Chapter 524 - Battle of Invisibles

When he was transferred here because of the Aurora Scroll’s thingamajig, he was ripped out of his Vanish in Abyss Arte.

In that unstealthed state, Tanael entered the race area. He wasn't being reckless, but he didn't sense any threats around him. The sudden attacks proved him wrong.

Tanael might be caught off guard, but it still wasn't enough to take him down. He jumped straight up as high as fifteen meters in an instant and shot Faiya’s flames downwards, creating a wide field of fire. He landed back down outside the fires with a single cut on his left arm. He wasn't able to completely get out of that ambush unscathed.

The ambushers revealed themselves. The fires would have exposed them anyway. They slowly walked out of the field of fire as if they were taking a walk in the garden.

“Good afternoon, gentleman from the Bone Ravens. Fancy we keep meeting up like this. Small world, huh?” Tanael said nonchalantly.

He counted six assassins, all masked to hide their identity. While Tanael entered the Tower of Remorse with a mask, he removed it after freeing the prisoners from the sixth floor and remained maskless since.

But the face of Tanael was always fake anyway. Since the Book World, Viers made sure the prince-like handsome face of Tanael’s persona was different from Viers’.

Even if the assailants didn't reveal themselves, it was easy to deduce the attackers. Without being significantly stronger, only the Bone Ravens possessed the capability to hide themselves to this degree. One or two individuals from other affiliations might possess some great stealth Arte but all six? Dead giveaway.

Out of the six, half were Level 4 and the other half were Level 3.

One of the Level 3 should be Prince Vadym from Izabella’s intel... My guess is the one with the dragon mask. He’s got the right body type. Oh, Croix, you and your family’s obsession with dragons... Well, dragons are cool, I get that, but come on.

“Tanael, your days of galavanting with stolen Arte from our order are at an end.”

The one who spoke was the strongest Level 4 of the three. A Level 4 peak. For a long time, the Bone Ravens, Banbexi’s cult, had been gunning for Tanael since he used their exclusive stealth Arte.

Viers or his other persona besides Tanael never used those Arte so they were safe from the Bone Ravens’ hunting squad. Or, when he used it, nobody saw him use it, or he left no witnesses.

“Not only the Fade in Shadow, now you even stole the Vanish in Abyss! Your sacrilege and transgressions deserve eternal pain in the shadow pits!”

“Heeheehee,” Tanael smiled. “Is that all you birdies can talk about? I’ve lost count of how many of your number I’ve killed. Come on, then. Kill me, if you can. I seriously doubt it. I wonder what I might get from your corpses after this. You birdies are like holiday birds that keep on giving me presents each time you show up.”

“You stare at your own death. You just don't realize it because you’re blind. Attack!”

The six begin their assault. Their coordination was quite good but Tanael was no slouch either. He didn't let himself be surrounded. Their attack was fierce but there was some degree of holding back on their part, as if they were minimizing risk on their part. Tanael let them.

After the two minutes had passed, gazes of confusion began to be directed at the assassin’s leader, who himself also shared the uncertainty of his men.

“Are you hoping to let the poison do your job?” Tanael showed the cut on his arm from their initial ambush that had already healed. “Unfortunately, your poison is so weak that I can cure it just by licking the wound.”

Tanael, or rather Viers, had killed enough Bone Ravens to pull valuable information, including their favorite blend of poison and their antidote.

That and his healing factor defeated the poison.

The leader attacked in anger. He stayed cool and did not roar but Tanael knew an attack in anger when he blocked one.

“You seem familiar. Have I threatened you before?” Tanael said to the masked assassin, Jack Sparrow style. He even mimicked the facial expression.

“Shut up!” The Level 4 peak shot birds made of shadows at Tanael, who burned them away with a fire wall.

“Ooh! I remember now. I think I killed someone with the same mask as you a few years ago. I take it he must be your brother then?” Tanael grabbed one of his hands in a melee and taunted him in close range.

“Imaginary D-”

“Pathetic.”

