<h4>Chapter 348 Chapter 81.3 - Close </h4>
The moment Ethan''s thoughts turned sluggish, Assassin immediately attempted to strike Ethan with his daggers.
He wanted to end things fast.
BOOM!
But then suddenly, the mana exploded from his right side. Emily used her skill [Breath Resonance], but this time, her skill was slightly different.
Rather than just releasing a spherical shockwave without a clear direction, this time, she released a small crescent wave to Ethan''s direction and distorted the Assassin''s attacks.
Somehow, her wave had gained the distortion ability of the assassin!
"Tch!"
Master assassin, seeing his attack distorted, threw a look with annoyance at Emily. At this point, he thought these two were just futilely resisting.
They were already dead in his eyes.
Ethan managed to get rid of his sluggish thoughts as his mind started working properly again. He knew this was hisst chance, as Emily had given him the space. The assassin was momentarily disturbed.
Utilizing his trait, he instantly channeled his mana into his spear. Lightning crackled around the spear as Ethan took his position.
[Transmeate]
Using his spear''s special property, he drew the mana inside him more than he could. His skin started deteriorating as blood started dripping from his nose. His eyes were bloodshot as he even consumed his life force.
His strength far surpassed his body''s limits momentarily, reaching almost the barrier of 7.
「 Spear of Hartley. Heavenly Shura」
RUMBLE!
The sky rumbled as lighting swept through Ethan.
In an instant, Ethan struck through the master assassin with his spear.
"!"
The assassin felt rmed, as the aura behind the strike was clearly something that could be fatal to him.
And, but then, the only thing he needed to do was to evade.
Just as he attempted to do so, suddenly, the assassin felt the gravitational force increasing over his body, a sensation he hadn''t anticipated. His movements became sluggish, his agility hindered by the unexpected force acting upon him. In that split second of his movements trapped, he realized his fatal mistake.
Around him, somehow, a new type of mana had appeared, but he wasn''t even aware of that!
Ethan, seizing the opportunity afforded by Emily''s intervention and the momentary stop caused by the unknown force,unched himself forward with unparalleled speed and precision. His spear, crackling with lightning, surged toward the master assassin with unstoppable force.
With a gasp of realization, the assassin attempted to evade, but it was toote. The gravitational pull held him in ce, leaving him vulnerable to Ethan''s decisive strike.
SWOOSH! RUMBLE!
In a swift and fluid motion, Ethan''s spear pierced through the assassin''s defenses, driving deep into his body with relentless determination.
"RAAAA!"
STAB!
The master assassin''s eyes widened in shock and agony as he felt the searing pain of Ethan''s attack tearing through him.
Despite his best efforts to resist, he could do nothing to prevent the inevitable. Everything happened in a split second.
"Argh!"
With a final, guttural cry, the assassin refused to sumb to Ethan''s overwhelming power, grabbing the spear stabbed in his chest.
SPURT!
He channeled his mana into his arms, enhancing his strength. And then he pulled the spear out of his chest, with blood spurting from the wound.
Ethan had already reached his limit by that time, and he was no longer able to hold his spear, making him unable to resist the Master Assassin''s pull.
"You!"
The Master Assassin growled, his voice filled with hatred for the first time. The wound on his chest was not closing at all, and it was rather deep. Even though he wasn''t defeated and the wound wasn''t something fatal, it still hurt.
The hatred in his eyes was clear as he covered the wound with mana, making the blood stop.
Even with Ethan''s strongest attack connecting, the Master Assassin had yet to fall down.
THUD!
And Ethan, who had used even thest bit of his strength and some of his life force, fell to the ground. His body was in tatters, with his veins burst open thanks to the amount of energy they needed to withstand.
Many internal injuries had umted, and his inner organs were not functioning.
"Burghk!"
His breathing was hoarse, and from time to time, he coughed blood. He was no longer in a condition to fight.
"Die."
The Master Assassin raised his dagger, this time clearly with the intent to finish Ethan.
–CLANK!
But just as the assassin was about to strike, a sudden burst of energy disrupted the scene. With lightning-fast reflexes, the assassin deflected a strike aimed at him with his dagger. It was a bullet of energy directed towards him with pinpoint uracy.
Before he couldprehend what was happening, more bullets of energy began raining down upon him, each strike aimed with deadly precision.
"Tch!"
The assassin growled in frustration, realizing that he was under attack from an unknown assant.
The rapid onught of energy bullets forced the assassin to take evasive maneuvers, dodging and weaving to avoid being hit. Despite his agility, he couldn''t escape the relentless barrage of attacks.
Realizing that he needed to deal with this new threat first, the master assassin activated the power of the artifact of concealment. It was the artifact that he had brought with him, sealing this whole space.
A thick curtain of darkness enveloped him, shielding him from view and providing temporary cover from the relentless assault as he moved from his space.
''Now you can''t see me.''
He realized that this person might have been in this ce for a long time, but he was unable to sense them. Even as an executive of the organization [Dark Watch], he was unable to sense the enemy.
His condition was also not good, as his strength was slowly deteriorating.
SWOSOH! But, suddenly, as he was thinking rapidly, his senses had warmed him. A projectile approached him at a rapid speed.
It was an arrow!
