Chapter 180: Slaughter
Screech!
The intense concentration of ki let out a piercing whine. The man in the black top hat, who had been walking, clearly heard the sound. He looked up just in time to see a figure flying toward him, already pointing a finger that was gathering an intense golden light.
The man knew he had been spotted by an enemy Reincarnator. He didn't panic or rush to regroup with Flame Fiend and the others who had landed in the outer sea. He spun the short magic wand in his right hand, and with a flick of his eyes, tapped the stone pavement in front of him.
Rumble!
The pavement surged upward. In an instant, a stone wall rose.
BOOM!
The Dodon Ray blasted it apart. The stone wall completely disintegrated, and smoke instantly filled the air.
Kaito could feel that his highly condensed ki had pierced the stone slab and only exploded after hitting the ground behind it, but his opponent was already gone.
[You have attacked a Reincarnator in a mission world. Based on the disparity in Spirit, you have obtained the following information:]
[Your attack did not cause damage to GL90887121.]
Kaito didn't linger. He glided directly over the smoke and toward another district. He had the advantage of entering the world first and understood the island's situation far better than this newly arrived Reincarnator.
Sure enough, just after the explosion rang out, members of the God's Guard quickly appeared from a street corner.
These Skypieans all had Jet Dials equipped on their feet, allowing them to move quickly. They rapidly surrounded the explosion site from the air.
Kaito sneered and flipped onto a high rooftop.
"Reducto!"
A sharp incantation was heard, and the ground beneath Kaito's feet exploded violently.
He instinctively shifted his center of gravity and leaped away. The shrapnel from the stone explosion couldn't harm him, but the commotion meant he was spotted again by the God's Guard. A group of guards holding long spears took to the air, flying straight for him.
Kaito now had a general understanding of the top-hatted Reincarnator's abilities. They seemed to lean toward spells from the Harry Potter world.
He was a rather unorthodox magic-type Reincarnator.
Unlike typical mages who summoned all sorts of elemental magic, the spells from Harry Potter were more like a fixed magic system, where each spell had a specific, defined effect.
Although they generally lacked large-scale destructive power, they included many bizarre and unique spells.
And... among those spells, the dangerous dark magic was equally tricky.
"Avada Kedavra!"
As Kaito grabbed the spear of an lunging Skypiean, that cold killing intent became reality. From the corner of his eye, he saw a flash of green light. He dodged, pulling the Skypiean directly in front of him.
Pff!
The green curse struck the tall Skypiean. All strength instantly vanished from his body, which went cold. Kaito let go, and the guard fell to the ground without making a sound.
The Avada Kedavra curse was likely the [Instant-Death] ability with the lowest barrier to entry that a magic-side Reincarnator could access.
The cost was low, the consumption was minimal, yet it possessed a true instant-death effect. Unless there was a massive gap in magical power or the target had a specific immunity, being hit by this spell meant one thing: immediate death.
Kaito had recognized this potential danger the moment he saw the man use "shaping magic" to create the wall.
Bang!
Kaito sprinted across the rooftops, firing his silver-white revolver behind him without looking. His marksmanship was average; he was relying completely on the passive effect of [Misfortune's Knock].
On the ground, "Hades" watched the man in the pink robe dodge the Killing Curse and flashed a smile. He waved his wand at the ground.
The stone pavement began to squirm. One by one, massive snakes made of stone and dirt rose up, coiling and snapping at the attacking Skypieans.
Hades paid these native characters no mind. He was looking only at the fleeing Mercenary Tao with amusement. He touched the wand to his throat, and his voice was instantly amplified.
"Is this the 'Cataclysm-tier' Mercenary Tao? Is this all you've got?"
"Running away instead of coming to hunt me?!"
Voom!
A powerful blast of wind erupted. The towering Priest, Gedatsu, shot out from the side. He thrust out his palm, and the [Impact Dial] on his hand instantly unleashed a tenfold shockwave, obliterating the stone snakes. The next second, he was upon Hades, roaring.
He grabbed Hades's shoulder, preparing to shatter him with a shockwave.
But Hades's expression was calm. His right hand, wand in hand, had somehow already pointed at Gedatsu from under his own arm.
"Levicorpus!"
Gedatsu was instantly flipped by an invisible force, left dangling upside down in mid-air.
Hades brushed off his coat, which had been wrinkled by the grab, and pressed his wand to Gedatsu's forehead.
"Avada Kedavra."
Overusing dark magic could affect one's mind, but for a Reincarnator, such negative side effects were practically negligible.
A flash of green light, and the tall, powerful Priest Gedatsu went silent. His corpse still hung in the air, swaying.
[You have killed Priest Gedatsu. You obtained 10 Dimensional Points.]
Hades was a Reincarnator who had surpassed the first ladder; the rewards for killing ordinary native characters were already minimal. But this message still told him something.
He had ignored his surroundings when he was on the ground. Now, seeing these Skypieans and this Priest, he sensed potential danger.
He stopped taunting Mercenary Tao and turned, preparing to regroup with Flame Fiend.
Bang!
A flash of light erupted behind Hades as his protective amulet triggered. He spun around and, sure enough, saw that Mercenary Tao had finished off the pursuing Skypieans. He was back on a rooftop, firing a revolver at him.
He's trying to lure Enel over to deal with me...
"Protego Horribillis!"
Hades, seeing the ruse, refused to take the bait. He began to move quickly toward the edge of town.
He took two steps and summoned a broomstick. Kaito's heart stirred. The next moment, he leaped violently, flying straight at Hades.
Hades sneered inwardly. He spun around abruptly, his wand flaring to life.
