Cristhian's legs trembled slightly upon the impact, and he took a step back. His temporary weakness caused his teeth to grind and his veins to pop out.
With the command, it wasn't just his strength that fell. The Sword of Dawn also lost much of its power, easily more than half.
His own strength had also fallen by half, and with the boost given by the command, the knight who wasn't even Sequence 5 and in any other situation would have been crushed like the annoying mosquito he was, could now compete against him in brute strength.
The perfect scenario for him to not only not be a burden but a force that could now be a problem had fallen into place. Now, that knight had truly become a danger.
But just because the knight could compete didn't mean he could stand up to him.
Even though he was suppressed, he was still a Demigod!
The Sword of Dwan glowed with flashes of electricity that looked like a spiked whip had wrapped itself around it. At the same time, his own eyes shot out sparks.
Lashing and Psychic Piercing!
The knight was unable to get away in time. His fiery armor shattered on his arms and torso, deep lacerations that reached and broke the bone appeared on the exposed parts.
Cristhian took advantage of this to move the dagger aside, and with a deadly thrust, his electric sword pierced the man's chest, followed by a cut that came out through his left hip.
The body was split in half by the force of the blow, the sound of paper being torn echoing in the clearing. The knight's body turned to ash a few moments later.
A few meters from where the knight disappeared, he reappeared. The armor quickly covered a wound on his right chest that was spurting blood.
The knight did not continue his assault immediately, but kept his distance. Instead, multiple fire crows emerged from his armor and launched themselves at him.
Shriek!
Cristhian's eyes widened in recognition of the change. He had already dealt with that annoying ability many times before.
Paper Figurine Substitute!
Knowing how annoying and dangerous that ability was, Cristhian commanded solemnly, "Substitutes are—"
His voice was cut off suddenly, and although his lips continued to dance, their faithful companion was no longer there to follow them. At the same time, he began to dodge the knight's barrage of crows, feeling as if something was being torn from within him.
Cristhian hurriedly threw himself to the side, barely dodging the crows that crashed into the ground and several trees, exploding in crimson white flames that, despite the distance, he could feel burning.
The power of the attack compared to before had become more than three times stronger!
Boom! Boom!
A chill ran down Cristhian's spine. No matter how hard he tried to speak, his voice would not come out, as if he had lost it!
Realization hit him, and he could only curse, 'A Marauder Beyonder?! How did he find one?!'
The Beyonders of that path were not only rare, but they also valued their lives above any treasure or shiny object they liked. What could Dabrio have done or offered to make one agree to fight alongside him?! Against a demigod?!
At that moment, Cristhian knew that continuing the battle had become too risky. The longer he continued, the worse it would be for him. He accepted this with resignation and a little disappointment.
'This forest must be full of more Beyonders! Where David and the rest were sent, there was surely a team of half-sequences ready to ambush them. They haven't given any sign that they're nearby, they're still busy... No, I can't think like that. It's impossible that they could have been eliminated so quickly, they must still be fighting...'
All kinds of explanations echoed in his head, but they were overshadowed by one doubt. How had he done it?
'How did Dabrio get so much help? Was I so confident in a direct combat that I didn't consider that his support would be much greater than expected? How did we not notice this?!
'I underestimated him too much. I thought that without his territory, he wouldn't be a problem, but I was wrong!
'Sigh... I knew it couldn't be that easy...'
Although alarmed, Cristhian's mind never fell into despair or was delayed in making a decision. His life was at stake after all; he couldn't be passive. This situation, which had quickly spiraled out of his control, served as a vessel for him to plan his escape.
Even with a command that forbade 'fleeing,' due to the restriction 'Weaken Divinity, Strengthen Humanity,' Cristhian was sure he could afford to endure the punishment when he tries to escape; it would not be fatal with the armor of the Sword of Dawn.
If Dabrio seriously wanted a chance to stop him, he would have to release his command over divinity. Something Cristhian was sure the man knew he shouldn't do, as it would mean that the possibility of him revealing his Mythical Creature form would become a reality if the situation worsened. His support would not be as valuable as it was now...
Releasing his restriction on teleportation was the first step, but he had to wait for the best moment—
Pam! Pam!
A sudden hammer blow struck his brain, a jet of blood spurted from his nose, and he felt his spirit tremble.
