NOVPUBThe holy rank hunter seemingly paid no attention to the Dungeon Raiders, not even after the Jaguar spirit showed up deeming it as nothing but a weird pet and the only thing he did was to check the injured detectives lying around the battlefield under the expectant gaze of those who remained standing.
Most detectives were just unconscious, with the exception of those Uriel killed to weaken the boosts they bestowed on the now speechless detective Anvil.
Despite the silence Uriel knew the battle was far from over and the worst had yet to come, but his battle against a heavenly rank hunter with multiple boosting traits and the support of hundreds of hunters gave Uriel hopes that defeating a holy rank hunter was possible.
'I just need to land one blow and I'll be back in shape.' Uriel thought while enduring the pain of his dislocated shoulder. It hurt, but pain was an old friend for him and what actually troubled him was that how difficult it was to move his arm and how it would hinder his fighting prowess.
Taking his eyes from the enemy was difficult as it gave Uriel the impression it was an opening that could allow the holy rank hunter to kill him in the proverbial blink of an eye, yet Uriel did it anyway to give Luna a meaningful look. The tiny huntress was clueless most of the times, but she knew Uriel well enough to understand its meaning.
Uriel adjusted his stance to make things easier for her earning himself a brief glare from the holy rank hunter that left him paralyzed on the spot, though that only lasted until a snapping sound and the pain in his shoulder became unbearable for a glimpse of a second and then diminished until it was nothing but an annoyance.
"You're good to go." Luna said after putting Uriel's arm back in its place. It took Luna quite the effort, but placing her legs on Uriel's ribs while pulling with all her strength was enough to do the trick.
This took but a second, but under the imposing presence of their new enemy it felt like hours. Even more so when Uriel activated his Dash skill and pounced at the holy rank hunter at the same time his Jaguar did in a two pronged attack.
Despite his enhanced perception of time, Allegro seemed to move in real time speed just like Uriel, though the air friction didn't seem to affect him in any way other than pulling his long hair back.
Uriel's case was different, every molecule of air that stood in his way caused him to slow his movements and his face distorted as though he was sticking his head out of an airplane window at max speed.
The holy rank hunter sidestepped Uriel with the same ease one would dodge a person walking on the opposite direction in a crowded street, but the jaguar was actually even faster than Uriel and stopped his race a couple meters from the holy rank hunter, only to spring towards him at breakneck speed forcing Allegro to defend himself.
To the holy rank hunter it was nothing but a slap, the same he would use to get rid of mosquitoes when they were too noisy, but the result was much different.
The booming sound that accompanied the holy rank slap reminded Uriel of the fight between Mister Scofield and Jon hunter, but he didn't have the time to spare in such thoughts as he watched in slow motion how his beloved companion's lower half was disintegrated under the immense pressure of the hit.
Sadness, anger, helplessness and regret caused Uriel to lose focus and cancel his Dash skill causing him to trip and tumble on the ground. Most of the memories Uriel had of the jaguar were bitter, mostly because until recently he would only summon it in life or death situations and flashes of all the times he summoned the jaguar to save his own life appeared on Uriel's mind.
The jaguar spirit wasn't a pet and Uriel knew it. It was a powerful predatory cryptid that killed countless people in its life, yet it wasn't a weapon either. The Jaguar wasn't a slave that would do his bidding and nothing else, it was a partner that helped Uriel survive and reach his goals without asking for anything in return.
It was a friend.
"You are going to pay for this." Uriel muttered each word separately as he slowly stood up.
"You were the master of that thing?" Allegro replied with a surprised look on his handsome face that would make most people forgive him even if he killed their firstborn, but Uriel was immune to charisma, beauty or appearance. On his eyes, Allegro was the most disgusting kind of people in the world, the kind of people that would kill his precious friend and even call it a thing, he was an enemy.
Blinded by rage, Uriel's hands pierced through the concrete making his posture look like a feline on the prowl rather than a professional athlete but he didn't mind since it gave him a more solid foothold to start his race. Before that, however, Uriel started channeling as much flux energy as he could muster.
At first Allegro was amused by his behavior, then puzzled by the amount of flux energy Uriel was able to manipulate and finally impressed by the speed displayed by Uriel when he took off. His movement was so quick Allegro couldn't dodge in time and was forced to block the hand that wielded the crimson dagger that would have otherwise stabbed his heart.
Allegro's surprise turned into shock when even after successfully blocking the dagger a searing pain let him know he was hit in the gut and he instinctively tried to counter, but Uriel had already retreated and was getting ready for another round.
"What the hell did you do!?" Allegro asked rubbing his stomach trying to find the source of the pain, but Uriel attacked once more like a maddened beast forcing Allegro to take a fighting stance to intercept him.
Unfortunately for the holy rank hunter, Uriel took a page from the fallen jaguar's page and stopped a couple meters to shift his trajectory managing to graze Allegro's skin with the Red thread of fates.
It was as shallow as a papercut, but for a holy rank hunter as experienced as him it was all the confirmation he needed to know that his life was at risk. The same cut that would cause nothing but discomfort on his hand would spell his doom if it landed on the neck. 𝔫𝖔𝖛𝖕𝖚𝔟.𝖈𝖔𝔪
"Stop, I don't want to fight." Allegro attempted to speak while bracing himself for Uriel's next move.
Needless to say, Uriel didn't stop and instead became even faster thanks to the crimson dagger feeding him a small taste of a holy rank hunter's life essence. It was an intoxicating feeling that resonated with his inner turmoil and didn't stop even after Allegro managed to land a slap that sent Uriel flying on the other direction.
Both Medusa and Luna had already retreated inside the zeppelin waiting for Uriel to make a run for it like usual, but this time things were different. He had many chances to retreat, but instead decided to continue attacking.
His eyes were white and growling sounds bellowed from his throat as he buried his limbs on the ground once more, though instead of thrusting forward he took a couple seconds to channel his flux energy.
"I'm not letting you use that skill!" Allegro had no clue of what Uriel was doing, but now he knew his life was at risk he decided to interrupt whatever skill he was trying to activate. Usually, the more time it took to activate a skill the more powerful it was, but contrary to what he expected it wasn't a new skill but Dash.
It was the same skill Uriel had been using over and over, though it looked very different. The usual sparks of blue electricity that always surrounded him when he activated Dash were nowhere to be found and instead blue flames erupted from his shoulderbones in a fashion much similar to that of the jaguar spirit.
The more flux energy Uriel channeled, the more the flames grew in size and intensity until they resembled a pair of blue flaming wings that waved in his back like a couple of pointy tentacles of light.
Now that the Red thread of fate managed to steal a bit of Allegro's life essence Uriel was completely healed and without the jaguar spirit draining his flux energy Uriel was stronger than ever. He was ready to give his all in a last ditch effort to kill the holy rank hunter that now seemed to move in slow motion towards him.
He was just about to launch his attack when he noticed a stupidly handsome man seemingly frozen in time with a worried expression at a distance, accompanied by Emma and Amy.
"Soulfire?" Uriel muttered after cancelling Dash, then everything faded to black when Allegro's fist reached his face.
