Chapter 1485 (2/2)

The Grim Chimera raised its gaze and looked up at the rushing cloud dragon that Huang Li unleashed. A split second later, he activated Man is Proud, But the Chimera Takes in order to zip sideways toward Dinesh. Randidly’s eyes were sharp and vicious as he cut through the countervailing winds. Unfortunately, it seemed Dinesh had let Acri in the training area when he teleported the rest of them out here. I might be facing this threat alone, but I’ve already disabused myself of the notion that I can handle every threat directly… let’s see how much control you have over that massive image, Huang Li…

Congratulations! Your Skill Chimeric Avoidance (L) has grown to Level 293!

As Randidly streaked sideways through the whistling wind, the Sky-Slaying Sword blasted through the spot where he had been originally floating with the rumbling vibrations of an avalanche. Then, like the titanic working that it was, it twisted and undulated to shift its course in Randidly’s new direction. In that time, Randidly arrived before Dinesh and watched him shatter, suddenly becoming a determined Paolo.

“Right Hand of the Challenger!” Paolo bellowed. Somehow, that indomitable quality that he possessed enabled him to resist the tug of the Dreamcatcher of the Long Night, and now Paolo seemed positively bristling with that same fighting spirit. His attitude was completely contrary to his shattered left elbow joint that hung uselessly against his body.

He practically stank of abundant mental energy.

Randidly’s eyes flicked sideways, finding Dinesh amongst the dropping individuals. As I thought, You’ve still got some juice left. But if I’m being honest… yours is an image that I can deal with.Better to handle a foe like this while I can. Then Randidly refocused on Paolo and grinned; he was exactly what the doctor had ordered. “Cursed Appetite of a Wraith.”

Congratulations! Your Skill Cursed Appetite of a Wraith (L) has grown to Level 300!

Congratulations! Your Skill Cursed Appetite of a Wraith (L) has grown to Level 301!

Whereas the Skill could generally be used to absorb trace amounts of energy from the surrounding area, Randidly’s Skill and image usage had be becoming increasingly sophisticated since the Skill had been created. So when he directly reached into Paolo and pulled at his mental energy, he was able to rip out a large handful. Granules fell like raindrops on parched ground. His physical form subtly intensified in color. Details became increasingly clear. Paolo stalled out in his punch, confused as the brilliance in his fist dimmed. Meanwhile, that ember in the Grim Chimera’s chest began to send tongues of flame flickering up out of his heavy wounds once more.

Gotcha.

Randidly clenched his massive left hand and hammered Paolo’s punch directly, shattering the man’s knuckles and sending him tumbling away. Then Randidly squinted upward and kicked his feet sharply downward at the same time. He shot upward relative to the other fighters, aiming for the grouping of Donny, Lyra, and Huang Li.

Of course, others moved to intercept him almost instantly. The cloud dragon had drifted horizontally through the air again to right its direction and now accelerated up at Randidly from below. Alana streaked in sideways, each beat of her Fate’s wings sending pearly feathers tumbling through the air.

But what Randidly was actually waiting for was Kayle, who obliging manifested behind Randidly’s back and aimed several slashes at his blindspot. But as Kayle began to swing his long knives, Randidly’s right hand whipped around and snatched at Kayle. Just as lightning fast as he appeared, the man twisted and slid away through the air, but Randidly activated Man is Proud, But the Chimera Takes to explode in pursuit and catch him.

For the second time in the fight, someone’s psyche stubbornly resisted the pull of the Dreamcatcher of the Long Night; this particular duo of Paolo and Kayle from Donnyton was trouble. When the thin fingers of Randidly’s hand squeezed around his face, cutting several gashes across his cheekbones, jaw, and upper neck, Kayle decided to ignore defense and manifested his image in one shimmering blaze along the knife in his right hand.

Which was also what Randidly was waiting for. Heh, maybe you two aren’t so bad after all. So generous with your energy...Cursed Appetite of a Wraith.

Congratulations! Your Skill Cursed Appetite of a Wraith (L) has grown to Level 302!

Because he hadn’t experienced it personally, Kayle was no more prepared for Randidly to reach within him and steal some of his mental energy to fuel images. Another handful was tossed into Randidly’s starving Soulspace. The sharp divide along Kayle’s swinging knife dimmed and only scratched at Randidly’s shoulder, while Randidly dislodged the rest of Kayle’s pesky resistance by slamming his left fist into his stomach. Finally, the Dreamcatcher could pull some of his memories from his head.

Randidly tossed Kayle to the side and stomped on the air again, shooting upward. Behind him, the massive cloud dragon was growing in size, making the distance between them seem increasingly small. It was definitely accelerating, as well. As Randidly’s Grim Intuition considered the size of the thing, he was really quite impressed by Huang Li; managing all of that image energy and keeping it pure wasn’t a small feat.

“You go no further, Randidly,” Donny announced from above. He brought the blade of his sword against his shield, producing a clear and valiant noise. “Righteous Barricade!”

A dense network of golden lines sprayed outward from Donny, spreading rapidly out to form a web above Randidly, separating him from the remaining challengers. With the barrier in place, Randidly would be forced to avoid the cloud dragon below while they continued to pepper him with attacks from on high. In particular, Randidly felt quite wary when he saw the small dagger that Lyra was shaping from the liquid light she had gathered.

That’s gonna be a problem. Randidly’s mouth twitched. For all that Lyra had only had her Class for one fourth the time as most of these people, she was fucking strong.

But despite what the Skill could mean, the Grim Chimera only chuckled at the display. Power flooded through his image physicalizations; his heart began to pound. Those two breaths of image potency he had stolen from Paolo and Kayle might be scraps compared to what he normally wielded, but it was also about double the potency that he had started this fight with. So Randidly stomped on the air once, twice, and then three times. His body accelerated and ripped past the physical limitation. Before Donny could react, Randidly was right in front of him.

“Lucifer Slash!” Lucifer gallantly came at Randidly from the side, but it didn’t even matter. Randidly once more activated Cursed Appetite of the Wraith. They seemed a bit more prepared for his greedy pull this time, making sure Randidly only could sneak away with a whisper of their power. But that was really just to distract them. Meanwhile, his limbs blurred into motion.

So fast that each movement produced a sonic boom, Randidly knocked aside Lucifer’s slash with his left hand. That fist then continued forward and smashed into Lucifer’s gut. Even as he was about to be blasted away, Randidly’s right hand snaked out and seized his head. His memories were pilfered by the Dreamcatcher of the Long Night.

Then, with his grip on Lucifer’s head, he whipped the limp body around and smashed it into Donny’s shield. As Donny adjusted his defense, Randidly’s massive left hand clenched into a fist and moved with deceptive quickness. It slid under his shield and caught Donny in the diaphragm, likely causing the muscle to seize and produce the sensation that he couldn’t breathe. Randidly’s right hand then released Lucifer’s head and grabbed Donny’s in one smooth motion.

Even as they all fell down toward the ground and a massive cloud dragon ascended to obliterate them, Randidly had reduced two more of the ambushers to non-factors. He turned and grinned around at the surviving seven.