Chapter 42: Saving Adrian, Gravitational Pull Rune
"He doesn’t have any Aura! This is just pure physical strength, and bloodlust!" Nisha snapped, forcing her mana through his body.
But the energy refused to settle.
It kept pushing back, like a beast fighting against chains.
The door suddenly burst open.
A group of Exorcists stepped inside.
Their uniforms were clean and marked with the crest of the central division of Exorcist Union.
Each one carried a weapon glowing with otherworldly light.
The air instantly grew colder.
"Rank 3 Exorcists..." Lily whispered, her face pale.
There were six of them.
Each one of them was strong enough to command a squad on their own.
In normal Hidden Clans, these people would’ve been the Clan Leader. That’s how strong they were.
Even in Major Hidden Clans, they would be respected.
"Dammit, these fucks arrive only on time when they need to be late," Nisha muttered.
"Didn’t you say you gave ransom to them so they would come later?!" Oliver shouted at Nisha.
"Well, I did! Fuck these backstabbing greedy pieces of shits!" Nisha shouted back.
"Y-you two! Focus on the problem before you!" Lily shouted.
One of the exorcists stepped forward. "Step away from that man."
Nisha glared at him. "What are you doing here?"
"We received reports about a corrupted Exorcist losing control," the man said. "You know the protocol. We’re here to eliminate the threat."
"Eliminate?" Lily’s voice cracked.
The exorcist didn’t answer.
He raised his sword instead.
Nisha’s stomach twisted.
This wasn’t random.
They had come too fast, and too prepared.
And this was when she had bribed them to come late.
She looked around and saw the others spreading out, forming a circle around the room.
Their eyes didn’t even look at Adrian with pity. Only cold focus.
"This was planned," she muttered under her breath.
Oliver frowned. "What do you mean?"
"Whoever is targeting Adrian is high enough that they can move the Exorcist Union," Nisha said. "These exorcists were waiting for Adrian to wake up. They always planned to eliminate him as soon as he woke up."
Adrian suddenly roared, breaking free from Nisha’s grip.
The floor under him shattered, and the wave of his bloodlust pushed everyone back.
The exorcists raised their weapons immediately.
One of them shouted, "Now!"
Blades of light filled the room, slashing through the air.
Lily and Nisha threw up a barrier in front of Adrian.
The impact cracked through their mana shield.
Dust exploded around them.
When the smoke cleared, Nisha was standing in front of Adrian, her arms trembling but still holding the barrier.
Adrian knelt behind her, unconscious after being knocked out by Oliver.
"Oliver, Lily," Nisha said quietly.
Both of them looked at her, determination flaring in their eyes. They were prepared to fight against officials from Exorcist Union to protect their friend.
"Take Adrian and protect him. I’ll hold the others off," she ordered.
Oliver frowned. "Nisha, there are too many of them."
"You’ll lose," Lily said, hesitating. "They’re Rank 3, just like you. You can’t take them all."
Nisha turned her head slightly, meeting their eyes. For a moment, she looked calm. Then she smiled, revealing a small, sharp grin.
"Did you forget who I am?"
Her Aura and Mana burst outward, golden light mixing with crimson sparks. The exorcists were shocked, seeing she could Mana and Aura together.
"I’m Nisha Hall, the Reaper."
The exorcists flinched back slightly as the pressure in the room rose to unprecedented levels.
The floor cracked, the windows rattled.
Oliver grabbed Adrian’s arm and nodded to Lily. "Let’s go!"
Lily looked back once, her eyes full of worry. "Don’t die."
Nisha smirked.
"I’m not dying until the day sun comes up from west."
The moment they ran out, the exorcists surrounded her.
Swords, chains, and talismans floated in the air. The lead exorcist raised his hand. "You’ve chosen to side with a threat, Nisha Hall. You know what that means."
"I know exactly what it means," she said, stepping forward.
Her blades appeared in her hand, the faint hum of mana running along its edge. The light from it cut through the dust.
The man’s eyes narrowed.
"Then you leave us no choice."
They moved at the same time.
The room exploded with light and sound.
Nisha’s figure blurred, her sword clashing with theirs in a storm of sparks.
She twisted, blocked, and countered, her movements sharp and focused.
Every strike she made forced them back, even when she was outnumbered.
But she could already feel it, their coordination was perfect.
They weren’t trying to subdue her. They were stalling her.
From the corner of her eye, she saw two exorcists slip past, heading toward the exit where Oliver and Lily had gone.
Nisha cursed and released a burst of mana, sending a shockwave through the room.
The walls cracked again.
"None of you are getting past me," she said coldly.
Her sword blazed with light, and she charged forward.
The battle lit up the night outside the building.
Each swing of her blade cut through spell formations. Each barrier she threw up shattered under their attacks, but she never stopped moving.
Blood ran down her arm, but her eyes stayed fierce.
The exorcists kept coming, and she kept fighting.
Every movement screamed defiance.
No one was going to touch Adrian while she was still standing.
As another explosion of light filled the air, Nisha’s silhouette remained firm. Her grin was still there, fierce and unshaken.
"Come! You bloody bribe accepting dogs!"
The ground split beneath her feet as her aura rose once more.
...
Arena Of Elicoras (Cursed Spirit Domain)
"I hope you like my gift."
The piercing magic bullets flew out and hit the monster’s eyes.
The impact exploded with a small flash, making the Elicoras warrior roar.
But when the smoke cleared, there was barely a scratch.
The creature had been blinded for a moment, but that was all the attack did. Blindness for a mere fraction.
That was difference in strength between Alan and the special Elicoras Warrior.
It was so overwhelming that their fight was like trying to crack a rock with an egg.
Just as it recovered its eyesight, the Elicoras warrior swung its sword fiercely.
Alan was too close to dodge or use portals.
The blade sliced clean through.
There was a sharp sound of steel cutting flesh.
Alan felt it before he saw it.
Pain shot up his body, and his arm fell away.
His hand hit the air, spinning as blood sprayed out in bursts.
The Elicoras Warrior didn’t stop.
It raised its other sword, aiming straight for Alan’s neck.
Then, something strange happened.
Its body suddenly felt heavy, like something was pulling it down.
Still mid-swing, the Elicoras Warrior looked down.
It noticed Alan’s severed hand was already about to hit the forest floor.
How?
Why was the hand that had been cut just now was on the forest ground already? The forest ground was several hundred meters below.
How did the arm fall so fast?
The monster found the answer quickly.
Alan had used his portals to send the hand to the forest ground.
But why?
Before it could think further, the pull grew stronger.
The Elicoras Warrior’s body lurched downward.
It realized the force of pull was coming from the hand.
The runes that Alan had drawn on his arm before the battle were now glowing, shining brighter than ever.
Alan had activated a powerful gravitational rune by using his entire arm as a material.
The special Elicoras Warrior began to fall, unable to swing its sword probably.
It didn’t understand what was happening.
Why was the rune on the hand affecting it? How was the rune targeting it?
Ah....!
While falling, the monster looked down and noticed another faint rune drawn with blood across its chest.
This was what the gravitational rune on fallen arm was targeting. It was how the Elicoras Warrior was being pulled down.
When did Alan draw the rune on the warrior?
Wait...!!! Back then...?
The monster had been blinded by Alan’s magic bullets.
He had used that brief moment to draw the rune using his own blood.
Then, he deliberately let the monster cut off his arm.
This....!