Chapter 357 Precursor’s Aide (2)
Chapter 357 Precursor’s Aide (2)
It took a couple of moments for Darjud to register what had happened. His hand was missing and still, he couldn't feel any pain? What was even more strange was the lack of blood coming out of his 'wound'. His hand was gone and yet not a single drop of blood had spilt anywhere. How was something like that even possible?
"You sure have a funny expression on your face..." Ashton mumbled while swinging Darjud's severed hand like a bat, "Don't worry, I was testing one of my abilities. Unfortunately, I would like to know more about my ability and you happen to be the perfect test subject for it."
"How can you..."
The moment Darjud realised Ashton could use his abilities again, he panicked even more. It would appear, that evolving had caused some changes in his body. Which in turn, caused the drug within Ashton's body to wear off.
'I have to get away from here... from him.'
He was a high-ranking monarch of the Euphoria. Attacking one itself was a crime, and Ashton had already killed one of them. As long as he could get away from Ashton and speak to the first seat, Darjud was sure Ashton would be punished... quite severely.
Someone like Darjud was thinking about fleeing from a fight. That itself spoke volumes about Ashton's strength.
'I'm not fleeing! It's a simple strategic retreat.'
The superiority Darjud had in his voice was long gone. He was now panicking hard as things took a turn for the worst. Not only was he outsmarted by Ashton, but now he was weaker as well. Darjud kept mumbling 'how' over and over, but Ashton did not feel it was of any use to tell a dying man his secrets.
Darjud sensed the danger he was in and decided to hurry out of there before Ashton got rid of him. But it was already too late for him. He was going to die sooner or later. But Ashton had some other plans.
While Darjud ran away, Ashton did not chase after him but calmly walked over to Anna and fed her some of his blood.
As his blood was the primary source of nutrition for Anna, it could give her more than enough energy to get to her feet. However, following his evolution, the blood coursing through his veins had changed... and for the better. Just one drop was enough to get rid of the drugs within her body. She was free again.
"Ashton, I-"
"Shh... we'll talk later," Ashton pressed his bloodied finger on her lips, "For now, take care of Otiga, while I take out the trash."
After saying what was on his mind, Ashton got up took an aim and hurled Darjud's arm at him. The alien tripped over and fell. The next moment, a portal opened behind Ashton and out of it walked the undead Behemoth, Atlas.
"Protect them while I take care of the man." Ashton mumbled in an uncaring tone, "Make sure they don't get a single scratch on themselves, or this would be the last time I summon your ass out of Valhalla."
Atlas mutely bowed to his new master before standing before the ladies as their guardian. Meanwhile, Ashton ran over to Darjud. Every step he took shook the ground, even cracking it in some places.
"Damnit!" Darjud yelled as soon as he learned Ashton was onto him, "I think I can use my martial abilities now... but to think I would have to waste such a precious skill on someone like this bastard!"
The more he thought about it, the more agitated he got, "I'm gonna rip the skin off his bones, turn it into a bedsheet and fuck that succubus of his on top of it every night to make him pay for forcing me to use 'Thunderclap' on him."
Darjud got up and decided to face Ashton by using his one-off ability. It was an ability he learned from his so-called master's textbooks that the master left behind before disappearing. It was a technique, that was tough to grasp and could only be used once.
Darjud was planning on using the technique against the first seat in a duel and taking over his position once he had been defeated. Unfortunately, he was going to have to waste the skill on Ashton in order to live.
[Something is off.]
'I know.' Ashton stated.
Darjud's demeanour had changed once again. Since he wasn't going to run, there had to be something going on in his head.
All of a sudden, ominously black clouds formed over their head and thunder twirled around Darjud's clenched fists. The sight of thunder within a creature's grasp surprised Ashton. But rather than getting worried about it, all Ashton wanted, was to see the ability in action.
"You should have let me leave when you had the chance. Now DIE!"
Ashton wanted to move sideways, but for some reason his body kept him rooted to the spot. The [Thunderclap] skill worked in three phases. What Ashton was going through was the first stage.
