Chapter 580: Growing Horror [1]
Tom’s golden fire punch connected with Baaron’s chest.
Baaron’s face twisted in an ugly way. The impact burst outward in a rush of burning flame that punched a hole clean through the Ascender’s torso, the golden fire consuming everything it touched in his body.
Baaron’s body swayed, but before he could even attempt moving away with the remaining strength he had. Farid’s elemental attacks landed from four converging angles, ensuring the kill.
Earth. Fire. Wind. Water.
All four elements driving into Baaron’s already-collapsing body. Baaron didn’t scream this time, his body finally giving up as he was oblitirated.
The notification flashed across Tom and Farid’s Vision.
Tom paused mid-motion.
His grin faltered as he heard Moon’s earlier shout. Tom’s head turned slowly toward Moon’s position, and for the first time in the entire battle, Tom Glassy looked confused.
Moon’s heart sank. It was still a hypothesis, but that didn’t mean it was wrong.
Slowly, he turned his head.
Ace stood at the center of the arena. Alaric’s blade was still locked against one of his daggers. His body was still engaged in the exchange. His face should have been focused on the fight in front of him.
It wasn’t.
Ace was looking directly at Moon.
His smile widened into a massive, delighted smirk.
"How did you know?" Ace asked Moon as he stared at him across the arena in a calm, almost delighted manner.
Moon’s body froze for a brief moment.
The smile on Ace’s face was widening further. His eyes were shining with pleasure that came from watching someone else finally arrive at a puzzle he had been enjoying alone.
There was no anger or urgency. Moon found no trace of concern in his expression.
’It’s too late...’
Ace disengaged from Alaric and his hands began to rise.
"DON’T LET HIM DO IT!" Moon’s voice scattered across the arena, "KILL HIM! USE EVERYTHING OR RUN!"
Alaric’s head snapped toward him for a fraction of a second. So did Tom’s. Neither of them fully understood what Moon had figured out, but both of them had worked with him long enough to know exactly how competent he was, and the tone of his shout was unmistakable. Whatever was about to happen was catastrophic, and they had missed the setup for it.
They could feel the primal urgency in his voice, and it wasn’t pleasant knowing that it was Moon out of all people feeling this way.
They didn’t need the reasoning.
They only needed the warning.
Alaric moved first, since he was closest in proximity to the white-haired young man.
Golden light exploded from his body in a burst that dwarfed every previous manifestation of his skills. A large chunk of his remaining reserves flooded outward all at once.
His sword lit up along its entire length, the mana condensing around it in a wave that didn’t match any of his previous Epic-rank skills.
Alaric was preparing his pseudo-legendary skill.
He had been holding it back throughout the entire fight. The mana cost was enormous. Using it meant burning a massive chunk of his combat power in a single strike, which would leave him nearly helpless against a powerful ambush, especially if Ace didn’t die. He had been saving it for a moment where the strike would either end the fight or was worth the cost regardless of the outcome.
Moon’s shout had made the moment clear.
The golden sword began forming in the air.
Simultaneously, Tom was already moving too.
"FARID!"
His voice cracked across the arena.
"ATTACK THE KID! NOW!"
Golden flame ignited across both of Tom’s gloves at the same time, brighter than before, condensed into a single lance of concentrated fire that began streaking toward Ace across the intervening space.
Farid pivoted toward Ace mid-motion.
His fire threads redirected themselves, abandoning their pursuit of any remaining dark organization stragglers. His staff lit up as blue flame began coalescing into a strike aimed at the same target as Tom’s.
Three attacks bore down on Ace at the same instant: two from the Ascenders, and one from the most powerful Surpasser.
Ace didn’t move.
His hands stayed raised, his smile stayed intact, and whatever ritual he was preparing remained uninterrupted. All whilst his eyes stayed on Moon, wondering what he was going to do next.
Then Klein moved.
A patch of water in the rubble beside Ace began to ripple.
Whoosh!
Klein’s body emerged from it a heartbeat later, stepping out of the water surface as smoothly as if he had been walking through a door. His stance settled beside Ace as his hand rose too.
Simultaneously, his body disappeared from beside Sierra. The Ascender’s arrows cut through empty air where Klein had been standing an instant before.
Sierra’s eyes widened.
Moon’s eyes widened wider.
’A water teleportation skill. Something at Ascender tier that lets him move between any two bodies of water...’
He hadn’t seen Klein use it once during the entire fight. The Ascender had been holding it back all this time. He hadn’t ever needed it.
He needed it now.
Klein’s hand slammed into the rubble beside Ace.
Water erupted outward from the point of contact.
It rose in a rushing wave that circled the two figures, curving upward as it climbed, forming into a translucent shell that closed around Ace and Klein in a single sealed dome.
The bubble solidified with a soft, wet snap. Its surface pulsed with dense mana. Its outer skin ready to deal with the incoming attacks of Tom, Farid and Alaric.
The three attacks hit the bubble’s outer surface. The water body rippled massively, the arena within one kilometer radius of the bubble was obliterated. Dust flew into the sky, and rubble scattered in every direction within a five kilometer radius.
Faird immediately cast a massive wind spell that removed all the dust, clearing their vision. Yet, the bubble held. It had managed to absorb the three strikes without breaking
"Damn that bastard, Klein! He is using every ounce of his power to ensure whatever ritual they are performing is finished! Continue attacking his bubble!"
Just seconds after, everyone in the arena felt a horrifying aura, bursting out from inside the bubble in a cold wave that flooded the venue in a single instant.