A pause came to her words as her face curled into one of confusion, and she interrogated,
"KID, WHICH FAMILY DO YOU BELONG TO?"
Zuxe's heart skipped a beat as he heard those words, which hung heavy in the air. From the start, he had just hoped that she would not ask anything related to him.
He was ready to die by her hands, but not ready to give her his family name.
He knew that after learning he was one of the heirs of the Arcane clan, she would not dare to kill him, at least that was what he thought.
But it came with consequences.
Without wasting a moment, she would go and tell his mother, the matriarch, about him. Only he knew how his mother would treat him after learning the truth.
He had experienced it before too, but as a spectator.
Trembling slightly, he pursed his lips to speak. "I-I am not from this clan, j-just a merchant."
Now my death is a universal fact.
"GOOD. IT WOULD HAVE BEEN BAD IF YOU BELONGED TO AN IMPORTANT FAMILY IN THIS CLAN, AND I WOULD HAVE KILLED YOU."
Then she proceeded to slowly descend until her feet touched the ground. Thin cracks spiderwebbed outwards from the impact, the floor splintering under the sheer weight of her power.
As she stepped forward, dust and small fragments of stone rattled loose, trembling beneath the pressure as if the very earth had been struck.
Step.
Step.
Step.
Each step was deliberate, slow, and measured. The gap between them shrank with every moment.
Step.
Step.
Step.
The distance between them shrank enough that now she could hear the labored breathing of the boy standing right before her.
"SINCE YOU ARE JUST A CHILD, I WILL TRY TO IMPROVE MY HAND TO HAND COMBAT TECHNIQUES," she said mockingly.
Being an Arcane guardian, her power relied on her Soul Essence and techniques. According to her, this was a good chance to improve her physical combat skills as well.
Whoosh
A blow slipped past Zuxe's ear, which he barely avoided, twisting his body.
He knew that she was not serious at all. If she were to get serious, he would die within a second.
It was not that the Arcane guardian was physically weak. She was, in fact, hundreds of times stronger than him, if not more, but weak compared to the demon hunters of her ranking in terms of raw strength.
Still, she was Grade 1 in strength, as far as he remembered from the game.
Whoosh
Another punch came toward his face, more agile than before, but he ducked, barely avoiding it by a hair's breadth.
He should not have been able to even dodge her first strike if not for his Soul Mutation evolution a few hours ago.
"HAAAH This is getting boring now. I think I should just kill you. You should be honored that you are going to die through one of my Soul Essence techniques. I promise your death will not be a painful one."
She whispered while delivering another strike to his torso, which he managed to avoid, twisting his body at a weird angle.
As Zuxe registered those words, his face turned pale, a sheen of sweat breaking out on his forehead as memories flooded his mind, tugging at his heart.
A shiver ran down his spine, and his eyes widened, acknowledging that something not so good was about to happen.
"But just in case no one comes here..."
She mumbled to herself, and then used one of her techniques that somehow created a dome covering most of the western garden and skidded back to the far end of it.
A sound barrier. She never used it in the game.
Zuxe knew from his previous experience that it was definitely a sound barrier, but the one he saw in the game was not used by her.
"VOID PIERCE. Obsidian Dart."
As she said those words, a swirling mass of shadows, almost like a cloud, coalesced in her outstretched hand. The air grew thick, and from the swirling mass of shadows emerged an arrow.
Its shape seemed carved from pure darkness, with edges that flickered and shifted like smoke, as if barely held by the shadow itself, crackling with chaotic energy.
Oh no. I thought she was not serious. Now I am screwed. Guess I don't have a choice. Just work this time, please. If it doesn't work, I will die without any resistance.
[Would you like to copy the technique?]
"Yes!" he muttered under his breath.
L Skill Assimilation Initializing...
L Processing...
L Modifying parameters for optimal efficiency...
[Complete]
His eyes widened in disbelief as the fear in his eyes shifted into surprise.
D-did it really work? Oh my! Hell yeah. If I remain alive, I will definitely kick those bastards' asses.
[Soul Essence Technique: Void Pierce, Obsidian Dart]
L Enhancing the skill for 200% effectiveness...
L Initializing...
[Complete]
[Soul Essence Technique Gained: Eclipse Lance]
A rush of information flooded his mind, a chaotic mix of complex ideas and experience. His mind throbbed in pain as each new thought hit like a hammer.
The Arcane guardian launched the bolts like arrows of doom, their forms flickering with tendrils of darkness as they hurtled toward Zuxe with unnatural speed.
Time seemed to slow as Zuxe's instinct kicked in.
His left hand automatically stretched out, and he positioned his thumb atop his middle finger, creating a focused point of energy.
Suddenly, a single dot of darkness materialized just in front of his thumb, pulsating with energy that seemed to absorb the light around it.
That dot twisted and swirled ominously, drawing in the surrounding shadows.
"SINGULARITY. Vortex."
The singularity swelled momentarily before releasing its energy. From its depth emerged a jagged bolt of blinding white, yet dark purplish currents swirled around it.
The black currents gave it an unsettling presence, as if the light itself were being corrupted.
Those bolts of darkness shot forth at the speed of light.
They raced toward the Obsidian Dart, which was about to strike him, and collided in a spectacular clash of energy for a millionth part of a second.
It pierced through the bolt, cutting it as if it were made of mere smoke, scattering the remnants.
Without losing its momentum, it continued its trajectory. Time seemed to slow as the bolt tore through the air, not even a vivid image of it visible until it struck true.
A powerful wave of darkness and blinding light exploded upon impact, releasing a dense cloud of smoke that filled the air with a sharp, acrid scent.
And not to mention, this whole event took place in less than a second.
As the smoke cleared, Zuxe witnessed something unexpected...