"Haven't you heard? I'm Loved by Nature."
"What sort of bull-!"
"Mesarthim, Explode."
Evan's prismatic flames tinged with destruction energy ignited and unleashed a cataclysmic explosion. The air around him crackled with raw power as the flames surged, growing brighter and hotter until they erupted with the force of an atomic bomb.
The explosion engulfed the area in a blinding blaze of light and heat, sending shockwaves rippling outward in all directions. Darfin, Sana, and the nearby assassins were caught off guard, and were buffeted by the force of the blast. Their bodies were thrown back by the sheer power of the explosion, and singed by the searing heat.
As Evan was immune to his own flames (except when using Self-Immolation techniques), he was unharmed by the explosion. He quickly retrieved healing potions from his inventory and downed them before pouring the rest on his arms.
Although he made it look like nothing, he had just caught the attacks of two Epic Level existences who were aiming to kill him.
The bones in his arms were fractured all over and were seconds away from completely shattering. His Orange flames also concealed the blood that spurted as some of his veins burst, preventing Darfin and Sana from noticing just how much damage he truly took.
He then took advantage of the flames and smoke to activate Lethe, his targets not being the Epics but the three Assassins who had used curses on him.
'Hollow Magic: Hollow Cannon.'
'Mesarthim; Red: Molten Torrent.'
'Mesarthim + Harbinger of Ice: Blizzard Ignition Spear.' Nᴇw ɴovel chaptᴇrs are published on novᴇlfire.net
The assassins were all paralyzed by the powerful lightning that jumped around the three of them, incapacitating each one in turn. After this, Evan seamlessly used the strange yet powerful Hollow Magic to delete one's head, bore a hole in another's chest with Mesarthim and then combined his flames and ice to impale the third.
Just as he did that, he spotted another Assassin nearby and decided to remove the spear and use it to finish that one off as well.
However, Danger Sense blared an alarm and he tossed the spear away instantly, calling the Unforged into his hands and encasing it with his 'Elemental Destruction Fusion'.
Immediately after, a deluge of arrows of light fell from the skies like a downpour, forcing Evan to deflect them with frenzied swings of his sword, knocking down the arrows that aimed to pelt him with holes.
The damage dealt by each individual arrow was small, but when there were thousands of them, it was kind of hard to ignore.
Danger Sense suddenly sent him another warning, and it was then Evan realised that the Assassin he had attempted to just kill had gotten to her feet and charged at him with her sword.
With a skilful flourish, she infused her blade with earth elemental energy, channelling the power of the earth itself into her strike.
'Fuck! The elf can make his arrows ignore his allies!'
He had not seen that feature in the skill description so he believed this was a technique Kailu had created by himself.
'Elemental Shie-No, Stout Guardian!'
Evan's magic power surged forth and conjured a twenty-metre-tall golden armoured knight wielding a massive great shield a head taller than it was.
The gargantuan knight took a stance with the shield to protect Evan from the seemingly infinite rain of arrows, each arrow creating an explosion of green light upon collision with the shield.
The Stout Guardian held its ground, absorbing the brunt of the infinite rain of arrows on behalf of Evan, allowing him to turn around and use a technique he had been saving to eliminate the assassin who attacked him.
He ran his hands along the Unforged's blade, infusing more of his prismatic flames into it before spinning clockwise and performing a full power swing.
"Mesarthim; Red: Hell Unleashed."
Evan's decisive swing of the Unforged, infused with the searing power of his prismatic flames, tore through the air with unstoppable force. As the blade descended upon the assassin, it unleashed a torrent of scorching energy, engulfing her in a cataclysmic blaze.
The sword cleaved the assassin in twain with lethal precision, and the intense flames consumed her form in a blaze of incandescent light, reducing her to nought but ash.
'Hell Unleashed' was an 'Ultimate Technique' on par with Harbinger of Ice's 'Glacial Annihilation' which had killed Silverwing, and the unleashed power continued to surge forth, carving a fiery path through the earth for hundreds of meters.
It collided with one of the nearby Rahead mountains, unleashing a violent explosion that rent the very rock asunder, sending shards of stone cascading in all directions.
The earth trembled beneath the force of the impact, the echoes of the explosion reverberating through the surrounding landscape.
Evan took a deep breath and exhaled a stream of magic power; however, it was then that he noticed that the rain of Arrows had stopped.
Even more concerning, was that he could not sense Kailu's presence in the distance like before.
He could sense the remaining two Assassins, he could sense Darfin and Sana, but not Kailu.
Immediately, Evan spread out his magic power and laid down a network around him, one that was primed to detect the slightest movement.
'Kailu has a concealment skill…I can't even find him with Track Do-"
Evan didn't even have half a second to react when he heard the Elf's voice ring out from behind him.
Faster than he could activate a skill or even deploy a simple energy barrier, Kailu's drawn bow which was aimed at Evan's chest unleashed the powerful Arrow of light created using his Unique Skill.
The arrow of radiant light struck Evan's chest at point-blank range, its impact shattering his Imperial Scales with terrifying ease.
The explosion that followed was one no less intense than Evan's earlier attack with Mesarthim. It ripped through Evan's durability like paper, engulfing him in a maelstrom of searing energy.
Blood spluttered as the force of the blast launched him through the Rahead Notch, his body hurtling through the air like a ragdoll.
