Chapter 171: The Battle Above the City
The guards rushed forward, launching themselves at him from the sky, piercing right through the air.
Alen clutched his spear as the Crimson Essence violently surrounded its edge. He swung the spear horizontally, and a massive sweeping arc of Crimson Essence launched straight toward their incoming figures.
Every guard fell back as they instantly felt the lethal danger from that arc. But some of the guards who were too close weren’t able to dodge in time. Their hands and legs got severed by that powerful arc, and they fell to the ground from the sky, wailing in pain.
The other guards looked at their downed comrades in shock as their eyes turned cautious.
"Everyone, rush toward him! It is dangerous for us to fight from long range!"
This time, the guards chose to fight in unison. They closed the distance by using their artifacts in less than a second, moving with incredible speed.
With little distance left, and knowing it would be slower to attack them in close combat, Alen immediately put distance between them by taking a long jump into the sky. He used wind magic to float steadily in the air.
But alas, since he was not entirely used to flying, his aerial speed was comparatively slower and his movements were a bit clumsy. The guards immediately turned toward him, ready to catch him in mid-air.
After noticing their nearing figures, Alen immediately turned to face them. He held the spear with a strong grip, pulling it back over his shoulder. He threw the spear with incredible speed. The weapon launched toward their incoming figures while the Crimson Essence made the sharp edge pierce the very air itself. A bright line of Crimson Essence appeared in the sky, tearing straight at them.
The guards who couldn’t react in time had no means left but to die.
Realizing that he had accidentally launched a killing shot at the city guards, Alen immediately redirected the projectile less than a second before it hit them. He expertly manipulated the Crimson Essence over it, and the spear veered inches away from their bodies, launching straight down into the road below.
*BOOOOOOOOOM!*
The whole road and the abandoned vehicles on it got blasted away as the surrounding buildings cracked from the pressure. The sheer volume of the destruction caused by that redirected attack made deep cracks in the ground that stretched for a kilometer long.
A massive cloud of dust fell from the sky. As the guards looked down at the crater, they realized that if that attack had actually hit them, there was no chance of them surviving.
All of them turned to glare at Alen with accusing, furious eyes.
"You are going to die, you piece of shit! You have destroyed public property! Now your punishment is only death!"
"YOU BASTARD! IT SEEMS YOU DON’T CARE ABOUT PEOPLE’S LIVES! YOU DESERVE TO DIE!"
"KILL HIM!"
The guards glared at him as they started to summon a large-scale spell, one which was even more powerful than the attack Alen had just caused.
Alen immediately re-summoned his spear. As the weapon reappeared safely in his hand, he checked it to see if it was alright. Finding it perfectly fine, he looked at the guards as their combined spells were mostly formed.
Alen looked blankly at them as dozens of different spells formed a deadly ring around him. While floating in the sky looking down at them with a spear in his hand, Alen decided to stop holding back.
[Phantom-Step!]
[Godless: 2nd Form: Rapid Slash!]
He instantly appeared directly in front of one of the guards who was preparing to launch a spell.
Before the guard could even react, Alen’s spear tore right through his spell. As the spell disintegrated into harmless particles, the spear didn’t stop there. Another rapid slash tore through the guard’s clothes and the skin of his chest. He was launched backward with a swift kick, his body thrown onto the ruined road, rolling forward until he hit the side of a building.
All of this happened in a mere second. Alen didn’t stop with just one. He appeared in front of another guard, piercing through their spell and skin. With a heavy punch and kick, that guard was thrown back too. As Alen moved in a rapid zig-zag motion across the sky, several of the guards fell in a similar way.
The remaining guards who successfully completed their spell launched it toward him. A giant fireball the size of a large boulder shot toward his figure. As Alen looked at the scorching spell in front of him, he swung a vertical arc of his spear. A thin line of Crimson Essence pierced right through the center of the giant spell. It cleanly split in two and passed harmlessly past his body.
