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Chapter 253: Two VS One against Reaper
Chapter 253: Two VS One against Reaper
Stark's breath caught as he watched the clone prepare for the next move, it seemed more prepared than he was, maybe since it didn't have feelings except for its overconfidence.
But the moment Stark diverted his eyes for even a SINGLE second…
~FWISH~
With a swift motion, the scythe the invisible Reaper was holding sliced through the air, and Stark barely reacted in time, leaping to the side as it whistled past him.
"Nice try, you fucking dumbass-" Stark wanted to taunt Reaper, but his eyes widened as he immediately realized that the scythe's blade actually hit the wall, sticking to it, meaning that it wasn't Reaper that was swinging: he just threw it.
And so… a feeling of dread took over Stark as he literally couldn't know where Reaper was anymore.
"Do you feel it now?" as if ripping through space and time, Reaper's skeletal hand appeared and created some sort of rift to another dimension, holding its edges as the upper half of Reaper's body appeared and leaned in toward Stark, the small dot in his eyes growing bigger.
"…!" and Stark, though he didn't want to admit it, couldn't help but feel threatened.
"You can't see me, you can't do anything, accept your death, goodbye."
~FWISH~
Reaper removed his hands from the opening of the rift, and it slowly began to disappear, rendering him invisible again.
What could Stark possibly do against an invisible opponent? An opponent he couldn't see yet could see and attack him whenever it wanted…?
Does he even have a chance?
And the answer to this question… nobody knew it.
"I can't see him…" Stark slowed down time using [Focus]'s perk [Time Vision] for three seconds, allowing him to think as he saw the rift slowly close, Reaper's body still slightly visible as the dark cloak around him gradually disappeared, returning into his dimension, "I can't see him… but… I think…"
Stark's eyes widened as he realized something after using [Time Vision].
Time Vision was one of the perks of [Focus], and what other perk did he have with this skill?
Well…
[Description: You can place a target on an opponent, thus allowing you to observe their movements better and have your crimson 'eyes' always following them, no matter what they do]
He had [Target Set].
He had never done it before, but there was nothing else he could do: it was this, or awaiting his inevitable death, his clone unable to do anything as well.
'We'll see about that,' he had an enraged expression on his face as his eyes burning with a crimson fire.
~FWISH~
He positioned his right arm like a gun, as if aiming with it, then pointed toward the small remaining visible parts of Reaper.
And then…
"FOCUS… TARGET SET!" he shot, and a small little tracker was sent toward Reaper at intense speed.
[Time Vision] deactivated, and so the rift Reaper appeared from closed as well.
Now Stark couldn't see him anymore, he was doomed.
And yet…
~DING~
[Reaper has been set as a target!]
~BLINK, BLINK, BLINK~
And now… in Stark's vision… he could now see the calamity apostle: he was glowing with a bright crimson aura that constantly flickered, displaying his position to Stark.
Stark IMMEDIATELY looked at his clone, and its eyes were also glowing with the same deep color, meaning that it could see the apostle too now that he was hit by the tracker.
But now what?
What should Stark do?
Currently, Reaper was constantly turning around Stark, probably wanting to scare him as he could attack whenever he wanted, and from wherever position he felt like.
Reaper didn't know that Stark could actually see him though, and the boy made EXTREMELY sure to keep acting like normal: which meant looking around with a terrified face and moving in many directions as if trying to dodge invisible attacks.
Stark couldn't be arrogant and just shout that he could see him, or immediately attempt to attack the apostle, no, this would be stupid, and dealing only 100000 points of damage is useless.
He had a GOLDEN opportunity to deal as much damage as he wanted if he got the timing right, and letting it pass would be suicide.
Stark's heart thundered in his chest as he feigned panic, glancing wildly around the arena. He sensed Reaper's presence flickering just out of sight, a predator stalking its prey.
Each breath came heavy, but he steadied himself, focusing on the faint crimson glow marking Reaper's position.
"Where are you, you bastard?" he shouted, his acting perfect.
His clone, though, just stood still as it was ignored by Reaper, as the apostle knew that killing the original would also kill the copy.
With a quick glance at the tracker, Stark zeroed in on Reaper's position. The figure circled closer, and Stark held his breath, waiting for the perfect moment to strike.
Then he felt it—a slight shift in the air, a chill that whispered of danger.
The air grew thick with tension as Stark's pulse quickened. He sensed Reaper's presence inching closer, the flickering crimson glow barely illuminating the darkened arena.
"Enough of this charade," Reaper's voice slithered through the shadows.
"DEATH'S GRASP," with a simple wave of his hand, skeletal hands erupted from the ground, their bony fingers curling around Stark's legs, latching on like a vice.
Stark was actually taken by surprise, though his determination didn't falter, "Get off me!"
But the hands tightened, drawing him down.
And as to make sure the human couldn't survive this… Reaper added another skill to finish all of it.
"SHADOW BIND," Reaper flicked his wrist, and tendrils of darkness erupted from the ground as well, wrapping around Stark's chest and stomach. The shadowy tendrils constricted, squeezing the breath from his lungs, though not enough to suffocate him as Stark resisted.
Each pulse of the tendrils sapped his energy, tugging at his very life force and he could still feel the cold fingers of touching him below.
"-50! -50! -50!" being bound by [Shadow Bind] also took some of his HP every second, and it seemed as though this was what Reaper awaited: he wanted to slowly kill Stark, especially now that he was in this state.
But… the human wouldn't go down like this.
"DODGE CONTROL," Stark wanted to activate his skill as it always aided him in such situations, even just a few hours ago against the [Darkness Ghost], and it also helped his clone against Lother mere minutes ago.
Stark felt the familiar sensation of his skill activating, and he fully expected to be instantly teleported away, then use the next opportunity to attack Reaper and deal the most amount of damage possible, maybe so much so that he could end the strike with that simple assault.
And yet… all of Stark's plans were all crushed.
The reason?
Well…
"Huh?" the tendrils that had wrapped around Stark began to glow, and the feeling of power that was deep within him completely disappeared.
"Foolish human, just abandon, and let me see you die slowly, do cry, I enjoy seeing your struggles," Reaper couldn't smile, but deep inside, he definitely was.
And before Stark… a panel appeared.
~DING~
['Dodge Control' has been absorbed by 'Shadow Bind', the skill was used, yet it didn't work, meaning that it was put back on cooldown!]
"Oh."
Stark was done for.