With eyes flashing electricity, Dabrio lunged forward. Finding the second he had waited for, he punished him immediately.
Gritting his teeth, Cristhian was ready for this. He would not be taken by surprise twice!
Fighting against his tormented brain, he raised the Sword of Dwan, and the illusory armor grew a little more and covered his neck.
A fist covered in electricity connected the flat part of the sword with a loud thud!
The serpentine streaks covering his sword and Dabrio's fists fought fiercely, baring their teeth and destroying each other.
Dabrio's gloved fist was covered in deep cuts and lacerations that ended at his wrist. The armor on Cristhian's hand broke, but it fulfilled its purpose of protecting him.
With blood dripping from his nose and jumping back, Dabrio's flashes of electricity did not stop and flickered.
Psychic Piercing!
Pam!
Being both Imperative Mages and on high alert, Psychic Piercing did not have the same effect it would have had if it had hit a normal Beyonder. So all it achieved was a momentary stun.
But in battle, a moment defined victory!
In that daze, the knight stopped his attack of crows, summoned a fiery crimson-white spear, and threw it with all his might.
BOOM!
The tip of the spear connected with the sunlit sword, sending Cristhian flying away from the clearing and into a tree, splitting it in half.
Cough! Cough!
The air left his lungs, but Cristhian had to quickly move away from the tree by throwing himself to one side.
A rain of fireballs descended on the place.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Seeing that his attack had failed, the fiery knight did not stop, but continued.
An explosion under his feet sent him flying to one side, and another explosion sent him to the opposite side. He repeated this in a zigzag pattern, leaving a trail of fire behind him.
"Hahaha! Are you really that scared of little me?! Where is your pride, Insect?! Stop running and face me!" The knight laughed and threw a charged spear at him. He launched himself into the air and fell.
Fush! Fush! Fush!
With his heart racing, Cristhian parried the spear with his sword and quickly adjusted his stance to block the attack again.
The same pattern repeated itself. The ground broke, and the suppressed demigod was pushed back, leaving a trail because of how deeply his feet sank.
But this time, the armor glinted for a moment.
His intuition kicked in, and Cristhian covered his face with his hand. Disbelief flashed in his eyes.
'He's crazy-''
BOOM!
Pum! Pam!
The armor exploded violently, and Cristhian was sent flying, bouncing off the ground a couple of times, but got back up almost immediately.
'What kind of hunter blows themselves up?!'
Blood dripped from several cuts on his face, as well as considerable burns. Barely catching his breath, the Imperative Mage didn't let his new wounds stop him. Looking around, he was alarmed.
Dabrio and the knight had disappeared! Again!
They must have taken advantage of the explosion!
It was against all logic that the one who should be leading the attack would remain in the lines.
What was going on?!
At that moment, the same feeling of something was being torn from him returned. A second later, the electric glow on his sword and the flashes in his eyes disappeared.
Psychic Piercing and Lashing had been stolen!
"Eyes up!" A voice suddenly shouted from the sky.
His gaze followed, and he saw the Knight descending like a meteor toward him, a few meters from impact, his armor burning even more intensely.
With no time to move out of the way or dodge, Cristhian raised his sword and struck the Knight's dagger with a great swing.
Cling!
The dagger struck the same spot it had cut a moment ago, and in a sudden burst of power, the Sword of Dawn was overpowered, and the sword of the sun descended.
With a loud rumble, more than half of the Sword of Dawn was embedded into the ground. Cristhian still held it with both hands, his expression stunned.
Not a second passed before that opening was punished. Spinning on his axis a few inches above the ground, the knight's heel struck his chin.
Boom!
A concentrated explosion covered Cristhian's head, and his grip loosened. The man was sent flying toward a tree, splitting it in half.
Knowing he only had a few moments, the knight continued his spin and kicked the ownerless Sword of Dawn with all his might, sending it flying.
A blur came out of the smoke, and before both feet were on the ground, a fist struck the knight in the middle of his face, sending him flying.
Punishment!
Even without his voice, Cristhian could still punish those who stood in his way!
Huff! Huff!
With blood blinding one eye and a horrible burn on his cheek, Cristhian looked around frantically for his artifact, knowing it couldn't have gone far.
