Facing The Serocis [Pt 3]

'Damn… Adonis is really good at acting!'

Rey was genuinely shocked by how amazing the Hero was in pretending to be so weak.

'I really need to take some notes.' He thought to himself, nodding silently as he did his best to maintain a stoic demeanor.

All of Adonis' movements seemed so calculated to represent a certain ceiling of power that he couldn't surpass. Rey was impressed by such sophistication… such intricate level of detail.

Adonis had really mastered the craft.

'But why? Why is he going to such lengths?'

Rey couldn't comprehend it. 'Shouldn't he be trying a bit more so he can get the attention of Jet and Lux?'

Surely, if he was playing this 'fanboy' card, and pretending to have been heavily inspired by Jet… then shouldn't he be showing a lot more power?

'At the very least, he must already have an idea of what Jet accomplished. I can't think of any other reason why he would choose this route if he had no idea how popular Jet and Lux are, and why they are so famous right now.'

Their power was phenomenal—out of this world.

Compared to that, Adonis was displaying the strength of an unpolished gem—someone who barely made the cut of a Heroic Rank Adventurer.

'Well… I hope you know what you're doing, man.' Rey had no intentions to rain on Adonis' parade, so he decided to just watch and observe in silence.

'Britta seems impressed, and I guess he really embodies that Adventurer spirit.'

In contrast, Esme seemed bored of the whole thing.

It looked like she just wanted to use a Skill and kill the Monster, instantly getting rid of the problem for everyone.

Well, she couldn't.

'Looks like the fight is coming to a close, though.' Rey felt a tinge of relief as he saw Adonis charging towards the stationary Monster.

One of the requirements for using the Skill [Grand Eye Blast] was to be stationary. The rewards were worth it, though, as it allowed the user to shoot out blasts from any ocular organ of the body.

'If I combine the Skill with a shapeshifting Skill and created many eyes, I could cause a lot of damage…'

It was going to be gross for sure, but with [Mimic], or maybe even [Shapeshift], couldn't he create several tiny eyes and create and send several shots flying at the same time?

'That's seriously OP, especially if I consider how my defenses wouldn't let my enemy touch me even if I stay still…'

It was awesome—no, beyond awesome!

'Is Ater really serious about me not being able to take on a Divine Beast…?' Rey wondered.

He didn't want to do anything behind his trusty Familiar's back, but it would be a lie if he said he wasn't tempted to try [Divine Beast Summon] at maximum power, just so he could see its effects.

'I'll just be patient. At least wait until the eggs hatch…'

~BOOOM!~

The tremors emanating from Adonis' location caused Rey to raise his gaze and see what was happening.

Apparently, the Monster concentrated all of its blast on a single location—all so it could kill the pesky Adventurer.

Unfortunately, it failed.

'Adonis, you rascal…' Rey grinned widely as he watched what the blond boy did.

All of his light was focused on the tip of his broken blade, and he used that to literally sever the intense blast into two.

'Even if he appears weak, this kind of resourcefulness and skill is exceptional!'

Even Brita recognized that much.

It showed just how much control Adonis had over his [Grand Light Magic]. If someone told Rey that Adonis had reached the highest level of mastery of the Skill, he wouldn't even doubt it.

'What a beast…'

Rey nearly chuckled, his widened eyes taking in the damaged ground surrounding Adonis.

It burned bright red, all thanks to the deadly heat that was deflected.

And now… it was time for the finishing blow.

*******

Adonis roared, feeling his throat ache a little thanks to his constant battle cries.

It seemed this body of his wasn't accustomed to the rigors of war. He knew that would eventually change, but for now his pitch had reached its limit.

'Time to end this!'

The final stinger of the Monster charged at Adonis in attempt to buy enough time for it to recover from the [Grand Eye Blast]'s cooldown period.

Of course, Adonis was sure that the Monster wouldn't mind an outcome where the attack happened to kill him.

~WHOOSH!~

Deftly moving his boy, Adonis ensured that wasn't a possibility, using the chance to generate a spin and slice off the last of the creature's lethal tail.

'All three taken care of!'

Rather than let out a sharp cry of pain, the Monster stifled its screams and used the chance to suck in air and release it at such a rapid pace.

'Ahh… nice one!' Adonis grinned.

The Serocis used its stinger as a sacrificial pawn so it could catch Adonis at point-blank range. It was a brilliant move, and such a tactic would have meant the end for any Adventurer.

Even Heroic Rank Adventurers would be in trouble.

But, Adonis wasn't a mere Adventurer—Heroic Rank or otherwise.

He was the real deal.

—A true Hero!

~WHISH!~

He flung his light-coated blade towards the Serocis, instantly cutting through the compressed air right before it was released.

This, of course, caused an explosion that fractured the jaws—

definitely also injuring the throat as well—of the desperate Monster.

The resultant impact forcefully caused the Serocis to stagger away from its position, instantly ending the Skill's effects.

"G-GUREEUGH…!"

Adonis made a wide toothy grin as he soaked in the frustrated and agonized moans of the damaged creature.

'You were so close to release, weren't you?' He prepared his whole body for one final launch, concentrating light on the sole of his feet for maximum output.

'Don't worry, I'll end it now… your suffering!'

As the Monster was still recoiling from its pain, Adonis blasted off and charged at it with unstoppable power.

'Full thrust!'