Chapter 399 Age of Empyrean VIII (1/2)
CHAPTER 399
AGE OF EMPYREAN (VIII)
A thunderous boom bellowed out throughout the vast sky above Do'r, collapsing it over unto itself and creating thousands of spatial rifts across. Darkness swallowed whatever little light peered from behind the curtains, fires raging out of every inch, compounded with bouts of crashing thunder and macabre figures blasting in and out of existence.
Lino held onto the [Dragon Slayer] with one of his hands, his expression distorted, skin entombed within perpetual shadows, the armor dyed in crimson luster. Hardly a human, he used his free hand to grab onto the rotating, twilight-glowing spike reaching toward his abdomen. It pierced right through, creating a hole in his palm that began bleeding profusely, but he managed to prevent it from reaching his guts.
Four soon after appeared right in front of him, wrapped in gauze from head to toe like a mummified corpse. Gritting his teeth, Lino slapped the spike away and spun in a circle, unfurling his wings that began shooting star-like flutters of light at his surroundings, causing explosions to blast out one after another.
The sword cleaved through the Four or at the very least his afterimage that disintegrated quickly after. The Crown on top of Lino's head suddenly shimmered brightly, a soul-collapsing screech crying out momentarily. Screaming out, he grabbed at the blade shoved through his back and pulled it out, throwing it backward quickly, though still managing to miss.
He bled from every orifice, from every inch of his tattered, beaten and bruised body. Frustration swelled up to his throat, clogging it up till the point no word could escape it. His eyes smoked and screamed, yet to no avail. His Qi roared and bellowed, yet to no avail. It felt as though no matter what he did, he couldn't penetrate past their defenses. They were toying with him, he knew, as though they were educating a child on how to properly battle. They didn't try to kill him, didn't try to finish it all in one blow -- they were trying to break him... mentally and emotionally. And even though he knew it, he was close to his breaking point.
Stopping in place for a moment as an arrow burst through his shoulder, flushing him forward slightly, he took a deep breath and glanced back; Six and Seven stood roughly a hundred meters away from him, attacking in tandem. Both wore masks, though he could easily discern their expressions. Complex... enduring... battling... it mattered little to him. The two Bearers he'd come to kill had long since vanished from here, rescued by them. The entire point of holding back for so long, setting everything up, and even having people he cared for die... turned moot. Who knew how long would he have to wait for the next opportunity... if that opportunity ever even came.
Yet, despite that, he couldn't go mad, let go of his inhibitions entirely. Even after having donned the Crown, he largely held back from over-exhausting himself. He used it merely to avoid any long-term damage done to his body, and hardly for attacking back. If there was one solace in this situation, it was that he'd found a way out. If he wanted to, he could have broken out an hour ago. Yet, he stayed. He wanted to test not only his limits, but their limits as well. After all, staring with today, they were the faces and names that he'll one day have to erase. They've made their decision when they chose to appear today, as he had made his when he saw them.
But, because they were a complete enigma to the rest of the world, he had to scale back and endure -- he had to personally witness their limits. Six, for instance, didn't have much in terms of fighting prowess, but he was amazing at distraction and support, largely of Seven -- she was a Master Bowman who, despite Lino's desperate attempts, had never missed her shot since the battle's beginning. Compounded with Six's enchantments of her arrows, they hurt -- a lot -- in addition to having a lot of rather eerie and exhausting properties to deal with.
Five, on the other hand, was a full-out brawler, much like Three; unlike the latter, however, whose style largely resembled Lino's, he was like a shadow, repeatedly bouncing left and right, attacking from unexpected angles with abominable speed and precision that Lino simply couldn't react to, not with his body prowess anyway. Three followed Lino's style, and she largely kept him in check -- direct, strength-oriented fighting that left her exposed to attacks often. However, unlike Lino who had no one, Four always circled her to offset those openings, and often punish Lino if he decided to go after them.
Unlike Five, despite repeatedly drifting in the shadow, Four had a rather... disfiguring style of battling. He attacked indirectly, bending rules of reality to wound without the recipient ever realizing they were wounded. As the matter of fact, most of the wounds Lino had on his body most-likely came from him, though he couldn't remember when or how.
The five had the perfect chemistry, knowing what to do without ever uttering a sound. Furthermore... there was still Two, who hid away, just observing. Lino felt far more danger from her than the rest, and he knew he stood no chance whatsoever, even if he went all out, if she joined. So, he decided not to reveal any one of his cards. Keep them all in check. Hold back. Act the role, play the part, and eventually skittle away once he finds an opportunity to grab Ion's barely-living body.
”... isn't it enough?” Six suddenly spoke out, his voice full of sympathy and a faint trace of regret. ”You've proven your point, Lino. There's no need to push any further than this.”
”... I've truly considered you my family,” Lino said, his voice dark and tepid, as he turned toward the old man. ”Someone I could trust.”
”...”
”Your act today... I'll remember,” he added, his shadow-encased lips curling up into a fanatical grin. ”And I'll repay it a hundredfold.”
”Are you really in a position to threaten him?” Seven chimed in with her usual, indifferent voice. ”You should look yourself in the mirror first.”
”No, you're the ones who should look yourself in the mirror,” Lino replied. ”Cowards too terrified to ever take a stand. Keepers of peace? Of balance? My ass. You're nothing but an entitled group of cunts who believe they are prime and proper enough to play gods with the rest of us. I don't know why I didn't want to believe it until today. Heh, I guess I'll just chalk it up to my naivety. Can't shake what you're born with, I guess. But... today's lesson is entombed inside my heart through the searing pain. And those kinds of lessons... ain't easily forgotten.”
”Seeing as your tongue still works as always,” Three said. ”It seems we haven't taught you enough yet.”
”You've nothing to teach me,” Lino turned slowly toward her, his voice growing duller. ”No, I'm wrong. If I'm ever in the mood for learning how to be an utterly despicable, moronic, deplorable cunt, I'll hit you guys up. Until then, you can fuck back off to the hole you crawled out from, and continue sucking on your inflated egos, you fucking megalomaniacs.”
”That's a bit big coming from you, isn't it?” Four said, his voice even and even slightly limp. ”Isn't your dream to reign over the world?”