Advent of the Three Calamities

Chapter 807: Outer Skirt Fight [4]

Was Evelyn’s attack enough to take care of a Solarch?

The answer was no.

Despite this, it was enough to deal some damage to him as he momentarily stopped, letting out a pained grunt.

"Ukh."

Evelyn’s body wobbled as she started to fall, but right before that could happen, a couple of swords streaked through the air, pressing against our feet to keep us in the air. I looked down to see a pale-faced Aoife looking up at us, and I just nodded at her, pressing onto the sword and dashing towards the Luminarch.

Things were still not over.

It was my turn.

Xiu! Xiu! Xiu!

Clenching my hands, threads began to emerge from all around me, shooting in the Solarch’s direction. Feeling the incoming attacks, he tried to turn his focus on me, but with the book in my hand, I managed to mumble, ’Deaf, Blindness’.

His eyes turned hazy white for just a split second, a lot less than the Luminarch’s, but this was enough for me.

"Ukh!"

Despite the situation, the Solarch didn’t let the curses affect him as a magic circle formed right before the two of us, and the surroundings suddenly grew heavier.

’Gravity?’

Was this a bone ability?

I didn’t think twice.

Seeing how fast the magic circle was forming, I turned toward the sword behind me and flicked my hand, sending it flying to my side. Twisting my body mid-air, I pressed against it, using the force to shift my direction in an instant.

BANG!

Just narrowly, I managed to dodge the incoming attack.

But it wasn’t over.

I felt a shift from the Solarch’s as his eyes gained clarity once more and he snapped his fingers.

BAAAAANG!

"Ukhe!!"

It was as if a thunderbolt had struck me head-on; the space between his two fingers erupted with a deafening shockwave that tore through the air, hurling me backward with brutal force.

’Shit...’

I cursed, flicking my hand and forcing the sword to move behind me as I twisted my body once again and pressed onto the sword, propelling myself towards the Solarch. I couldn’t afford to waste the opportunity that Evelyn had created for me.

While her attack was indeed strong, the main point of it wasn’t to deal damage to him.

Everyone understood that it was impossible for her to attack.

However, if there was one thing she could do, it was channel her power to send violent tremors coursing through his muscles, locking them up for a brief moment. This was exactly what was happening to the Solarch; his movements were clearly a lot stiffer and more predictable than before as I continued to use the sword as I pleased, making use of it to change my direction mid-air, doing all sorts of twists in order to get closer to him.

Thump!

Twisting my wrist once more, avoiding an attack as I pushed myself away from the sword, I looked at the Luminarch beneath me, grazing his shoulder with my hand.

Threads followed right after, but he swatted them with his hand.

BANG!

With a sharp clap of his hands, another wave of air burst outward, slamming into me and driving me backward once more.

"Ukh!"

Each time he did that, my eardrums shook, the force of the attack nearly knocking me off balance.

Still, I didn’t stop.

I knew that this was the only time for me to act, and I didn’t waste the precious opportunity, using the sword to maneuver against his attacks.

Drawing near him, I used another one of my cards.

[Eye of Existence].

"Huh? What...?"

His movements halted for a moment.

The mana inside my body plummeted, but this was enough for me to move near him and graze his body once more with my hand.

"....!?"

Quickly snapping out of it, his eyes flickered a red hue, and a thin film suddenly formed around his body. I didn’t know what it was, but the moment I saw it, I felt an inexplicable sense of danger as I hurriedly tried to move away.

Still, it was too late for me.

The film around his body expanded, sucking me in rapidly as the Luminarch brought his hand forward, his hand grasping the space next to me where an illusion appeared, shattering as he clenched it tightly at the neck.

Flicking my hand, the sword behind me turned as the hilt slammed against my back, pushing me away from the space.

The suction force faded, but it was just unfortunate that the Solarch grabbed the sword before I could use it to help me.

Suddenly, I found myself dropping towards the bottom.

It was a good thing that the space in front of me turned black, and I appeared right next to Evelyn.

"Y-you okay?"

Her breath sounded a little haggard, her expression pale as she looked at me.

I numbly nodded my head, thinking about the moment just a moment prior.

That...

’That was close.’

I had come dangerously close to dying.

