Chapter 560 - Five Kings

Observing Noelle and where she aims, I predict the trajectory of her arrow. Even so, I remain careful in case she is capable of bending that trajectory.

And she does.

The arrow comes quickly, and a second one follows at a higher speed so that both are aimed to hit at the same time from different sides.

I release two short bursts of kinetic energy to change their paths just enough to allow me to dodge without having to use mana for defense. As the next three arrows reach me, I do the same.

Just a few steps away from the throne, five arrows that had missed me turn around and fly back at me.

At that moment, Derick moves as well, his tattoos lighting up on his body. I feel a powerful disrupting effect, especially on his fists, elbows, and shins. In my eyes, that mana glows vividly within the stark black and white world I see.

He dodges my Needle Point, and then a burst of mana washes over his body to disrupt my attempt to halt his movement.

Next, his fist crashes against my left forearm, which I use to block it, and cracks a bone. The disrupting effect on his fist shreds all mana defenses in the small area of contact, sending a powerful, brief vibration that further damages my bone.

Even though it is cracked, I do not worry about it. With [Knitting] strengthening them, my bones will handle much more.

The lightning arrows reach us at the same time, and I teleport away as they pass through the spot where I had been standing, only to reappear in the same place.

I release the collected kinetic energy and take a smooth step toward Derick.

This time, the tattoos on his forearm light up as he projects energy in front of him, forming a shield-like barrier to block my attack.

I immediately switch tactics, grabbing his forearm. Boosting myself, I pull his forearms apart and unleash another burst of kinetic energy.

This time, he simply redirects it with a smaller shield appearing around one of his forearms.

Thermal energy floods into my body, aiming to pass through his forearm that I hold, but he reacts quickly. In one incredible movement, he frees himself, takes a long, quick step around me to reach my side, kicks against my shin, and strikes my shoulder. This makes me stumble and nearly fall until I release another burst of kinetic energy to steady myself and punch at him.

He ducks under, delivering two quick hits to my chest, both striking right over my heart and shoving me while kicking at my feet again to make me lose balance.

I stagger backward again, dropping the barrier that shielded my heart from an attack that would have surely damaged it. Dodging two lightning arrows from Noelle, I form and boost two javelins in return.

She moves in with quick, long strides even before I release the javelins, effortlessly avoiding both and firing more arrows at me. Each primordial lightning arrow forms in her hand before she latches it onto a mana string and releases it at incredible speed.

Derick closes in again to draw my attention while Noelle moves to flank me. He ducks, sidesteps, and leaps over my projectiles, deflecting the mana arm I form with his glowing tattoos, which disrupt a chunk of it before it can reach him.

So he prefers making strong attacks over a small area, I conclude.

I duck under his swing and use Steelroot to strengthen my defense as he kicks at my feet, trying to make me lose balance.

He likes to use the inertia of his opponents against them.

As he shoves me, I absorb my inertia, redirect it into another movement, and punch him as he ducks under. When he follows a step back, Noelle attacks with two quick arrows arriving at the same time.

I duck under one arrow and grab the second with my bleeding arm.

It also takes a short moment for his tattoos to power up; he cannot channel mana as quickly as I can.

I boost my body, redirect my movement, let him punch against my side, and swing to stab the arrow into his neck. Derick smiles as the lightning arrow vanishes from my hand, but his smile falters when a mana stake appears, hidden below the arrow until now.

At the last moment, he lifts his glowing forearm to block it. He expects his tattoos to disrupt the mana, but they do not.

My stake buries into his forearm, expands, glows, and pierces through the entirety of his arm, heading toward his neck until he kicks me, sending me backward while he also dodges the projectiles I shoot at him.

I have observed his tattoos and modified the frequency of my mana. Even though I am sure he can adjust the effect of his tattoos on the run, I can adapt faster.

The inertia of his kick carries me backward, and I let it happen, even adding to it, heading toward Noelle, whose mana surges, and her movement increases incredibly as she fires a dozen arrows within seconds. Not even bothering to avoid them, I teleport through a [Ley Line] to a spot closer to her, lowering my body to further increase my speed as I charge at her.

She drops her bow and the arrow she holds in her arm changes and twists into the shape of a saber made of primordial lightning.