With a bone-jarring impact, Evan collided with a mountain at the far end of the Notch, his form smashing into the rock with unimaginable force. The mountain trembled beneath the onslaught, the sheer power of the impact carving out a cavernous hole in its towering structure.
Evan lay sprawled amidst the wreckage, his body battered with the echoes of the explosion ringing in his ears.
Also ringing in his ears, was Kailu's loud energy-infused voice.
Evan tried to get to his feet but the damage he had taken was too much, such that he could not recover in time for Darfin to reach his position.
Darfin's black aura coated his right fist which he had buffed with multiple layers of body strengthening, and he blitzed towards Evan's position, delivering a swift uppercut that sent the Hero's body careening through the roof of the mountain.
The impact sent shockwaves rippling through the air with a thunderous crack, blasting apart the mountaintop in the process.
Just as Darfin sent Evan airborne, Kailu kicked off the ground with all his might and leapt into the air, drawing his bow and firing another one of his strongest attacks.
A volley of arrows was unleashed from his bow, pummelling Evan's already wounded form and knocking him down towards the ground where Sana stood ready with her sword half drawn.
"Sword Drawing Arts: Red Lightning Flash!"
Tendrils of crimson lightning snaked around her blade as she unsheathed it at supersonic speed and delivered a full-powered wide swing at Evan.
With a deafening roar, her blade sliced through the air, meeting Evan's falling body with devastating force. The collision was fierce, the sheer power of Sana's attack sending Evan spiralling through the air once more.
Darfin came in with his sword raised overhead, swinging the blade downwards and channelled his dark aura into it as he activated his unique skill.
As the sword descended, a shockwave of dark energy rippled through the air, colliding with Evan's falling form and sending him hurtling even faster towards the ground below. But before Evan could reach the earth, he was met with a barrage of magical attacks from the other two assassins.
The first assassin, wielding powerful lightning magic, unleashed a Tier 4 Thunderclap Tempest spell. Bolts of crackling lightning arced through the air, striking Evan's body with ferocious intensity. The searing energy of the lightning spells seeped into Evan's wounds, causing searing pain and leaving behind charred, smoking flesh.
Meanwhile, the second assassin invoked another Tier 4 as well, this one of the water element.
'Torrential Deluge' sent a massive wave of water surging forth, crashing towards Evan with immense force.
However, before the spells reached him, Evan's eyes shot open, glowing with a dangerous light as his destruction essence poured out of his body uncontrollably.
Three serpentine dragons emerged, coalescing powerful flames in the mouths which they prepared to fire off.
Kailu, Sana and Darfin charged in, each one attacking one of the serpentine dragons, fully confident they could take them out and let the water spell reach Evan.
That confidence vanished like smoke in the next second.
Another three Serpentine dragons emerged with breaths of Prismatic Flames charging up in their maws, making for a total of six.
If it was just this, then it was manageable, however, in an instant, six became nine, nine became eighteen and eighteen became thirty-six.
Thirty-six serpentine dragons, each one holding breaths of Flames, ice, destruction energy and lightning.
Thirty-six Breaths which were released simultaneously in all directions with a deafening roar, creating a chaotic maelstrom of destruction.
Flames engulfed the area in scorching heat, ice-encased everything in a frozen prison, destruction energy tore through the fabric of space, and lightning crackled with untamed power.
Caught off guard by the sudden onslaught, Kailu, Sana, and Darfin found themselves overwhelmed by the sheer force of the elemental assault. Their hastily put-up defences shattered under the relentless barrage as they struggled to evade the deadly breaths, their forms battered and scorched by the ferocious onslaught.
As the dust settled, the area lay in ruins, with Evan standing amidst the aftermath, his serpentine dragons coiled around him like guardians.
The boy took a deep breath, the sound of his beating 'hearts' filling his ears as he opened his inventory and brought out a healing potion bottle.
It was a high-grade potion, worth tens of thousands in gold coins and Evan poured the contents over his wounded body without a care.
He looked at his arms and saw his wounded flesh mending itself in real-time, taking a deep breath before opening another potion and emptying its contents down his throat.
As Evan discarded the empty potion bottle, Kailu, Sana, and Darfin, closed in, accompanied by the two remaining assassins.
Despite their injuries, their weapons were still poised for battle and their auras pulsated with energy. Blood dripped from their wounds, staining the ground beneath them, but overall, they were in a much better state than Evan was.
The last two grandmasters activated their skills, and simultaneously, four of the five assailants charged toward Evan with skills active. Meanwhile, Kailu hung back, drawing his bow with a wary eye on Evan's next move.
Evan raised his right hand and then summoned the Akashic Page, the grimoire's appearance shocking the five as they didn't have any information about Evan owning a grimoire.
'We can't let him cast any spells with that thing!'
Recognizing the potential danger, they hastened their approach, sonic booms reverberating as they closed in with alarming speed.
However, when Evan's lips parted, the words they heard him say sent shivers running down their spines.
They all forced themselves to stop, regardless of the backlash for cancelling their skills and magic midway or the internal damage they suffered from suddenly breaking when moving at such high speeds.
When they saw the five-ringed magic circle of gold light appear behind Evan, they changed their directions and turned to the side to run, scampering to get out of range.
But to their shock, the magic circle suddenly shattered into fragments of light and Evan, holding up a middle finger at them spoke one word with a grin.