Chapter 417 (1/2)

Book 4, Chapter 35 – Just A Little More

Adder's mirror crystal was a relic that could rival the Gospel of Sands, Selene's Holy Vest short of epic quality Part of its poas that it could copy any relic of equal or lesser strength, as well as people

Cloudhawk heaved a tired sigh This fuckin' guy Monsters, him and his dad both

Holding the crossblades, Adder and his copies slowly strode forward The re Lifedrinker Arrows hovered in the air, still but poised to strike at any an to spin at high speed like an exorcist rod

Adder was suth from the arrows in preparation for a final blow They were more deadly now than ever before

But the demonhunter himself retained that emotionless façade He was cool and co under control After all, Cloudhaas still too young and immature to really be a threat to him

“Unless I'e of power like that can only be used once in a short period” It was less of a question and more an observation, as Adder fixed Cloudhaith that dispassionate stare “I a for what happens next?”

After a brief ained his composure He was always the practical sort, and never had he encountered a relic that holly invincible At the very least, the y it demanded to maintain

Incredible and varied as the mirror was, it was limited by the one who bore it

For Adder to summon so many copies – both of hie demonhunter he suspected they would be so spent they couldn't even use an exorcist rod by this point

Even if Adder had the talent and capacity of so

As far as Cloudhawk knew, he didn't have a tool that stored energy, like the Holy Vestments He was convinced that Adder had to have used ht at peak strength? What's more, he'd split his focus between hiimmicky as well The new mirror-Adders had to be ht How y was spent?

Cloudhawk figured that they would collapse on their own after just a few minutes

Beyond that, there were restrictions to what the nize the connection the copies had to the relic, and that the y Without that constant supply the copies couldn't manifest

In other words, the more copies one made the more unstable they were individually In addition, the further the copies got froy was needed to keep the connection strong [1]

Cloudhawk shook his head regretfully “You're certainly an extraordinary guy, boss That's obvious considering what you've done Such a… pity You would be aweso you decided to do, but you just had to pick this”

He wasn't just buying ti over others, but after fighting Adder he had to give respect where respect was due He was strong, collected, and the scope of what he'd done was adardless of which side of the war you stood on Sooner or later, he would grow to be a man every bit as impressive as his father

Of course, unless he died It was a cruel twist of fate that the most brilliant stars burnt out fastest – like Belinda

Adder replied “Actually I envy you Free to live and die as you please, unburdened And yet, I cannot call you a man”

Cloudhaas grateful for every second, so he looked back at the older demonhunter with a look of curiosity “How's that?”

Adder took a step forward It was slow, i the space between hi aura “A real man finds his path and sticks to it No ht, how bloodied he may become, he never turns back A real man will die without complaint in service of his purpose”

“And what about you and your purpose?” Cloudhawk retorted “Have you ever stopped to think it was all worthless?”

“When I was young I scoffed at the idea that the beat of a butterfly's wings could change the world Now, as I've gotten older, eneration has its heroes, but these are not the ones I look up to I reserve my esteem for the bleached bones that carpet our path, the hundreds of thousands of people who died and ill never have their naain The heroes we love to worshi+p stand on their shoulders These forgotten victims are the backbone of our species”

He took another step His presence seemed to fill the whole chamber Fearless, resolute

Unstoppable

“Perhaps you find our hable Maybe you sneer at us just like you'd sneer at that little butterfly and its ridiculous, lofty delusions But me… I would be proud to be that butterfly I would cherish being another pile of nameless bones that lifts others up! Ihumanity closer to inevitable victory”

The two ard one another in a brief and uncomfortable confrontation

Cloudhawk respected this man, really Adder respected hi sides of this conflict

Adder slowly raised his hand “I'm not finished I can't stop But here your journey ends!”

All four copies of Adder fired searing bolts at hi Lifedrinker Arrows also burst into motion

“I'm sorry” Cloudhawk's keen senses helped him dart away froht His Silver Serpents glearasp “I'm not ready to die yet”

An ear-piercing sound rang off the stone walls of the cavern as the arrows raced his way

They were ht them with one of his swords When the blade impacted with the arrow he felt an explosion of force release into his ar it nu through a group of stone pillars before getting lodged in a wall

What a to deflect a missile!

Adder wasted no ti a follow-up attack He pouredtheir lethality Not all of the arrowheads trained on Autumn