Chapter 135: Gone Off-Script
[0: 20: 19]
Bang—!
Aster’s attack, which came in a wave, hit the area where Carlos had been standing just moments earlier. At the same time, Cillian’s fireball also targeted him. Both of their attacks produced a cloud of smoke that briefly covered the area.
However, Carlos immediately emerged from the smoke and rushed toward the injured Cillian.
It was supposed to be nothing more than a distraction to keep their plan from succeeding.
Yet with one quick look at his face, Carlos seemed to have ignored their orders and started running toward him like a mad, angry dog.
’Why though?!’
Cillian’s face twisted when he realized something had gone very wrong. His plan had only been to stop Carlos with Aster’s help by repeatedly annoying the shit out of him through his All-Knowing.
It seemed to have worked very well, but Cillian had thought that their next actions would be focused on their mission to kill the Hidden One after a slight mishap, or that Carlos would send a few Black Shepherds to stop him.
However, not only did neither of those things happen, but one of the White Shepherds was now chasing him while he was in no condition to fight.
Cillian knew he wasn’t even confident in fighting a few Black Shepherds, let alone a white one!
He was too battered up to fight anyone right now.
Rumble—!
’Ahhh! That was only meant as a distraction! Shoo, put your focus on that God! Damn it! I can’t understand these shepherds at all! Not at all!’
Cillian complained inwardly while manifesting another Fireball from his fingertips and aiming it toward Carlos.
Whoosh—!
After being released, Cillian watched Carlos dodge his attack with ease, causing his frown to deepen, which made him shout inside his head.
’Aster! Need some help here!’
Cillian shouted the name of his partner in this operation before making a huge turn. His face twisted in pain as he felt the intense pain in his side, and he started to run... or rather, he tried to run, but he was only able to hop quickly since his other leg couldn’t be used.
He was limping. And as he did, Cillian began casting another spell.
"Water Wall!"
A wall of water immediately separated them. Just as it happened, Cillian watched the flag of his enemy beyond the wall using his Nearby Flag Presence as it continued to get closer while he ran away.
However, Cillian’s wall, which was supposed to buy him a bit more time, was suddenly ’absorbed’ by the perpetrator, Carlos, who had boldly entered the wall despite suffering damage from it.
His hand ’absorbed’ the water continuously, making his hand store the spell in it.
[Mimicry Activated]
[Mimicry Failed]
Carlos continued absorbing the water until it was completely gone before using another ability: extended metallic chains from his arms. Cillian could see the ability being released and tried to copy it with his mimicry.
[Mimicry Activated]
However, it failed.
[Mimicry Failed]
Then, Carlos aimed the stored spell at Cillian, whose face displayed the most genuine shock he had shown in a long time.
[Mimicry Activated]
In that instant, Carlos clenched his teeth and immediately went for the strike, trying to entrap Cillian while simultaneously returning the water wall he had conjured.
[Mimicry Success]
[Death Coin is giving Cillian 45% luck boost]
[Timer increased]
[+0:01]
"Release!"
The Water Wall that Carlos had absorbed and stored in his palms was immediately released toward Cillian.
Splash—!
A dam of water.
It was coming toward him like an unstoppable flood of water that was meant to end his life. The spell he had conjured was returning to him with thrice the power.
’Damn you!!’
Cillian couldn’t help but want to beat the shit out of the White Shepherd who had gone off-script before he extended his free hand behind him.
"Mimicry...!"
[Reserved mimicked storage: Jack Trade’s voice..., Troy Kisher’s voice, Spell Absorption[Four]:[0:21]]
"Spell... Absorption...!"
Cillian felt the released water slam into his face, the force of it slapping all over his entire body for a brief moment.
That was the only thing it could do until the spell Cillian had attacked with, which Carlos had counterattacked, was itself countered by using the same power his enemy had used to absorb it.
There was a visible confusion on Carlos’s face.
Splash—!
A residue of the water spell struck his face, causing him to frown. However, his reaction did not come from the fact that he was being hurt by his own spell. Instead, the process of the spell being absorbed by the mimicked Spell Absorption was hurting him.
’It felt... heavy!’
His quivering hand felt the brunt of the impact from the released spell he had absorbed. It made his already weakened body grow even more exhausted.
While he had been absorbing the water spell for the past few seconds and continuing to run for his life, Cillian was able to spot Carlos closing in.
The robe had already uncovered his face, revealing someone who almost resembled the person he had fought earlier.
A sudden realization immediately came to Cillian.
’No fucking wonder! This is the older brother!’
As he saw Carlos coming in, Cillian got ready to fight Troy’s older brother, realizing that he was also the older brother of another Black Shepherd whom he assumed to be the youngest amongst the three of them.
The wall of water had already disappeared after being absorbed by the mimicked spell.
[Spell Absorption[Four]: [0:10]]
Yet just as he was about to move his sword and prepare his Sleight of Hand, Cillian found that his foot was unable to move. He tried twice in a split second, only to realize that he indeed couldn’t move it.
’I can’t fucking—!’
Cillian didn’t immediately look down to see what was causing his foot to be stuck on the ground. He was afraid that he might lose track of his enemy’s movements if he even took a second to look.
However, he knew that it was Carlos’s doing.
He had just readied his sword to face this White Shepherd head-on, only to find he couldn’t move his hands a few seconds later.
"Shit..."
Struggling to move even an inch of his body, Cillian noticed Carlos’s eyes shimmering. He hadn’t noticed it earlier, even though he had been paying close attention.
Does it have a delayed appearance-type of ability? Or were his eyes tricking him in the first place? Was he focusing on the wrong thing from the beginning?
Does his thought even matter now?
’God damn it, Aster! Where the fuck are you, man?!’
That was when he saw something that made his eyes freeze.
Focusing his eyes forward toward the area where he had been absorbing the released Water Wall earlier, Cillian saw Aster dropping to his knees, surrounded by Black Shepherds and three White Shepherds in front of him, with one of them grabbing his head.
The main character lost.
He managed to kill a few Black Shepherds during their initial attack and two more while defending, attacking, and buying time for Cillian.
He had done the heavy lifting that Cillian intended him to do, but the Shepherds still managed to defeat him.
Who could even defeat those opponents with so many of them attacking him at the same time? In fact, Cillian knew that it was already a miracle that he had managed to stand his ground.
But does he even have to worry about Aster’s situation now?
His situation was no different than his.
’Fuck, fuck. I knew this reckless plan would eventually fail. There’s no way something like this would work again, not like the time I used Aster’s Sword of Wrath back in the Academy...’
Cillian kept cursing inwardly before finally directing his gaze toward Troy’s brother, whose name he still didn’t know.
’A White Shepherd.’
[Death Coin is currently giving Cillian a stroke of luck]
Cillian gritted his teeth and wished inwardly with a heavy heart.
’Please, please. I have a 45% luck boost. Give me my fucking plot armor!’
However, after a few seconds, Cillian’s so-called plot armor never came. No matter how many times he begged by making a gamble, it never appeared.
[Mimicry Activated]
[Mimicry Failed]
[Mimicry Activated...]
Cillian continued activating Mimicry, but it was useless as his ability was unable to copy any of Carlos’s abilities.
He saw Carlos’s eyes bleed, and after a brief pause, he shouted.
"Cillian Sparrow! Where’s my brothers?!"