CHAPTER 45: INTENSE FIGHT

"Bam!" Wallace forcefully landed on the floor, stirring up dust.

"Who's there?" Those in the city felt something, and two people immediately approached him. They heaved a sigh of relief when they saw him.

"I don't expect a human to deliver himself to our door," one of them laughed maniacally when they saw Wallace.

"He's mine!" he shouted as he rushed towards Wallace with his hand shaped in the form of a claw. The second one also rushed towards Wallace. "It should be the first one that gets to him," he answered.

They got within a meter of Wallace, and the latter smirked. Dark ink-like energy coagulated on his fist.

"Oh no," their heart palpitated when they saw the dark energy, and they tried to retreat, but it was too late. They burst into a shower of flesh and blood, and tentacles extended into their body from Wallace's back. He absorbed their soul essence.

"Who's there?" A booming voice was heard as a guy and a lady appeared in front of Wallace. Wallace then felt different life signatures converge onto him from all sides.

"Oh, I did not expect you bastards to track us to a place like this," the man said.

"How many of you are here?" He asked, but Wallace did not answer. Dark ink-like energy spread like tentacles around his body and extended into his hand, forming an armor and a sword.

"You're not them," the man was taken aback as he looked at Wallace, surprised. The lady also looked surprised.

"Who are you?" he asked.

"Well, the one that'll kill you," Wallace answered, and

"Boom!" The air around him shattered as the sonic barrier was forcefully broken, and he appeared in front of the guy. He thrust his sword forward,

"Clang!" it collided with the gauntlet the guy was wearing. They both took two steps back as both their arms shook from the immense force that was transmitted through their body. The ground beneath Wallace cracked, but he moved forward again,

"Clang!" A gauntlet and a sword crossed each other again.

"Who are you?" the guy asked as they were in a stalemate. Wallace clenched his fist and threw a punch. He felt a force stop his fist.

"You are too weak to fight me," the man smiled and threw a punch. Wallace was thrown back. He felt his innards shake a little despite the armor blocking and dispersing most of the force. He tried to move again, but he was immobilized as the guy rushed towards him and

"Bang!" another punch hit him. He was thrown back again.

"Bang, Bang, Bang!" Another three punches were thrown at him, throwing him away. Blood dripped from the corner of his mouth as he was carried up by an invincible force.

"What are you?" the guy asked, but his lips curved into a strange smile.

"Well, I don't need to know. I will be far more powerful if I absorb your powers," he answered as the force dragged Wallace along, but the latter smiled.

"Well, that's if you can," Wallace answered as dark flames burned across his armor and his sword.

"Shriing!" Shattering sounds were heard as cracks spread around the air, and Wallace felt that he had regained his mobility.

"Is that essence flames?" A mutter was heard from his ring, but he did not have the time to ask about it. Outside, Athena, who was ready to go help and dismantle herself, widened her eyes when she saw what happened.

"He developed those," she said, but her mouth curved upward.

"Looks like I don't have to help again," she said.

The man's eyes widened as Wallace broke another sonic barrier, and with an unpredictable speed, appeared in front of him. He raised his gauntlet up and blocked the sword, but he had to move seven steps back to disperse the force.

"Well," he smiled as he straightened his body.

"Things are just starting to get more interesting," he said as

"Boom!" he and Wallace collided again, sending cracks through the air, but he was thrown back. Wallace followed and jumped into the air before bringing his sword down. He had to cross his fist to block the attack, but he still knelt on the floor, and cracks ran through his gauntlet. His eyes widened when he saw what was happening.

Wallace clenched his left fist, which had been set ablaze with dark flames. "Boom!" He threw a punch. "Arrgh!" A shout was heard as the lady, trying to ambush him from behind, was thrown far back with a beautiful arc of blood. The guy used the chance to strike him in the stomach at the same time. He was thrown back.

"Ahh!" he gasped.

He felt the flames were using the mysterious energy his body provided, and he felt some places in his body felt as if they were set on fire.

