Fuck! Fuck! Fuck!' Brandon screamed inwardly as he met the void hollow sockets of the Defiled as it stared right at him.
The attack he had mustered sputtered out, his limbs losing all strength.
Sweat matted his back as his heart dropped; just a single glance was enough to make him defenseless.
Just like a mouse would freeze defenseless before a cat, he felt utterly helpless, as though even his body had given up on fighting back.
Ignoring the others, the Defiled moved, its crimson blade arms leaving a flashing streak as it cleaved toward Brandon's plummeting figure.
Everyone panicked, mustering everything they had. They accelerated and struck with all their might, hoping maybe — just maybe — they could prevent Brandon's demise.
Boom!
An ashen dome flickered around the monster. Their attacks didn't even leave a ripple; instead, they were repelled furiously, forced to suffer the backlash of a failed strike.
They flew back like kites with cut strings.
Well, all except one figure…
Seth, in his Gothic armor, advanced heavily, his eyes burning with an amethyst glow, a Royal purple cadence swirling around his figure.
Though all this took long to describe, barely a few seconds had passed since everyone converged.
And the Defiled still had its blade halfway deep in Brandon's guarded arms, still working its way into slicing its first target in two.
But it suddenly sensed something unnerving.
Danger.
And that's when a voice spoke softly, but even amid the chaos of the battlefield it was heard by all.
"Death Sentence!"
Everything froze, and the world lost all colors, leaving everything gray. The high and mighty Defiled suddenly found itself bound helpless to an ancient wooden pillory, stained with crusted blood.
It felt helpless no matter how much strength it mustered. It was as though the pillory drank its essence, its strength, and its will, keeping it in place.
The protective dome that once defended it crumbled, with no essence left to sustain it.
In the colorless world, one figure defied the gray of execution. A billowing aura of Royal purple coated Seth.
His eyes, hidden beneath his visor, burned a brighter shade of amethyst as he stared at the neck of the kneeling Defiled.
His senses sank deep into his essence flow, manipulating it to the finest level.
He had gained inspiration from combating his previous foe. Now it was time to implement.
His essence grew colder, each ethereal particle gaining a whole new level of weight.
[Congratulations! Your comprehension shines across the Origin!]
[You have awakened Essence Trait "DenseFlow"!]
[Description: Any weapon infiltrated by your aura carries the burden of your will, becoming denser and heavier.]
[Effects: Increase lethality of attacks by 200%. Increase durability of items by 150%.]
The prompts flashed, but Seth didn't care. He wasn't done.
His broadsword hummed, the edge glowing faint orange.
Seth's biceps beneath his arm guards bulged, his gauntlets gripped tightly to the sword's hilt, and he swung downward.
"Die!"
If the Defiled had hair, it would be standing on end.
Seth's essence thrummed. Though inferior to the Defiled's by several levels, it wafted danger the creature had never felt since its spawn.
A guttural growl escaped its throat. Its almost endless essence burned darker, and in the depths of its hollow sockets a crimson spark ignited, disregarding the colorless reality.
What had acted all this while was merely a shell. The true Defiled had finally awakened from its slumber.
Pure white lightning streaked through the boiling clouds, letting out booms across the skies as a roaring echo rolled through the atmosphere.
Its strength shot up several folds, its essence becoming so deep it shrouded its figure like an unholy cloak.
Fine cracks of lightless darkness ran through the ancient pillory as it rattled, struggling to hold its target in place.
Seth wasn't blind. He saw it all happening, but it was occurring so fast his flashing cleave was still halfway to its mark.
Crack! Boom!
The ancient pillory splintered apart as the Defiled swung backward, the burning crimson lights in its sockets leaving a drawn-out streak in the air.
Seth's blade landed, barely missing its mark…
There was no sound, no reaction, as though reality itself lagged in reply.
Until color poured back. Winds raged, as a devastating force tore through the ground. No debris rose as all particles were shattered into fine dust before the strike.
Boooooom!
A deep trench formed, tearing through the supply building in the distance, revealing the field beyond.
Even the Defiled was forced to take a series of steps back by the shockwave.
A series of effects had aligned to make this attack as disastrous as it had been.
One had to remember: as powerful as the Defiled seemed, it still remained a creature of the Shackled Rank.
And Seth, by the boost of his gene skill, had a 50% chance to instantly kill any creature of the Shackled Rank.
So it was safe to say even the Defiled might have died if that attack had struck.
And the thought that an insect had almost killed it fueled its rage to unimaginable heights.
The monster's head swung back as a grating roar peeled through the skies, a tempest of corrupted essence raging around it.
Its aura invigorated the mini bosses around as they finally got an order: "Kill everything in sight!"
Haunting growls rang out as the mini bosses lunged at the students watching the clash between Seth and the Defiled.
Uriel's gaze flashed. It seems I still have a lot of catching up to do.
"Hahahaha! I knew it! Big bro's so cool!" Brandon laughed hysterically as he rose from the ground.
Seth's attack had flung him far back from the Defiled, but danger hadn't been completely evaded yet.
A shadow pounced — a familiar wolf corrupted attacked.
All five students had a tacit understanding: they couldn't get in the way of Seth dealing with that monster, and they couldn't let him be distracted either.
So they threw all caution to the wind, confronting the remaining eight mini bosses.
Meanwhile, back on Seth's end, misty breaths puffed from the mouth area of the Gothic visor, his breastplate rising and falling from heavy breathing.
Seth's gaze flashed…
[Essence: 49 / 84]
[Vitality: 61 / 71]
That attack ate quite a bit of essence and vitality.
One had to know vitality was tied to stamina as much as health.
He couldn't use something like that again unless he was sure it would hit.
He stared at the Defiled…
Seth's heart skipped a beat. Huh? When did it move?
A shadow cast over Seth as furious crimson strokes lashed down.
"So fast!" Seth hissed.
There was no time to parry. His essence poured into his armor, the DenseFlow trait taking effect as his feet sank deep into the soil from the abrupt increase in weight.
Even then, the crimson blades forced their way through his armor, drawing blood from his chest.
A raging force pressed down. His legs dug deep into the ground, resisting the urge to step back.
Seth's eyes flickered with apprehension. If he hadn't reacted fast, he would have been split in two.
But regardless, he survived — and it was time for retaliation.
A death aura coated his blade as it soared through the air, ready to strike the Defiled.
But it met nothing but wind.
Seth's neck tingled. "Fuck!"
He swung the flat of his blade backward, using it like a shield to block the cleaves aimed at his neck.
Clang!
He deflected the strike — but at what cost?
His sword flew from his hands, blood dripping from his gauntlets, reverberation tearing through his wrist.
Another flash — and the Defiled was already by his side, crimson blades high, ready to end the drawn out clash once and for all.
Dark essence raged from the blades, rattling with furious power as they swung down…