Chapter 154: Catching Another One
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Blood Calamity is one of the highest-tiered Blood Attribute Spells Vampires could learn! And one that Blednica had used a couple of times against Anna to surprise her with a devastating explosion.
However, Anna had already learned how to deal with Blood Magic, even more now that she had her Arcane Hands with her!
"{Arcane Hands}!"
Anna touched the explosion of crimson energy as it reached her. Before it was to consume her and her friends nearby, she hacked into its Runic System and then made it collapse!
FLASH!
"W-What?!"
Agares was left utterly speechless as he saw his powerful spell turn into crimson ashes and stop midway through! However, one of Anna's hands had paid the price of dispelling such a strong spell in a short amount of time.
Crack…! CRASH!
Her fingers shattered and pierced her own skin; her ligaments were torn apart; and her hand was constantly bleeding! It was already a miracle; it hadn't been blown up to bits.
"S-She was able to dispel one of my strongest spells?!" Agares thought, his Radiance wavering as he doubted himself.
Radiances worked in different ways than Skills or even Privileges, they held great power but came with restrictions, flaws, or even weaknesses.
One such flaw of Agares' own Trait was that if he doubted himself and became afraid of something, his Trait would stop working, and he would also lose his Radiance's power to some extent.
"Dammit, I barely managed to destroy that spell before it blasted in front of my face." Anna thought. "I have to hurry and finish him off while he's doubting himself!"
Anna flashed towards Agares as she commanded her friends to quickly surround him. She hadn't lost her bones, even though they were almost destroyed, so she stacked several healing spells on her hand, which quickly started to regenerate, moving back the bones piercing her skin.
Amidst that pain, Baihe and Sara acted first, quickly attacking the doubting Agares, who couldn't properly understand how a mere human was able to dispel his spell so easily.
"{Abyssal Frost Pandemonium}!"
Baihe spent all her remaining mana into her strongest spell, combining Astaroth's Abyssal Powers with her Frost at an incredibly fast pace and unleashing it into the floor, freezing everything with purple-colored ice, which contained cursing effects that lowered stats and drained energy from the target it touched!.
FLUOSH!
"URGH…?!"
Agares was caught by surprise as the frost covered his horse-like legs again, his face twisted in surprise before Sara was to appear in front of him, now wielding a new dagger that Anna gave her.
"This dagger, I'll use it well, Anna!" Sara thought with a smile. The dagger overflowed with the sealed demonic powers of Bael himself, and a wave of darkness and nightmares surged from the weapon as she swung it against Agares!
"{Nightmare Rush}!"
The Nightmare and Darkness Elements melded with her body seamlessly, as Bael, who couldn't speak right now, was left speechless as his own powers and bodies were used to empower his foes!
Sara's entire body turned into an endless sea of darkness, covering all of Agares' vision and constantly trying to attack his mind through Bael's special mind-deteriorating abilities.
At the same time as that happened, the frost kept spreading through his legs, and Sara's attacks reached his body, slashing through his exposed chest!
SLASH! SLASH! SLASH! SLASH!
"AAARRGHH…!"
Agares vomited blood, quickly trying to step back but being unable to, trapped by Baihe! His crimson eyes glanced with desperation towards the origin of a shining, bright light coming from his left.
But it was nobody else than Kevin himself!
"You're done for! {Starlight Spear}!"
Kevin's spear gained the brilliance of stars as he pierced Agares' wounds with all his might! Even though Agares was this weak, he was still a mighty Death Apostle capable of taking most hits.
So Kevin had to capitalize on the wounds that his friends had already opened, quickly worsening them with his spear attacks!
CLASH! CLASH! CLASH! CLASH!
"Begone!"
With a furious roar, Agares used his own blood as fuel for his next spell. A powerful shockwave of crimson energy surged from his body, pushing everyone away and making the darkness shrouding his vision slowly dissipate.
RUMBLE!
"Hahhh… Urgh…!"
Agares vomited blood as his entire body dropped to the ground. However, the blood lost by his foes started rushing towards him like dozens of crimson rivers floating in midair.
He opened his jaws, about to drink it to recover his stamina and perhaps even regenerate some of his wounds.
"{Lightning Bolt}"
FLASH!
However, Anna appeared to ruin his fun; a mighty lightning bolt descended over his entire body and burned his blood to ashes while stacking even more damage on him!
"Y-YOU!"
Agares faced Anna as she appeared in front of him. His Radiance erupted as he quickly started to go mad, not caring about his own safety anymore.
"I don't know what the hell you did to the others, but I DON'T CARE ANYMORE!"
His Radiance emerged with its full force, like an endless sea of blood, reaching Anna in the shape of dozens of snakes!
"{Spectral Lightning Body}"
However, Anna combined the power of her Spectral Body Skill she copied from Sara with her Lightning Magic, turning into a specter made of thunder.
