NOVPUBWhile Zaroth and his beasts were busy fighting off four of the Council members, Eldros was locked in battle with Hector.
Though Eldros was highly skilled, the setting was unfamiliar. For the first time, he faced an opponent towering over three meters tall.
Most people would find themselves scared or at least cautious on attacking blindly; the enemy was much taller, meaning they had a longer reach.
But this wasn't the case at all, as Eldros used giant swords with a reach longer than a meter, while Hector used his hands that were covered in black scales to attack. Despite his height disadvantage, Eldros had the upper hand.
With a swift movement, he slashed with his right sword.
Hector scoffed, crimson eyes blazing with battle fury, and caught the blade with one scaled hand. The dense black armor on his skin absorbed the blow without cracking.
Unwilling to let go of the advantage, Hector attacked, punching with his other hand aiming for Eldros' ribs.
But the attack never connected. Moving his left sword fast enough, Eldros blocked the attack. A shockwave resonated around his being, making him grit his teeth. The power Hector possessed was unwavering, but Eldros was able to keep up.
"Oh?" Hector mused, taking a step to the side and began unleashing an uncountable amount of fast punches. They were fast, appearing from the side like a blur, yet despite their speed they also packed an enormous amount of force, as each punch would carry enough energy to make a human head explode.
Hector knew these attacks were sure going to hit, or at least he had such an assumption. He was so confident that when he saw the way Eldros moved—easily like water, dodging each hit like nothing—he couldn't help but be impressed.
"You have some pretty cool tricks, huh?" Eldros mused, allowing himself to briefly glance at his owner. 'I didn't want to use it when we are so close but from the looks of it, Zaroth is having trouble. I have to finish the man before me fast and go to assist.'
With that thought, his blue eyes shone and an instant later a menacing eye appeared above his head.
In the whole area where the battle was happening, everything alive found themselves becoming slower and weaker before the judgment gaze, their sins laid out to see.
Hector, Silver, Zaroth, Orin, Ashira, and Velastra were all positioned at a different distance from the divine eye, but that didn't change the fact that all of them were negatively affected.
Using the judgment gaze was a risky move. While his opponents were going to become slower and weaker due to his influence, it was also going to affect his allies, and Zaroth being a Godkiller carried the heaviest sin of them all, and considering that he was already struggling, this could be the reason for him losing his fight, meaning the only way to avoid that fate was for Eldros to get rid of Hector as fast as possible.
'I have to finish this fast!' With that thought, Eldros buried his feet deep in the ground and exploded forward like an arrow, his two swords rising high in the sky.
Unlike the other times he had attacked, this time the two weapons weren't targeting different places on his enemy's body but at one point. He had tested his enemy's black scales for a vulnerability, yet there was none—it was a solid defense with no gaps.
Meaning if he wanted to break it, he had to condense his whole power and strike at one point! 𝘯𝑜𝘷𝘱𝘶𝘣.𝘤𝘰𝑚
Hector's eyes widened momentarily. The appearance of a menacing eye above his enemy's head was startling enough, but when coupled with the fact that he had become slower and weaker, meant he wasn't prepared for the attack.
He attempted to get out of the way, but his movements were slowed down too much, giving the chance for Eldros to hit his shoulder.
The two blades of the swords struck at the same place. Once they did, a loud thundered clap was heard in the vicinity. Hector gritted his teeth in pain as Eldros attack finally managed to break his scales and draw crimson blood.
"Fuck!" Hector couldn't help but curse, not only due to the sharp unbearable pain that resonated around his whole body, but mainly because the plan that had been created to get rid of the enemy had to be altered due to the unexpected variable.
The plan was for the five members to overwhelm Ghost at the same time. What they didn't take into account was Eldros and his incredible combat power.
'If this continues, I am going to lose. Once that happens, he will go and assist Ghost, tipping the scales in their favour!' Hector realized with a solemn expression. He was a proud warrior that loved to fight reaching his limit and going beyond it, but he was no fool. Once he found himself in a situation where he had to flee, he was going to do so without hesitation.
His gaze scanned Eldros face and body, studying him for a few seconds. He had memorized exactly the appearance of the man. Swearing that he was going to take his revenge, his feet moved to the side, getting ready to run full force.
Showing your body to the enemy was a stupid action, and Eldros was going to capitalize on it to the fullest. Tensing his muscles to the absolute maximum, he swung his swords so fast it looked like the atmosphere was split itself.
That single moment was all it took. The blades carved a deep gash into Hector's side—from his wounded shoulder down to his waist.
"Retreat!" Trying to ignore the pain to the best of his ability, he shouted with all his might, managing to catch the attention of his comrades.
Eldros was prepared to run after the man, but to his surprise, even after being debuffed by the judgment gaze, Hector's running speed was much faster than his own.
Clicking his tongue in regret, he shifted his point of attention to his owner.
Even from the distance, it looked like Zaroth was struggling for his life.
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His hair was messy, his breathing irregular, his heart screamed in pain with each pound it made to keep his exhausted body going.
But Zaroth wasn't willing to give up. Even when he was slowed down due to Eldros's judgment gaze, and even when he was using all of his mana to allow Luna and Nightshade to fight with everything they had, he was able to go toe to toe against Silver, a skilled member of the council.
"What's wrong?! I am not even using one-tenth of my powers and yet you seem to be unable to beat me!" he taunted, managing to force his voice to sound calm and composed.
Silver's eyes narrowed. The plan had been changed and Hector had just called for their retreat, but that didn't mean she was going to comply.
The enemy was right in front of her! She had already run away once when she fought against Sofia, and now she was going to run yet again?!
"Just die!" she shouted in fury, trying to injure Ghost with her rapier. The attack was faster than the eye could see, and yet the man successfully dodged.
'How?!' she cursed in her mind. Due to Zaroth's demonic mask, she wasn't able to see his face. She had no idea he was on the brink of exhaustion. To her, it looked like he was fighting her despite not being at his best.
As it turned out, he was a great actor—even in the worst situations.
Frustration began to build deep in Silver, ready to deliver even more devastating attack, but she was forced to stop mid-swing as from the corner of her eye she saw a man approaching them.
Eldros was running full speed ahead with the intent to help Zaroth.
Seeing the writing on the wall, her feet moved to the side, getting ready to flee.
Before she could do so, however, Zaroth abruptly moved, stopping her way.
"You think you can attack me and walk away without consequence?!" he shouted. The truth was that the voice that told him to kill had returned.
If he managed to kill the enemy before him, he was going to become stronger, and he for sure wasn't going to let this chance go to waste!