Alen stood there, his figure remaining entirely unaffected by their combined attack, and the guards stared at him speechless. Alen’s eyes narrowed, as he stared at the guards with a dangerous look.
With a swift motion, he launched himself at the remaining guards to finish the fight. But just as he lost himself in the thrill of the battle, suddenly his movements halted.
Alen turned toward the distance. He couldn’t help but stare as an unknown presence was launched in his direction, coming straight toward him with incredible speed.
With his enhanced senses, Alen immediately detected the incoming threat. He changed his direction toward it, ready to defend himself against whoever had just appeared.
As the figure neared, a giant wolf made entirely of violent wind formed in mid-air. It slashed its invisible, razor-sharp claws straight toward him.
Alen felt his senses flare on high alert as his instincts screamed for him to run. Clutching the spear tightly, he surrounded his body and weapon with Crimson Essence. He spun the spear rapidly, rotating it so fast that a shield of Crimson Essence formed around him, defending against the incoming claw.
The sheer air pressure created by the massive clash launched the remaining Walkers around the area backward. The cracked buildings below were destroyed, and vehicles flew away in the wind. Thanks to the destruction Alen had already caused earlier, the normal public had already escaped to a safe place, saving their lives.
Alen felt the overwhelmingly strong pressure. He knew he couldn’t hold back for much longer after feeling the weight of the attack, as even the pressure of the wind started to break through his crimson shield.
Alen immediately tried to pull himself away. He launched himself backward and appeared a safe distance away in the sky.
The wind pressure slowly calmed as the giant wolf of wind disappeared into thin air.
Alen stared at the sky, trying to figure out where the mysterious figure who had just appeared a second ago had disappeared to.
But before he could do anything else, he suddenly felt a pull from the back of his collar. His body was helplessly dragged away through the sky by someone else. The speed was so incredible that he wasn’t even able to react in time.
"Wait—What?!"
As his eyes blurred from the sheer speed, Godless dissolved its form and absorbed back inside him.
{Hey, you are getting dragged by someone else...}
Alen couldn’t see the figure from the back as he tried to escape forcefully, but he failed.
’Who?!...’
{Well, I can’t see particularly well, but it’s a woman looking like a maid... Be careful, she might be leading you toward the graveyard. She looks incredibly strong compared to you...}
Before Alen could say anything in return, he felt the speed finally slow down, as if the other figure had decided to show some mercy.
"Wait—No!"
But that illusion of safety was short-lived. They appeared near a massive mansion. His body was suddenly pulled back and thrown forcefully toward the top floor of the building. His body launched like a football, breaking through the glass window like a ragdoll. He crashed into someone’s office, and dust covered the room as the floor was broken under his impact.
Alen stayed lying there for a few seconds before pulling himself back up. He felt incredibly annoyed at being treated with such disrespect, but he kept it to himself. He tried to sit up, dusting off his ruined clothes. His gaze turned toward the woman sitting calmly on the couch, who was looking at him with analyzing eyes.
Alen felt a cold shiver run down his spine as he stared at the woman. Her presence gave him a similar feeling to when he had first met Serene’s father.
’Wait a second, did I actually appear in the graveyard?...’
{Hehe... Of course. Let’s see what you will do now, facing this strong figure! Hehehe...}
As the amused voice of the spirit echoed in his brain, he immediately felt a presence appear behind him. The maid appeared calmly. She took a graceful step forward toward the lady on the couch and stood respectfully beside her.
"Just as you ordered, I have brought the guy you told me to, My Lady."
The woman nodded. She stared at Alen as if he were some bizarre, interesting creature, not a dangerous criminal who had recently caused quite a havoc around the city.
"Hello. I am Sylvia Veridius, one of the Sages from Asterion and a well-known person. I decided to take care of you myself."
Alen stared at her. He opened his mouth and closed it again. All of his previous battle-hardened bravery vanished into thin air.
’Damn it, I am dead!’