Chapter 78 - Elusive Dragon
To say Arthur felt no hatred would be a lie. If anyone was put through such a nightmare, they would resent whoever did to death. Arthur was no exception, and he was certainly more head-strong when it came back to paying his debts due.
Instinctively, he used the Release rune making his body disappear from Dimon's view. When the mage saw this, he almost pissed his pants but Arthur has already appeared in front of him.
"Damn you, begone! I summon thee, Elusive Dragon!" Dimon shouted through gritted teeth as madness overtook his eyes. It was then that Arthur felt the egg, with an unstable lifeforce until now, suddenly move behind his back.
The reason Arthur didn't give regard to it because he could feel how weak its lifeforce was. The mana that has been in the cave and the dungeon was the result of so many people dying here as they suffered. However, Arthur also took notice that the egg was hungrily absorbing the mana.
'Dragon?' Arthur's head blanked for a second but soon awakened when he felt a pair of terrifying eyes on his back. Like a sequence of a natural reaction, his back was covered in sweat and his danger alarms were going crazy. This fear was primordial, rooted in his very being. The aura he felt was of a higher being of existence.
As Arthur turned around and sneaked a peak, he could see the shadow of a dangerous being behind that egg. He could feel his very soul shake with terror as shadows started creeping out from behind the eggs.
Dispel.
Arthur used his rune and his mind cleared again. It seems just like Dimon, this dragon was also specialized in illusions. However, as this creature seemed to be in its infancy, it couldn't create a high-level illusion.
His body reignited with renowned power as Arthur burned his mana. Before it could bottom out, Arthur used his Restore rune to refill his mana. This rune would last thirty minutes before it disappears and leaves him unable to use any mana, but Arthur had no choice if he wanted to kill Dimon.
It seems his injuries have healed to a certain extent as Dimon clawed toward Arthur who was already in front of him. The mage was cursing his bad luck that he met an opponent that illusions didn't work against. The goblins and Arthur started to push Dimon back as his body started to sustain more and more injuries.
"Spare me! I had no choice!"
Dimon started begging for mercy again but Arthur wouldn't have it. Even if Dimon didn't kill those people, the illusion that Arthur saw was enough for Arthur to resent Dimon enough to kill him.
'This can't go on.' Arthur realized as he felt his body more fatigued as the fight went one. With this in mind, he used his skill Shadow Swap to appear behind Dimon and used his legacy rune to slash the right side of his neck.
The mage on the ground without any signs of movement as Arthur stopped his attacks, huffing like a raging bull. His eyes were bloodshot as he saw the mage bleed to death as a pool gathered under him.
[You have leveled up.]
[New rune has been acquired: Fire.]
Arthur read those messages as his heart started to slow down. The backlash from using the rune arrived as it started eating away at his damaged body. It seemed that the limits of the human body were there to protect us against self-harm, but the Release rune undid them and burned mana to fuel instantaneous bursts of mana.
Arthur raised his finger as a golden rune appeared on his fingertip. He pointed the rune at Dimon's body and absorbed his essence.
[Mana stat increased by 1.]
[Mana stat increased by 1.]
[Mana stat increased by 1.]
[Mana stat increased by 1.]
[Mana stat increased by 1.]
[Elusive essence has been absorbed.]
[A skill has been absorbed: Monster Claws (D)]
As he felt his body absorbing the essence, he read the messages that appeared. His mind drew three questions marks at the name of the essence he absorbed before Arthur felt an intimate cry come from the direction of the altar.
As he looked at the egg, Arthur felt like it was calling out to him. He felt the egg was seeking protection under his wing, asking for him to take care of. For a moment, Arthur thought about taking it with him.
'Should I take such a vile thing that fed on mana from killing humans?' He hesitated.
"Kakan?" Mero came over and looked at him as if pleading to leave this place. Arthur nodded his head and decided to take away the ring Dimon used.
When he placed the ring around his finger, he instinctively knew what they did. This ring can cast illusions to either hide things or change how a person looked like. Arthur marveled at the practicality of this ring, despite it not working against people with high perception. He then started making his way toward the skeletons of the people and used the rune he just gained to cremate them.
The usage of runes has always been negligible in terms of mana to Arthur since it was his ability. Even other awakeners, their abilities were their life-line. It gave them an advantage over others in a certain set of power manifestation.
That's why when Arthur used the first offensive rune he gained, a raging fire enveloped the ground and turned all the skeletons to dust.
'I'm sorry. I wish you meet a better fate in the next life.' Arthur prayed for them before turning his head back to the egg.
He took a few steps towards it and stood in front of it, eyeing it like one would eye a rotten vegetable in the market place. Even if this vegetable was free, Arthur hesitated since it was still rotten.
Seeing the hard scales making the egg look like a black exotic fruit, Arthur raised his hand to touch it.
'No matter how vile its nature may be, this creature is just trying to survive…' His hands traced the hard scales of the egg. As if answering his touch, the egg started shaking.
"Is it alive?" Arthur wondered but the next scene made him yelp like a scared maiden. The egg vanished from its spot with no traces left in the world. "What is going on?!" Arthur looked around but there was nothing. It was then that he felt a stabbing pain in the middle of his stomach, below his navel.
"Agh! What is going on?" Arthur tried to focus his mana around that part to heal it but realized the pain was exactly in the place his mana usually gathered. As if a greedy worm has taken place, his mana was being sucked by something.
"Kakan?" The goblins were frightened by his sudden shouts and surrounded him in confusion. Arthur had no time to mind them as he tried to ponder what might be the cause.
"Is it the egg? Stop!" Arthur shouted and to his surprise, it stopped. His mana resumed its normal flowing and the pain disappeared. Even still, Arthur was still frightened that the egg has taken place inside of him. There were no other explanations as the egg has disappeared from this place.
"Come out!"
The egg didn't listen. Arthur kept replenishing his mana as he tried to guide it outward, but there was no use.
"There's no time left before I'm unable to use mana for a day." Arthur groaned and decided it was best to leave this place for now to hide. He then started sprinting back toward the portal with the goblins, planning how he would hide in the village for now and send the goblins to bring the rest.
When Arthur stepped out of the portal, the sickening mana was still there. Not caring about the nauseating feeling and dashing toward the end of the cave, Arthur reached the entrance in half a minute because he sprinted knowing there were no hidden dangers.
However, that couldn't be said for the outside. When Arthur stepped out of the cave, he was greeted by a cloaked group. Arthur and co stopped their running and scrutinized the group in front of them.
"Who are you?" Asked one of the cloaked people who stood in the middle of the group. He had a golden mask on his face while the others had silver. The masks were engraved with branches like engravings giving them an aesthetic yet ominous ambiance. "Where's Dimon?" The man asked again, colder than earlier.
Arthur looked at him in silence, thinking about how he should escape them. The man looked at Arthur then turned his face toward the other goblins, seemingly bewildered why a group of goblins would be led by a masked man.
"Answer!" One of the silver masks shouted while stepping forward threateningly. "Otherwise…" Mana surged from their bodies.
"Dimon is dead." Arthur's voice was grave and husky, sounding like it belonged to a middle-aged man. The ring on his finger glowed in his pocket as he altered how he looked like.
"You…" The golden mask person paused his words as unbearable killing intent was unleashed from his body. Arthur's heart felt like it was being crushed as he realized that this person was someone he couldn't defeat even if he used his Legacy rune.