Chapter 1650 (2/2)

“Ridiculous…” The Frost Matriarch muttered. Then she turned again to look at Randidly. “Truly, I didn’t expect The Nether could manifest this power. But how long can it keep this up? I see nothing worthy of our retreat.”

“It’s not this.” Randidly shook his head, his eyes still on the Dusk Jackal. He spoke quickly, urgency leaking into his tone. “But let me ask you something: why does Nether need to swirl in the air?”

“Enough talk,” The Dusk Jackal barked. Its muscles began to bulge. “Today… we fight!”

“You-!” The Head Drill Sergeant was clearly exasperated. His emerald eyes flicked to DiOrtho, and the ram demon realized that the only reason the man had come down here at all was to make sure he made it out alive. A surge of warmth filled him, from DiOrtho’s toes to his curling ram horns.

“Obviously, it doesn’t need to,” The Frost Matriarch said in a clearly puzzled voice. Then she glanced up at the gathering significance that still was accumulating above the Nether King. But all at once, her expression stilled. “It… is simply energy. It can be stored… wherever is convenient…”

The Frost Matriarch’s eyes slid downward until she stared at the growing cracks in the ground.

To the Dusk Jackal, Randidly spoke in a desperate voice. “Let’s make a deal. If I can endure one of your blows now, let’s agree to postpone the rest of our duel until ten days from now.”

“Fine then! I applaud you for having the balls to challenge me!” The Dusk Jackal roared. More and more light gathered around his figure. His body expanded, becoming more obscenely muscular. His veins protruded from his limbs and wriggled like freshly hatched maggots. “Survive this strike and prove you are worthy of a duel! The Last Light of Dusk!”

RUUUUMMMMMMMMMMMBLLLLLLLLLLEEEEEEE!

As though signaling the beginning of this challenge, the massive hand of Elhume began to force its way downward, directly overpowering the Nether King’s blast.

In an instant, the physical form of Randidly transformed. He flicked his hand and his two-meter spear Acri appeared in his hand. An angular, dark grey armor appeared on his body and covered his upper torso and metal left arm. The remaining revealed flesh of the Ghosthound’s body turned incorporeal and shimmering, while the thick veins running through his body began to glow with a golden light.

His black hair shifted toward a deep, rich green and light began to bleed and melt around his left eye. Soon most of the upper left side of his face was warped by a swirling orb of darkness. Spectral flames of Weight ran up and down the Ghosthound’s arms. DiOrtho could also sense an absolutely ridiculous amount of Nether coursing through his physical body. Then the Head Drill Sergeant raised his spear and executed an exquisite thrust to meet the Dusk Jackal’s offensive.

BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOMMM!!!

Unfortunately for his grand show of resistance, the Ghosthound was sent flying as though he was a rubber ball hit by a club. He skipped several times off the ground until he reached the portion of the crater with a steeper slope and embedded himself into the landscape.

However, the Dusk Jackal did not pursue. The jackal-headed being looked at the hand that had smashed the Ghosthound backward and frowned. His muscles slowly lost their pulsing and enflamed size. Then he shrugged. “Fine. We continue this in ten days. Prepare yourself; I will not hold back.”

Meanwhile, the Frost Matriarch looked around at the gathered individuals. “We will be following the advice of the Ghosthound and retreat from this position. At least beyond the edge of the crater.”

With the Dusk Jackal in line, the group quickly retreated. As they marched in his direction, the Ghosthound pried himself out of the wall and brushed some of the debris from his armor. He was gaunt and looked bedraggled from the earlier clash, but he fell in with the group as they moved up the slope.

DiOrtho overheard the Frost Matriarch addressing the Ghosthound as they moved. “Can you tell the purpose of the array in the ground?”

The Ghosthound shook his head, looking extremely tired. “It’s too dense, even for me. But with how thorough the concealment arrays were…Heh. However, there’s one thing I don’t understand…” The Ghosthound glanced upward at the sky. “If I can see through those arrays with some work… for Elhume-”

RUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUMMMMMMMMMMMMMBBBBBBBBBBBLLLLLLEEEEEE!

The massive hand gathered momentum and crunched the spatial walls of this place further and further. They were in a tin can, gradually being crumpled. The power the hand could display was overwhelming.

But the Frost Matriarch just sighed in a sonorous exhale. “You only have to look at the lazy hand conjured by Elhume to understand that he doesn’t take this threat seriously at all. He has been at the Pinnacle for longer than most have even been alive; he is far past the point of needing to examine carefully for traps.”

Randidly offered up a sharp smile and glanced again at the ground. “...a dangerous mindset.”