Chương 229: B3 - Chapter 61: Hard to Kill

Jaz didn't wait to attack. The giant Guardian charged forth and led with his massive shield, his form blurring through the rain. Seth crossed his armored forearms before his chest and braced. The collision boomed through the forest. He absorbed the impact, but the momentum still shoved him several yards backward and made his boots plow deep trenches through the mud. Nightmare seized the occasion to strike from the flank.

The direwolf shed his invisibility and burst from the shadows, dark aether billowing from between his bared fangs as he lunged for the nearest Rogue. At the same moment, Colossus summoned himself out from the teardrop necklace in a flash of light. The scorpion materialized beside Seth and unleashed Chitinous Taunt right away. A rippling wave of mental compulsion surged across the clearing, aiming for the minds of nearby soldiers.

Jaz slammed his hammer against his shield, and bright chains erupted around him; the bindings snapped apart at their center, breaking the taunt. The man then planted his feet and raised his weapon toward the sky. Arcs of crackling, blue-white lightning rapidly formed around the hammer. The other imperial soldiers also began channeling spells, and aether swirled around swords and spears as they all prepared to take on Colossus's absurd defense.

The giant scorpion braced for the clash, and Quartz Armor spread across his shell, reinforcing his already tough exoskeleton. Yet for the first time, Desert Aegis didn't manifest alongside it—he didn't have enough aether to cast the spell. Seth threw himself into the heart of the melee. Through Link, Seth sensed the same problem afflicting Nightmare; the Wells of all three of them were nearly empty. They all desperately needed aether. Now.

So, Seth reached deep into his chest and unleashed Aura of Insatiable Hunger. The voracious energy erupted from his body and spiraled around him in a vortex, consuming every ounce of the ambient energy it touched—absolutely nothing was spared. The lightning gathering in Jaz's hand sputtered out before it could be find a target. The spells cloaking the other nearby soldiers' weapons also unraveled in an instant, collapsing into streams of aether that flowed into Seth.

As the energy gradually filled his Well, he funneled part of it through Link to replenish Nightmare's and Colossus's reserves. Seth exploded forward before the foes had truly realized what was happening. His eyes locked onto one of the Rogues that was lunging toward Colossus. If Seth could even the numbers before Chitinous Taunt expired, their odds would greatly improve. Jaz seemed to realize the same and charged to intercept Seth's path and stop him.

The Guardian's enormous shield headed toward Seth like a war ram. Seth twisted aside at the last instant, and the metal grazed his shoulder instead of crushing him outright. Using the opening, he then drove a punch into Jaz's ribs. The blow landed squarely, yet the man barely moved. With a grunt, Jaz pivoted and smashed the face of his shield into Seth's chest. The impact lifted him completely off his feet. He hurtled backward through the air before crashing to the ground a dozen feet away.

Pain erupted through his body, but the momentum forced him into a roll, so he planted a hand, sprang back onto his feet, and ignored the protest of all the agonizing muscles in his body. Then he saw them. About ten more imperial soldiers were sprinting toward him and his companions. Shit. The men raised their weapons, which were all humming with aether. Seth clenched his jaw. Breaking free from the encirclement now would be difficult with Colossus out of the teardrop necklace.

Yet, if Seth deactivated the distortion field to recall the scorpion, the nearby soldiers would no doubt seize the opportunity to use Instant spell-scrolls. Before Seth could commit to any plan, an orb of ice surged from the thickets to his left and exploded. A surge of ice shards swept across the clearing, hitting the new soldiers. The projectiles pierced flesh and armor alike before blooming into frost, coating both limbs and weapons and slowing the men's advance. Seth glanced toward the spell's origin.

Elena stepped out from the shadows, her blue robes whipping in the rain as she wove another spell. Damn it... The last thing he'd wanted was for her to risk her life for him. And yet the tightness in his chest eased. Then let's end this. Seth summoned Lumi with a thought. The otter of light appeared beside him in a pale flash.

"Boost me, Lumi." Without hesitation, she channeled a bright whirl of blue aether around him. The enchantment flooded his body to boost both his Agility and Strength. Seth then exploded forward alongside Nightmare and cast Dusk Scythes, now that the spell was finally off cooldown. Jaz lunged to intercept the duo, but this time he was too slow. They moved as one, weaving through the disorganized imperial soldiers who were still covered in frost.

