491 Withdrawal of the Holy Gods (1/2)

'Rikko always ready!' Rikko eagerly replied, not wanting to ait a second longer than needed.

'On my signal then. It could be any moment,' Rydel stated, ending their conversation temporarily.

The Assassin God kept a close eye on the battle above, never truly focusing on his own fight. He was too caught up by his wife's sudden advantage to do anything more than avoid direct conflict with Oosam or Sillo.

Naparn wore an ugly frown. The sudden change of weather was bad enough for his magic but Lunara was also boosted. And should he attempt to counter it, it would leave Lunara a chance to do the same. Cursing Sterfen and his mysterious casting of water magic, Naparn knew that their fight could no longer be a battle of attrition.

Dousing his entire body in bubbling magma, Naparn roared. His charge evaporated all rain that got near him as he charged at Lunara.

Not shirking back, Lunara took aim and led with her spear to meet Naparn face-to-face. With her boost in speed and the many buffs, Lunara was confident that she wouldn't come out as the loser of their imminent exchange. Her frosty spear froze all nearby water in preparation to challenge Naparn's attack.

Dragas readied more spells, renewing her many debuffs and buffs. She refused to make an error in such a pivotal moment.

'Now!'

Just as Sterfen shouted telepathically to Rikko, he ducked under a rain of holy swords and snapped his finger.

Naparn and Lunara were less than a meter away from collision yet he felt an abrupt pain in his forearm. Glancing at his sword-wielding arm, Naparn's heated gaze was chilled momentarily. He had made a crucial mistake.

The small, insignificant scratch on Naparn's sword-wielding arm no longer there. In its place was a deep gash across Naparn's forearm. He had failed to anticipate Sterfen's use of the strange skill, Mark of the Reaper, for something apart from assassination. Naparn never imagined Sterfen using such a skill for a simple gash.

But it was too late to stop the clash of attacks. Lunara's spear drilled into Naparn's weakened attack, knocking the Molten God back. At the same time, his grip on the hilt only got weaker.

And, out of nowhere, Naparn heard a familiar yet uncomfortable chuckle. Before he knew what was going on, Naparn felt the sword in his hands being ripped from his strained grip. All the while, a knife was suddenly aimed for his throat. Worst of all, due to the direction of the attack, Naparn could either receive the attack or let go of his sword and evade. And seeing Sterfen at the other end of the knife was enough reason to evade.

With the sword torn from his hand, Naparn roared, ”RIKKO!!!”

Left with only Sterfen as a target for his rage, Naparn hurled magma at the Assassin God but in vain. The image of Sterfen faded, proving to be a ruse all to help Rikko steal the sword.

”HOW DARE YOU!?!?”

Oosam and Sillo were startled by Naparn's roars. Only then had they noticed the gash in Naparn's arm and the missing sword.

”I'LL--”

”Time to withdraw.”

Hearing Halmut's voice, Naparn's unquenchable fury heated even more. Lava was pouring out of him, creating a small lake in the sand below.

”Naparn, NOW!”

The same voice went off in Oosam's and Sillo's minds. They weren't as rebellious against leaving so suddenly, but Sillo felt a deep pain in his heart. He rushed to the world below as quickly as possible while Oosam teleported away with the amulet he had received recently.