Derick is also close by, following behind me and nearly reaching me even at any moment.

My mana explodes and expands, creating a spherical barrier around the three of us and trapping us inside. I open my mouth and spit out an orb filled with a mix of thermal energy and mana.

Then I teleport outside of the throne room.

I once again feel the sea breeze on my skin and smell the air as I wait, but there are no notifications. However, what I find outside is interesting in its own way: most of the people from Easy, Normal, and Hard difficulty are gone; only a few from Hell and Beyond remain.

And there is another surprise.

Two people have the word [King] over their heads. When Derick exits through the hole in the roof and lands on top of the tower, that makes it four of us.

Derick is wounded; burns mark his forearms and face, and in some places, even the bone shines through. Yet he still appears capable of fighting and even wears a lazy smile.

Jean is down there, too, smiling brightly as he shouts, "Noname! I challenge you to a duel!" The maniacal call surprises Derick and the last [King], who had probably made a different deal with him that didn't include a 1v1 fight.

They should have known better than to think he would act according to their plan and wouldn’t just try to duel me. Though, they likely don’t have as much experience with him as I do.

While the tension starts rising again, I observe the last [King], the 10th rounds representative. He looks Asian, likely Korean, slim, and tall with black hair. He wears sleek black clothes, and even from here, I sense dozens of mana batteries embedded in them and inscriptions sewn into the fabric. It all resembles one of the arrays I have stored in my mind.

One of the Beyonders from Derick's round is here, along with Lucien, and a woman from Jean's round, and two more Beyonders by the 10th round [King]'s side: a young Korean girl, barely 12 years old, and a Korean man in his 50s.

It seems about time.

I reach into my pocket and take out the object that splashed into the water as I left our fortress.

It is a finger. Specifically, a finger belonging to a woman.

As it hits the ground, a figure emerges from it. Black hair, brown eyes with one of them of lighter color, and an expression that I believe fits her more than any human alive.

Victoria stands on the ground near the 10th round [King] and Jean, but she just glances at them and turns to look up at me.

She asks a single question, "Which one?"

"The baldie and his group, please," I answer.

Victoria nods and disappears. In the next moment, she crashes into the muscular man, sending him crashing against the wall and then breaking through it with Jean’s two Beyonders following.

Before anyone else can react, I teleport near the Korean [King] with mana oscillating around my hand and slash at his neck.

Instead of him reacting, a young Korean girl moves to block the attack. I sense no mana from her, almost as if she has none at all. Instead, she relies solely on physical stats. As my hand cuts into her forearm, she doesn't even flinch. Her face remains expressionless, the look of someone utterly focused.

So, a concentration type of skill?

The older Korean man moves as well, and the area around me becomes incredibly cold. Frost forms on my body and the ground under my feet freezes. My breath turns into mist.

Derick appears nearby, attacking from the opposite side of the girl. His tattoos glow even brighter with white light, nearly blinding through my trait as the intense mana attempts to overwhelm my vision.

I teleport away and launch a javelin toward the tower's roof, where it collides with a lightning projectile. I redirect it just enough for it to miss me completely. Noelle stands there, the left side of her body terribly burned, one of her eyes ruined, and her left arm charred. She has discarded her bow, and instead, a circle of lightning spins around her.

Derick moves to my left while the Korean [King] moves to my right. The girl takes the front, and behind me, another man with a powerful signature appears, betraying his affiliation as a Beyonder, likely from Derick's round. The old man who had tried to freeze me stands nearby, ready to jump in.

Then the man behind me swings a staff he is holding, and it touches one of my invisible Ley Lines that is nearby. The staff absorbs a piece of that Ley Line and glows as he slams it against the ground. A field forms within the fortress barrier, and all the Ley Lines I have placed vanish.

Breathing heavily, the man falls to his knees.

I try to use [Ley Line] and find myself unable to. I attempt to radiate heat from my body, but it is actively suppressed by the old man who watches for that.

"We have made preparations against you," Derick says as his tattoos shift their frequency again. They change constantly, several times per second, and I can see the strain it puts on him.

I return his gaze, "And you think this will be enough?"

