The Awakening Of The Five Great Disasters (VIII)

'This fucker... he's lucky I couldn't get to him... if not, he'd be dead already.'

Swing!

Just as Lucius was about to make a move, a sudden crescent golden blade flashed through his eyes.

"Ugh...!"

He sidestepped to the left, avoiding the attack by a few centimeters.

Crash...!

He heard a huge crash and looked behind him, to see that that same crescent blade had split an entire building in half.

'Damn...'

[The blessing ✦One With The Skies✦ has been sealed temporarily.]

'And just to top it off, the remaining time with the blessing ended...'

'This is going to be quite difficult... his body just has a few red marks, contrary to a few months ago when his whole body was covered entirely...'

"Huff—"

Gishh...

Lucius's right arm suddenly started regenerating, but instead of the usual humane color, a black squishy material filled it.

He flexed his fingers before then clenching his right hand.

"Alright... this should be alright," he turned to Daniel, whose sword seemed to get even brighter than before.

It was already reacting to the squishy material on his right arm.

Lucius took a deep breath, before then raising his left arm. And just as he did that, his veins started popping out, revealing a greenish color.

'Fuck... using poison really fucking hurts...!'

It really hurt, his skin felt like it was being burned from the inside out, but he pushed through it. A green mist began to seep from his pores, swirling in the air around him like a deadly fog.

"Spread..."

HISSSSS...

The mist spread out, consuming the ground in front of him, and began to encircle Daniel.

Daniel stopped for a moment, his eyes narrowing as he felt the mist of poison closing in on him. He could smell the foul stench of it—rot and decay, like death itself.

"So, you're using poison now? Are you a coward or something?" Daniel spoke after realizing what the mist was made of.

At his words, Lucius only grinned bitterly.

After all, his vision was beginning to blur from the pain that spread through his body.

Swooosh!

 Daniel swung his sword in a wide arc, the holy light cleaving through the mist like a hot knife through butter.

The divine energy tore apart the poisonous cloud, sending it scattering in all directions.

But even as it dispersed, some of the poison lingered, clinging to Daniel's body.

Lucius could see it—the greenish tint spreading over Daniel's skin.

'Good... it's working. However, I still don't know when if I'm able to survive against him. I'm already starting to get double visions...'

Daniel grimaced as the poison started to take effect, his movements becoming slower, more labored.

His sword still gleamed with the same golden light, but it was much dimmer now, flickering like a candle in the wind.

"Fuck..." Daniel cursed, biting his lip, trying to endure the pain.

And before he could realize it, Lucius dashed forward, using the last bit of energy he had left to close the distance between them.

His right arm, now fully infused with the poison, crackled with green energy, leaving a trail behind as he aimed a punch straight at Daniel's chest.

WHAAAM!

The punch connected, sending a shockwave through Daniel's body. Lucius could feel the poison sinking in deeper, spreading through Daniel's veins like wildfire.

"Haugh!" Daniel let out a gasp, stumbling backward, his eyes wide with shock.

His body jerked as the poison wracked him with pain, his muscles locking up, his breath coming in ragged gasps.

"Hah... hah... fuu..." Daniel started steading his breath.

His vision started letting blurry because of the shockwave his body suffered, and even his holy magic, wasn't able to cure the poison on his body at such a fast rate.

If he really wanted to dissipate the poison from his body, it would take at least a few hours, if not a single day.

'Damn it... he's still standing up... this is bad... really bad!'

SHINEE...!

Suddenly, from the sky, the clouds opened and a burst of giant golden light showered Daniel's body.

His sword started glowing even more than before as his injuries started getting healed at the speed of the naked eye.

The poison on his body, gathered into his nails until it fell on the ground...

"It's over, Lucius!" he shouted aloud.

Lucius barely had time to react before Daniel moved, faster than he had ever seen him move before.

The holy sword came down in a brilliant arc, aimed straight at Lucius's chest.

SWOOSH!

Lucius tried to block with his right arm, but it was too late. The sword cut through the black material like it wasn't even there, slicing deep into Lucius's chest.

SLASH!

"AHHH!" Lucius screamed, his body convulsing as the blade tore through him.

Blood poured from the gaping wound, soaking the ground beneath him.

He staggered back, clutching at his chest, his vision blurring. The pain was unbearable like his entire body was on fire.

Daniel stepped forward, his sword still glowing with same giant holy light, ready to deliver the final blow.

"Gaah! Huff... hah..." Lucius fell to his knees, gasping for breath, his strength fading fast.

The poison had failed, and now there was nothing left.

No more tricks. No more power. Just the cold, hard reality of death staring him in the face.

He could feel the warmth of the blood pooling beneath him, his heartbeat slowing, his vision going dark.

"F-fuck... bluag—!"

Lucius vomited a whole mouthful of blood which also contained a green liquid that melted into the ground.

Seeing this, Daniel took a step forward and raised his sword above Lucius's head.

"I'm sorry..." he muttered, before swinging his sword at his head with closed eyes.

Swing!

".........."

The entire place was silent.

And Daniel was confused because not even a tiny of blood splattered on his body, or at least, he didn't feel it.

So, he opened his eyes, and to his surprise, Lucius, looking half-dead, was holding his sword with just two fingers.

"Hah... it was about time both of them arrived..." Lucius' lips curled into a faint smile, as he held the sword with his fingers.

Between his fingers, there was a strange mix of white and pink energy...

BOOOM!

And then, a shockwave blasted through the battlefield, sending Daniel flying back. He crashed into the ground, his sword skidding across the dirt.

"What—?!" Daniel gasped, composing himself.

Lucius blinked through the haze of pain as his smile only widened.

His body was on the verge of collapse, but he managed to turn his head just enough to see two figures standing where Daniel had been moments ago.

Bianca and Jane.

Bianca's silver eyes blazed with fury as she lowered her hand, the remnants of a powerful magic crackling around her fingers.

"You're not killing him today," Bianca said coldly, glaring at Daniel.

Jane stood beside her as her pink aura swirled like a storm, ready to crash at any time.

Her gaze was fixed on Daniel, her expression unreadable, but the dangerous energy radiating from her was impossible to ignore.

Daniel groaned as he pushed himself up, his body battered from the blast. His holy sword still glowed faintly, but even its light seemed dimmer now.

"Daniel...!" Both Alaine and Maria who finally had recovered a bit, approached him.

"Fuu... damn it... hah..." Daniel's breathing was ragged, his chest heaving from the effort of standing.

His holy sword, still glowing faintly, pulsed weakly in his grip. He wiped the blood from his lips with a trembling hand.

"Alaine... Maria..." Daniel called out, his voice hoarse as he saw the two women approaching. 

"Daniel, don't push yourself anymore!" Maria yelled, rushing to his side.

She placed a hand on his shoulder, her own aura flaring up as she tried to heal him.

Alaine stood beside her, her eyes darting between Daniel and the two figures standing behind Lucius.

Bianca and Jane hadn't moved from their positions.

"Hah... took you two long enough," he let out a small chuckle.

"We're here now. That's all that matters." Jane smiled back, crouching down before placing her hand on his chest.

"Two fractured ribs, missing an arm, damaged organs... I wonder how you're still alive," she sighed before her hand started glowing with a pink light.

His injuries slowly started healing under her care.

"Papa, what do I do with them?"