Zodiak showed no signs of passing through the door and only focused on taking down whatever that shape-shifting monster was.
”This isn't part of the plan.”
Even the usually calm Forne was troubled, letting out a helpless sigh as he watched his friend Zodiak persistently attack Sol'khin.
”That one is fake, I don't see the purpose in even fighting it. If the Sky Door is destroyed then they'll be disqualified… is that even worth it?”
'X' also butted in, kind of feeling annoyed over Zodiak's selfishness. He didn't care about Arthur as he wasn't part of the plan but Zodiak was crucial to the success of their task, especially the cane in his possession.
G'am Tir maintained his usual silence while the Void Behemoth was growling while looking at the screen. Lucy stood to the side, her fists clenched, regretting not staying there to lend a hand even at the cost of exposing herself. If Arthur is out then there is no need for her to continue climbing the tower either, which is why she was so frustrated right now.
Dozens of meters away, in a corner filled with buzzing flies and crawling insects, Hach'ara enjoyed some of the presented fruits while enjoying the show. His eyes were glued on Zodiak and Arthur, wondering how they are related.
Their appearance may be different but their actions were oddly similar, though it takes a sharp perception to notice that.
”I see… hahahaha”