Chapter 368: Chapter 368

“Just what the hell are you!?” Rogan shouted in frustration as he flung jagged rocks at the Fox-kin in front of him. The falling rocks rained down on the Fox-kin like a landslide but it was easily fended off like some light dust. A violet mist ebbed and flowed around the Fox-kin and a massive aura oozed off from her.

“What’s with you people?” Erin sighed, slashing her sword in the air as if to loosen her muscles. “It’s always the same kind of question. You already knew the answer, but I suppose it’s a different matter when it comes to believing the answer. You refuse to acknowledge the reality before you.”

“Who wouldn’t refuse!?” Rogan baulked. “There’s supposed to be more than twenty levels between us and yet, you are fending off my attacks so easily.”

“You’re exaggerating. I won’t say it’s easy but it certainly isn’t difficult. It’s… troublesome. If it was truly easy, you would have been dead by now. So, give yourself some credit.”

“You mock me,” the old man growled. He continued flinging rocks at Erin but she cut them all down with great ease despite her words denial. “What is that sword of yours? How can it cut down so many rocks but remain as sharp as ever?”

“What do you think? What kind of sword’s edge will never chip, no matter how many things it cuts?”

“A sword of magic, but that’s no magic. The earth I control is no simple dirt and rocks. They are imbued with my magic, which contains the properties of dispersing Mana. If that sword of yours is magic, it would have long been broken.”

“Well… it is magic, just a special one.”

“Fine. Keep your secrets. You are not my priority anyway. I have wasted enough time with you,” Rogan said and raised walls of dirt between him and Erin. He then took off sprinting in the direction where the Saintess had gone— but things went the way it had gone in the past two attempts. The walls were instantly destroyed and Erin appeared in his path.

“Do you not have any other tricks?” Erin asked.

“Even if I do, what makes you think I would reveal all of them?”

“...Understandable. Say, you are a hard man to kill.”

“That’s funny coming from you,” Rogan scoffed and rose the earth around Erin, a cage that was meant to ensnare the Fox-kin but with a flourish of her sword, the cage was destroyed before it could even be formed.

“This is getting really annoying,” Erin grumbled and lunged at Rogan. She closed the distance between them in the blink of an eye. She swung her sword without a wind-up but the old man was more agile than his appearance suggested. He dodged the slash and countered with a blast of tiny stone projectiles. Erin shielded herself with her tails. It was no different than taking a hit with her own body but it was better than letting the stone hit her limbs and the body where most of her vital organs were.

“I agree. This is very annoying.”

Suddenly, the earth trembled so violently that the two almost lost their balance.

“A new trick?” Erin questioned.

“It’s not me,” Rogan denied. “It’s the world. Limbo is becoming unstable.”

“Oh. That doesn’t sound good.”

“It’s not,” Rogan grunted. “Damn fucking it. This was supposed to be simple.”

“Simple? Trying to kidnap the Saintess in Limbo is simple?”

“If you weren’t here, the Saintess would have been in our hands. You are the complication.”

“Oh, please. Don’t blame me for your failures and incompetence. And I certainly didn’t ask to be here.”

As the two argued, the grounds began to crack and break off from the earth, drifting into the sky every so slowly in chunks or pieces.

“Fuck. Looks like we will have to do this some other time,” Rogan said and began to run, leaping from one floating chunk to another.

Erin tried to give chase but the ground beneath her feet broke off from the earth and she lost her balance. She didn’t fall but that gave Rogan plenty of time to widen their distance. Erin clicked her tongue and resumed her chase after recovering her bearings.

“Persistent,” Rogan grumbled as he glanced behind him. The Fox-kin was rapidly closing the distance between them. More and more pieces of the city were breaking off and floating into the air. It had looked bleak at first but Rogan soon realised this was working in his favour.

As Erin closed in on Rogan, the floating pieces of lang were suddenly hurled towards her. She cut one down but the three others were far too close and fast. She leapt off the ground and onto another. Before she could take a breather, more pieces of land congregated on her. She grunted but her sword stayed still. The aura and midst around her began to glow lightly and the lands coming towards her were all shattered in an instant.

“Monster,” Rogan muttered. He was still running but he would glance behind him every few seconds to make sure she wasn’t catching up. But alas, she was and he saw how easily she dealt with the distractions and obstacles. Even an individual of his level would find it difficult to continue giving chase with these many obstacles and distractions. More importantly, she didn’t seem to be slowing down.

Erin didn’t need to worry about the obstacles anymore. With her Aura Domain, everything was instantly cut down and destroyed the moment it entered the vicinity. But of course, this was not without its price and disadvantages. Her Aura Domain did not discriminate. It was unwise to use it when allies were nearby. The cost was also a hefty one. It would leave her tremendously exhausted after she used it. She might not be slowing down but she would instantly stop and drop the moment the battle and adrenaline ceased.