Soldiers fell one after another as Seth and Nightmare carved through the enemy ranks with bites and slashes, forcing all nearby soldiers' attention on them. And that gave Elena all the time she needed. Untouched, she continued summoning arrows and lances of ice before sending the projectiles soaring toward the enemy. Not far from her, Colossus dug his legs into the mud and blocked Jaz's path, stopping the Guardian from supporting his allies.

The scorpion readied himself to endure the full focus of the man along with the soldiers still under the effect of Chitinous Taunt. Jaz's hammer crashed into Colossus' shell while two elite soldiers relentlessly slashed any exposed parts with aether-enhanced weapons. Steel rang against chitin as spells detonated across his body, each impact blasting away a layer of Quartz Armor. Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation. Then a jagged crack split across his massive carapace.

Dark blood seeped from the wound and washed over the rain-soaked mud below. Lumi wasted no time in healing the wound while Colossus cast both Desert Aegis and Explosive Bastion to protect himself. The two spells' aether mixed and boosted his defense as the Luminous Otter continued to chain-cast multiple restorative spells, her soothing light washing over the shell fracture. Seth and Nightmare kept devoting their focus to slaughtering as many nearby foot soldiers as possible.

Shadow-cloaked fangs and blades of condensed darkness tore through the imperial ranks while Elena supported Colossus with Lumi. Jaz relentlessly pressed his assault on the scorpion, who kept blocking his path. The way the man's heavy armored strides dragged through the mud and his chest heaved betrayed the toll the battle had taken: his aether Well was also clearly running low. As the battle unfolded, Seth tried to gradually push closer to Elena, so he could be within Shadow Step range in case she was targeted.

Though the advance toward her was anything but easy. The lingering drawback of Beastmaster Rage still left his Toughness severely diminished, forcing him to dodge every sword swing and spell rather than just accept the impacts. Thankfully, the attributes Colossus passively gave him through Link, combined with Desert Aegis, kept Seth's Toughness far beyond that of an average Wielder. Even so, the lingering penalty left no room for mistakes. Nearby, Jaz abruptly changed tactics.

Instead of battering his way through Colossus, the giant Guardian shifted his heavy stance and tried to circle around the scorpion's massive frame, intent on reaching Elena's position. Dark aether erupted out of Nightmare's body as a wolf of living shadow burst from his maw and lunged at Jaz. The spell dissolved on impact, transforming into tendrils that coiled around the Guardian's armor. Writhing thorns drove into the gaps between the plates as the bindings tightened and slowed the man's advance.

Just as Seth was about to let out a sigh of relief, four new figures burst from the dense vegetation behind Elena. The group lunged without a sound, daggers already poised for the kill. Pure panic clenched Seth's throat.

"Elena, watch out!" he yelled over the deafening rain, pouring aether into his legs as he dashed to get within Shadow Step range. Elena spun around just as the assassins leapt in perfect unison. Colossus' Explosive Bastion detonated a few steps away and lit up the clearing. For a split second, Seth recognized the lead Rogue's face. Kaelen. Just before the other assassins' dagger could reach Elena's, Kaelen pivoted. His daggers blurred into streaks of silver.

One sliced the throat of the Rogue to his left, the other buried itself into the ribs of the assassin on his right. Neither man had time to react, and they both collapsed into the mud, blood pouring from their wounds. Elena caught the third Rogue's dagger with her staff and shoved the man backward. The assassin recovered immediately and lunged again. Yet before the strike could find flesh, Kaelen intervened once more.

His dagger slammed the incoming weapon aside in a shower of sparks and threw the Rogue off balance. Elena seized the opening without missing a beat. A blast of cold wind burst from her staff and struck true, hurling the assassin into a tree trunk. The man had yet recovered that Kaelen whipped his arm out, and a throwing dagger flashed through the rain to bury itself deep in the man's chest. The Dark Assassin spared Elena a brief glance, then sprinted across the clearing.

Blades slick with dark blood, he intercepted the nearest imperial Warrior, covering Seth's blind spot without a word. Seth ducked beneath the frantic swing of a foe, stepped inside the man's guard, and buried one of Dusk Scythe's blades into his breastplate. As the soldier collapsed, the weapons whizzing along Seth's forearms flickered and dissolved into wisps. Aside from Jaz, who remained cut off by Colossus, only two imperial soldiers were still alive, both locked in combat with Kaelen and Nightmare.

