Chapter 191. Absolute Soul (3)
"Crown Prince!"
"Shin oppa, don"t die!"
"Tsk…!"
As I lost too much blood in a short period of time, dizziness swept over me. I felt like I would scream if I opened my mouth, so I clenched my teeth and grabbed the tentacles poking through my chest. I then burnt the tentacles with the strongest lightning power I could muster and activated my ring"s regeneration ability. I had to regenerate my chest area.
[Diehard activates! Your HP is recovered to 50%!]
It seemed my HP had fallen to a dangerous level as Diehard activated and filled up my HP. That was dangerous. I almost died. Just by looking at Ren"s expression, I could tell the grave situation I was in. I burnt the tentacles flying towards me with a spear attack and drank an HP Potion.
[You!]
Seeing that I had recovered from my injuries, the Mana Eater sounded shocked. I smirked and put my middle finger up, but in truth, I was still at a disadvantage. Regeneration could only be used once every 2 weeks, and Diehard could only be used once a day. In other words, if the same thing happened again, I would die. And what was that just now!? It pierced through my Epic-grade armor and put me on the brink of death! Although the Mana Eater must have carefully planned the attack, it was entirely possible that it still had more cards up its sleeve. I was doubtful that that was his trump card attack.
An attack that increased its attack power by eating the opponent"s mana and decreased the opponent"s defense. That was why the Mana Eater was so feared
[Y-You dare hurt my Hero…!]
While I contemplated on how to defeat the Mana Eater"s attack, Lotte said something with rage and trembled. I could feel the mana in her body surging up.
[You must pay the price!]
Lotte breathed out fierce flames. The trees around us with the tentacles hanging from them were devoured by Lotte"s black flames. Her flames, which carried a powerful curse, quickly spread and set other trees on fire.
[This isn"t an ordinary flame… I"ll kill you first!]
"You b.a.s.t.a.r.d!"
Chaos flames formed a whirlpool using Mad Typhoon. As the whirlpool undulated around me, I came to a decision. I poured a large amount of mana into my spear and shouted.
"Everyone, get on Lotte!"
"What!?"
"Hold out in the air for a moment! I"ll take care of him during that time!"
"What are you talking about? Take care of him how!? And why should we—"
I jumped down from Lotte"s back and shouted.
"This forest is dangerous! Much more than fighting the d.a.m.ned aerial army! So listen to me!"
"What about you!?"
Naturally, I had my methods. I didn"t have the time to leisurely explain everything. Pushing away the tentacles with chaos flames, I ordered Lotte and Ruyue.
"Protect the others. I"ll finish it soon."
[Hero, I want to end him!]
[Shin, this place is dangerous!]
"But this is the best method."
In truth, using Deific Manifestation and getting Peruta"s help was the best way of dealing with this situation. However, if I faced the worst-case possible scenario I envisioned, I wouldn"t have a way out. As long as other methods were available to me, I had to try them first.
[I won"t let them escape!]
"You"ll have to!"
I heightened my Mana Detection and used chaos flame Tempests to hit away the tentacles attacking my companions. At the same time, I glared at the others who were still hesitant on getting on Lotte. I was signaling them to hurry.
"In that case, Crown Prince, I"ll stay too!"
"I knew you"d say that. Unfortunately, you"re a burden! Just protect the children! If you have Mana Potions that aren"t from the Floor Shop, give them to the children to drink!"
I turned down Ren bluntly. Lebuik was more sensible than Ren, as she was already moving the children to Lotte"s back. Ren seemed to want to say something, but he soon followed Lebuik with a look of resignation.
I formed more chaos flames as I anxiously waited for them to go. I didn"t have much mana left. I was constantly using mana to maintain the materialized elementals and form chaos flames; not to mention, the Mana Eater kept stealing some away! My mana… Wait.
"If I remember correctly, Deathblood Ring"s effect was…"
On attack, 2% chance to absorb 10% of enemy"s mana, and with 1% chance, using 5% of my HP to place the enemy under blood contamination status effect. As I had almost only seen the effect on ordinary trash monsters, the effect had never really felt impactful. However, it was different now.
"Huu… let"s try it."
I was certain that the Mana Eater had at least ten times the mana I had. In other words, absorbing 10% of its mana meant recovering my mana entirely. I raised my spear. I didn"t need to target anything specific. This entire forest was the Mana Eater. I breathed in, then shouted the skill I needed desperately.
"Divine Speed!"
[No matter what you do, it"s usele—"
"Haaaaaap!"
