193 Chapter 193: Rematch (1/2)

Hades roared before he lunged at me, his scythe descending in an arc to behead me. Aware of his raw strength, I didn't parry his scythe head-on at the moment. Instead, I summoned Scutum Sobiescanium to deflect the strike.

Even so, the brute force behind his blow was enough to shatter the Constellation shield and send me hurtling several meters away. I crashed onto the ground, blood trickling from my mouth, and rolled to my knees.

Kneeling on the ground, I heaved and wiped the blood from my mouth.

”Is this the difference between a contracted spirit and a summoned Soul Beast created from my own mana? The gulf is enormous.” Closing my eyes, I sighed. ”Man, I wish I could have a contracted spirit too…”

”I'm surprised.” Selina was still exchanging several blows with Anastasia, but she was somehow able to continue conversing. ”I didn't think you of all people would want a contracted spirit.”'

There was something in her tone that caught my attention. ”What's that supposed to mean?”

”Didn't you know?” Selina acted surprised as she dodged Anastasia's dagger. ”You need a sacrifice of equal value in order to forge a contract with a spirit. Someone who can serve as a vessel for the spirit to maintain a permanent link not just to this world, but to you.” a smile grew over her face. ”It's a heavy price to pay…I'm not sure if you can afford it.”

She ducked under Anastasia's daggers and then reached out to brush a finger against the latter's cheek.

”I'm sure you don't want to give up your pretty girlfriend here just to get a spirit, do you?”

”Don't touch me!” Anastasia hissed as she slashed at Selina's hand, but the dark-haired woman was able to quickly withdraw her arm in time before she could get cut. With Ana's poison, even the slightest of grazes could prove to be lethal. Selina was dancing on quite the fine edge there, but again, it was her funeral if she continued to underestimate her opponent.

Even so, I was more drawn to the information Selina was sharing than the fight. An image of Dad and Angelica swept across my mind.

”Don't tell me…”

”Oh, and you can't just sacrifice anyone, you know? Otherwise the contract will fail. The bond between you and the vessel must be strong enough to bind the spirit to you, after all.”

”Impossible…”

There was no way Dad would…

…no. There was nothing Dad wouldn't do to save the world. The sacrifice of the few to save the many. The sentiment he wielded like his own sword and fire spells. If it was necessary to save the majority, then he would sacrifice the minority.

Even if the cost is his son, albeit adopted. Even if the price to pay is the life of the one he loved…

”Seems like you get it now. Power doesn't just come easily to anyone.” Selina was sounding gleeful. ”That father you look up to…the Angel of Fire, was he? He never told you how he obtained his contracted spirit? Funny…I thought there were no secrets a parent wouldn't share with their child. Then again, you are merely adopted…”

I didn't know how Selina knew about my dad and family circumstances, but it was natural that she did some research on me after that night when we first clashed. She did say she had some interest in me. However, that wasn't what bothered me.

Dad…and Angelica…just what was the truth behind them?

”Shut up!” Anastasia snapped as she sliced toward Selina's throat, her dagger missing by just a hair's breadth. Selina giggled as she retreated a single step, and countered with her sword, which Anastasia easily parried with her second dagger. My partner then risked a glance at me. ”Richard! Snap out of it! Don't listen to this bitch's prattling!”

”Oh dear…it might be too late. That boy seems like he suffered some sort of mental shock. Perhaps I shouldn't have said anything about his being adopted?”

Selina's malicious giggle rang through the night.

Hades silently sauntered toward me, and then stopped a meter away. He didn't care that I had stopped moving and was kneeling on the ground. His mind was hollowed out, completely filled with nothing but thoughts of killing, of obeying his mistress. She had ordered him to kill me, and so he would obey.

He raised his scythe for a killing blow…

…and suddenly jumped back, retreating to a safe distance.

”Gr…”

His usually stony expression darkened and he bared his teeth before he glanced at his right arm. A red line of blood had appeared on his bicep and began dripping unceasingly.

”Damn…and I was so sure I could cut your arm off,” I moaned as I removed my hand from the hilt of Gan Jiang. I rose to my feet again and smiled innocently. ”That would have made this so much easier for me.”

Unlike her contracted spirit, Selina was amused. She barked out a laugh while deflecting Anastasia's daggers. ”Interesting! It seems that you still have a few tricks up your sleeve. I don't remember seeing that sword the last time we fought!”

”That's because I didn't have them back then,” I replied wryly. Instead of drawing Gan Jiang and Mo Ye, I summoned Gemini instead, feeling the comfortable weight of the twin swords as they materialized in my hands.

For now, I was going to need speed and agility more than power and strength. Gemini provided me that. I was no match for Hades in a contest of strength, so I needed to outmaneuver him rather than face him head-on.

With a bellow, I sprinted toward Hades before launching myself at him. Hades watched calmly as I executed a series of relentless attacks that he simply batted away with a single swipe of his scythe. Tucking my legs into my chest, I landed on Hades' scythe when he slashed at me in a counterattack, and then used it as a springboard to jump high above him. Doing a backflip in the air to avoid a punch from his free hand, I flung both Castor and Pollux out in a vicious slashing motion that would have split him into three if he didn't block them with his scythe. The ground underneath him shattered from the impact of my forceful assault, but Hades stood firm, completely unscathed from the clash.

I didn't stop there, however. Twisting in midair, I delivered a couple of strikes, thrusting my swords from different angles before my momentum carried me past my opponent. I hit the ground and rolled, then jumped back to my feet before turning around to face him again.

The silver pauldron that decorated his right shoulder cracked slowly before shattering into pieces and harmlessly falling onto the ground. The huge black cape that was previously chained to it billowed and was swept away by the wind, now loose from its wearer. The cape gone, Hades' prominent red tattoos and black skin stood out further in the silvery moonlight, causing me to grimace from the hideous sight.

Someone should tell Selina to bring this poor guy to a better tattoo parlor.

”Ha ha ha! Excellent, boy!” The aforementioned mistress in question was laughing gaily. In front of me, Hades' scythe began smoking as purplish black mana flowed into it and began changing its shape. Selina continued to chuckle. ”It seems that you have impressed Hades. He intends to fight you seriously from now on.”

Find authorized novels in Webnovel，faster updates, better experience，Please clickfor visiting.

”Wait, what?” I demanded, caught off guard. ”Are you telling me that he hasn't been fighting me seriously this entire time?!”

Hades grunted in place of his mistress and brought his scythe up.