Chapter 123: The First Elimination: Part I
Across the world, people murmured about the trio and their brutality in killing the Irish Adventurer. It sparked controversy in the American Guild and a brutal hatred from the Irish Guild. Marcus was confused as to why Nova had just killed the guy on live TV, and that too so openly, like at least he could have been more secretive, rather than so open about it.
Nova stood firm, his daggers coming into existence again in his hands for round two of the conflict. Elesch gripped her rapier tightly, as small void rifts spawned across the edges of her fingertips.
Adam extended his claws, his stance low and aggressive, like a wolf, ready to pounce and rip.
The nine remaining Irish Adventurers formed a loose semicircle, their faces contorted with rage. The one with the war hammer, a burly man with a shaved head and a scar running down his cheek, stepped forward, his weapon hung over his shoulder like it weighed nothing.
The warhammer was enormous. His Circle of Pillars showed a diagonal line with five pillars, meaning he was an evolved B-rank Adventurer, making him a serious threat.
The first guy wasn’t so bad, since it felt as if he had artificially evolved his Circle of Pillars, which meant that his actual strength, which he had gained from having evolved artifically, wasn’t that high, compared to the raw, natural strength Nova had gotten.
"You bastards," the hammer-wielder growled, his Irish accent thick with fury. "Gabe was our brother. You’ll pay for that in blood."
Nova’s expression remained cold, unyielding. "He attacked first. Tried to kill innocents. This doesn’t have to end with more death, so I suggest you walk away."
The leader laughed bitterly, hefting his hammer. "Walk away? After what you did? No chance, yank. Lads, take ’em down!"
The Irish charged as one, abilities igniting the confined space. A woman with wind manipulation hurled gusts like razor-sharp blades, while a man summoned earthen spikes from the ground. Another fired bolts of lightning that, crackled through the air, aiming for the trio’s heads.
Elesch reacted first, thrusting her rapier forward. A void rift opened, warping space to redirect the incoming lightning bolt back to its sender. The Irish lightning user yelped, dodging just in time, but the redirection left Elesch exposed.
The wind manipulator capitalized, blasting a focused gust of wind that slammed into her side. Elesch staggered, her concentration breaking as the void rift glitched out.
Adam leaped into the group, claws slashing at the nearest opponent, as a tough fighter with enhanced strength. He slashed deep gashes across the man’s arm, drawing blood, but two more Irish piled on him.
One with fire manipulation ignited his fists, landing a scorching punch to Adam’s ribs that singed his clothes and seared his skin. Adam yelped, countering with a wild slash, but the numbers overwhelmed him.
A telekinetic force from another Irish swept him off his feet, slamming him into the wall with a strident thud. He folded, panting hard, his claws retracting as pain ran through his body, blurring his vision.
"Adam!" Elesch cried, spinning to aid him.
She opened another rift, pulling a fire-wielder into a distorted pocket of space that disoriented him briefly. But the earthen spike user struck from behind, jagged rocks erupting beneath her feet.
Elesch twisted away, but a spike grazed her leg, tearing through muscle. She fell to one knee, her rapier falling as blood soaked her pants. The wind woman followed up with a vortex that sucked the air from her lungs, leaving her wheezing and defenseless.
Nova moved like a shadow, daggers flashing as he intercepted attacks aimed at him and his duo. He parried a lightning bolt with one blade, then flipped over a spike to drive his other dagger into the spike-user’s shoulder.
The man screamed, dropping to the ground, his ability faltering as blood poured from the wound. Nova didn’t stop, twisting mid-air to slash at the telekinetic, severing the invisible threads of force that held Adam down.
But it was too late for immediate recovery. Elesch and Adam were down, not dead, but battered and unconscious, their bodies slumped against the wall.
The Irish had focused on them first, exploiting their lower ranks. Nova stood alone now, breathing steady despite the odds. Eight enemies remained, circling him warily, the hammer-wielder at the forefront.
"You fight well, I’ll give ya that," the leader said, swinging his hammer in an arc that cracked the stone floor. "But you’re outnumbered, lad. Surrender, and we’ll make it quick."
Nova’s crimson eyes burned with intensity and glowed with a bloodlust that mentally fucked with the leader’s head. "Surrender, you say? I don’t believe in that bullshit, so come at me."
The leader grew more irate, charging his weapon, descending like a meteor. Nova dodged, the impact cracking the ground underneath, shockwaves rippling through the labyrinth. Dust and debris exploded outward, but Nova was already moving, his daggers slicing at the leader’s exposed side.
The man twisted, his evolved ability, Hammer of Ruin, which amplified kinetic force, allowed him to pivot unnaturally fast. The hammer’s handle blocked Nova’s strike, the clash sending vibrations up Nova’s arm that nearly made them limp.
Nova leaped back, assessing the situation. He knew he wouldn’t win against the leader; there was just no way possible. The other seven Irish hung back slightly, letting their leader test the water, but they weren’t entirely idle either.
The wind woman summoned a whirlwind, hurling it towards Nova, while the fire-manipulator lobbed flaming orbs. Nova weaved through them, his daggers crisscrossing and reflecting the flame and slicing through the wind.
He countered by hurling one dagger at the fire-suer, embedding it in his thigh. The man screamed, collapsing as flames flickered around him, another down, but not out for good.
Seven left, plus the leader. Nova pressed the attack, closing on the wind manipulator. She blasted him with a point-blank whirlwind, but he powered through, grabbing her arm and twisting it with a silat lock.