An arrow filled with an immense amount of energy. Under the darkness of night, the arrow shone bright blue.
''He can see me!''
In an instant, the assassin realized that his location had been revealed, and he didn''t have much time to evade it.
Thus, he attempted to deflect the arrow, throwing a dagger.
BOOM! But to his surprise, the arrow exploded upon contact with the dagger, unleashing a powerful st of energy that sent him hurtling through the air.
CRASH! With a grunt of pain, the assassin was thrown backward, his body spinning uncontrobly as he struggled to regain his bnce. The force of the explosion was immense, causing him to crash into the wall of the building with a bone-jarring impact.
As he coughed up blood, his senses reeled from the shock of the explosion. But even in his dazed state, his eyes locked onto the figure standing on the roof of the building, hidden in the shadows.
The assant was d in pitch-ck armor, their features obscured by a dark cloak. In their hand, they held a massive blue bow crackling with potent energy.
Because of their concealment, the assassin was unable to sense the strength of the enemy clearly, but the arrows clearly contained a lot of energy.
''This….''
But then again, the Master Assassin had a lot of experience. Thus, he immediately made his decision decisively.
Grabbing a small rectangle thing from his spatial storage, he crushed it. It was an expendable charm, something that was made by the alchemist of [Dark Watch.]
Charm of ck me. It had the ability to directly activate the spell belonging to the Fire and Darkness Domain.[ck me], and the strength of the spell was level-6. Even a higher-ranking hunter would have a hard time dealing with this me.
In an instant, the surrounding area of the assant erupted into chaos as the Charm of ck me was activated. Swirling tendrils of ck mes engulfed the target destination, their intense heat and darkness burning and corroding everything in their path.
The master assassin watched with a mixture of satisfaction and bitterness as the mes raged, knowing that he had unleashed a powerful force that would make even the most formidable Hunters think twice before confronting. But at the same time, he couldn''t help but feel a twinge of regret at having to use such a valuable and costly item.
As the mes consumed the area, the assassin''s gaze remained fixed on the assant, his mind racing with possibilities and strategies.
But then, just as he was preparing to strike again, his senses tingled with a warning. From his right side, shadows blurred and shifted, and before he could react, the assant emerged from the darkness unscathed.
The assassin''s eyes narrowed as he realized that the assant possessed a spatial leap ability, allowing them to evade his attack and reappear unharmed.
It was a clever maneuver, one that showcased the assant''s skill and resourcefulness.
However, he wasn''t discouraged. He knew that he had gained a brief respite, a moment topose himself and get ready to sh.Top of Form
He was already ready to use his trait''s next move.
「 Nocturnal. Manifesting Javelin. 」
In an instant, his mana was spread forward, manifesting a javelin he had conjured in his mind. It was one of the abilities of his traits, making him able to manifest a skill of his dreams.
SWOOSH!
The spears flew through the assant at a rapid speed, but theycked their usual strength. His condition was undoubtedly affecting the Master Assassin already.
But the assant was quick to react, grabbing a bunch of silvery-colored chakrams from god knows where.
With remarkable agility and precision, they athletically deflected the javelins while evading some of them, their movements fluid and graceful.
Shadows swirled around the assant''s legs, enhancing their speed as they darted around the battlefield with unparalleled agility.
The master assassin gritted his teeth, realizing that his opponent was no ordinary adversary. However, even then, the assant wasn''t able topletely fend off his every strike. Some of the javelins passed through his skin, creating shallow cuts.
''This bastard…..If I was in my top condition!'' Desperate to gain the upper hand, the Master Assassin attempted to distort the trajectory of the chakrams utilizing the ring on his fingers, freezing them in mid-air for a split second.
SWOOSH! But to his surprise, the assant seemed to anticipate his move, already leaping into the shadows and appearing right behind him in the blink of an eye.
As the chakrams hung frozen in the air, the assant wasted no time, seizing the opportunity to reim their weapons. With a swift motion, he seemed to pull a bunch of illusory threads, and the chakrams came to life, instantly flying back into the assant''s hands.
And on the trajectory, the Master Assassin was there, and he was about to be attacked.
However, being a high-ranking executive of an organization, his trump cards weren''t even finished yet.
BOOM! In an instant, an energy of darkness erupted from his body, releasing a shockwave simr to Emily''s.
And the shockwave sted the assant behind him off.
CRASH!
The assant crashed into walls, widening the distance.
As the shockwave sted the assant off, the Master Assassin seized the opportunity to act. With lightning speed, he unleashed a ''Dream Ailment'' on the assant, hoping to slow their thoughts and gain a momentary advantage, and then he threw another dagger at his enemy.
But his relief was short-lived, as he felt the effects of his own injuries taking their toll. With his mana reserves nearly depleted and his condition worsening by the second, the Master Assassin knew he couldn''t afford to linger in the battle any longer.
Utilizing the momentary pause caused by the ''Dream Ailment,'' the master assassin made a split-second decision to flee, his survival instincts kicking into overdrive.
However, as he reached for the ring on his finger to activate the artifact, a sudden realization struck him like a bolt of lightning.
His whole hand was missing, severed cleanly at the wrist.
"Urghk-!"
As he coughed blood, his vision blurred.