With her weightless body and incredible, near-instant speed, she flashed through Agares' Aura and sliced the snakes apart one after another, leaving behind pieces of his aura that exploded into pieces.
SLASH! SLASH! SLASH!
As she drew closer, the Demon became more desperate, beginning to drain his own blood as he gathered it into the palm of his hands!
"Is he going to do another Blood Calamity using his own blood?!" Anna thought. "This bastard knows I can seal him! He's going to just kill himself!"
"I won't let you take me like the others! I'll die by my own hand and take all of you with me!"
Agares laughed as he raised the sphere of crimson energy into the skies, about to do a suicide attack and blow himself up to bits!
However…
"It is now or never…!" Anna roared, channeling her Radiance, and combining it with her abilities.
"{Thousand Blades}: {Absolute Sword Domain}!"
FLASH!
Suddenly, Agares noticed that everything stopped moving. It was as if time itself had stopped. And Anna was the only one moving through it.
"Huh? What the…?!"
The Death Apostle noticed what Anna had done… Her Radiance surging from her body—no, her two Radiances had acted at the same time, fusing with her still-forming Dao and her Thousand Blade Skills to usher in something utterly ridiculous.
"Isn't this the Murim World's Heavenly Sword Demon's Ability?!"
That was the only thing Agares could ever compare to what Anna was doing, and it was only possible because she decided to exhaust her Soul to her limits and sacrifice its own mass to conjure this very poor version of it!
And as time itself had stopped around Agares, he suddenly saw thousands of copies of Anna made of lightning and holy light appear around him, their swords reaching him and slashing him into pieces.
Not only was the Absolute Sword Domain one of the strongest abilities in the Murim Worlds, but it even allowed the user to control its space and even create copies of themselves within, as long as they were attacking with sword techniques.
SLASH! SLASH! SLASH!
Agares was slashed countless times; his entire body was quickly torn apart, yet he didn't die; his soul wasn't leaving anywhere, even as his body was being destroyed.
"It looks like it's my win, Agares."
Anna's hand pierced his soul and then quickly sealed it into a sphere, as she seamlessly combined the effects of completely unrelated spells to create one powerful enough to seal his soul!
"T-This is…! How can a mortal be this ridiculously powerful?!"
Agares last words resonated in Anna's mind as he held his soul and then threw him inside her Purgatory, sealing him and enslaving him with a Demonic Stigma.
Ding!
[The weakened soul of a Death Apostle has been sealed within the {Purgatory}!]
[The powerful Demonic Soul has lost all its abilities to exert its true powers inside.]
[It has now been marked with the {Prisoner of the Purgatory} Stigma.]
[This Demon Soul now belongs to you to use.]
[The Cosmic Throne {Butterfly That Flies Across The Universe} smiles, being pleased you've sealed so many of these punks!]
[She has sponsored 2000 Plot Points.]
[The Cosmic Throne {Monkey that Dances in Chaos} is beginning to recognize you more as a strong warrior. He is wondering if you are interested in becoming his Incarnation]
[He has sent an offer!]
"Wait, what?"
Anna saw that an offer to become the Incarnation of this suspicious Monkey appeared in front of her… She knew who he was; after all, who wouldn't know him?
Ding!
[The Cosmic Throne {Monkey that Dances in Chaos} has decided to reveal his true Title {Great Sage Equal to Heaven} to you.]
[He looks into your eyes… Awaiting your decision!]
"No."
However, Anna rejected him coldheartedly and without even thinking about it too deeply!
[You've rejected the Constellation's offer.]
[The Cosmic Throne {Great Sage Equal to Heaven} is shocked! Why did you not pick him?!]
"I don't care about monkeys."
Anna gave a stupid excuse, but it was because she didn't want to become the Incarnation of any Constellation. That would only limit her and the rewards she can get after all.
[The Cosmic Throne {Great Sage Equal to Heaven} has been heartbroken… They slowly walk away, sitting in the corner of their room…]
"Deal with it…"
Ding!
[The Cosmic Throne {Jester Filled With Lies} giggles at your incredible boldness! He has sponsored a new Privilege!]
[You acquired the [Jester's Lucky Seven (S Rank Privilege)]!]
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[Jester's Lucky Seven (S Rank Privilege)]
A Privilege only given to jesters who bet it all to luck!
When activating this skill, you can throw a die that will give you a number from 1 to 7. Based on the number, different effects will occur.
1: Heal 10% of your HP and MP.
2: Your next attack will decrease your foe's Stats by -10% for 1 Minute.
3: Your next attack will deal +50% more Damage.
4: You will ignore -20% of your foe's Defenses in your next attack.
5: Your next attack will deal +70% Damage and ignore -30% of your foe's Defenses.
6: You will heal 70% of your HP and MP.
7: Your next attack will be a guaranteed Critical Hit, and it will hit a target an additional 7 times, ignoring the foe's Defenses, and you will recover 25% of the damage dealt as HP and MP.
Cooldown: 1 Hour.
