Chant From Abyss

"What's wrong, kid? Don't tell me you have already accepted your death. Hehe, we've just begun playing around." Sam ignored the threatening aura Ryu emitted, mocking him.

Ryu, who had noticed the notification, stood still at his spot, still grinning wordlessly. Jue could feel it from his spot. Ryu's face was the same as the time he had killed Naga and punished the bandit. Even when all the odds were against them, Now Jue sighed in a slight relief as he thought,

'Big brother's got this...' and turned his eyes towards Elite Paladin, who stood behind Sam.

"Well, if that's what you choose, see you in the next life [Clamis Slash]!!" battle-crazed Sam roared as he raised his sword, and in his head as he thought,

'Nah, I won't let this play end my [Challenger's eye]. Tell me this kid is entertaining!!' He grinned as he decided to shoot a feint at Ryu to get him moving.

"[Dark Reinforcement III]: Chant from Abyss," Ryu said in a cold voice as Sam appeared near his flank, and to Sam's surprise, suddenly an ice javelin shot out from the air, deflecting his blade. In that little window of surprise, Ryu aimed for his neck.

Sam barely dodged and rolled on his back, creating distance from Ryu for the first time since the battle began. He was confused and surprised as he looked into Ryu's eyes.

"Haha, I don't know what you did!! But it's just more interesting!! Come at me, let me play a bit more!!" Sam roared as he ran towards Ryu. Ryu remained standing still as if he was ready to embrace the strike, and suddenly Sam heard it.

 "O undine the spirit of water in your name, I summon Water Canon!!" A gentle and peaceful voice chanted,

"The frost of ender nights, cold and sharp, shatter my enemies apart!! Icicle strike!!" A smooth and shrill voice with a touch of aggression spoke.

suddenly from above Ryu's shoulder, at the same time water canon and Icicles shot out, Ryu moved himself with a sword without uttering a single word; his eyes were like a predator staring at its prey.

"You, what!? What is happening!?" Sam exclaimed as he smashed the icicles with his broad sword, taking water canon with a head bash, making his head swollen even the gentler voice gave off the grim feeling.

Ryu was still smirking as he spoke coldly.

"Play time's over!! You should've killed me when you had time!!" Now, without a delay, many spells kept casting at Sam from the voices that spoke out of thin air. It was as if he was going mad because he couldn't make sense of it as he dodged Ryu's dagger, which turned into a sword as it reached near his neck.

"If you don't give it your all, you'll die in the next four minutes!!" Ryu raised his sword forward as he thought,

'I only have that much left... I'm going to get mana exhaustion.' Sam, who heard such words coming out of Ryu, jumped back and instinctively used his [Challenger's eyes skill], and what came out was insensible. Nothing in the world could account for the difference in results before and after.

"What are you? Hahahahahaha. No sense!! This is nonsensical!" Sam's psychotic nature, his masochism, and his special sense of always enjoying near-death experiences caused him to shake in excitement as he thought,

'So far, it was just opponents I could barely defeat... But this, hahaha, I'm going to die if I don't give it my all, Teran!! Free in the truest sense!!'

"O undine the spirit of water in your name, I summon!! And heed my call as I speak! Water Devastation!!"

"The darkest night of demonic might bring forth the judgment of Nemesis's Avaric!!"

 As Sam gazed at Ryu, he took a deep breath. His [challenger's eye], which showed Ryu as a tiger earlier had ceased to give Ryu any settled form. This had only happened once in the past, and that was against the holy knight himself.

"These tricks!! Won't do!!" Sam announced as he rushed towards Ryu, who was still comprehending his new skill as they uttered spells he hadn't heard before.

'There is no time to think about it!! This bastard should believe in it!!' Ryu thought as he matched his pace with the water devastation, which was a concentrated pointer form of water canon.

Swords clashed, and Ryu's Avaric, awoken by the second spell gave rise to an emotion he had never experienced with this intensity—it wasn't anger, it wasn't hate.

"I want it," Ryu spoke in a cold voice as their swords exchanged another slash. A fireball got shot by the [Chant from the Abyss].

"The only thing you'll be getting from me is death!!" Sam spoke, still pushing through his left hand, which had lost its sensation from the repeated barrage of water devastation.