A stunning effect to make sure that the enemy wouldn't be able to dodge the second and most important stage. Which was to make the enemy bleed using a single strike from the fist. Once that happened, the thunder revolving around the user's fist would enter the target's body by tracing the blood and fry them from the inside.
[But the skill could just as easily backfire as well. The user doesn't have any control over the thunder once it's released. Thus, if the thunder were to come into contact with the user's blood, it could kill the user instead. It was a dangerous moe Xyran footsoldiers used to train with on this planet.]
'Your kind is trying to fuck me over once again...' Ashton joked.
[Shut it. We stopped using it long before we could ever put the move to use on an actual battlefield. To think this moron not only managed to find out about the skill but also learned it... He is more talented than I thought he was.]
'The skill has a wide range stunning effect, interesting...' Ashton barely stopped himself from laughing as the effect faded away.
It was to be expected. He had high resistance to being stunned for long durations. In fact, he was surprised he was even affected by the skill in the first place. Thankfully, Ashton knew the perfect way to counterattack.
Thinking Ashton had been stunned, Darjud rushed to attack Ashton with a fist full of thunder. Ashton waited and waited, the minute Darjud got close enough, he sidestepped the attack before severing the rest of Darjud's arms... only this time he did not use his ability, but Balmond.
This caused blood to erupt from his body, forcing the thunder to turn against its summoner.
"ARGHHH!" Darjud shrieked in pain as he was electrocuted on the spot.
Ashton stood there, watching Darjud's expression as it turned from shock to pain to... nothingness. Darjud's muscles twitched as he lay there unable to do anything.
"What a resilient piece of shit you are..." Ashton mumbled when he realised Darjud was still alive, barely but alive, "No worries, I'll end you-"
Ashton had to eat up the rest of his words as he was suddenly kicked away by someone. Following the attack, half of his HP vanished into thin air. Had it not been for Hydra's armour, his body would have been sliced in half from the blow.
Bewildered, he turned around to see a hooded man standing in front of Darjud's charred body. The man was looking at him as if he was seeing a lost puppy. While Darjud's eyes were full of disdain.
Ashton somehow got back to his feet, but as soon as he did, the hooded man pointed his finger at him and said, "Stay down, if you want to leave this planet alive."
Ashton had no idea who the man was, but his strong presence was enough for Ashton to know who the man was.
'The strongest man on the planet... first seat holder.'
Upon witnessing how weak Darjud was, Ashton had assumed the first seat wouldn't be much stronger than him. But now that he had seen the man with his own eyes, he realised how wrong he had been. But the thing that surprised him the most was Astaroth's reaction.
[How can this be...]
'What's wrong?'
[That man... I know him. He is the only outsider the Xyrans accepted into our ranks with respect... or at least he looks awfully similar to him. One of the first ones to be granted the title of Archangels... Michael.]
'But that's not his name- what the hell...?' Ashton used [Detection] on the unknown humanoid alien. Even though his name was indeed not Michael, there was something else that blew Ashton's mind away, 'Level... 189? How can he be stronger than a Xyran General!?'
Without speaking another word, the man lifted Darjud in his arms and turned to leave. At this time, Ashton interrupted him, even though Astaroth told him not to.
"I'm sorry, but I can't let you take him away-"
Ashton pointed Balmond towards the man, but the next moment, the man was in front of him and he was on his knees. Surprisingly, even though he was so close to the man, Ashton still couldn't see the man's face.
"I know what he did to you and he has paid the price for it." The man calmly whispered in Ashton's ears, "On top of that, you already killed one of the monarchs. You should be grateful I'm not severing your head this instant because these morons were wrong. Had they not been, you and your slut would be having an intimate session in your graves."
After saying that, the man got up and turned to leave for real this time, "This is my last warning to you, Mr Fenrir. Don't test the limit of my patience anymore and leave Euphoria for good. The next time I see your face, you'd wish you were never born."