Chapter 190 - 187: Someone with Backing
This place seemed endless, stretching out in every direction. Looking back, there was no sign of a mirror, which meant there was no possibility of shattering it to get out.
"Staying here isn’t an option. Luna, get on my shoulders."
Brown didn’t wait for the little girl’s reply. He lifted her onto his shoulders, yelled, "Hold on tight!" and with a BANG, pushed off the ground, spun around, and charged in the opposite direction.
There were no monsters in this direction, and it was also opposite to the suction force from before.
In the distance, he could see some undulations in the terrain, like a valley. It was better than staying out in the open here, completely exposed.
He had no intention of getting into a battle of attrition with those things behind him. Running was the best way to conserve his energy.
Luna clung tightly to Brown’s forehead, the fierce headwind forcing her to lower her head and squint.
Everything she could see was dim and gloomy, and the air was filled with an aura that made her feel deeply uneasy and uncomfortable.
Brown’s body was scorching hot, so much so that the little girl’s arms were turning red from the heat, but this warmth also made her feel safe.
"HSSS..."
A screeching roar came from the sky. It was several monsters that looked like bats but had long, snake-like tails.
"Mister, in the sky!"
Luna cried out in alarm, terrified that Brown hadn’t noticed the danger diving down from above.
Brown had already noticed the things in the sky. The winged creatures looked extremely dangerous, and he had no desire to stir up trouble.
He was moving so fast that the giant Serpent-Tailed Bat Demons couldn’t catch him, but their flailing tails posed a considerable threat.
However, as fast as he was, these things could fly, making them faster than him. They flew back and forth, harassing him from the air, causing Luna to scream repeatedly and greatly annoying Brown.
The blood-red color in his eyes deepened, and a violent rage became increasingly difficult to suppress.
Amidst the WHOOSH of the wind, he spotted a black rock ahead to his left.
He abruptly changed direction, planting his foot hard and kicking at the rock with all the momentum of his run.
Fearing that the hardness and structure of the rocks here might be vastly different from the outside world, Brown put a great deal of force into the kick while also covering the top of his foot with condensed blood, aiming to shatter it in a single strike.
"BANG."
The rock shattered into dozens of pieces of various sizes; his fear that it wouldn’t even budge proved to be unfounded.
As the fragments flew through the air, Brown spun, grabbed a piece, swung it a few times like a discus thrower, and hurled it viciously toward the wings of the large bats.
WHOOSH! WHOOSH!
Less than a second later came two tearing sounds: RIIIP! RIIIP!
Two of the large bats were struck directly in the wing. The turbulent airflow from the spinning stones tore their entire wings apart.
The two Serpent-Tailed Bat Demons shrieked piercingly as they fell from the sky.
"Hahahaha... so they’re this useless!"
"ROOOOAAARRR—"
Unable to contain a ferocious roar, a bloody light flashed in Brown’s eyes. His feet became a blur as he exploded with even greater speed, rushing to get underneath one of the falling Serpent-Tailed Bat Demons before it hit the ground.
"You’ve fallen! Don’t even think about surviving! ROAR!"
The blood on his arms crystallized into sharp Claws, and he slashed at the monster’s body using the upward-cutting technique Baru had taught him.
"PSHHH!"
He felt almost no resistance on his arm as the giant Serpent-Tailed Bat Demon was sliced in half by his attack.
Dark red blood rained down, but it all stopped in mid-air just before touching Luna and Brown. Instead, the two halves of the corpse fell to the ground, with only the snakelike tail still twitching.
"Just as I thought! Hahahaha... It really has blood, and I really can do this!"
Brown laughed maniacally, as if possessed.
He had sensed the blood flowing inside the monsters just moments ago, but at the time, he could only sense it, not act on it. Now that he had split the monster in two, he could control the blood that gushed out.
"Heh, there’s still one more."
"BOOM!"
Stomping his foot and creating another large crater in the ground, Brown appeared in an instant beside the other living monster, a blood wing trailing behind him, and stomped on its snake tail, snapping it.
