Online In Another World

Just as Asher leapt in on Amon's right, midway through swinging his claymore which was infused with a dark force, and Yuna jumped to Amon's left with her daggers primed on his neck—Amon vanished.

"—!"

With speed that was imperceptible in the moment, Amon reappeared, slamming both his fists into the two attackers' guts. It was almost a surreal sight; Amon's existence was like a blur, his entire body vibrating at a high frequency as he repelled Asher and Yuna.

"I've got you!" Emilio yelled, waving his staff.

As the two were flung back, the young mage conjured walls of water to catch Asher and Yuna, cushioning them and allowing them to recover quickly.

"Thanks," Asher said, jumping up without missing a beat.

"Yeah, thanks!" Yuna dashed back in.

This time, Everett joined the two in their direct assault on Amon, though it was difficult to see how they'd hold up against the recruit killer as Amon blurred through the battlefield, attacking the three separately seemingly within the same instance.

"Ghh—! Damn this speed!" Everett kept his shield up.

It was difficult to keep up at all with how Amon moved; there was no linear movement, only distorted vanishing and reappearing before attacking.

"Wind Bore!"

Melisande tossed a bullet of wind forth in an attempt to catch Amon, though the vibrating figure vanished before it could touch his skin.

"Dammit…!" Melisande let out in frustration.

"Stay focused! He's hard to hit, but it's not impossible! Just pressure him!" Emilio guided her.

"Right…!" Melisande nodded,

While the three close-ranged fighters had to play on the defensive, blocking the instantaneous attacks from Amon, Emilio supported them with a constant flow of spells to press the recruit killer: manipulating the soil, sprouting thrashing vines and tossing arrows of water to seek Amon.

Asher huffed, flipping back as he sprouted horns from his head and a thin, black tail from his back.

[Devilheart System Activated]

[Current Stage: 2/10 | Nether Son]

Witnessing the shift in appearance and mana pressure, Emilio found himself curious by the fellow reincarnator's transformation as Asher managed to dash forward and catch Amon amidst his blurred movement.

"Oh? You're finally getting serious," Amon smiled.

"I'm not even sweating yet," Asher responded.

Even the amplification of the Devilheart hadn't closed the gap quite yet as Amon vanished again from in front of Asher's claymore, simultaneously evading an attempted strike from behind made by the silent-stepping rogue.

"Tch!" Yuna clicked her tongue.

Rushing in, Everett reared his shield back, waving it in the general direction where Amon flashed around in as he attempted to bash the elusive figure.

VRRRRR

The slash of the killer's daggers violently vibrated the air, producing an impact that throttled the shielder with unexpected force. Everett planted himself down after stumbling briefly, enduring the humming slashes as each impact of Amon's blades felt like they were hitting dozens of times in a single slash.

While Amon pressured Everett, Emilio circled around, summoning vines from around the vibrating killer as he attempted to ensnare him, though each of the verdant plant lives were cut down in a blurred counter.

"So slow," Amon taunted.

While Emilio grew frustrated, he knew spells that spread across a large area would be more effective in catching the speedy enemy, though it was out of the question with the others around.

I'll need to adapt! Emilio thought.

[Dragonheart System Activated]

[Current Stage: 2/10 | Dragon Son]

Even without drawing his sword, the young Dragonheart rushed in while the high-frequency man clashed blades against Yuna and Asher, repelling them and flipping away from an attempted bash by Everett.

As Emilio got close, he ducked down after feeling a chill run down his back, managing to avoid an unseen slash before countering with a blast of wind emitted from the tip of his catalyst. The quick-release spell was pointed straight at Amon's gut, forcibly twisting the air and pushing against the man's abdomen with full-force.

"Ngh—!" Amon grunted, still smiling.

I got him! Emilio thought.

The first direct blow felt like a tremendous win in itself, though victory was a far stretch away as Amon flipped around in a distorted movement, evading a large, sweeping strike of Asher's dark-infused claymore.

There was no doubt in Emilio's mind that Asher had the strength to cut through Amon as the darkness he wielded had a potent sensation, though hitting the figure was an issue in itself.

Amon presented acrobatic movement, matching even Yuna in her flexible movements as he jumped up in response to a strike towards his neck, wrapping his legs around the demi-human's arm before spinning around and tossing her into Everett.

"Woah—!" Everett fell back as Yuna crashed into him.

As the bloodthirsty man blurred across the gloomy soil, blasts of wind came from Melisande, missing as the figure flipped around before being intercepted by the Devilheart.