"You are an interesting individual. Your powers will best be utilized with me," the man said as he stood up. Then, his injuries started to heal, and before he knew it, both the man and the woman were as good as new.

"Let's attack together," the woman said.

"Though I don't like it, I must admit you are very strong, and we have no choice but to attack together," the man said.

Wallace looked at them; he was in their middle. The flames on his sword intensified, sending palpitations down their spines.

"Die," the two shouted at the same time, and Wallace felt himself become disoriented by the sound waves that struck him.

He squinted his eyes. "Clang," his sword struck something. He turned around and clashed with the lady, and the two were thrown back.

"Again," they both shouted as they attacked Wallace again.

They attacked for ten rounds before finally separating. Wallace knelt on the floor as his arms were shaking, and he was feeling tired. He had been struck in some places, and his armor had cracks running through them. He could also feel the energy in his body depleting at a fast rate due to the flames on his body.

"Looks like I have to evolve," he said as he noticed the people around him. He stood up.

"Do you still want to attack?" the man asked mockingly.

"You are no match for the two of us, so just surrender," he said.

The flames on his body dimmed.

"Good boy," he said, but

"Boom!" cracks spread through the air, and Wallace arrived amidst the weaker evil spirits there. He passed through them as his sword cut into their body, sending dark ink-like energy that corroded their soul, turning them into pure soul essence. Then, tentacles spread from his back into their body, absorbing it.

He dived into the midst of the rank one evil spirits and cut them down. By the time the two could react, he had already cut down close to twenty of them. Their eyes widened when they saw that.

"Everyone, disperse and escape out of Ghost Town," the woman commanded as they chased after Wallace. The evil spirits heeded the command and all dispersed, trying to escape Ghost Town by jumping in different surroundings. But by the time they reached the boundary of the town, a barrier repelled them, killing many of them, allowing countless tentacles to extend from Wallace's body and absorb their essence.

The two rank four evil spirits' eyes widened as they caught up with Wallace and attacked from different directions. Dark ink-like flames blazed on Wallace's body again as his speed spiked, and he barely escaped from their attack before it dimmed again.

"Let's see how long you can use that," the man muttered as the two intensified their chase.

"Boom, Boom," Wallace took another three evil spirits down, and the two finally stopped him.

He crossed his sword on his chest as a fist hit the sword, and another one struck his back, allowing him to spit a mouthful of blood out. Cracks spread round his armor, but it did not deter him as he continued to take down the remaining rank one and two evil spirits.

He cleared close to a hundred evil spirits, and he felt he was on the verge of evolution. The two stopped him sometimes, and he also had varying amounts of injuries, but they were not able to hinder him that much.

"All rank three evil spirits, stop him for us," the man commanded. The ten rank three evil spirits came forward to surround him from all sides.

"Boom," his sword collided with a rank three evil spirit, and the latter was thrown far back against the barrier, causing an arc of red to move through the air. But that was enough to stop him for a minute.

"Shit," dark ink-like flames blazed on his body, and this time, they were flickering, but it was enough to give him the boost he needed to take down more rank two evil spirits.

He took down close to twenty before the flames finally ran out, signifying the mysterious energy finally ran out. He felt a wave of weakness hit him as he knelt on the floor. His aura weakened as the armor retracted, and the sword disappeared due to not being sustained by the energy.

"Finally ran out of gas," the man stopped.

"You're a bastard," he said as he kicked him away. The woman stopped.

"Bang, Bang," another series of kicks hit Wallace, causing him to spit mouthfuls of blood out and

"Bang, Bang," another series of kicks hit Wallace, causing him to spit mouthfuls of blood out and causing his bones to creak. After hitting him for close to three minutes, Wallace was covered in blood.

"Time to end this then," the man raised him up using his neck, and his fingers formed into the shape of a claw. The woman rushed, wanting to stop him.

"Too late," the man's claw made its way towards Wallace's stomach.