136 Vice-Sect Master Garuda 4 (1/2)
”It's futile. Surrender the boy and none of you will die today,” Garuda spoke imperiously, as if all needed to do to kill them was lift his hand. Inwardly he was nervous, as the longer he maintained this state the more damage to his body. If he could avoid fighting two mages who were ready to risk it all, he would definitely do so. However, he wasn't afraid of being obstructed, his opponents were simply too weak and unprepared.
Garuda was able to sense a voodoo ripple from the old man below's atmosphere. There were likely some powerful curses lying in wait. However, unless it was a five-star or six-star curse circle it would be pointless. Even then, such an attack might leave a scar at best, it couldn't kill the mighty Garuda while he used his lifeblood limit, Oblivion Wing. In this state, his peak strength was already tripled. Garuda raised his hand and condensed a five-feet-long arrow made of four different forces, before pulling his combat bow taut making a full moon. ”I will only count to four, before killing you all and leaving to kill Octanis as well. The choice is yours but remember: I did give you a choice.
”One.”
”Two.”
Cassan and Grey Willow both frowned deeply. This animal basically left them with no time to consider or stall. They had no choice, they would have to risk it all in a battle to the death. Garuda was about to pass the mid-point of his count, and the two masters were about to launch their deadliest attacks, when Jodye and Eureka's aura suddenly vanished, causing the masters to turn their heads back in shock. Only Garuda was able to see Eureka run off at a speed that was superior even to his own. He only saw the youth and his mount turn into a blur that shot off into the distance.
”Think you can run?” Garuda said with a frosty tone. He aimed at the blur in the growing distance and released his arrow. The mighty arrow shot off into the distance like a rocket, the shockwave of which blew dozens of homes and other buildings away, reducing them to rubble.
”NO!” Cassan was the first to react as he threw himself at Garuda with all of his strength. A menacing-looking Evil Mutt image jumped out of Cassan's aura and threw itself at Garuda, who deflected it with one wing causing curse light to explode in his face.
”Five-star Curse, Bite of the Evil Mutt!” Cassan shouted as a tattoo of a huge dog's maw appeared on Garuda's neck. The sharp teeth were slowly taking a bite. As the teeth slowly chomped down, the supposed force behind the bite was illustrated by additional lines meant to represent wind resistance. Once the teeth impaled his skin, the curse would immediately take effect. Garuda frowned, upset he had actually allowed himself to be cursed. This old man's soul force wasn't simple at all. It was a five-star curse at that, this was a terrible headache.
”You've made your life's greatest mistake, you old baboon. I WILL KILL YOU,” Angry, Garuda flashed and appeared in front of Cassan, who didn't retreat. Garuda first burned his source essence to rid himself of the curse, before coughing out black blood. The tattoo of a huge maw slowly faded away as Garuda's aura grew noticeably weaker. Dark energy spiraled around Garuda as the image of an Evil Roc condensed around his hands before crashing into Cassan's chest like a Garuda fired a bullet, ”Evil Roc Curse Art!”
”Blurgh,” Cassan took the hit head-on and coughed out a mouthful of blackened blood. He was seriously injured, but he didn't stop his forward momentum for more than an instant, punching out heavily with a fist covered in temporal voodoo qi, ”Pausing Fist Art!”
Cassan's fist struck Garuda in the jaw, and the Garuda literally paused for two seconds. However, before those two seconds were over Cassan bobbed and weaved sending out a psychedelic combination of strikes that all made Garuda pause for an additional two seconds. Garuda disdained this attack at first, but as he remained immobile and Cassan continued to clobber him with all his strength, Garuda realized he couldn't possibly let this continue!
If Garuda didn't kill Cassan before the curse activated, he would be in for a world of pain. If he deactivated Oblivion Wing in that state he would definitely die. Garuda was suddenly indecisive. He knew his arrow wouldn't catch that origin beast, it was meant to track them instead. Every second he didn't pursue the boy gave Jodye a greater chance of escaping successfully. If he didn't kill the boy, nor retrieve that Dracophant Egg, Garuda would truly have nowhere to put his face once the Cove Master found out. He would definitely be murdered.
”Wings of Oblivion Secret Art!” Garuda shouted out as he executes his most powerful art. six white and one black wing of light appeared on Garuda's back, bringing the total number of wings to 14. Garuda qi momentum exploded upwards and Cassan was blown away. A thin trail of blood escaped Garuda's lip but he ground his teeth and shot off into the distance like a rocket. He even burned some of his blood essences to double his speed once more. Zooming through the air at an insane speed, he rapidly approached Jodye and Eureka who had already fled 40 kilometers away and were nearly outside of Winter Winds City.
”Cassan!” Aiken Moon was distraught when he saw the severely injured Cassan Bluetooth falling from the sky. He rapidly scaled the sides of a couple of buildings before leaping through the sky to barely catch the rather heavy Cassan, landing roughed in the dirt 80 meters away.
”Old mister, he's going after Jodye!” Bilan Moon was frantic seeing the terrifying villain disappear like he was never there. She couldn't imagine or comprehend such speed at all. However, once she saw the state of the old man Cassan, she knew that he wouldn't be able to help anytime soon. Thus she turned her pleading eyes toward Master Grey Willow, ”Martial-Aunt Blu do something, please!”