The sunlight covering the region was suddenly cut off, along with the illusory armor that covered almost his entire torso, making Cristhian stand unusually still as if the sudden coldness had frozen his soul.
Veins began to throb on his forehead, his whole body began to shake, and a soundless scream came out of his mouth.
The only way for the Unshadowed Domain to disappear was for him to seal the sword back or for a new owner to make a contract with it, cutting off the ability cast by the previous owner.
'The marauder beyonder! Shit, shit!'
With everything he had sacrificed to obtain that sword, losing it like this was—
Rumble...
From among the rubble, fallen trees, and small bonfires, a reddish-orange light drove away the darkness.
Gritting his teeth, Cristhian turned and stepped in a random direction. His figure disappeared in the next moment.
Reappearing in one of the locations he had left behind in his previous teleportations, he found himself a few meters away from someone.
With eyes flashing with electricity, Dabrio emerged from the darkness.
"There is no escape from this, Cristhian." The leader of the first branch said in a voice so cold that the rain seemed to freeze.
Unperturbed and expressionless, Cristhian disappeared from his spot again, with Dabrio following close behind.
...
Seeing the demigod escape, the knight let out a visible sigh.
The fire covering his hand disappeared, but the S-shaped dagger continued to burn with rage. However, the knight's gaze was not focused on that, but on the glove that had been revealed.
The theater masks sewn onto it were streaming with tears, and only a few were laughing.
Under the wine colored glove, horrible black cracks like sandpaper covered his pale skin. Accompanying them, several bruises and lacerations were bleeding profusely.
"Even with Dabrio's boost and a substitute in time, I couldn't avoid taking a few hits…" He didn't pay much attention to the wounds.
They didn't hinder his movements, and he couldn't even feel them. He would survive.
Using his threads, he quickly treated them but didn't close them completely, letting them bleed. His blood acted as fuel for his fire, which burned with greater intensity.
One of the Blood Dagger's abilities had caught his attention: its blood could be used as oil, or 'gasoline', as he preferred.
This curiosity led him to experiment with his body and discover something exciting.
It turns out that if a Hunter feeds his fire with his own blood, not only does it become stronger, but it consumes much less spirituality. Something very welcome because the fire armor cost a lot more to maintain than he thought.
"Oh? You're still alive?" said a voice with no apparent source.
He turned his head slightly to one side and saw shadows moving and condensing. The curtains opened, and a woman with black hair and eyes walked out, looking bored.
Seeing her, the armor of fire disappeared, revealing a handsome, shirtless man with long red hair.
"Disappointed?" Adryan Kenway asked his favorite worm with amusement.
"I'm wet and cold, and I'm annoyed," Flora Jacob grumbled as she handed the man a thick envelope.
She hated being cold. That's why winter was by far her least favorite season.
"Yes, yes. Just a moment." Adryan said as he spread a hand above them, and a temporary roof of fire covered them from the rain.
With that done, he opened the envelope and took out the prepared contract.
Seeing this, Flora reached into the shadow of her tunic and pulled out a long sword. It was a dull gray color; the sheath was a simple black with nothing to distinguish it.
It didn't look like a grade 1 artifact.
According to the contract they had prepared to ensure the theft was safe, all of its abilities would be unusable in exchange for the sword doing nothing and being a simple knight's sword.
At this moment, the Sword of Dwan was no better than an ordinary knight's sword, perhaps even worse.
Looking at the sword, Adryan smiled slightly and, without saying anything, grabbed it.
Flora looked at him silently for a few moments before letting go.
As soon as the sword left her fingers, it began to glow slightly with golden holiness.
The redhead smiled at this, raised the 15-page contract in his hand, and waved it around.
"Hey~ Let's make a contract~" He sang sweetly to the sword.
Watching all this, Flora rolled her eyes, unimpressed.
Then, her black eyes passed over all the cuts on his torso, knowing that most of them were self-inflicted, and it left an unpleasant taste in her mouth.
Shaking her head internally, she turned away.
"Let's get this over with." Shadows enveloped her, and she disappeared again.
Placing a hand on the now vibrant golden hilt, Adryan laughed.
"Of course~" His helmet rematerialized, fiery crimson eyes burning predatorily.