"—Ah!" Amon reacted with a grin, having his ankle caught in Asher's grip.

Finally getting a hold of the slippery figure, Asher summoned a burst of demonic energy before slamming Amon into the ground with a volatile reaction of the dark force.

"Did he get him?!" Melisande asked.

Emilio didn't answer, not wasting a moment to follow up with a stream of fire sent in the direction of the black smoke to follow up, though it was quickly revealed Amon wasn't down so easily as he blitzed by, sending an unseen kick against Asher's guard.

"Let's turn up the heat! Get ready for your living funeral!" Amon shouted as his voice became amplified by the distortion in his body increasing.

The reckless reinforcement kicked up further as a black-and-red mana coiled around the figure like a veil of vibrating lightning, allowing Amon to burst forward as he arrived in front of Emilio, already halfway through a spinning kick.

Emilio's reflexes brought his arm up as a defense, though as Amon's leg kicked forward with speed that caused the air to howl, the impact shattered the young man's arm with a violent crack, snapping it and kicking into Emilio's chest nonetheless.

"Ghh—!" Emilio spit out blood.

The boot of the distorted killer caved the young Dragonheart's chest in, shattering his rib cage and flinging him back.

"Emilio!" Melisande screamed out.

Before the young mage could crash against a tree harshly, Everett intercepted and caught him, "—I've gotcha, bud!"

Coughing out, Emilio groaned as his arm and chest mended themselves, allowing him to jump back to his feet as he wiped the blood from his lips.

"Be careful! He's even faster now!" Emilio warned the others.

A warning seemed unnecessary once seeing a flicker of what could only be assumed to be Amon zooming past Yuna, tossing her back and leaving a couple slashes on her thigh and shoulder.

"Ngh…!" Yuna winced.

Emilio was quick to summon a wall of mud between Amon and Yuna, blocking the killer from following up as Asher closed in on him from behind.

The lengthy claymore failed to meet the pale figure's midsection as Amom blurred away, confronting Emilio directly as he etched a harsh slash through the young Dragonheart's shoulder.

"Agh—" Emilio winced from the unexpected slash.

"Where's that power of yours from last time?! That was amazing! You won't stand a chance without it!" Amon taunted.

There was no chance for Emilio to get his sword out and begin defending himself, resulting in him failing to intercept the daggers with his broadsword before Amom slashed his body multiple times.

Blood fell onto the soil as Emilio stumbled back, catching himself as he felt a swirl of heat inside of him, beginning to push his Dragonheart to the next stage before being interrupted by another push by Amon.

I can't access the third stage yet...! He's too aggressive! Emilio thought.

Aiding him, Yuna slid in and kicked at Amon's ankles, causing the man to stumble before he blurred away as Everett tried tackling him and Melisande attempted ensnaring him with wind.

"Gah! He's so slippery!" Everett huffed, stomping down.

"Focus!" Emilio yelled.

There was no downtime as Amon bolted through the battlefield, rolling down the hill swiftly and lunging towards them.

"Emilio!" Asher yelled out.

As the two exchanged a look, with just that stare, Emilio seemed to understand what Asher was suggesting as they shared a nod.

…I get it. I need to go higher–but there's no time to do it! I was wrong to call this an 'adrenaline rush'--what Amon is doing is more like supercharging his entire mana pool–something like this would be suicide for a normal person! Emilio thought.

Amidst the high-octane combat in which Amon continued outpacing everybody, all at once, the speedy figure kicked Everett back before arriving in front of Melisande.

"Gah-!" Melisande flinched.

A brutal knee came, sinking into the gut of the silver-haired girl before she was flung back intensely.

"Melisande–!!!" Emilio yelled.

Though she managed to be caught by Yuna, who wasn't in good shape herself, a burning rage ignited in the veins of the young Dragonheart.

There was no buildup needed; the scales sprouted over his skin into a full-set of draconic armor as azure flames roared around him. No greater ignition supplemented the Dragonheart force than rage itself, burning up from a steady temperature to unstable degrees in an instant.

[Current stage: 3/10 | Dragon Warrior]

At the same time, Asher allowed demonic, black skin that armored him with living gauntlets and boots, growing his horns further and thickening his tail as the pitch-black aura amplified with a shriek from Hell.

[Current stage: 3/10 | Hell Walker]

On both sides of the full-throttle recruit hunter, the Dragonheart and the Devilheart surrounded Amon, who stood there with a smile both nervous and welcome to the challenge.

"Well, well…looks like things are finally getting interesting," Amon said.