Realizing his force had been all but annihilated, Jaz glared at Seth before shifting his gaze to Elena. Pure hatred twisted the Guardian's face. With a furious roar, he slammed his shield into Colossus, forcing the giant scorpion aside just enough to break past him. Then he charged straight toward the Elementalist. He knew he couldn't kill Seth. But that didn't matter. Colossus cast Scorpion Charge to thunder past Jaz, then skidded to a halt directly in his path once more, refusing to let the Guardian through.

Jaz roared in frustration and swung his hammer. The lightning-enhanced weapon crashed point-blank into Colossus' back. The impact exploded across the carapace, blue arcs of electricity racing wildly through his stony armor. Blood sprayed across the forest floor as the scorpion's massive body jerked and writhed. Lumi let out a panicked chirp. Blue light poured from the little otter, mending Colossus's shattered shell to stabilize his condition.

When the spell concluded a second later, her tiny face hardened as she turned to Jaz. Aether gathered around her muzzle for an instant, then a concentrated beam of radiant energy burst out and slammed into the imperial Guardian. Jaz instinctively started to raise his shield, but one of Colossus's tails lashed out like a spear. Its stinger punched through the shield's rim and kept it in place before the Guardian could bring it up.

Forced to protect himself another way, Jaz dropped his hammer and lifted his hand in front of his face as the radiant beam hit him. He grunted, weathering the attack. When the light finally faded, he lowered his arm and stared at his hand in confusion. There wasn't even a single scratch on his gauntlet. It was as if the spell had never been meant to cause damage. On the left, Seth desperately funneled aether into his legs and used Shadow Step to teleport closer before breaking into a sprint.

Every muscle in his battered body screamed in protest, but he forced them to obey. Colossus remained standing on trembling legs. The light in his multifaceted eyes had dimmed to a faint flicker, yet he still refused to yield, planting himself between Jaz and Elena. Unfortunately, the person he was trying to protect refused to stay behind him.

Elena stepped out away from the scorpion's cover, her staff sweeping forward as a volley of razor-sharp ice arrows shot toward Jaz and crashed into the Guardian's massive frame. Unfazed, Jaz yanked his shield free and barreled past Colossus for a second time. His large armored hand then shot toward Elena's neck.

"No!" Seth reached Jaz from behind just before the Guardian's thick fingers could close around the noblewoman's throat. With a feral roar, he pounced onto the giant's back. Forcing his body beyond its limits, Seth ripped the last of his aether from his Well with the help of his core's instinct. A pallid, ghostly Ravenous Arrow materialized directly into his hand, and without hesitation he plunged the spectral projectile deep into the exposed side of Jaz's neck.

"Fucking die!" The spell detonated. A ravenous emptiness erupted through the Guardian's flesh, devouring the aether reinforcing his body and eroding his natural defenses. The dead zone spread outward from the wound, causing the surrounding flesh to collapse inward as its sustaining aether was consumed. Jaz stumbled, his boots slipping in the mud. Dark blood streamed down his breastplate and he struggled to remain standing. Every breath came as a ragged, wet gurgle.

Seth could feel the man's strength fading beneath him, yet the bastard kept moving. Bellowing in rage, Jaz made one last desperate lunge toward Elena. Seth's core flared violently. He seized the Guardian's throat, his fingers digging deep under the man's jaw and around his throat.

"I said... fucking die!" Desperately drawing some aether from Nightmare's Well through Link, Seth forced the energy along the grooves coursing through his body. A second arrow formed in his hand. He drove it into the opposite side of Jaz's neck. The imperial Guardian finally stopped his stride. Yet Seth didn't stop. He forced the glowing shaft deeper and deeper, grinding it through flesh as the consuming energy continued to devour everything around the wound. For an instant, Jaz remained standing.

Then blood burst from his lips, and his body finally gave out. The towering Guardian collapsed face-first into the rain-soaked ground with a thud. Behind them, Nightmare and Kaelen dispatched the last two imperial soldiers. As the final bodies hit the forest's floor, came a silence broken only by the patter of the rain. Seth slowly turned toward Elena. She stood motionless, staring at him. At the blood covering his armor. At the bodies surrounding him. She'll see me as a monster now, he thought.

Fear me as the savage beast I— Before the thought could finish, Elena ran to him. She threw her arms around him, burying her face against his blood-soaked chest.

"I thought I'd lose you..." she whispered, her trembling voice barely audible beneath the rain. Seth held her close, unable to find a single word worth saying. The monster he'd feared she would see... existed only in his own mind.