CHAPTER 74: [ FIGHTING ]

One of the tendrils that bloomed on the stage appeared right under Hunter, who was mid-way to Alexander.

Alexander could see the annoyance on his face as he redirected his sword to attack the tendril beneath him.

Hunter’s strike created another gust of wind, propelling him into a spin.

Another tendril behind Alexander curled in his back, in one swift move it threw him forward.

Hunter’s wide, redirected arc left him directly above Alexander.

Tricia and Shah tightened their grasp on their weapons, Tricia trying to cast spells while Shah kept buffing her.

Silver had raised a barrier around them, protecting them from tendril strikes.

A team with two supports feels odd, but they’re making it work.

The ground ahead of Alexander split, a rectangular piece of stone popped up right before him.

Unable to raise a tendril in time, he hit it head-on.

It slowed his advance, the tile shattering on the ground while Alexander’s feet touched the ground while he slid forward.

The trio still stood several meters away.

Now that they’ve stopped me...

He recalled the tendrils that were out in an effort to save his mana.

He then cast [ Will Breaker ], eyes opened through his outfit, frantically looking around for his targets.

Just as he thought, now that he had stopped moving Hunter was almost onto him.

Once more, the ground underneath him shook, Tricia was about to throw him off-balance once more.

The headache was rising, he could feel Sunder’s mark burning through his chest.

Sweat was dripping from his nape despite the colder weather it felt like hell.

The frenzied eyes on the back of his head locked on Hunter.

With no direct eye contact [ The Gift ] and [ The Weight ] weren’t possible.

Hunter, like the others, had his gaze stuck to Alexander’s body—avoiding the eyes at all costs.

You don’t see through my eyes, but I see through yours.

Casting the Will Breaker’s teleportation spell without direct eye contact was a lot more challenging.

Whenever he traded places with Fae it felt almost natural. It required a lot of concentration, and the cost was high, but it always paid off.

They were a perfect team.

This time, without his gear, it was different.

He could already feel the ringing migraine that grew as he locked on Hunter.

The moment he did, they both swapped places.

Alexander could feel that moment where the crowd stood silent, processing what they had just seen.

It felt odd, his sight blurred as he was now standing behind Hunter.

Tricia’s spell went through, but now that Hunter was standing there, he’s the one who ultimately got thrown off balance.

He de-activated [ Will Breaker ] right away, then, raising his staff toward Hunter, he called forth the entity once more.

The ground split, darkness showing itself as another tendril rose from the depths.

It hit Hunter, the impact loudly resonating through the stage as it sent him rapidly tumbling into the trio at the back.

Silver’s staff glowed light blue as he tried conjuring a spell to slow Hunter’s rapid approach, letting go of the barrier.

"Shah!" shouted Silver.

What now?

Shah’s hand left Tricia’s back, both her hands now on her staff as she raised its tip in the air.

The space around it grew darker, as if light was sucked in by the staff.

She’s gonna use a spell to hinder visibility.

Right underneath Shah another rift opened.

He could now hear the entity’s whispers, he shook his head while he kept his attention peeled on his target.

The tendril slithered around Shah, tightly wrapping itself around her leg and up her body.

The darkness that formed around her staff slowly faded as the tendril locked her arms down.

Tricia raised her staff toward Alexander, earth spikes formed in the air before launching toward him.

With his superior visual prowess, [ Witness of All Paths ], a slight tilt of the head paired with a short step dodged them all.

Tricia tried once more, Alexander repeating the same pattern.

"Silver! What do I do?! What should we do?!" she shouted.

Hunter who was now standing on his own, pointed his sword toward Alexander while moving forward.

"We attack!" shouted Hunter.

"No! Help Shah first!"

Silver’s voice cracked, command turning into desperation.

Hunter sprinted forward, ignoring Silver’s commands.

"Alright! Help me!" said Silver to Tricia.

Their teamwork is crumbling. He’s trying to make use of the window Hunter could buy to get Shah out of the tendril...

Alexander raised his staff with one hand, while he raised his palm toward Hunter with the other.

"Let’s hope this helps with the voices..." he whispered to himself.

Through his mind, his new spell echoed.

[ Chained Ritual ]

Behind his hand space tore open, with darkness like the one that appeared through [ Reach Beyond ].

It was like reality broke, a rift floating right between his hand and shoulder.

Through that rift a chain with a single spike at the end rapidly appeared.

It pierced the back of his hand, exiting through his palm that was pointed toward Hunter.

It felt rough and cold.

Blood spurted from his palm, but the pain was distant—dulled by the hum of something ancient threading itself through him.

Hunter planted his feet in the ground, sliding to a stop while holding his sword up to deflect the chain.

The chain however disappeared through another rift that spawned right ahead.

A third rift opened, this time right above the trio at the back.

The chain that was quickly unraveling through Alexander’s hand exited through that last one, the spike piercing Silver’s shoulder.

Once it pushed through his shoulder, he materialized another rift where it passed through.

Like a maze made of thread, he spawned the next rift behind Tricia, the chain continuing forward and piercing her shoulder as well before planting itself into the ground.

She screamed in pain, her piercing shriek echoing on the stage and through the giant speakers.

Hunter’s frown dug deeper into his forehead, only one emotion showing through his face: anger.

Alexander felt his strength coming back through the ritual, the chain was the anchor between him and them.

His eyes were stuck on his last enemy, who had given up on reason, and decided to lean into emotions.

Pathetic.