Chapter 711 - 710: A Samurai’s Desperate Strike

Chapter 711: Chapter 710: A Samurai’s Desperate Strike

There was something terribly familiar about what they were witnessing.

And unfortunately for Ishii and the others, they knew exactly what that familiarity meant.

After all, it hadn’t been that long since they’d watched Malachi undergo his first transformation.

They’d witnessed what happened when Noah’s aura entered his body, turning someone who had once been human into the monstrosity now standing before them.

Now, it seemed as though he was preparing to undergo that same transformation all over again.

The realization was enough to fill them with dread.

If Malachi had already become this powerful after absorbing Noah’s aura once, what kind of monstrosity would emerge if he managed to absorb even more?

Would they even stand a chance against him?

Considering how much they’d struggled against his current form, none of them were particularly optimistic.

They needed to stop him.

Either that, or they had to make the decision to retreat before it was too late.

Unfortunately, neither option was particularly encouraging.

And for Ishii, the latter was hardly an option at all.

Even if they somehow managed to escape Malachi’s immediate reach, how were they supposed to flee with two people suffering such grievous injuries?

The Amazonian had lost her leg, while Alicia’s condition was even worse.

Both required the healers’ constant attention, and there was no telling whether either of them would survive being moved in their current condition.

And that was assuming Malachi would even allow them to leave.

With the speed he’d already demonstrated, what was stopping him from pursuing them?

Nothing.

Ishii’s grip tightened around his sword.

He desperately wanted to believe there was another way out of this situation. Some means of getting Alicia and the others to safety without having to confront the creature standing before them.

But no matter how he looked at it, the conclusion remained the same.

They couldn’t run.

Not like this.

Which meant that if they wanted any chance of surviving, they had to stop Malachi before he could finish absorbing that power.

Unfortunately, there was something Ishii and the others had failed to consider.

When Malachi had undergone his first transformation, he’d remained almost entirely motionless, seemingly incapable of doing anything while Noah’s aura continued entering his body.

Naturally, they’d assumed the same would happen this time.

And that was where they’d made their mistake.

Ishii’s eyes suddenly widened.

Almost instinctively, his body began moving as an enormous silhouette appeared directly above him.

It happened so quickly that most of the others hadn’t even realized Malachi had moved. This time, it was even faster than before.

Ishii, however, was different.

Whenever he activated his unique skill, his aura remained locked onto that of his opponent, allowing him to maintain the connection necessary to draw upon their strength.

And although Malachi’s movements had been sudden, that connection had given Ishii just enough warning to react.

Unfortunately, reacting and escaping were two entirely different matters.

By the time Ishii raised his head, nearly everything within his vision had been replaced by the interior of an enormous mouth.

Rows of teeth surrounded him, threatening to close around his body before he could escape.

And that wasn’t the only danger.

Several thin tendrils with strange suction points had already begun extending toward him, moving so swiftly that Ishii hadn’t even noticed them approaching until the last second.

They were connected directly to Malachi’s body, emerging from portions of his flesh that had remained unused throughout their confrontation.

And now, they were moving to restrain him.

Under ordinary circumstances, Ishii should’ve had no way of escaping.

The attack had been too sudden, and even with the strength he’d borrowed from Malachi, there was only so much his body could accomplish.

Fortunately, Ishii’s training with Thalric’s men over the past weeks hadn’t focused entirely on improving his physical capabilities and doing missions.

His unique skill had undergone considerable development as well.

And one of those improvements was something he had yet to reveal.

An invisible dome suddenly formed around him.

To an ordinary observer, there would’ve been little indication that anything had happened. However, those capable of sensing mana would’ve immediately noticed the strange energy filling the space surrounding Ishii.

It resembled a faint haze, possessing the same characteristics as the energy he drew from his opponents whenever he activated his unique skill.

And that was precisely what it was.

Rather than forcing his body to bear the entirety of the power he borrowed, Ishii had learned to distribute a portion of that energy throughout the dome.

This considerably reduced the strain placed upon his body, allowing him to make use of power that would’ve otherwise been too overwhelming to withstand.

But that was only one of its applications.

The energy contained within the dome could also be used to enhance his other abilities, strengthening the effects of skills that altered or improved his physical capabilities.

And Ishii had no intention of holding anything back.

The moment the dome formed, he activated the movement skill he’d spent so much time refining. It was the same skill that Noah had received in the past. The elusive skill that increased his agility in bursts. But under Ishii’s specialized class, that skill was something completely different.

His figure blurred.

Then, almost simultaneously, five silhouettes appeared around Malachi.

Each moved in a different direction, leaving behind what looked like an afterimage of Ishii preparing to strike.

Ordinarily, those images would’ve been little more than remnants of his extraordinary speed.

This time, however, something was different.

By combining the improvements he’d made to his unique skill with the energy contained within the dome, Ishii had managed to give those afterimages the ability to deliver physical attacks.