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This Privilege might seem a bit lame for its Rank, but… Anna could reverse Luck too, which means that her Luck could be so high that she might be guaranteed to get at least 5 and might even get 7 most times!
"T-This is insane! Why is he giving me this out of nowhere?!" Anna wondered. "This Jester… Just who is he?"
From all the Novel chapters she could remember, this Constellation never appeared before; it was something new that had appeared since her Reincarnation.
And someone who has been cheering for her this whole time as well!
At the beginning, he had said he wanted her to entertain the Constellations… But among all of the ones she has met, the only one who knows she is a Reincarnated Soul is him.
And perhaps the Void Rulers, but she's not completely sure. She does remember the Bleeding Scream realizing her oddity.
Nonetheless, at first, this was his intention, but it has been changing lately; it feels as if his true intentions for bringing her here were much different.
And could he have been working with the Author this whole time?
"Just asking him out loud will only make things weird, so I better just keep this to myself for now." Anna thought, browsing through another message.
[The Cosmic Throne {Maiden that Watches Over Nature} is relieved you're feeling alright.]
[She has sponsored [Lesser Health Elixir (A Rank)] x5!]
[The Cosmic Throne {Warrior That Seeks Calamity} is pleased by the bloodshed!]
[He has sponsored [Skill Evolution Stone (A Rank)]!]
"Oh, thanks for the gifts, you guys! I can always count on you two at least."
Anna felt like she had been having a live stream and thanked her subscribers. It was a bit cringy, but she preferred to have a good relationship with them if possible.
Especially because they brought her nice goodies! Health Elixirs were welcomed, and even another Skill Evolution Stone!
She originally got 3, spent one to get Thousand Blades, and now has three again thanks to Ares' gift. She was still considering how to utilize them.
"Hahhh…"
Anna collapsed on the ground, completely exhausted, even more than before. Her soul had diminished to a tenth of what it originally was.
This was because to forcefully channel this power, which she remembered having used against Blednica to overwhelm her completely, she did not only need Cosmic Energy but also to consume her own Soul.
Thankfully, she had methods to deal with Soul Exhaustion and Soul Damage, quickly taking several wine bottles from her inventory and drinking them in quick succession.
"Gulp, gulp, gulp… Phew!"
She licked her lips as she smiled relievedly. Her friends, who were slowly making their way to her side, were left speechless.
"Why are you drinking wine right now?!" Baihe was shocked.
"Y-Yeah?! I didn't think you had the age for that…" Kevin muttered.
"I'm sixteen! It's not THAT far from it." Anna shrugged. "Also, in my past life, I was over 25, so I think it's fine~"
Ding!
[You have consumed [Soul Wine from the Ramses Urn]!]
[Your Soul has healed its injuries.]
[Your Soul has grown several times larger.]
[Your Soul has become bloated with too much Soul Energy, drink some more and it might explode!]
"The Soul Wine is so delicious, but if I drink too much, my Soul will explode… What a pain." Anna sighed, saving the bottles she couldn't drink. "Are you guys alright? Let me heal you. Shiro! Come here as well!"
"KYUUH!"
Shiro was angrily teleported to Anna's side as she healed her friends with his help. Sadly, there was no corpse, as she sealed Agares with his cut-down body, making him even stronger when he recovered and was turned into a weapon or something else.
Astaroth was sealed with only his soul, so his power was rather below the ones that had their vessels sealed with them. Of course, you'll get some nice loot out of their bodies if you only seal their souls, but Anna didn't need that many materials after looting Astaroth's whole dragon body, and also Hector, and now...
"So Heckert died, huh?" Anna sighed. After Hector's death, she did expect another person to die, but that to be Dimitri was...
Very lucky!
"Y-Yeah, he escaped when I confronted Agares and was killed by him," Hilda explained; she didn't seem to feel bad at all about it. "The bastard had it coming; he was a fucking coward."
"Right." Dimitri nodded. "Well, it's part of the job... We can die at any moment. He ran away because he didn't want to face his fate. Agares looked to be a tough guy who hates cowards, so he should have guessed that would have happened. He might have lived longer if he just fought the demon."
Anna's golden eyes shone with greed! Her Princess Trait was never this right until now; she was really a greedy little goblin that could never have enough.
"I'll store his corpse inside my inventory for now," Anna said, pretending to feel a bit mournful, although nobody really liked Heckert nor would miss him.
FLASH!
His body, which was torn to pieces, recovered itself to its former form inside of her inventory, while all his equipment seemed intact. And just like Hector, something wonderful happened.
-----
Can't wait to see what's next? You can join my Patreon:
https://www.patreon.com/pancakeswitch
and gain access to all these Advanced Chapters:
48 Advanced Chapters of
The Protagonist's Sister Is Actually The Strongest
29 Advanced Chapters of
The Heavenly Martial Empress Returns
17 Advanced Chapters of
Fantasy Story Online: The Crippled Vampire Prince Walks The Heavenly Demon Path