Chapter 285: A Devil
The dark essence hadn't simply empowered them, but had taken hold of the little sanity they had left.
"I was beginning to think which pest had the audacity to attack us," the red-skinned orc said. "I was hoping to give a final lesson to a pack, unfortunately, it's only
"Good evening to you too," he said, waving his hand as the leftover goblin bombs flew towards the red orc.
The sound of bombardment and explosion followed, as smoke and darkness shifted chaotically. The smoke hadn't even cleared when the red orc shot out, charging towards him, dark essence churning around his form. The other forsakens were right after him, though none could challenge his speed.
The Warden stood firm on the spot. He didn't bring out his weapon, only brandished his fist and smacked the tall orc when he came within range. He hadn't pulled his punch, as the red orc's form was flung dozens of metres away.
All the orcs and trolls faltered in their charge and watched the red orc flying over their heads. A silence descended among them for a moment, and then they burst forth again, letting their complaints be known, screaming at the top of their lungs.
He considered turning his back and began jogging, pulling the massive numbers of the forsaken with him. But there were just too many of them for the rankers to stand any chance. Perhaps they might be able to withstand using the prince's soul relic, but not without paying a price first.
Thus, the Warden decided to stand his ground, and bring down their numbers by at least half.
He had barely dealt with a couple of orcs and trolls when that particular red-skinned orc that he had punched in the face assaulted him again. That one seemed to be the leader of the forsaken, and the dark demonic power he radiated proved the fact.
"When I first learned many of the forsaken had fallen prey in the first layer," the red orc said, hovering in the air, "I was wondering who was the guy behind this. If I were not on a tight schedule, I would have given him a visit... But looking at how you bring yourself before me, it makes it a lot easier."
The aura the red orc was radiating was disconcerting and dangerous. All the dark essence of his surroundings pulled into him, empowering him. His eyes had gone completely dark, while dark veins popped up in his bare, jagged muscles.
Warden had to bring out [The Divider] now. The aura the orc radiated reached the peak of Fiend rank, and it wasn't the stopping. Even the suppression of this subspace seemed to have no hold of him.
The red orc tapped into the raw dark essence available to him at will, as a pillar of energy swirled around his form. .net
"Witness the power that transcends this realm!" the red orc shouted as a huge sword of dark essence manifested in his arms. The suppression on him seemed to have lifted, as his aura became more and more powerful, almost matching that of Ovium and Karim in their most unhinged times when they did not pull their punches.
This guy is a transcendent? he considered. Or rather a Devil-ranked powerhouse? How the hell did he enter this subspace?
His blade moved to fend off the attack. The Warden was sure the aura the orc first radiated was that of a Fiend rank, but now...
It wasn't quite it, still far from anything Ariha had shown him in the final challenge. But he did not believe anyone of the rankers present in this inheritance ground would be able to withstand a blow from the red orc.
Which means he has to die here, he decided.
"Give it your best," the red-skinned orc said with contempt. "Because this is the last time you'll ever wield that blade of—"
He blocked the essence blade with [The Divider], and [Void Shroud] made its presence known, as he twisted his form to his right to connect a flipping kick to the side of the orc's head.
The red-skinned orc wasn't sent flying like the last time, but he lost his balance, falling to one knee. Dark essence shot from his body in a torrential force, almost flinging him up, but [Void Shroud] withstood it all.
"Void essence?" the red orc screeched, a spark of surprise appearing in his dark pupils. "Who are you?"
"Just a guy who's going to kill you," he muttered, concentrating on the void light and imbued it into [The Divider].
"Huh, just with this you think you can compete with me?" the red orc shouted, as the dark essence churned around his form to manifest dark armour, infused with his Intent. It wasn't quite like how Agnes wielded her dark essence; unlike her, this all looked second nature to the orc. The armour and blade morphed into his body, becoming a part of him.
"I won't kill you so easily now," said the Devil, his face hidden behind the dark helm. "First, I'm going to get all the answers about how you got hold of Void essence in this backwater wasteland, and then I'll extract all that void essence from your being. If you still withstand the process, I'll finally give you your final reprieve."
"You talk too much."
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It won't be long, I promise... Some info on ranks below...