Chapter 198 : The Advancing Commander (Part 8)
The continuous battles against the elves in the Shadow Kingdom gave Yami some inspiration for creating new magic. After the baptism of training in volcanic environments and against specific magical creatures, he finally perfected this move, 'Equinox.'
A dark blade aura extending several meters fell from the katana.
It disappeared the instant it was slashed out.
Did it disappear?
Of course... not.
The speed of the slash was already faster than the fastest speed visible to the naked eye. Even with eyes enhanced by a Mage's mana, the blade aura condensed from mana sliced through space and arrived before Jack in an instant.
The sensation of approaching death made the moment that blade aura bloomed magnify infinitely.
Fear or terror?
Jack didn't have that feeling at all. Being within his own Mana Zone allowed him to intuitively sense that black blade aura, invisible to the naked eye, which severed space.
He only felt the natural mana around him howling!
"Tear him apart!"
"Cut him down!"
"..."
The natural mana within the Mana Zone conveyed his inner voice. Facing this gluttonous, ferocious light before him, Jack wanted to tear it apart, to cut it down, so... Jack followed his heart and swung his scythe blade.
The grimoire that had been hovering by his side silently flipped to a blank page.
Black text filled it.
"Severing Magic: Death Scythe!"
This strike felt completely different from his previous swings—smooth, unrestrained, as if aided by the gods.
All the natural mana within the zone was drawn into this strike. A dazzling green light similarly severed the world in front of him, clashing terrifyingly with the slash that had arrived in an instant.
A 'cross' of interwoven black and green lit up in the sky.
The center of the 'cross' was black... it was the void left after space had been severed.
The impact, along with the appearing void, rippled through the air. Jack was knocked down by the aftershocks of the clash. He fell from the sky, and though he looked a bit disheveled, his face still bore the same smile from the battle earlier.
Yami took the burnt-out cigarette from his mouth and lightly blew out a puff of smoke, a teasing expression appearing on his face: "You actually blocked it? How gross~"
"I thought you were about to be hacked to death by me."
"My, my~ Lanky weirdo, you've got some skill."
Jack didn't respond to Yami's mumbling. His mind couldn't help but recall a certain night a while back, and that guy wearing a mask sitting on a pile of rubble—the one he wanted to tear apart every single moment.
"Ha..."
"It's been so long. Although you've made great progress and mastered the Mana Zone, you still haven't mastered 'Shun.' What a shame."
"But it's about time. You'll have to learn the rest slowly through battle after battle."
"Once you master the essence of mana... oh... sorry, I should say something you can understand. How should I describe it? Hmm... it's like mana is cheering for you... right, when mana is cheering for you, you should be able to master the rest."
..."So that's what the so-called essence of mana is?"
"Quite good." Jack's smile became even more hideous than before.
Yami looked at Jack, his tone still teasing: "What's wrong? You can still smile? Did I hack you stupid?"
"Kekehe... Yami, well done. You're becoming more and more worth tearing apart."
"Huh? Who wants to be torn apart by you? I told you you're sick, didn't I? Phew..." Yami let out a long breath. "Forget it, I already knew that. Oh? By the way, I haven't asked how you found this place."
"I don't recall telling anyone I was coming here except for that Big Sis. Could it be that guy sent you?"
Jack didn't care about all that: "Hey, hey, hey, why talk so much? Let's continue. I can't hold back anymore."
"Continue?"
Yami stared at the figure ahead licking his blade. "You almost died just now, and you want us to continue?"
"I... still have a whole bunch of ultimate moves I haven't used yet." An arrogant smile curled the corners of Yami's mouth.
This time, Jack didn't answer Yami with words; he used his blade.
In Yami's vision and perception, Jack suddenly vanished. In a strong mana region like this volcanic zone, his presence and mana seemed to have weakened to the point of being gone.
"What's going on?"
The vast, restless environment felt exceptionally uneasy.
Faintly.
Yami suddenly turned and drew his blade. A green scythe happened to land on the unsheathed katana. Just as he was about to counterattack, he found that the figure who swung the blade had vanished again.
No... 'vanished' wasn't the right word. He was right beside Yami, but because his speed was too high and his presence too weak, Yami couldn't catch his figure.
Blade light swirled and arrived.
Standing in place, Yami suffered one slash after another.
"What's with his speed and presence?"
"Mana perception can't catch him, and even Ki is hard to detect. It's like he's completely merged with this volcano."
The staggering slashes were relentless. Yami, who could barely resist at first, soon had one bloody line after another appear on his body during the rapid-fire attacks.
"I can't let this continue!"
Yami slammed his right foot onto the ground, shaking up dust in all directions. "Mana Zone, plus Dark Magic: Black Hole,"
"Black Moon."
A pitch-black full moon hovered above Yami's head. Simultaneously, a dark, visible sphere appeared beneath the Black Moon.
The Mana Zone was compressed into an absolute controlled domain. Combined with Dark Magic and Ki, it was almost a lord's territory that was isolated from the outside world and capable of automatic counterattacks.
"Here he comes!"
The moment the Black Moon territory formed, Jack used 'Shun' to launch an attack.
The previously uncatchable trajectory became exceptionally clear at this moment. Yami sheathed and then drew his blade, his form passing Jack's. "Dark Magic: Dark Cloaked Iai Slash."
As long as he steps into this territory.
By condensing the mana to make it dense, the Iaijutsu performed with the Mana Zone will absolutely never miss!
A faint bright red appeared on the katana.
Yami turned and laughed heartily at the figure standing dazed in place. "Lanky weirdo, you lose this time, don't you? Told you I had plenty of ultimate moves left. Don't worry, I'll definitely spread the word about you losing to me far and wide."
"The Captain of The Emerald Mantis Group defeated by the Captain of the Black Bulls—it'll definitely be on the front page of the Royal Capital's morning paper tomorrow."
"Hahaha..."
"Do you... think you've won?" Jack also turned back to look at Yami. A deep sword wound appeared on his left arm, clearly slashed by Yami just now.
The smile on Yami's face also slowly faded at this moment.
Because he remembered very clearly that the place he had aimed for was Jack's chest. It seemed... the guy had dodged it.
I thought I'd have to take him to find the Chief Healing Mage Owen to treat his wounds. Honestly, as a fellow Captain, why be so polite with me?
"Sigh." Yami sighed, his right hand once again tightening around the hilt of his sheathed katana...
⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯
Read Ahead & Support
Read up to 220 [FİNAL] chapters ahead with daily updates at 02radnovel.com
Connect & Updates:
(Twitter) • x.com/02IsmetHQ
Instagram • instagram.com/02novelofficial
100 POWER STONE = BONUS CHAPTER
⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