?”I didn’t expect you to be daring enough to leave your little hunting grounds so soon. Don’t you remember what happened last time you left, Bloodhound?” The silver-haired man standing next to Evalynn asked Crimson.
Crimson, known as Bloodhound, smirked at the sight of the silver-haired man.
“I remember everything, but I think you are having problems remembering what happened, Eren Long. Does the scar still hurt?”
Bloodhound cackled at the sight of the silver-haired man, Eren, and stared holes into him as Eren’s expression distorted.
“I killed two of you while protecting a Cursed Child. I don’t think a small scar can be considered a loss,” Eren snorted, but Bloodhound continued laughing.
“Yeah? Did your little Cursed Child survive then?” He asked, hitting Eren Long’s sore spot.
The atmosphere changed drastically mere moments after their short chat ended. The tension increased enough to pull on the fabric of space, twisting it in various ways wherever the presence of the two Divine Lifeforms overlapped. Sparks erupted, dazzling the people involuntarily pulled into the battle of genuine powerhouses.
Everyone tried to pull back slowly, but it was not like they were safe and sound in the city. Bloodhound destroyed a portion of the nearest city’s outskirts by cutting the projectile that had been fired at him. He didn’t even try to harm the surrounding mountain range or the city, yet he nearly destroyed both simultaneously.
[I’m not sure whether to be happy that the Supreme Human Alliance arrived alongside the Nest or if that’s our death sentence.] Danny mumbled in Michael’s mind.
After the Purgatory Flames reached him, Danny’s Living Soul didn’t stop trembling. He was afraid to be torn apart by them, and Michael couldn’t hold him accountable for that. It was not like he hadn’t been afraid when the white flames tore his insides apart in an attempt to remove his Curses…and get rid of Danny.
It had been unbearable for him already. Michael couldn’t imagine how Danny must have felt.
[Just kill that Bloodhound jerk!] The World Serpent thundered in Michael’s mind.
The Curse issued a terrifying roar in agreement.
Michael was not sure how he was supposed to kill a Divine Lifeform, but he also wanted to get rid of Bloodhound. He had killed the War Priestess and had been about to exterminate Danny. Bloodhound would have killed everyone if not for Eren and Evalynn’s timely arrival.
Eren descended to the ground, coated in a thick silver hue. The silver hue expanded in Bloodhound’s direction and was about to swallow him when Bloodhound reinforced the blood-red hue, shrouding him. The corner of his lips curled upward as he brandished his Sword Artifact. He kicked the ground, leaving behind a crater in the earth.
Bloodhound reached Eren at once and slashed the other Divine Lifeform. Even now, Eren didn’t manifest a weapon. Instead, a silver shield conjured around the back of his left hand. His silver hue shrouded the shield, which expanded slightly in response. Bloodhound’s Sword Artifact was coated in white purgatory flames and a blood-red hue, yet the first two attacks didn’t manage to break through Eren’s defenses.
Michael could barely follow their exchange. All of a sudden, both Eren and Bloodhound accelerated. The earth around them cracked and burst apart as Bloodhound issued tens of attacks in a second. Eren managed to block all attacks with the silver shield, but he didn’t remain passive for long.
Something in Eren’s eyes changed. The azure-blue eyes had transformed into a silver elliptical shape that allowed Eren to see better and react faster. From Michael’s point of view, it looked like Eren reacted to Bloodhound’s attacks even before Bloodhound issued the onslaught of slashes, cuts, and thrusts. But, of course, Michael could hardly make out anything in the mess of blurry figures and debris.
At some point, a scimitar appeared in Eren’s hand, whereas Bloodhound retrieved a small dagger.
In the next 30 seconds, the Divine Lifeforms managed to move to the mountain range and destroy it. Humongous rocks were hurled in all directions, destroying everything in their path as they smashed into the ground. Nearby buildings were damaged, and innocent citizens were crushed to death.
Michael would have worried about the citizens if he didn’t have to be careful to ensure his survival. A single blade beam, projectiles, or any other attack issued by the Divine Lifeforms would also result in his death.
Eren and Bloodhound caused considerable damage to each other, but they looked similarly strong for a while. That was until silver scales shrouded his body. Eren stopped blocking Bloodhound’s attacks. They impacted heavily on his scale armor but didn’t manage to cut through the armor in one swoop.
Bloodhound groaned in annoyance the moment he saw the silver armor. Unfortunately, Eren was not yet done. His body expanded by over 30 centimeters, and his ears grew into lengthy, pointed ears covered in scales. His clothes tore apart, revealing a set of growing wings jutting out of his shoulder blades.
[Curse Manifestation] The World Serpent uttered without providing any explanation.
Michael could already guess what that meant, but he couldn’t be certain. It would be great if his guess was correct, though.
[And a stronger Soullife Arts] Danny added after observing a subtle change in Eren’s stance through Spirit Eyes.
Eren changed from defending against Bloodhound to attacking aggressively. He conjured various projectiles around him and pushed forward, bashing his barrier into Bloodhound’s face before cutting him deeply with the conjurations circling him and the scimitar.
Bloodhound suffered several heavy blows, but he didn’t bleed. The cuts were clearly visible, but not a single trace of blood escaped his body anymore. Bloodhound decided it was time to also use one of his special techniques.
[Primordial Bloodline. That’s one of the strongest techniques of the Supreme Human Alliance and also the reason Hyumans are so obsessed with purity. The stronger your bloodline and the ‘purer’, the stronger Primordial Bloodline’s effect. Bloodhound burns through his blood to amplify his prowess drastically for a short period. If he has a high mastery of Primordial Bloodline, he should be able to amplify his prowess by more than ten times for thirty seconds.]
The mountain range was razed to the ground. It transformed into a massive crater spanning several kilometers.
Eren and Bloodhound engaged in a fierce, close-combat fight once again. Eren had to start blocking Bloodhound’s attacks again because his silver-scale armor wasn’t resilient enough anymore. Nonetheless, Eren wasn’t going to be overwhelmed. Michael could only see that Eren did something with the power controlling the silver hue, but he had no idea what it was.
It strengthened him, but there was also something else. Michael had no idea.
In the next twenty seconds, Eren and Bloodhound wounded each other several times, but nobody managed to overwhelm the other side. However, it was only a matter of seconds before Bloodhound’s Primordial Bloodline would wear off.
[I believed he was a powerhouse, but this Bloodhound is just a pawn of the Supreme Human Alliance. A little guy who thinks too highly of himself for his good.] The World Serpent snickered while pouring his power into Michael, just like his Curse.
As if Bloodhound heard what the World Serpent said, he turned around to change his targets.
If he couldn’t capture Michael, it might as well be better to kill him first.
Bloodhound removed himself from Eren smoothly and charged at Michael’s position.
Eren’s eyes narrowed to a slit. He’d made a mistake…again…
‘Fuck!’