A red laser sword was ignited and pierced the assassin's leader in the stomach. He got baited so easily. The moment his mind clouded by anger, Tanael didn't let that moment slip and deliver a killing blow. The Level 4 peak had not been able to show even a fraction of his real strength.

“The Dark Side is not strong in this one,” Tanael looked down on the rest of the assassins.

Tanael cut the leader’s head with the Beam Saber, as easily as cutting paper, before putting the head and body in his inventory item. There were already quite a lot of dead bodies inside. Of course, they were all harvested in the Tower of Remorse.

“Tch. Sauda brought shame to us all, the fool... Formation Anguish Prey.” Another one of the assassins, a Level 4 high, seemed to be taking command.

“Good! Come!” Tanael laughed and welcomed it. He truly acted like a villain.

***

Vadym took the supporting role during the battle with this Tanael fellow. He wasn't familiar with the man because he mostly operated in the Free People Coalition but he was supposed to be pretty famous.

When the Ravens received intel that Tanael would be coming to the Tower of Remorse as part of the Blood Church, a kill order had been given by the higher-ups to the expedition group. The team leader, Sauda, had some beef with Tanael and accepted it eagerly.

Still, the missions came first and it was successful. The Bone Ravens managed to prepare a worthy sacrifice to the Devil God of Night and Space and had been given a part of his flesh.

The weight of such a boon to Vadym was immeasurable. He had also eaten Warden Myers’ shadow. Once he managed to fully digest the Level 5’s shadow and the flesh that looked like a piece of the night sky, he would be born anew.

Vadym knew cooperating with the Bone Ravens cult was the right move. If he wanted to excel, so what if he broke a few taboos? The rest of his siblings were simply too cowardly to reach out to the cults.

Already a Level 3 peak at 20 years old, Vadym’s future looked promising. He had already buried Cassian, his greatest rival for the Latias Throne. The upstarts Croix and Celestine, who rise to prominence solely because of their baby dragons, would submit or join Cassian in the grave. That left Lutz, the yellow-bellied snail of a prince, which Vadym had grasped a great weakness of his.

The Latias Grand Prix didn't matter anymore, whether the Harkelan invasion happened or not. Once Vadym established himself after today, the Four Dukes or the Chancellor would have no choice but to back him.

If they were still hardheaded, well, Vadym would simply need to tell his shadowy friends with sharp blades to visit some people. A few babies might meet a bloody end but he cared not for such things.

With the Church getting tied down by a tidal wave of problems after the Popess’ disappearance, their meddlesome intervention had been tied down. Vadym saw an opportunity to rise with the times and he took it.

The Aurora Scroll was an unexpected event but Vadym had no intention of getting killed by the Level 5s that were in fierce competition for it. That only left this fight with Tanael. The last chore before he could go home and enjoy the sweet fruits of his labour, a prince’s labour.

So that’s Tanael. I see, he is certainly strong but nothing’s special. Intel says he’s a Soul Pathseeker but turns out he can use fire too. However, his fire wasn't enough of a threat. Low fire affinity? Against average Level 3, maybe, but not me, and certainly not the Level 4s. Sauda died because he was an idiot. Getting riled up like that for a dead brother. Hmph.

Because they knew they would be fighting Tanael, the team had already prepared soul Artes countermeasures, and it was working. Tanael’s attack was diminished so much that his fire attacks were more effective. He used fire more and more but as Vadym analyzed earlier, the fire wasn't enough against the two Level 4s. If Sauda weren't such an idiot, with three Level 4s, Tanael might be dead already.

The danger is that red laser sword of his. Its strike is incredibly deadly. Combined with Vanish in Abyss Arte, he can one strike-kill any of us, but the two aren't letting him have the opening to use the Arte, or his Domain. There are also two other Level 4 besides us six that are still hidden, waiting for the chance to deliver a fatal blow. We just need to prevent Tanael from returning to the starting line.

Tanael and the Bone Ravens were fighting in the race area so the push back from the reverse whirlpool affected them all. However, since they were all pretty close to the starting line, the pushback force wasn't strong. To Level 3 Pathseekers and above, they should be able to fight without much interference.

