Although Noir was talking to us, I could see him setting up the shadow tentacles all around, ready to enclose and attack from all directions. I immediately warned Fang about the incoming stealth attacks.
“Now, shall we get started?”
As if his voice were the distraction itself, the start of his sentence was also the signal for the start of his tentacle’s attacks.
“Fang!”
“Yes, Leader!”
Just as I told her before, she moved toward the incoming tentacles one after another. Her claws, clad in solidified darkness, extended for a few meters as she cleared the incoming tentacles in an instant.
“I applaud your tenacity…”
Suddenly, Noir vanished from his position, making us both panic. I looked around, trying to search for his traces, but I couldn’t even find his shadow.
“Was he just an illusion since earlier…?”
I was starting to believe so, but I definitely saw his physical and energy bodies standing in the same place. He should be around here, somewhere! 𝐞𝐨𝘃𝐞𝐥.
“…!”
Suddenly, my senses sent red flags all over. Attacks were incoming!
Trusting my instincts, I turned half around and grabbed Queen Thalia’s arms, pulling hard as I tried to take her into the room. Just at that moment, spikes made of ice appeared from the staircase leading downward.
If we hadn’t moved, then we’d definitely have been turned into something like cheese, full of holes! Fang managed to dodge in time too, following closely behind the two of us.
“Ugh!”
Queen Thalia grunted as her body slammed against the hard and rough floor. The events were so quick that she couldn’t even correct her posture after landing.
“Oh, to think you could dodge that. Very good.”
Noir’s voice echoed once more. However, it did not come from a specific direction. As if it were echoing all over the place, like an omnipresent voice. I lowered my stance, watching from literally all sides without blinking.
The same as before, suddenly, warnings just blasted me as attacks seemed to be coming literally from all directions.
“Get back!”
However, being on the back burner would just lead us to get kited until we die from overfatigue. That wasn’t something that I would wish for. Without wasting another second, I slipped the gun out of my [Spatial Storage] in shotgun mode, with preloaded shells ready for blasting.
*Bang!*
With a single shot, the energy around quickly got disturbed. It wasn’t due to me shooting at the core of whatever attack Noir was doing, but rather due to the special effect of the energy loaded into the shells.
The shell was loaded with Void Energy. And, due to the adverse effect of its interaction with other energies, it can cause skills to go haywire when in large concentration.
In an instant, the bullet spread the extremely concentrated void energy and filled the room. With just that, all external skills were completely sealed. Even the tentacles that were slowly encroaching on the space around us under cover were revealed and melted away like smoke.
“Fang, now!”
As discussed previously, as soon as the external skills were sealed, Fang went toward Noir, who reappeared at one corner of the wide room. Noir seemed to have expected her approach, however, as he easily parried her claw attack and, in turn, slammed her against the wall.
“Guhah!”
Fang lost her breath for a moment after getting slammed against the wall. Using the instant that her consciousness flickered, Noir was about to send a follow-up attack, aiming an axe kick right on top of her crown.
I wouldn’t let that happen, though.
intercepted Noir’s attack. I launched my own rising kick and met my shin against his shin.
Using the Lifeblood at maximum output, I rushed forward and intercepted Noir’s attack. I launched my own rising kick and met my shin against his shin.
*TING!*
A sound that shouldn’t be heard from flesh meeting flesh was heard. From the impact, Noir was sent flying back a few meters, while I, on the other hand, left a deep crack in the stone floor.
It was so deep, in fact, that the floor broke.
“Shi-!”
Before I could correct my stance and leave the hole, I was already falling. Fang was similarly late in reacting and fell along with me. Queen Thalia was seemingly safe, but I don’t know how safe she was with Noir nearby. Although I’m not really bothered even if Noir killed her or something, it’s a waste that we would lose our hostage.
“JUMP!”
Having no choice, I ordered her to follow us down, to wherever this deep crevasse may lead us. A short while later, I could see a small shadow jumping down with an added kick, approaching fast. Behind her, however, another figure jumped down at an even faster speed.
“Persistent bastard!”
I cursed as I spread my limbs wide, trying to use the airflow and move near the walls. After I succeeded, Noir was already a few meters away from me, with shadowy tentacles extending from his back.
“Hahaha! Show me how you’d escape this, little guy!”
Noir yelled as he used his shadow tentacles to grab the walls, gouging them out and letting them fall over us. He seemed to be planning to allow the debris to crush the three of us, but with just that, Fang and I can definitely escape safely.
Just as I was thinking so, I noticed that in between the debris, there were faint traces of Noir’s energy left. That sent a warning signal to my brain, telling me not to let myself near any of those.
Just as I was about to move away, I noticed that one smaller piece of rock, similarly embedded with Noir’s energy traces, was approaching me rapidly. It was too late to dodge, as it was literally before my eyes. As I was wondering what was going to happen, the rock suddenly turned bright red and exploded.
The explosion was so powerful that all the rock above and nearby turned to ashes almost instantly.
If not for me kicking the wall at full force, I would’ve been enveloped in that extreme temperature explosion too. Just thinking of that made my skin crawl.
Noir, unlike before, when he was only using his shadow tentacles to attack, was now employing everything in his arsenal just to claim my life. I somewhat felt honored that a previous god-tamer like him was forced to do that, but I also thought that his use of the shadow tentacles alone was more than menacing enough to handle.
While I was lost in thought, I noticed that Noir was actually sending bits of rock toward us. That guy wasn’t letting fate have its way and forcefully took matters into his own hands!
In just an instant, when I wasn’t paying attention, About a dozen rocks were already looming before me. This time, they were larger and had more numbers. Furthermore, I had nothing to use as a foothold to move out of the way!
Just as I was thinking about what to do, a whip-like thing wrapped around my ankle and pulled me down. As we were in freefall, I was immediately sent towards the one who pulled me, who was none other than Fang.
As we bumped against each other, the dozens of rocks behind us exploded simultaneously. A powerful heat wave swept in, along with a shockwave that sent us downward at a faster speed.
To make matters worse, I could already see the floor just ahead of us. In a few seconds, we would smash against the floor and be squished like a ripe tomato.
That’s not something I would want, so instead, I used a minor Water Element skill that Ember had, creating a ton of water and dumping it all at once straight below.
“Make it in time!”
I prayed as the water started sloshing as it hit the granite-looking floor. As it did, I quickly manipulated the movements and made it into a pillar of water reaching about twenty meters high. I lack enough moisture in the air to expand it further, but it should be enough to soften our landing.
*SPLASH!*
Fang, Queen Thalia, and I were all sucked into the water, absorbing the impact of our fall. We didn’t drop vertically down, though, so we passed through the pillar and smashed against the floor. Fang and I were able to correct our stance and roll to disperse the impact, but Queen Thalia was not.
I rushed to her side as she seemingly lost consciousness and checked for a pulse and her breathing. Both were present, making me feel a slight relief. Just as I was wondering why Noir hadn’t fallen yet, I looked up… And noticed that there was now a ceiling above our heads.
“What the…?”
I rubbed my eyes and looked around. However, the same scene unfolded before my eyes. The place we were in was not an open space but a sealed one.
“Fang, stay close!”
Not knowing what this location holds, I ordered Fang to move to my side and remain vigilant. Queen Thalia was unconscious, so I needed to carry her on my back. Fang frowned deeply after seeing that but turned around as if ignoring Queen Thalia in the end.
Since the entire space, seemingly shaped like a dome, only had one entrance, we carefully headed for it and scanned. What we saw, however, was something that we wouldn’t have believed possible.
The entire scenery beyond the entrance… Was clearly alive!