“Stop following me!” Rogan shouted. He continuously hurled rocks and lands at Erin but none of it made it even close to her with her Aura Domain protecting her.

There was a few debris that were too large to be destroyed by her Aura but she could just cut those down with ease once they reached her, as they had been worn down by her Aura beforehand. She was closing the distance but it was still not enough. As she thought about flinging herself at Rogan using her Aura, she stopped her movement when a monstrous and gigantic figure appeared from a tear in the space itself.

Rogan was glancing behind him when he saw Erin’s sudden stop and horrified expression. He also immediately stopped and turned his gaze forward. His face paled with his mouth agape. There was a creature with the head of a scaly raptor, the upper body of a scaly canine, and the lower body of a serpent. It had only a pair of front limbs while its lower half’s movements were entrusted entirely to its serpentine body shape. Rogan had never seen this creature in the flesh before but he had plenty about it from his employer. Xathur, the cleaner of Limbo. No one knew how this creature came about, only that it ate everything that was not supposed to be in Limbo. It appeared right before him of all places.

Xathur lunged at Rogan with its jaws spread to its widest. Rogan responded with a torrent of rock blasts. However, the rocks struck harmlessly against the serpentine creature. Rogan felt the weight of the blows but the creature simply shrugged it off as it could not feel any pain. This creature was not something he could deal with. It exists out of the logic parameters that he knew. It was pointless to fight it. He should run but that was easier said than done. Xathur moved fast across the air as if it were swimming in water. He tried to block its path by forming a wall with the pieces of land but it rammed right through the makeshift barricade.

Rogan hurled all the debris and pieces of land he could get his hands on at Xathur. It was futile. It didn’t even stagger or budge in the face of the relentless assault. He tried to run but it was already too late. The moment Xathur appeared, his fate was already sealed. The creature closed in on him in just a few seconds.

“...I should have never taken this job,” and that was the last words from Rogan before being promptly eaten and devoured by Xathur with a snap of its jaws. The creature did not chew on its victim. It simply tilted its head upwards and swallowed its prey. After that, it turned its attention to Erin.

“Oh, fuck…” Erin muttered in despair. She saw what had transpired. She was not a pessimist but she didn’t think she would fare any better than the old man. In fact, she reckoned she would fare worse. She didn’t know how much Revenant had changed ever since she was released from the System and she was afraid to find out. If it remained the same, she would suffer eternal agony.  Nᴇw ɴovel chaptᴇrs are published on N0velFire.ɴet

Xathur slithered towards Erin across the air.

There was no way for Erin to outrun the creature. In fact, there was no place for her to run to. All the debris around her was gone, used by Rogan in his attempts to hurt Xathur. She was standing on the last piece of land hovering in the air in the vicinity. There was no other way but to confront Xathur. She braced herself for the clash, infusing her blade with a gentle yet vibrant violet glow.

The creature entered her Aura Domain. It was like plunging oneself into a shredder but instead of being shredded apart, the tiny jagged blades were the ones that got chipped, twisted, bent, and broken. It was like throwing a metal object into a shredder meant for meat and bones. Of course, the shredder would be the one to get destroyed. Once Xathur was close enough, Erin swung her sword. She didn’t know how much damage she would do but it was better than giving up.

“What?” Erin muttered as her blade touched the creature’s head. The most she expected was a slight thud against its head but that was a severe underestimation. She didn’t just scratch its head, she completely cut off its upper jaws with that one single slash. “Oh, damn. That’s inspiring.”

Erin felt like she had a chance at victory— but that sentiment lasted only for a few seconds. Despite having half of its head sliced off, Xathur did not flail around in pain. It persisted with its assault. Since it was now missing its upper jaws, it could no longer bite. Instead, it spun and slammed its tail into Erin. Erin reacted with an uppercut with her sword instead of her fist. She sliced off its tail, but it showed no sign of pain or resignation. It threw its entire body at Erin.

“Shite!” Erin grunted as the whole body slammed into her before she could swing her sword. She was knocked off the floating piece of land and down she fell straight to the ground. It was a long fall. She would not survive but she wouldn’t stay dead either.

As Erin was falling through the air, she saw the creature regenerating all the wounds it suffered. It regrew its upper jaws and tail. Once it was rejuvenated, it chased after Erin like a bird of prey diving straight for its prey.

There wasn't anything Erin could do except for readying her sword once the creature fell within range. However, it kept its distance and began to gather a strange form of energy in its mouth. Erin didn’t know what it was capable of but she knew what it was about to do. A breath attack.

“...Fuck me,” she could only mutter in despair.

The creature unleashed the energy it was collecting in its mouth at Erin in the form of a beam. It wasn’t shining brightly like a magic attack tends to be. Instead, it was a distorting clump of iridescent matter. When such an energy struck Erin, she felt no pain or agony, but she knew well enough that her entire body was being disintegrated into a messy pulp of flesh and blood.