If not for the fact that he fell for my illusion, I really would’ve had a rough time.

I could still feel the cold sweat at the back of my shirt as I looked at the Solarch again, his head shaking as he tried to pry away from the effects of Evelyn’s attack.

I knew in that moment that I still had some time.

I had to be quick, and as I looked at him, I used one of my last cards.

[Eyes of the Seer].

***

"H-haaa. Haaa."

The Solarch’s hand trembled, his breathing growing heavier with each second that passed.

’How fucking annoying.’

He looked towards the distance where a figure approached him rapidly, his movements erratic as he zig-zagged across the air, using the sword at his disposal.

’Elemental and Mind user’.

This was the assessment that the Solarch came to at the sight of the boy that stood before him. He was extremely young, yet he had the power unlike anyone his age. The Solarch felt that it was a pity that he’d have to get rid of him, but this was his mission.

He had never been a loyal follower of Panthea.

He worshipped and respected her to some extent, but the person he worshipped the most was the Living Saint.

Unlike the Goddess, who rarely showed herself, it was always the Living Saint who handled most of the affairs. He was always the one to show up, and he was also the one who brought him into the church.

In reality, most of the followers were like this.

There were some who blindly worshipped the Goddess, but the one who handled everything and was truly the one that everyone looked up to was the Living Saint.

He was the face of the church and the one that the Solarch swore to help take the Seat.

As such, staring at the ’fly’ before him, the Solarch gritted his teeth, trying to get rid of the lingering tremors from the previous attacks. Although the boy before him was giving him trouble, it wasn’t to the extent that he was panicked.

None of his attacks even hurt him, besides annoying him.

’I should get this over with.’

He could also feel that the people beneath were starting to recover.

Flicking his hand, he activated one of his bone techniques.

He didn’t want to use it due to the long cooldown, but he had no choice but to.

[Body Reset]

Immediately, the tremors around his body faded. It was almost as if they had never been there from the start, and any light injuries he had sustained a moment prior faded completely.

In just a breath, his body returned to how it was a day prior.

This was how ’Body Reset’ worked.

It was a ’Destroyer-Ranked’ bone, and it granted him the ability to reset his body to a state of his choice. This time, he chose the day prior.

The skill had a long cool down, and it was in some ways a ’trump’ card as it would also recover his mana and stamina.

Immediately feeling his body return to top shape, the Solarch’s gaze sharpened as he looked at the ’fly’ in front of him. Almost immediately after, numerous magic circles floated in the air, forming in the span of less than half a second as they all shot in Julien’s direction without giving him time to catch wind of the situation.

’This should be enough.’

The Solarch expected his attacks to completely pierce through his opponent, injuring or even killing him instantly, but to his utter shock and surprise, Julien’s face remained utterly calm in the face of such numerous attacks, the sword under his grasp buzzing as he jumped into the air, his body twisting incredibly fast as the sword followed his movements.

Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh!

It was as if the sword was an extension of his body, never staying more than a meter away from him as they both continuously altered direction in the air.

The sight left everyone watching breathless.

In that moment, it was almost as if he was dancing in the air, his eyes closed as he followed the paths in his mind, and dodging all the attacks without a care for the world.

Seeing all of this, the Solarch’s heart came to a sudden stop.

’H-how...’

And before the Solarch realized, Julien had arrived just before him.

His sudden appearance stunned him, and before he could even react, Julien stared at him straight, his eyes opening up again.

The moment he did, he activated all of the ’tags’ that he left on the Solarch’s body.

"Burst."

".....!!!"

The emotions came crashing down on the Solarch at once.

He didn’t even notice them.

They just rooted deep into his body instantly as his face paled considerably, and his body started to tremble. Even though he had reset his body, that was all he did. His clothes remained the same, and the same was for the tags.

The tags remained even after she reset his body, and the moment Julien drew close enough, he activated them, his vision turning purple as the large purple orb manifested inside the Solarch’s body.

Thump!

Julien fell back on his sword, his gaze falling on the Solarch as his chest calmed down.

The surroundings turned silent as he looked at the Solarch.

And eventually, his lips parted, the corners tugging into a smile.

"...There’s a lot purple in you."