I focused entirely on stabbing consecutively. Although I had to use 10% of my remaining mana, my speed became 1000% for 3 seconds! During that time, if I gave up on destructive force and focused solely on numbers, I could attack at least 100 times.
I stabbed the ground like a madman. Not even using a jackhammer would make such a sound. Once the Mana Eater noticed my strange actions, it gave up chasing the others and aimed toward me with all of its tentacles. I ignored them. Unlike last time, I had an insurance!
[Bulwark of Wind! Master, it won"t last long!]
"I just need 3 seconds!"
Because of how quickly I talked, she might not have understood. In any case, when was this mana absorption thing going to happen!? Don"t tell me it won"t work because Deathblood Ring"s grade is too low!?
I stabbed the ground repeatedly, resolving to steal the Mana Eater"s mana. A large hole was dug through and the trees around me fell. At the same time, the tentacles buried under the ground became shredded.
[Deathblood activates, taking 10% of the enemy"s mana.]
[Kuuuak!]
At that moment, something completely unexpected happened. The tentacles flying toward me deflated like a balloon out of air. Not only that, the trees in the area lost their vitality and looked as if they"d been rotting for 100 years. Of course, the intended effect was still there. My mana had gone back up to full!
"Don"t tell me, is mana this b.a.s.t.a.r.d"s entire life force?"
Well, it was a monster that freely stole mana, so in that sense, it wasn"t all that surprising! Unexpectedly, stealing its mana with Deathblood had dealt more damage than all the attacks I had done combined!
Feeling my body overflowing with mana, I immediately materialized Sharana. The Mana Eater"s rage became focused on me.
[Youuuu! M-My mana, you dare take my mana!]
"Don"t be so stingy, you b.a.s.t.a.r.d. You drilled holes in my chest!"
Ten times. If I stole its mana ten times, it would die. The moment I pulled my spear out of the ground, the ground exploded and dozens of tentacles shot toward me. With materialized Sharana"s overwhelming power of wind, I blew them away. Even so, it would be hard to leisurely strike as I did previously.
[Return my mana!]
"Thanks for the meal, you b.a.s.t.a.r.d! Sharana, stir up wind in the entire forest!"
When I gave Sharana almost half the mana I took from the Mana Eater, her body gave off a dazzling light. The wind blowing around us became fiercer, and the Mana Eater"s tentacles became like rice plants pained by a storm. Meanwhile, everyone riding on Ruyue had successfully switched to Lotte.
[Hero, if Hero becomes unable to pay my reward, this Dark Wing Lotte will drag Hero out of his grave! Hurry up and end him!]
[Shin, I"ll go back for a bit!]
After safely completing her mission, Ruyue returned to Fairy Garden. At the same time, Lotte cheered me on and soared up into the sky. The Mana Eater didn"t forget to send some tentacles their way even while he was focused on me, but Ren and Lebuik pushed away the tentacles with their aura attacks. The trees blocking their way out of the forest were also cut down.
"If Crown Prince doesn"t come quick, we"ll come back. So hurry!"
"Just focus on getting out!"
"Oppa, don"t die!"
Before they left the forest, Ren and the others shouted at the top of their lungs. Even so, they wouldn"t be safe just by leaving the forest. Outside of the forest was the aerial army of the El Patiz. Though Lotte, Ren, and Lebuik were surely able to hold their ground, I still had to finish the Mana Eater as soon as possible.
After confirming that the others left the forest, I let out a sigh of relief. Of course, the Mana Eater"s tentacles were still slashing across my face and leaving injuries.
[I"ll blow a hole in your chest again! Let"s see if you can regenerate again!]
"Sharana, make my voice ring out in the entire forest!"
[No problem!]
It wouldn"t make sense if a wind elemental like Sharana was unable to amplify my voice, especially when she was materialized. Along with her answer, my voice indeed rang out sonorously whenever I talked. With the Evil Eyes and Soul Guard, I had increased my soul"s league. I had also constantly increased my strength in other areas. Now, just my voice carried a certain level of power, which seemed to be able to impact the Mana Eater, albeit only slightly.
[Noisy brat! I won"t let you fool around with wind!]
"Now, Sharana! Dematerialize and go back!"
[Yes!]
Sharana"s immediately returned to the Spirit World the moment I gave the order. Her elemental magic was still in effect. I had to finish it before it ended.
[Become my food, Human!]
"Buuuuuurn!"
[You used Crimson Roar. Everything blazes as flames.]
