Chapter 41 Changes in battle
“Vandal!” Sabine yelled in terror.
The other images disappeared as Vandal’s true body gave off a faint glow. His speed increased at that moment, leaving an afterimage. Lamishtu missed and smashed an empty spot instead.
Vandal had reached a terrifying speed, agile like a monkey on steroids.
He fully circulated the advanced projection technique, then activated his Nephilim Fists of Destruction. His muscles became more compact, his height slightly increased, and his hands emitted the aura of weapons instead of actual hands.
Lamishtu kept using her tentacles to attack him but missed many times in a row. She howled in frustration, then focused her spiritual energy, letting it out in waves to affect his mind. It was useless because his giant blood already dampened the effects.
“Miss Herald, it looks like you’ve just awoken and your muscles are still stiff. Having a strong body is useless if you can’t move properly.” Vandal laughed lightly.
“Since I can’t kill you, I’ll go and kill the rest first.” Her eyes flashed with cunning as she veered towards Sabine and the others.
“Shit! Not good!”
Vandal’s expression changed dramatically. The enemy he was facing was, after all, a monster who had probably lived for hundreds of years. How could it be so simple?
Lamishtu charged at the rest. She tore off a piece of her tentacle and threw it at Sabine. Mid-air, the tentacle grew into a worm with teeth circling its mouth. At the same time, she leapt at Mael and the others who were still trying to capture Ophelia.
Vandal had two choices. He could kill Ophelia, making it easier for the group to defend themselves until he arrived to aid them. Or he could destroy the worm that was about to attack Sabine and Jaden, giving them the chance to join him against Lamishtu.
This thought flashed in his mind, and he chose the second. He immediately fired several resonance shots at the worm, causing it to scream in pain, then threw a force-empowered fist at it, squishing it instantly.
Mael launched a lance of light echo at Ophelia’s shoulder, trying to pin her to the wall, but she dodged it and quickly evaded Chan’s kick too. She then launched a well-placed gut punch into Hutrar, sending him flying backwards, blood spilling from his mouth.
Just as Lamishtu’s black claws were about to rake the back of Mael’s skull, Yazmeen activated her echo. Vandal was a bit shocked because he hadn’t felt such familiar energy since he was abducted and almost sacrificed by his mother in this world.
Yazmeen actually clashed head-on with Lamishtu, driving her back. Her fists radiated purple resonance energy, and she took the initiative to launch a punch at Lamishtu’s face. Lamishtu caught it palm-first, but her expression changed.
“You leech!” Lamishtu kicked Yazmeen away, sending her flying into a wall.
“You dare to steal my energy!”
What just happened? Vandal was already heading for Lamishtu when he heard her words. That was when it dawned on him. Drawing from his stolen memories, he realized this was Ruin Echo, a special type of echo ability that caused decay and drained the energy of others. It was the same type of echo his mother in this world had used. Then why had she hurled purple fire at him that time? Could it be she already had dual echo elements?
The realization sent chills down his spine. That meant she was trying to acquire more power, perhaps a third element. I thought hybrid echo users could only use two elements. This is something I need to look into in my spare time.
Peng!
Vandal sent a kick towards Lamishtu’s head, but she blocked it with one of her tentacles without even looking.
Bam!
The tentacle exploded from the force, sending her staggering away in shock. She tried to regenerate it, but the stump responded very slowly. An energy was suppressing her healing factor.
“You… you have destructive energy… how?” Lamishtu exclaimed in shock.
Vandal was in berserk mode. His skin had a faint reddish tint, his sweat turned into mist, and his eyes glowed with violence.
Nephilim Fists of Destruction – Titan’s Punch.
Vandal’s fist gathered chaotic force echo. “Yazmeen, let’s kill this thing together.”
Yazmeen came out of the busted wall. “I see you can be pretty dangerous when you want to be, just my type of man.” She licked her lips, but her eyes were fixed on Lamishtu. Covering her body in Ruin Echo, she pincer-attacked from behind while Vandal used his destructive fist from the front, swinging it forward like a sledgehammer towards her face.
“How dare ants try to kill the Herald of Deceit, I!”
Lamishtu laughed in anger and swiped her claws, releasing a line of black light that carved a deep gap in the ground.
She dodged the blow to her head and blocked Yazmeen’s tackle, using her tentacles to wrap around her. But Yazmeen kept draining her energy, forcing Lamishtu to fling her away. Chan caught her mid-air, and they both crashed to the ground.
“This ought to happen more often.” Chan smirked, looking into her eyes as if trying to shoot love arrows.
“You wish… get your wide face off me.” Yazmeen said with annoyance as she stood up, preparing to rejoin the fight. At this point, Mael and Jaclynn were still trying to restrain Ophelia, but she was proving very adept at evasion.
Chan, Yazmeen, and Vandal attacked together, but Lamishtu punched Chan’s blade into two and used the other half to stab at Yazmeen. She quickly blocked with her own blade and retreated. However, she failed to see Vandal’s kick in time, and it crashed into her hip. At the same time, she punched Vandal, who blocked with both arms, but a crack sounded as he was sent sprawling to the ground.
For the first time, a thin line of blood escaped Lamishtu’s lips.
“Good… very good.” Lamishtu’s speed suddenly increased drastically.
“Watch out!” Vandal yelled.
Chan was struck by a black light that sent his body flying backward, scraping across the ground as if he were carving a hole into it.