And now, Tanael’s caught in our Domain. We just need to keep pressuring him and prevent him from using his Domain and our victory is assured.

To Vadym’s eyes, Tanael was just a Level 4 mid, while the opposition was multiple Level 4 high. Even if Tanael had some sort of trump card left, so do they. Even Vadym had many life-saving methods, one of the reasons for his poise. He was confident that Tanael would fall here.

Tanael kept getting pressured, paying for his previous bravado. How embarrassing, thought Vadym. If Vadym were him, he might have killed himself from the shame.

Tanael’s guard finally broke after the continuous onslaught.

Chance! Now!

The hidden blades attacked Tanael in a pincer.

“Finally!” Tanael caught them before the attack landed, smiling like a maniac. “Domain Expansioooooooooonnn!”

Vadym felt like an invisible wave of water swept him into the sea.

***

Imaginary Domain - Sea of Life and Death!

Tanael engulfed them all in his Domain, overpowering the Domain of the cultist cast earlier. He allowed himself to be pushed around to bait the hidden assassins besides the original six. Tanael wanted to get them all in one fell swoop; however, the hidden two always kept their distance while staying invisible. Tanael couldn't pinpoint their location from such a distance, not while fighting.

So he baited them, even faking that he couldn't open his Domain earlier.

‘Faiya, use Taiyōken!’

‘Yaaa!’

Utilizing the awe effect of the Imaginary domain’s deployment, Tanael used Faiya’s brilliance to blind the seven assassins. Tanael’s version also had a mana sense disturbing effect.

Groans of pain were uttered after the bright light stabbed their retinas. When they recovered their sight, Tanael was nowhere to be found, only the Domain’s landscape.

“Where is he?” One of the assassins looked around, not only with her eyes but with her other senses. This was one of the hidden Level 4. “Aieeeeeaaah!?”

“Here,” Tanael whispered to her ears from behind, while stabbing her heart with the Beam Saber. After which, Tanael disappeared again.

Arte - Vanish in Abyss!

“He’s disappearing again! At this rate, he will cut us down one by one!” Vadym shouted.

“Fine! We’ll show this pretender how the real ones look. Everyone, vanish!”

Every one of the Bone Ravens chosen for the raid on the Tower of Remorse was elite; they possessed the Vanish in Abyss Arte instead of the lesser version, Fade in Shadow. Following the order, the remaining assassins invoked their vaunted stealth Arte.

Tanael didn't have shadow or darkness affinity, so his Vanish in Abyss Arte was unable to achieve complete stealth. However, in his own Imaginary Domain, his stealth improved to the point it was undetectable by even the peeved original users.

On the other hand, the assassins had suitable affinities for the Arte. Those who did not have suitable affinities received special training or methods from the cult to improve their stealth. Although Tanael knew this, he didn't possess the means to replicate their ways at the moment.

In other words, right now, both Tanael and the assassins were invisible to one another. They were stuck in a deadlock. The ones who moved first would have given away their position and risk death. Tanael had already demonstrated the effectiveness of his laser sword two times against unassuming targets. No one wanted to be the third.

Inside the Domain, there was no activity, nor the form of people, as if the Domain was empty.

The assassins thought they only needed to wait. As long as they stayed hidden, Tanael couldn't attack them either. The usage of Domain would sap his Victa and stamina. They knew if Tanael didn't have the aid of his Domain, his imperfect Vanish in Abyss could be detected by the Bone Ravens. At that level, it might have worked against others, but Bone Ravens had their own way to counter their own technique.

A pretty good plan, and it might have worked... if their opponent wasn't Tanael.

Suddenly, the invisible assassins heard the sound of music. Tanael’s voice soon followed. However, it came from the whole Domain so they couldn't detect the source’s location.

“You have no idea, do you? This is called boss music, meatbags. Standing still is boring, right? This requiem is my gift to all of you. I hope you enjoy it.”

The Bone Ravens were in the pit of death; they simply hadn't realized it yet.

Tanael was killing them without lifting a finger.

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qmsjvBivRkU