"Avada Kedavra!"
Kaito twisted in mid-air, a grim smile finally appearing on his face. While the Killing Curse had its merits, its weaknesses were glaring.
The spell's projectile speed was not fast, and it lacked any piercing or tracking effects.
You could think of it as a bullet with immense stopping power, but one that flew at a mediocre speed.
Kaito's earlier caution was all an act. He had been able to completely ignore single-shooter gunfire even before he could defend against bullets; why would he be afraid of this spell now?
An instant-death curse is meaningless if it can't hit its target!
Voom!
In mid-air, Kaito suddenly activated 3rd-rank [Setsuna]!
The air around him instantly blurred, letting out a terrifying explosive roar.
BOOM!
As the sonic boom cloud appeared, Kaito had already slammed directly into Hades.
Bang!
Hades's body was sent flying as if struck by a train. The sound of his protective charms shattering mingled with the sound of his spells breaking and his bones snapping.
As blood poured from his nose and mouth, an item appeared in his hand, and he tried to crush it.
But the air screamed, a shriek so sharp it felt like it could tear his eardrums. His right hand suddenly froze. Only then did his vision slowly refocus, revealing a blurred figure materializing in front of him.
How is that possible...?
I was just sent flying by his full-power collision... How did he catch up to me again...?
Kaito's muscles were torn and bleeding. 4th-rank [Setsuna] was causing massive damage to his muscle tissue, but his body was already healing at the same time.
His speed had completely surpassed sound. His body, now swollen to over two meters, seemed to be elongated, like an incomplete phantom. He grabbed Hades's right hand with one of his own, stopping him from crushing the item.
CRUNCH!
With a squeeze, the sound of bone shattering echoed. The item disappeared. Hades's left hand produced another wand. In Kaito's eyes, the speed at which the spell began to light up was like slow motion. The two of them were now in mid-air, shooting out of the town and over the outer sea like high-speed fighter jets leaving white contrails.
BOOM!
Their straight flight path suddenly exploded over the beach. The air, torn apart by the rapid change in trajectory, left a flower-like vapor trail.
A figure was slammed violently into the sand of the shallow water.
Hades's defensive spells had been physically shattered. His robes' healing magic triggered passively.
His consciousness, which had already begun to black out, rushed back. He saw a figure land from the sky, not even splashing a single drop of water.
Hades finally understood. This Mercenary Tao was not the "fraud" Flame Fiend had claimed he was.
Damn it, this guy is a true master...
He retreated rapidly. A [Portkey] activation was too slow; it was useless at close range against this kind of martial artist. He gripped his wand in his left hand again, waving it wildly at the sand and sea.
Sand dragons rolled and sea dragons surged. Shaping magic was the most convenient magic in combat, and it was what he was most comfortable with.
Hades kept backing away, but Mercenary Tao just watched him, tilting his head with a cruel smile.
Suddenly, Hades stepped on something. His foot slipped, and as his center of gravity went sideways, his vision blurred.
Not good!
BOOM!
The sound of displaced air swept over him. The sand and water dragons between them were instantly smashed apart. The man was charging like a savage beast.
Hades had an idea.
Voom!
Kaito threw a punch. The air shattered inch by inch. The fine vapor trails flew from his fist like a white dragon, but his opponent's figure suddenly distorted and then vanished.
Apparition!
Kaito turned. Sure enough, his opponent had reappeared on the other side of the beach. Kaito stomped his foot again.
DONG!
It was as if all the sand on the entire beach was blasted into the air at once.
Tss-la!
With a sizzle of burning air, Kaito once again went supersonic, appearing behind the newly-materialized Hades.
Hades was in agony. A large chunk of flesh was missing from his shoulder.
[Apparition] was an incredibly convenient teleportation spell. A skilled wizard could even cast it without a wand. But the spell could only teleport the wizard to a location they could clearly visualize, it had range limitations, and it was inherently dangerous. If one's concentration wavered, they could suffer the horrific consequence of leaving a part of their body behind.
Hades never failed this spell. But right now, his [Luck] was abysmal.
Furthermore, Hades had only just entered this world; he didn't have many visualized locations to teleport to. Kaito knew this was the perfect time to kill him.
Bzzzt~
The sound of electricity began to crackle. Enel could arrive at any second. Kaito stopped holding back. His body expanded to its limits, his heartbeat accelerating to a terrifying pace.
In that moment, Kaito once again felt the "viscosity" of the air. He felt he could actually push off this thick air to change direction.
In this state of extreme speed, Kaito was beginning to grasp the secrets of the other [Rokushiki] techniques.
The hair on the back of Hades's neck stood on end. Feeling the demonic howl of the wind, he couldn't afford to worry about "splinching." He visualized the place he first arrived in this world and cast the spell again.
"Apparition!"
Pop!
Kaito saw space begin to warp. He didn't care. His right arm coated in Armament Haki, the black [Devil Lance] erupted, stabbing directly into the center of the vortex.
Splurt!
As blood sprayed, the twisting vortex vanished instantly, taking Kaito's right arm along with it.
Kaito, his arm gushing blood, seemed to feel no pain. Instead, he let out a wild, exultant laugh.
[You have killed Reincarnator GL90887121 in a team-battle world.]
[Karma Points +1. Current: 10.]
[Karma Points meet advancement requirement. Sequence promoting. Great Sin is manifesting...]
[Reincarnator GL90887121's private space has been merged with your private space. You may view it upon returning to the Nexus.]
[Team Battle Points +1. Current: -6.]
[You have obtained Crimson Drop Card *1.]
(End of Chapter)