The sensation under his foot once again told him that these monsters were not as formidable as they appeared.
With a mere thought, torrents of blood gushed from the two wounds on the monster’s wing and tail, causing the Bat Demon, still alive on the ground, to wail continuously.
’It has blood, so it feels pain? It’s really a living creature!’
A large amount of dark red blood gathered around Brown, its total volume far exceeding his own.
Although this blood wasn’t imbued with the Master Sage’s Magic Power, controlling it seemed to replenish his stamina.
He couldn’t help but shape the two masses of blood into a pair of wings.
He gave them a powerful flap, and to his surprise, they actually lifted him—their controller—off the ground for a moment.
But it was wishful thinking to believe he could fly with them just like that. You can’t fly just because you have wings; besides balance, a great deal of practice is also necessary.
This wasn’t a time for leisure, and he had no time to study this. However, these new blood wings could help him run faster.
The few remaining Serpent-Tailed Bat Demons in the sky flew away in a panic, leaving Brown with no targets for the large stones he had hidden in his blood wings.
He was self-aware enough to know his limits with long-distance throws. Given the monsters’ agility, they would surely dodge, so he wouldn’t waste the stones.
He continued his mad dash toward the mountainous area. Each flap of his blood wings sent him surging forward a great distance, and a flap during a change of direction greatly increased his agility.
As his anger subsided, his thoughts suddenly turned to Luna. He wondered if the little girl was scared after seeing him dismember a monster and draw its blood. A six- or seven-year-old girl being silent for so long... she was probably terrified.
"Luna, don’t be scared. Mister... I’m not usually like this..."
’His Mentor had never taught him how to comfort a little girl.’
"I’m okay, Mister. I can see what you look like, and I’m not scared. It’s just... a little hot..."
Although the little girl tried her best to sound cheerful, Brown could still hear the pain in her voice.
A sweep of his Perception and his peripheral vision revealed that the little girl’s exposed arms, thighs, and even her bottom had obvious burn marks, a large patch of skin turned red.
He hadn’t realized just how high his body temperature was. After all, he didn’t feel any pain, itching, cold, or heat himself. But now that he focused on it, he could tell it was far beyond what an ordinary person could endure.
’Good thing it hasn’t been that long!’
’It’s hard to imagine how such a small girl could endure it for so long without crying out. Was she afraid of distracting me?’
’Such a thoughtful child!’
Blood mixed with Magic Power seeped from the pores on Brown’s neck and the back of his head. It solidified into a crystal, forming a suitable seating groove behind his neck that insulated her from his scorching body heat.
The wonders of the Master Sage’s Magic Power allowed him to use his blood Ability more freely. Moreover, the moment those two monsters died, the Magic Power he had just consumed seemed to have been slightly replenished.
"Luna, if you feel any more discomfort, you have to tell me, okay? As for your burns, we’ll have to wait until someone rescues us to treat them."
A gentle smile appeared on Brown’s currently ferocious-looking face.
"Mhm!"
Luna hugged the newly formed blood-red crystal on Brown’s head, feeling its coolness.
"Mister... can we still get out of here...?"
She finally asked, her voice full of worry.
"Hahahahaha! Don’t you worry, I’m not just anybody!"
Brown laughed heartily, his voice loud, confident, and even arrogant.
’As long as we didn’t run into a major crisis the moment we entered, Luna and I will definitely be fine.’
’The people on the Dawn will know about this soon enough.’
’A broken mirror? Even I, Brown, am not afraid of it. Does it really think it can act so brazenly in front of a host of Magic Controllers, let alone the Master Sage?’
...
What Brown and Luna didn’t know was that in the valley they were heading toward, a giant, incorporeal eye was watching them from afar.
’So he really isn’t just anybody... such a strange Magical Creature. So small, yet so ferocious. And that bizarre Magic Power... It seems this ordeal won’t be easy to pass!!!’
It didn’t understand Brown and Luna’s language, but it could directly comprehend their meaning through its Magic Perception.
PS: Third Chapter for Sunday.
I’m keeping track of the Chapters I owe, I won’t skip out on them!