***

POV Derick Kelley

Even surrounded by all of us, he shows no signs of nervousness. His expression remains as calm as before, even colder than during our Beyond expedition. Back then, he gave me goosebumps, and that made my decision clear. Noname needs to go down first during the event.

We have collected as much information on him as possible. We paid many people from his round to share what they knew, and we came prepared.

Without Jean, Kang Jiwon and I serve as tanks, while Park Tae-sik is tasked with facing Noname’s fire abilities. Noelle provides support. By sacrificing a powerful item, we even managed to suppress his teleportation, which seems nearly impossible to stop.

Noname disappears in a movement that does not use mana and resembles teleportation. I follow him immediately, joined by the girl.

He reappears near Kendrick, who is still kneeling tiredly after using the staff. Noname grabs the back of his head and smashes it against the ground, turning him into blue particles in an instant.

The girl reaches him sooner than I do, but I dodge to the side as her body is flung past me by his kinetic energy. She still lacks experience, even though her talent is incredible.

I reach him, bracing myself for the impending attack, but it does not come. Noname moves again, and this time, I can follow him better. I observe his body, taking note of the feints he uses most often, and move almost simultaneously with him.

Trailing behind him, I grab his left arm and pull to make him lose balance and stop his charge, but to my surprise, his arm gives in and remains in my hand.

Did he cut it off? But why? Just to prevent me from stopping his attack?

That momentary hesitation allows him to reach the man shrouded in an intense chilly aura, so cold I would not even dare come near it. But Noname charges in, and gold flames blaze around his skin, expanding and filling the area.

I hear a heartbeat, just one.

The arm I’m holding starts glowing bright white. I barely manage to raise a shield before it explodes, hurling me against the ground and the wall. As I stand up, I redirect the mana flowing through my tattoos into undamaged segments to keep them active. I strengthen my body, clear my mind, and rush back.

Noname stands where Park Tae-sik once did, and there is no sign of that man. The area around us is molten, the heat rising into the air and making it appear blurry. I notice a golden glow in his gray and brown eyes.

Baek, the 10th round's [King], finally moves. He sighs in his usual lazy manner and shakes his head. The black clothes he wears seem to move as if alive, adorned with blue mana stones that shine like stars as they expand.

A deep blue armor forms around him, taking on a near-metallic sheen. Sleek and dangerously sharp in design, it solidifies around him. A sword materializes in his hand, made from the dark blue mana, gleaming with the same metallic luster.

Baek takes a stance and charges at Noname, swinging his sword just a step away from him.

A field radiates from Noname, draining all color. Only his crown and small flickers of golden flames remain, while everything else fades to black and white.

The armor around Baek and his sword vanish like a blown out candle, and his inertia carries him to Noname, who catches him by his neck and smashes him against the ground. A pale blue mana arm grows from Noname’s stump, and he drives its fingers down, aiming to stab them into Baek's head.

But Noname stops mid-movement and instead lifts Baek, using him as a shield against the charging girl. As she collides with her [King], Noname releases a burst of kinetic energy, sending them both flying. Between them, an orb shines, filled with golden flames and pale blue mana.

He tilts his head to avoid Noelle’s arrow. It hits the ground instead, sending a burst of lightning through it and also striking Noname, stunning him for a moment.

As the golden orb attached to Baek explodes, I reach Noname and take advantage of the brief stun to bury my fingers into his chest, aiming for his heart, but I'm too slow with all my wounds, and in the last moment, he shifts his body, causing me to miss.

Up close, he turns to me, his expression unchanged even as blood seeps from his nose due to the strain and from his mouth because of the wound.

Then he spits that blood into my eyes. Surprised and blinded, I feel a sharp pain, and I stagger back to gain time. My arm is missing, cut off at the elbow.

When I look up, Noname is nowhere to be seen, but a sudden thud in my chest sends me staggering back. As I look down, I see my own severed hand, its fingers piercing my heart. He must have used kinetic energy to boost the throw. The fact that it was my own arm, filled with my mana, likely made me lower my guard, even as I sensed it coming.

I try to move, but after a few steps, I see blue particles and find myself outside in our common area, fully healed and only now realizing how much damage those attacks caused me.

Looking around, I spot Kendrick and sit on the bench next to him, watching the event on screen with the others already outside.

***

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