"I'll take the hand you used to pull on Rafa's hair!!" Ryu spoke back, the crimson from his eyes shining brighter at the prospect of this useless greed, but his head wanted it now, and it pushed him further.

As they exchanged their shots, Elite Paladin, who stood in the back, thought,

'That's it! This brat is crazy!! I need to escape; if I get this information to the Holy Knight, he will excuse my punishment. I need to remain alive!!' Elite Paladin tried to run away from behind, only to be faced with Jue.

"Since when?" Elite Paladin asked the young child, as he didn't see him making his way behind him,

"When Big Brother began fighting back, I knew it..." Jue was raised by Grandpa Chief even more than Ryu in the arts of assassins and knew how much he needed to speak.

"Have mercy on me!! I'm not the bad guy here; I'm the Elite Paladin; we're the good guys." The Elite Paladin tried to make his way out of the situation; these words would've taken any other child, but Jue just thought

'Sometimes a quick death is also a form of mercy' as he remembered a Mistcroc in the distant past and the words of Grandpa Chief,

"It's a kinder death," Jue said as he raised his hand in a punch.

"[Gravel Claw] [Inferno Charge]!" He shouted, and Elite Paladin tried to raise his sword.

"[Basic sword form: I]!!" but it was useless as his neck snapped with the punch, killing him in one go. Jue kindly put the body on the ground as he turned his attention back to Ryu, who was exchanging hits with Sam.

"Is that the best you got with your tricks!?" Sam roared, wiping the blood off his cheek where Ryu's dagger had just scrapped him.

'I don't have much time!! Why won't he go down?' Ryu complained in his head as he realized he was on the edge of mana exhaustion. Ryu tried to overload his new [Chant from the Abyss], but Sam kept fighting even with his left arm broken and his leg limping.

"All these wounds for a taste of wolf girlie there!!" Sam smirked as he swung his broad sword at Ryu's head.

"You'll be feet deep in the ground once we're done," Ryu spoke, but suddenly blood poured out of his mouth as his skills began flickering off.

'Not now!!' Sam noticed the change in the [Challenger's eye], turning Ryu back to a tiger and then to a wounded dog. Ryu kept himself forced awake with his sword buried in the ground, keeping his leg from losing weight.

"So that was all?" Sam laughed with blood still pouring out of his cheek and gleaming eyes; the kid had been depowered. Sam still didn't know what had happened, but to this, he thought,

'Maybe same way... he will too'

Ryu tried to keep himself upright as he stared at Sam, who made his way towards him.

"[Heal]!! [Heal]!!" Aiena cast her skills in hopes of healing Ryu, and even as her skills healed Ryu's wounds, the mana exhaustion didn't go away.

Sam made his way to Ryu, smirking and twisting his left arm back in form.

"I'll kill you respectfully, kid. You gave me something I needed... This thrill... that idea!! Hahahaha," he said, raising his sword high. Jue instinctively threw his kukri towards Sam, but Sam just parried it.

"Don't Jue!!" Ryu shouted; he could sense it; Jue wouldn't be able to do anything; he was exhausted; the only thing they could aim for was a pathetic escape.

"I'll only kill you tonight," Sam muttered as if he was the lord of Ryu's life, giving him mercy in exchange for entertainment.

Rafa, who was still in the middle of a traumatizing whirl of noises, saw Ryu's face with her face just slightly raised, and the voices in her head uttered,

'You will lose him as you lost me.'

"I would not!! Ryu is my dear little brother, not again!!" Rafa suddenly shouted silver wings coming out of her back, distracting Sam, Jue, and Aiena. Using this slight movement of distraction, Ryu, who felt Rafa's mana coursing through him, ever so slightly spoke in a low voice.

"[Dark Reinforcement IV]" Due to Aiena's healing and Sam's distraction, Ryu took the perfect chance and pierced Sam's chest with his [Twin Fang swords].

"It was my win," Sam uttered as he felt tricked at the gates of death, all the injuries and now a pierced heart, he fell on the ground, sane last words from an insane man, making Ryu smile with relief as he fell on the ground exhausted as well.

"Ryu!!" Rafa shouted as she rushed towards Ryu, her voice now clearer than before.

to be continued