Chapter 1114 (2/2)
The man favored the blank featured helmet of Dauntless with a sharp smile. “You may call me Straud, boy. No need to be so formal sd to address me as my higher calling. I’m only Death to my friends… and certainly, this is an unexpected meeting. How did you learn that I was going to target this woman?”
“Lucky guess,” Dauntless chuckled.
Suddenly, Straud’s face creased into a deep frown. “Don’t assume evading my Skill and you defeating these common beasts will change a single thing, boy. If I wanted it, you would all die without any recourse. Such is the mandate I carry. And that woman is necessary for my purpose. Stand aside and I will let the matter drop.”
“If you truly possessed that sort of power to take life, would you try and talk with me?” Dauntless rolled his shoulders. “But actually, our aims are not entirely opposed. If you pledge yourself as a subordinate to me, I will let you do whatever you want to the woman.”
There was a frozen moment as Straud’s eyes widened. Even from the distance, Ezekiel couldn’t believe how icy blue that gaze was. The fury contained there quickly became evident. The air around the man chilled. Of course, Ezekiel was mostly focused on the woman next to him in case she wanted to run away. Her glare tightened into something like hatred as she regarded the two men so casually discussing her fate as though she were naught more than chattel.
Some part of Ezekiel felt a small urge to reassure her they didn’t think about her that way, but he couldn’t bring himself to. Ezekiel had killed so many people for simply crossing his path while he was hungry. Feeling empathy toward the weak was a luxury he had forced himself to abandon. Otherwise…
Instead, Ezekiel opened his Eyes of Avarice and looked at this Straud. The Skills he saw were Bloodbeast Gestation Lvl 301, Blood Syphon Level 212, and Blood Manipulation Level 341. Which were truly the highest Level Skills that Ezekiel had ever seen. Yet most of his shock was to the fact that even this strange figure couldn’t stop his Eyes of Avarice in the same way that the woman could...
“Impudent,” Straud finally said as he seemed to measure Dauntless before him. Raising his hand, Straud pointed at the other man. Suddenly the imaginary figure riding a pale horse behind him was even clearer than it had been in the past. It seemed like there really was a rider there suddenly, cantering forward toward Dauntless over the ground and raising a scythe above its head. Ezekiel could hear the sound of the horse's hoofs hitting the muddy ground. Those hooves seemed to muffle and suffocate all other noise in the surrounding area.
This level of image-
But before Ezekiel could even be shocked, the image already swung its weapon down toward Dauntless. There was a horrible roar torn from Dauntless’ mouth as he exploded upward to smash into the blow and then the two forces collided and Ezekiel’s Perception was blinded by the impact.
BOOOOM.
Dauntless was launched backward and crashed into a nearby tree. There was a sickening crack as Ezekiel watched Dauntless’s body impact the wide trunk of the tree and bend like a shrimp. Then the tree collapsed, landing on top of the limp form of Dauntless. Ezekiel blinked slowly as he the completely split helmet of Dauntless rolling on the bloody ground.
Straud’s cold blue gaze turned toward Ezekiel. “Now, the girl. Bring her here or you will be next.”
How the fuck is his image so strong… Ezekiel trembled as he regarded the broken form of Dauntless. Even… even though I’d heard about how powerful Randidly’s image was… but no one else but Randidly had managed to have a condensed image like that. How does this man-
“My patience has already been tested.” Straud barked out. “You have three seconds. If you do not act-”
“Ah…..” There was a moan from the side and then a limp shadow straightened and shoved aside the tree trunk that collapsed on his body. “Did you know how furious I was…? To watch him, standing up there, burning with an image. Standing at the pinnacle of humanity, daring challengers to step forward. And for me to only be an observer...”
Some part of Ezekiel had always wondered what face Ace was making under his helmet while he allowed the persona of Dauntless to take over his body. And now he saw it. Ace’s wide and expressive eyes were completely glassy like that of a taxidermy stag. His mouth was open in a slight grin and his tongue was hanging out of it. Huge, panting breaths had Ace’s shoulders heaving as he stared at Straud with murderous intensity.
For his part, Straud’s eyes slowly narrowed as he regarded Ace.
“I should have been on that stage,” Ace hissed and the air trembled. The dark water and unlit ship in Ace’s wavered with the intensity of the words. “It should've been me fighting against him, not that pup Alana. Only I… only we… we were best friends. We shared… and now, you are telling me that I get to experience an image almost that powerful? Even if its a knock off… I’m so happy. You have no idea. For giving me this experience, I’ll remember your name after I’ve crushed your skull.”
“A knock-off?” Straud said coolly. “Hmph, I hope you’ve made your peace, boy. Accept oblivion.”
Straud pointed again and the image of the rider cantered forward once more. But Ace only threw back his head and laughed. “I am Dauntless. Finally, Randidly, I’ll be able to see the view that you surveyed from that stage while the ants watched. Finally, I…!”
The image struck. The dark form of the wild sea behind Ace threw itself forward to impact the rider of the pale horse before it swung its scythe. Even so, the rider didn’t slow in its attack. The two images clashed and Ace’s surprising resistance was quickly ripped to shreds. The attack sliced downward and cut open a deep gash in Ace’s chest.
Ace stumbled backward two staggering steps but he did not fall. Instead, he laughed again, louder and louder as the joy in his chest built toward a crescendo. “Yes! Yes, this is it! So this is what an image should feel like! The weight, the density… it’s completely different! To think, Randidly has sharpened himself to this point while I was just…”
“You impudent shit,” Straud hissed. This time when he extended his hand, threads of red-violet energy seeped forward into the image. Very soon, the pale rider appeared completely present, without any of the usual insubstantiality of an image. “Fine then, I’ll show you why this world will soon be mine…!”