And all five struck almost simultaneously.

Several of the silhouettes turned their swords toward the tendrils attempting to restrain him, while the others directed their attacks toward the enormous mouth threatening to swallow him.

The resulting strikes tore through the space surrounding Malachi, forcing his attack to contend with several threats at once.

But none of those attacks represented Ishii’s true objective.

His actual body had already moved to the side.

And unlike the afterimages, which had each drawn upon a portion of the energy contained within his dome, Ishii was preparing to use everything that remained.

His sword began gathering that power.

The haze surrounding him rapidly diminished as the energy flowed toward his weapon, reinforcing both the blade and the physical strength behind his approaching strike.

This was the strongest attack Ishii could currently perform.

And with the amount of power he’d borrowed from Malachi, he had every reason to believe it would succeed.

The sword descended.

For a brief moment, it appeared as though the attack might actually cleave Malachi’s body in two.

But just before the blade connected, Ishii noticed something that made his expression change.

The energy he’d borrowed from Malachi was disappearing.

No.

It wasn’t disappearing.

The amount he could draw upon had suddenly been reduced.

By half!

And Ishii had no idea why.

The connection between their auras hadn’t been broken, nor had he willingly released any of the power he’d borrowed.

Yet somehow, Malachi was resisting his ability in a way he hadn’t been capable of doing before.

Unfortunately, Ishii had no time to consider what that meant.

His sword had already reached its target.

The blade tore into Malachi’s flesh, cutting through the monstrous body with enough force to make it appear as though the attack might still succeed.

But it didn’t.

Before the sword could even reach halfway through his body, the surrounding flesh tightened, bringing its advance to an abrupt halt.

And Ishii immediately realized how much trouble he was in.

He tried to force the blade farther, but it refused to move.

Worse still, the weapon itself was beginning to deteriorate.

The metal rapidly broke apart, disintegrating within Malachi’s flesh before Ishii could do anything to preserve it.

He had no choice.

Abandoning what remained of his sword, Ishii immediately retreated, putting as much distance between himself and Malachi as his body would allow.

Malachi had no intention of allowing Ishii to escape so easily.

He’d already suffered the humiliation of losing an arm to someone he considered beneath him. And now, despite absorbing even more of the devil’s aura, that same individual had managed to injure him again.

It was becoming intolerable.

If anything, Malachi’s desire to kill Ishii was beginning to rival the hatred he felt toward the angel who had abandoned him.

And the young samurai had another problem to contend with.

Malachi was no longer the same creature he’d been moments earlier.

His transformation had finally reached its conclusion.

The changes weren’t immediately apparent to those who had been too occupied with Ishii’s desperate attack to notice what was happening.

But now that the fighting had momentarily subsided, the differences were impossible to ignore.

For one thing, the blindfold that had previously concealed Malachi’s eyes was gone.

Not that there were any eyes left to conceal.

In fact, there was hardly anything remaining of his original head.

Its entire structure had changed, transforming into something that more closely resembled the head of a ravenous beast than anything remotely human.

Dark, jagged growths covered much of its surface, extending down toward an enormous maw filled with several rows of sharp, uneven teeth.

And from within those monstrous jaws hung a thick, fleshy tongue, its surface glistening with saliva.

Yet that was hardly the only change.

Additional mouths had appeared along his arms, joining those already scattered across his body. Even the enormous mouth on his chest appeared more developed, with its teeth protruding farther outward.

The tendrils extending from his body had also multiplied considerably, spreading around him in every direction. Among them were several enormous crimson eyes, each capable of observing its surroundings independently.

His shadow, on the other hand, appeared no different than before.

But the same couldn’t be said for the sense of danger emanating from it.

Even those who lacked any particular ability to perceive danger could feel it now.

For those who possessed such an ability, however, the sensation was almost unbearable.

And Malachi’s physical changes hadn’t been limited to the monstrous features scattered across his body.

He had grown noticeably larger, his already imposing frame becoming even bulkier as his muscles expanded.

Although his body still retained a humanoid shape, hardly anything about his appearance could be considered human anymore.

Suddenly, Malachi released a deafening roar filled with crazed rage, turning his attention toward Ishii.

The young samurai was in an even worse condition than before.

He’d already pushed his body beyond its limits twice, enduring an extraordinary amount of strain just to land attacks that had ultimately accomplished nothing.

Even the wounds he’d inflicted during his most recent assault were no longer visible.

And after everything he’d put himself through, Ishii could barely believe what he was seeing.

But there was something else that concerned him even more.

Until now, he’d been worried about Malachi turning his attention toward the others, forcing him to intervene despite his increasingly exhausted condition.

However, judging by the murderous intent being directed toward him, that was no longer something he needed to worry about.

The monster had become completely fixated on him.

And now, he was probably more in danger than anyone else.