”My dear…” Master Grey Willow sighed. It seemed this young lass is truly smitten with the young negus boy who apparently causes chaos everywhere he goes. However, if that boy survived this ordeal then even Master Grey Willow herself might endorse this relationship. Such a heaven blessed youth was second to none, even in Rodinia. ”It is not that I do not want to help lass…however, I could never catch up to that madman now. We have already done all we can…”
Grey Willow truly wished for Jodye to return safely. He was truly too good of a seedling to watch die pointlessly.
If only they could somehow convince him to leave Pangaea behind…
When Jodye Trill felt an outrageous amount of power enter the range of his divinity he felt true horror. Even after using Energizing Steps on Eureka and boosting her speed to nearly 80,000 BP, this lunatic was still able to catch up!
How the hell could that even be possible?
Once again, he underestimated the power of true sages. How scary was an elite like Garuda?! If he caught up to Jodye, the latter knew he would definitely die. Jodye felt like the entire world wanted him to die today, and this was simply too unfair. If Garuda was this powerful, why did he even need to play around in the South Ward of Pangaea? Freaks like this belong in the Central Ward.
Of course, Jodye didn't know that Garuda was already past the point of no return. He would have to rest for at least a year after today's efforts. This was why he was determined to murder this brat before he left the city today. Otherwise, what was any of this for? They would have lost everything and gained nothing. However, if Garuda could bring back this boy's head and fortune the Cove Master would reward him greatly. Especially if this youth was truly the negus kid that every superpower in the West Ward has been trying to find.
Garuda himself was of negus descent, so he knew the threat this boy posed if he escaped today. He would definitely return to destroy them one day!
”Today you must DIE!” Garuda's powerful voice contained so much terrific might that Eureka's qi was disrupted and her movement technique forcibly halted. This caused the Twilight Sphinx to trip over its feet, send Jodye tumbling at speeds fast enough to reduce him to a stain on the wall.
Jodye was unreconciled. Dying was one thing, but he was going to be shouted down? Death by a sound wave? If his enemy truly shouted him into the afterlife, Jodye would probably be revived as a fiend. He resented!
”No, I must calm my mind. If I must die, then I will die with pride!” Jodye Trill shouted with all his strength as he closed his eyes, unable to control his body.
”There is no need for you to die today, young friend,” and a completely calm and noble voice entered Jodye's ears, and somehow all his anxiety floated away. In fact, in the next instant, he himself was floating gently before the city walls, mere milliseconds away from a painful death. Jodye's back was totally drenched in cold sweat. Jodye Trill experienced a great many near-death experiences in his two lives and even truly died once, yet none of it compared to the feeling he had today. Such fear and subsequent joy for having survived was a feeling he couldn't describe with words.
Jodye was shocked to see that surrounding him and holding him up by the hem of his clothes were one hundred little crimson firebirds. These creatures seem to be made of pure flames, yet, somehow Jodye was not being burned by these firebirds at all. Jodye felt this flame power felt very familiar. As the firebirds rotated his body away from the wall Jodye saw the broad back of a bald middle-aged man wearing a brocade vermillion raiments and a vermillion bird cloak. Surrounding him several hundred firebirds just like the one currently helping Jodye. The latter recognized this man to be his uncle Sigma's business partner, Temple Sheppard Erykah Maat!
Jodye let out a huge sigh of relief. He thought he was dead for sure before this man's timely arrival. Right at this moment, a ferocious wave of dark energy flew over like a rocket before halting.
”Mighty Revered Temple Sheppard Maat,” Garuda appeared in the sky surrounded by an origin voodoo qi cloud with his muscles and veins bulging, he was clearly over-drafting his body to maintain his current state. Erykah Maat observed this Garuda without concealing his disdain. ”I am sorry to have disturbed you. Please, hand me the brat and I will leave this city without causing more trouble.”
”Amitabha. I do not care to interfere in your unjust affairs within Winter Winds City,” Erykah Maat put his palms together and bowed, ”However, this little boy will stay with me for now. You have already lost your chance to harm him.”
”Oh, revered one, I'm sorry but not even you will stop me from killing this wretch today,” the dark nimbus surrounding Garuda suddenly exploded outward and the 14 wings on his black shined with a black light. He places his hands together and what Jodye was certain was an energy blast posture and terrible forces condensed in the center of his palms. ”GO DIE!”
”Foolish,” Erykah Maat spoke in disappointment. He had already given the opponent a chance to see how high the mountain was. The Temple Sheppard willed an arcane circle to form under his feet. The arcane circle expanded 3 meters and the firebirds dropped Jodye onto it. Erykah Maat raised his hand and all the firebirds swarmed out to form a mighty and blazing palm of fire, ”Legendary Art: Supreme Buddha Bird Palm!”
The giant flaming palm made of crimson fire seemed to intimidate the void itself as it hurtled toward Garuda. Garuda instantly erected and barrier made from death qi, but the death qi was rapidly evaporating upward. It was as if the heat from that fire palm was too strong, but in reality, it was absorbing the death qi and converting it into vital qi increasing the power of the crimson fire palm.