Chapter 30 : [Gehenna Festival] III
Explosion after explosion occurred as fireballs erupted. Fortunately, Oliver managed to evade all of John's attacks.
"How about that? Don't get too cocky!" Oliver said proudly. "Wait a minute, why is it so hot?"
"Don't you realize? I wasn't aiming for you from the start. I was targeting the forest around us," John said with a sinister grin.
Oliver looked around and saw the forest burning due to John's attacks.
"You!" Oliver exclaimed angrily.
"Why don't you just give up, little hero," John taunted with a sneer.
"I'll never give up!" Oliver declared firmly.
"Tch," John muttered.
John then tapped the ground with his staff.
Suddenly, Oliver felt the ground tremble and saw a giant arm made of earth emerge in the distance.
The giant earthen arm grabbed a burning tree and hurled it toward Oliver.
Seeing the enormous tree flying toward him, Oliver panicked.
The ring on his hand glowed, and a sword appeared in his grasp.
'Thank goodness I stole this [Inventory Ring] from my brother,' Oliver thought.
Oliver swung the sword, cleaving the tree in two.
"F*ck! This sword is so sharp!" Oliver exclaimed in surprise.
*WHOOSH
*WHOOSH
Oliver saw several more trees approaching and immediately channeled [Mana] into his sword.
*SLASH
*SLASH
*SLASH
Oliver managed to destroy several trees, but he suddenly felt short of breath.
'My chest feels like it's on fire,' Oliver thought.
Struggling to breathe, Oliver didn't have enough strength to cut down the trees closing in on him.
*BOOM
Oliver was struck by a tree and sent flying dozens of meters. He crashed deep into the burning forest, suffering severe burns.
However, the pain kept him conscious. Oliver stabbed the ground with his sword, helping him land and preventing him from being thrown further.
'This is a good opportunity,' Oliver thought, realizing John couldn't see him, but he could still see John.
Oliver took a deep breath, even though every breath was excruciating.
With his remaining strength, Oliver ran around the forest while keeping an eye on John's movements.
After running a considerable distance, Oliver turned and charged toward John.
'It hurts so much! My chest feels like it's burning, my legs feel like they're about to give out, my eyes are itchy, and my head feels like it's going to explode,' Oliver thought, feeling the pain with every step.
Oliver finally emerged from his hiding spot and leaped at John like a lion pouncing on its prey.
'I should be able to do it now!' Oliver thought, channeling all his [Mana] into his sword. The sword glowed with a golden light.
"GOT YOU! [Sword Aura]!" Oliver shouted, swinging his sword. A golden aura shot toward John.
"WHAT?! HOW?!" John screamed in disbelief as Oliver appeared from the side.
John tapped the ground with his staff, and a wall of earth rose in front of him.
*SLASH
Oliver's sword aura sliced through John's earthen wall like butter. But the attack didn't stop there. The aura severed John's right arm.
"ARGH!" John screamed, kneeling on the ground and clutching his right shoulder. His cries were filled with pain.
Oliver's condition wasn't much better. He lay weakly on the ground, gasping for breath.
Seeing John overcome the pain and stand up to approach him, Oliver's eyes showed fear and resignation.
"You lowly ant!" John spat, pointing his hand at Oliver. A ball of energy formed in his palm.
*BOOM
Suddenly, an eight-legged horse shrouded in blue flames kicked John, sending him flying far away.
Seeing the strange eight-legged horse, Oliver's eyes showed confusion and fear. But those emotions vanished when he saw Van sitting on the horse's back.
Van dismounted from [Sleipnir] and approached Oliver, who lay weak on the ground.
'[World Treasure: Mana Potion & Health Potion]'
Van retrieved two potions from [World Treasure], one blue and one red.
He gave Oliver the red potion to drink while he drank the blue one.
Seeing Oliver's wounds heal rapidly, Van nodded in satisfaction.
*PAK
*PAK
Van then activated [Void Eye], and his vision expanded to 360° within a 100-meter radius. He could also see through anything within that range.
With [Void Eye], Van saw John lying helpless, unable to move.
"[Sleipnir], finish him," Van said flatly, but with clear intent to kill.
*KHIHIHI
[Sleipnir] galloped toward John, while Van focused on healing Oliver.
'[Mana] depleted, several broken and cracked bones, and severe burns,' Van thought as he gave Oliver another potion.
*WHOOSH
A black figure suddenly returned to Van's shadow. The event shocked Van.
'There are only two reasons [Shadow] returns to the shadow. Either it's recalled or it dies. I didn't recall [Sleipnir]. That means...' Van thought, considering the worst-case scenario.
*PAK
*PAK
The sound of clapping echoed through the burning forest.
Van turned and saw Sargan walking out of the forest with an unconscious John slung over his shoulder.
Sargan's condition was also poor, with his right hand missing, a deep slash across his chest, his right eye gone, and minor wounds all over his body.
[STATUS]
[Name: Sargan]
[Level: 65]
[Race: Human]
[ATTRIBUTE: Space, Fire]
[STRENGTH: 2,000]
[AGILITY: 3,000]
[DEFENSE: 2,000]
[MENTAL: 4,000]
[MANA: 10,000/400,000]
[Skills:
- Hell Fire (Active)
- Mind Control (Active)
- Space Manipulation (Active)]
[Hell Fire: Due to a contract with the demon Sargatanas, the user can wield hellfire.]
[Mind Control: Due to a contract with the demon Sargatanas, the user can control the minds of targets with lower [MENTAL] stats.]
[Space Manipulation: Due to a contract with the demon Sargatanas, the user can manipulate space.]
'What the hell?! How is he here? Wasn't he fighting Grandpa?' Van thought.
"You're the kid chasing John, right? Impressive that you made it past the cult members attacking the capital," Sargan said arrogantly. "That eight-legged horse is yours, isn't it? So, you're the user of [101 Shadows]."
Van didn't respond and kept thinking of a way to escape.
'What should I do? It's impossible to win against him, even with his low [Mana],' Van thought in confusion.
Van's silence annoyed Sargan.
"Another arrogant Black family member," Sargan muttered, then snapped his fingers.
"..."
Seeing no change in Van, Sargan frowned.
'What's going on?' Sargan thought, confused.
'Is this old man crazy?' Van thought.
"What did you do? Why can't my skill control your mind?" Sargan asked, displeased.
'So that's it. Damn, this old man is terrifying! Attacking out of nowhere,' Van thought in fear.
"Figure it out yourself, old man," Van said coldly, then activated [101 Shadows] and [World Treasure].
"Arrogant brat," Sargan said coldly, his eyes filled with murderous intent.
'Thankfully, I drank the [Mana Potion] earlier to restore my [Mana]. [Shadow Knight]! [World Treasure]!' Van thought.
From Van's shadow, 50 [Shadow Knights] emerged.