Chapter 487 - 487: Invasion [53]

Feathers, flesh, and chunks of grey skin were ripped apart in an instant, the remains scattering across the ground as the creatures were destroyed before they could even defend themselves.

"Eeeh!"

Raghul was shocked.

He still had not fully comprehended what had just happened. One moment, he had been standing with his summons surrounding him, and the next, all four of them had been rendered completely incapable of movement.

The three monsters he had summoned had been trapped inside that brief pocket of absolute stillness, leaving them helpless as Eli tore them apart.

And now Eli was coming straight for him.

His hands were only inches away from Raghul's face, the divine flames around them growing brighter as they prepared to incinerate him.

But at the very last moment, a powerful blow suddenly struck Eli from the side.

BOOM!

The impact sent Eli tumbling through the air.

He twisted his body before hitting the ground, planting one hand against the surface and using the momentum to stop himself before he could crash into it. He rose almost immediately, completely unharmed by the blow.

Eli slowly turned his head toward the creature that had struck him, his eyes narrowing as he finally got a proper look at it.

It was the goblin summon.

The same strange creature with unnaturally elongated limbs.

He was sure he'd killed it.

What shocked him, however, wasn't the fact that the summon was still alive, but how quickly it had regenerated. The damage Eli had dealt should have been enough to kill it, yet the creature's body had already begun repairing itself, flesh knitting back together with unnatural speed as though whatever force sustained it had refused to let it die.

Raghul let out a shaky breath of relief, his entire body moist with sweat.

Inches.

He had been inches away from death.

If his summon hadn't intervened at that exact moment, there was a very high chance he wouldn't be standing right now. Eli's hands had been so close to his face that Raghul could still feel the intense heat of the divine flames against his skin, and the thought of what would have happened if that attack had landed sent a chill through him despite the heat surrounding them.

He turned toward Eli.

Sure, his goblin summon had saved him, but Raghul knew it wouldn't be strong enough to hold Eli off for long. The creature had managed to catch Eli off guard once, but that alone wasn't enough to change the overwhelming difference in strength between them.

So what was he supposed to do?

How could he turn this battle in his favor?

Raghul's expression grew tense as he stared at Eli, his mind racing through every possibility he could think of.

He couldn't keep defending himself.

If he continued fighting like this, it was only a matter of time before Eli found another opening and killed him.

He needed a way to tilt the battle in his favor.

And he needed to find it now.

His biggest strength lay in his ability to manipulate the dead, but there were no dead in the area for him to control. Without an army of corpses to command, the very ability that had made Raghul so dangerous had become almost useless, leaving him severely disadvantaged against Eli.

Only one option remained.

But this was something he'd deliberately set aside when dealing with an opponent who was immensely stronger than him. He had never intended to rely on it unless he was pushed into a situation where every other option had been exhausted.

But...

Death wasn't an option.

Losing his innate skill would be the end of him.

Eli stepped forward, and the goblin summon immediately shrieked as it charged at him, its unnaturally elongated arms swinging wildly while its hands flared with power.

But in a flash, it was annihilated.

The creature's body was torn apart before it could even reach Eli, forcing Raghul to wince as the remains were scattered across the ground.

This time, Raghul was certain his summon wasn't going to come back.

"When you said you wouldn't go down easy, I thought you were going to do something special," Eli said, walking him down.

Raghul lowered his head and let out a weary sigh, his breathing still heavy from the pressure Eli had been putting on him.

"You want to see something special?"

The tattoo covering his body suddenly began to glow.

"You and I might die as a result, though."

Eli squinted.

Then, in a blink, he was right in front of Raghul, his fist already drawn back and ready to strike before whatever Raghul was about to do could fully take shape.

But...

An eerie aura suddenly burst out of Raghul.

The force erupted from his body with such intensity that Eli was thrown backward, his feet leaving the ground as he was pushed several meters away.

Eli landed and immediately steadied himself, his eyes fixed on Raghul.

Something was emerging from his back.

At first, it looked like nothing more than a mass of darkness and distorted energy, but as it continued to rise, its enormous shape gradually became clearer.

A titanic avatar surged out from behind Raghul, towering over him as though something impossibly large had been compressed inside his body and was now forcing its way into the world.

Energy oozed from its enormous form, spreading through the surrounding space in slow, oppressive waves that Eli could only describe as unsettling.

The sensation crawled across his skin.

It was powerful enough to make his instincts recoil, as though some part of him recognized the presence of something that should never have been brought into the world.

"You're not the only one blessed by the divine, Eli Cross."

Raghul's voice carried a strange confidence now, his body visibly rejuvenated as the immense power flowing through him restored some of the strength he had lost.

Above him, the titanic avatar suddenly threw its head back and roared.

ROOOAR!

The sound erupted across the battlefield with enough force to make the entire area tremble, the ground vibrating beneath Eli's feet as the surrounding air seemed to shudder from the sheer pressure of the roar.

Eli could tell, however, that the cost Raghul was paying to use a power like this was immense.

The strain was still there beneath the renewed strength, hidden beneath the surge of energy coursing through his body.

Which meant that if Eli dragged the fight out, he had a chance of winning.

But he didn't want to.

He wanted to confront this power head-on.

He wanted to see just how powerful this divine force truly was.

And then obliterate it.