67 Vice Battle I (1/2)
Aster did not normally use the memory reading effect of devouring souls but he found it useful at this moment. From memories of a thousand people, he filtered through it with careful considerations and found images of a person holding out a gun towards him.
He backtracked and connected those images to the soul that specified to do such action. It took a while until Aster eyed a general direction and smiled. ”This must be where the pesky shooter died.”
Aster wanted to see the face of a person skilled enough to shoot through a crowd of people. It must have taken insane skills to be able to direct a hit at him while evading the heads and bodies of swarming gang members. Gunner must have taken into account the movements of his peers and deducting what movement they did next. Bullets would pass through the gaps of whatever man was on the way and eventually reach the target that just caught it like nothing.
Unfortunately for the curious youth, he had no time for investigations as he had to disappear from the spot he is currently in with a quick and hastened jump. Aster was too far up in his jumping reach that it defied the one-second hang time rule of human jumping. Flames submerged the entire floor along with the dead people who recently lost their souls.
”Flegomenos kapnos!” Cinder was the one that issued such a silent and unexpectable attack. Other people may have no notice of such a spell but Aster's vision enabled him to see the somewhat unnoticeable tiny smoke amalgamations that floated by the floor. Along with his peripheral vision, Aster saw the cigar smoker suddenly light smoke on fire. Hence, the deployment of the Flaming Smoke spell and his dodging became happened with prior preparation on both sides.
”Batter, you know what to do!” Cinder ordered from seeing his attack fail to do anything significant to his enemy other than rendering him jump in mid-air.
”I got what you mean. Don't have to announce my movements to the enemies.” The cheeky Batter reached for a metallic ball from his clothes and gave a succession of quick commands that are akin to spells towards it. ”Ekrixi beizmpol. Epistrepste kai xechasate! Paratasso!”
Batter tossed the mystically glowing ball to his side as his metal bat gave it a heavy batting that propelled the ball towards the slowly descending Aster. ”Let us see if you can dodge that!”
The group was far too absorbed with Batter's complex combination of skills that they failed to notice Aster's simulated flight which by the virtue of blood that served as his platform in the air. Their team effort forced him to use skills other than body cultivation. Aster eyed in concentration at the incoming deadly attack and replied to Batter's challenge. ”As a matter of fact, I can dodge that.”
It was cool to teleport out of the way but Aster decided to maneuver with style on the air. By readying platforms of floating blood on whenever he would step, he dodged to the side in a matter of seconds.
”Fuck!” Batter could not help himself but curse out loud. A freak was literally defying the belief of human's inability to dodge successfully in air. It was an easy feat to higher level cultivators that knew flight but seeing a young man do it was mind-boggling.
”No matter. Epistrepste kai xechasate!” The metal ball that was about to hit the weakened walls unnaturally changed its trajectory and returned towards Batter. Its motion was also used smartly so that it would hit Aster by his back.
'Oops! Would not want to get hurt with that.' Aster commented in his mind while he did an unnecessary backflip to not get hit by the sinister back attack.
”Tsk! I will just fuckin' do it all over again.” Batter got irritated by the acrobatics in mid-air and batted again on the metal ball that had already returned to him.
CLANG!
The clanking of the two material objects echoed to the whole factory as Batter gave it all that he got. In a repetitive manner, Aster just evaded and Batter would hit and recall his long-distance method of attack.
CLANG!
”Epistrepste kai xechasate!”
CLANG!
”Epistrepste kai xechasate!”
The same process went on over and over again while the remaining effects of Cinder's Flaming Smoke had already dispersed. Charred corpses that smelled like burnt barbecue was what assailed the onlookers.
Aster eventually descended while Batter grew berserk with his every batting exercise. ”Are all of you just going to stand there? Do something you damned twats!”
Rat was annoyed at him while also annoyed at Aster because he thought that such an exchange would tire the fellow out. 'Why is this brat still standing from all of that mana he wasted from floating in the air?'
”Tank, both of you do your own thing? We will cover whenever we see the right time.” Ganda was on a battle state as he commanded with a gay voice. ”With your teamwork, we can surely bring out a lapse in his abilities. Pretty Face, Cinder, follow his movements, and spot any abnormalities!”
The ones that were mentioned nodded and Tank moved down from the platform while he gave out a yell of battle. ”Bring it on!”
”Chytefsimo edafos!” The muscular man gave out a punch on the ground as he called upon an attack and spell called a Moldable Ground. Tanks stayed squatted on that ground punch position as the floors in front him were waving and behaving like the unstable surface of the sea.
The entire factory floor was affected that the waves tossed and turned the corpses. Aster was also wobbling around as he praised the military muscular guy they called Tank. 'What a greatly efficient mana skill! He is actually a ninth-level Initiate earth cultivator and the sheer control he has on his mana and the skill had even somewhat terraformed a large area. The spell actually gave him the ability to deploy a spell that is equal in magnitude to a high-level Expert ranker.'
Tank was still mumbling a chant as his sweat became heavier and heavier. Batter took this chance to increase the pace of his metal bat and ball combo.
The metal ball flew straight towards Aster's torso and he thankfully slipped from having his sense of balance jammed from the waving ground.