In an instant, my entire view became filled with flames. Amplified by Sharana"s wind, my voice, which reached every corner of the forest, turned into flames and burnt everything. Other than the crackling sound of the fire, only the Mana Eater"s scream rang out.
[Kuaaaaaaaa!]
Its tentacles flew toward me, but they became scorched and crumbled. The entire world was dyed red. I used Divine Speed once again and struck the ground crazily. Before Crimson Roar"s effect ran out, I trusted that I would be able to steal its mana again.
[Y-You… T-This flame!]
"Shut it!"
[Deathblood activates, using 5% of your HP to inject contaminated blood into the enemy! The Mana Eater fell under the "blood contamination" status effect! Its attack power and movement speed decreases, and it loses mana continuously! This effect cannot be dispelled unless the target dies!]
Oh, a different effect? As it continuously drained the Mana Eater"s mana, it was excellent against the Mana Eater. However, as I wanted to refill my mana, I couldn"t help but be disappointed. The flames covering the forest were beginning to disappear.
[The forest I grew for hundreds of years… I-It has been burnt… by a mere human!]
What was once a dense forest was now entirely scorched to ashes. Protruding out of the black ground, the Mana Eater"s circular body and its dozens of tentacles caught my attention. Half of the tentacles were still burrowed.
"I can finally see."
I raised my head and looked up at the sky. At the same time, a few boulders fell down. They were the monsters that had been flying in the air. Even though we cleaned up a lot of them before, they had already increased in numbers during the time we stayed in the Forest of Tranquility. I could also see Ren and Lebuik fighting on top of Lotte. Thankfully, the children seemed to be doing well.
[Kahak! I"ll kill you!]
Thanks to the blood contamination effect, the Mana Eater was slower than before. Even so, its tentacles were still fast and powerful. Seeing them shooting toward me, I summoned Sharana and infused her in my body. Now that I knew the Mana Eater could spring up tentacles from the ground, it wasn"t wise to fight on ground.
However, almost as if it seemed to be waiting for me to fly, the Mana Eater"s tentacles changed direction. It was aiming at the sky.
"d.a.m.n!"
Was it trying to attack the others again!? I raised my voice to warn them. However, it was in vain. The Mana Eater"s target weren"t my companions.
[Mana, give me your mana!]
[Guaaaaaa!]
[Kiaaaaa!]
The tentacles danced and pierced through a countless number of monsters. Surprisingly, the moment the tentacles sucked up the monsters" mana, they absorbed the brain worms" mana and killed them effortlessly. I understood why the brain worms had left the Forest of Tranquility alone.
"Wait, now isn"t the time to be surprised!"
I quickly charged through the air. However, the Mana Eater was continuously recovering mana and regaining its vitality. The number of tentacles attacking me increased as well. As more tentacles sprung up, they pierced through more monsters in the air and created more tentacles. Evil Eyes were indeed good for fighting against a large army, but the Mana Eater was miles ahead of me! As long as there were monsters it could feed on, it would never run out of steam!
At the same time, the increased number of tentacles attacking me made it hard for me to block them all. The distance between us wasn"t something that could be covered by one or two Divine Speed. In the end, I gritted my teeth and used another skill.
"Gigant Time! Prepare to die!"
[No one can threaten my lif— kuk!]
It wasn"t my spear. The spear enlarged to dozens of meters by Gigant Time was only used to slash away dozens of tentacles attacking me. Then who was it? I burnt away the tentacles blocking my vision and looked forward. The Mana Eater"s circular body, which was protruding out of the ground like a flower bud, had two horns piercing through it.
Two horns, is that…?
"Good, note late. I came to help."
In the air, a 7 meter drake was flapping its wings. A relatively small drake that possessed immense strength. As I could tell that it was undead, there was only one answer as to its ident.i.ty. As if to wash away any doubt I might have, a beautiful woman carrying a chain whip stood up above the drake, flashing her red eyes. Flowing ash-grey hair and a beret shining like a gemstone. There was no doubt.
[Guooooo!]
A large undead rhinoceros beetle stabbed its horns deeper into the Mana Eater and roared. The Mana Eater screamed in pain and attacked the rhinoceros beetle with its tentacles. However, seemingly from a special buff, the rhinoceros beetle"s carapace could not be penetrated.
"Loro, nice. Cool."
"Really! Can"t you give it a cooler name, Daisy!?"
Right, Revival"s newest member, Daisy, had come as reinforcement.