Agent047
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689 - FAFO 5
🕑 Added 2024-08-09 10:24:56 +0000 UTCAs thousands of humanoids fell, Aron remained in place and continued his assault. Without pausing, he swung his sword again, targeting those at varying distances from him. No matter where they were, each swing resulted in the humanoids being sliced in half. Within thirty seconds, all the humanoids had been severed and were plummeting to the ground. Although they weren't dead yet, they lay on the ground, struggling to regenerate.
Only then did Aron lower his hands, small beads of sweat trickling down his forehead. The exertion of his effort had clearly taken a slight toll on him.
He achieved this by applying a shield rune to his sword and adjusting it to be as thin as possible while extending its length. This transformation turned the shield into a long, versatile blade that he could control with precision.
Aron's deep understanding of runes, gained from his basic and intermediate runes bought from the system, allowed him to modify and adapt them to his needs.
Thanks to the practice done by his clones, he could use this capability swiftly, even amidst the intense battle.
He descended until he was just a few meters above the heavily damaged ground and extended his hand toward the thousands of regenerating humanoids, including those he had already defeated. A shield enveloped them all before he ignited them once more, reducing them to ashes.
{Although there are roots underground, the majority of their core roots are under the ocean about 500 km from here,} Nova relayed, along with an augmented map for him to follow.
Without acknowledging the message, Aron shot off in the direction of the nearest sea at full speed. As he flew, he activated stealth, vanishing from both the live stream and sensors, continuing his journey without any observers.
He reached the ocean in 20 seconds but continued for another 10 seconds, covering a distance of approximately 510 kilometers at Mach 50.
Hovering above the ocean, he quickly conjured a new shield in the form of a 50-meter-wide cylinder. He began extending its height downward into the ocean, and it continued to grow until it reached the ocean floor, exposing the roots beneath. Without hesitation, he leaped into the cylinder, flying into the ocean's depths.
As he descended, Aron was acutely aware of the ticking clock. Despite his stealth spell rendering him undetectable, his actions weren't entirely invisible. Just as a cupboard’s movement could be seen even if it was silent, his activities could still be noticed despite his invisibility.
Upon reaching the ocean floor, Aron wasted no time and began to cut through the roots. However, before he could complete his swing, a whipping sound was heard, followed by a sonic boom and a series of loud bangs. The area cleared, revealing Aron, now swordless, zigzagging upwards while being struck repeatedly by a powerful whip, clearly feeling the brunt of a devastating attack.
“Damn, that was close,” Aron muttered, coughing as he deactivated the cylinder shield and ascended from the ocean.
“Looks like you lost your little weapon,” a voice echoed, taunting him as he hovered about a kilometer above the water, scanning for any approaching roots.
Focusing on his heightened senses, Aron detected a different kind of pressure from another humanoid. Shortly after, it emerged from the ocean, revealing itself to be holding the sword Aron had dropped during the attack.
“You seem to have grown arrogant, thinking you could handle our core roots directly after dealing with the humanoids made from our outer roots,” the humanoid taunted. As he spoke, his hand expanded to envelop the sword, then compressed with immense force, shattering the weapon into fragments. He then casually tossed the broken pieces back into the ocean, all the while locking eyes with Aron, gauging his reaction.
Aron frowned slightly, his expression hardening as he replied, “Are you finally ready to face me seriously now?”
“You seem to believe you can still handle me,” the humanoid said, pausing dramatically before adding, “Then let me show you the difference between us.”
As he finished speaking, a colossal magic cycle activated, spanning several kilometers. The massive shield materialized instantly, encircling Aron and leaving him no room to escape.
“You seem to feel invincible with your capabilities, but let’s see how you fare without mana,” the humanoid declared as it began to absorb the surrounding mana.
Aron immediately attacked the shield with everything he had, desperately trying to break free. His efforts were relentless, but the shield held firm.
“Yes, struggle, struggle like the insignificant insect you are,” the humanoid taunted while not even attempting to interfere. “You should be grateful, honored even, to have your body deemed worthy of housing our consciousness. And yet, you dare to fight against us?”
As the humanoid spoke, the mana within the shield continued dwindling, and they dwindled to dangerously low levels, making his attempts to escape even more futile.
As the mana continued to be absorbed, Aron’s attacks grew weaker until the runes outside of his shield deactivated, unable to sustain their function without the necessary mana in its surroundings.
With his options dwindling, Aron descended slowly to the floor of the shield, finally taking a seat, his expression a mix of determination and resignation.
“It seems you were wise to replenish the mana within your shield before everything was absorbed,” the humanoid continued, its voice dripping with arrogance. “But now, I can either wait for the mana to deplete from your shield or attack it, forcing it to use up what little energy remains.” he paused for a moment, relishing the look of despair on Aron’s face before he said, “Yet, I am merciful. I promise a painless end if you deactivate the shield.”
Aron, visibly devastated, covered his face with his hands, his posture conveying deep disappointment and frustration at the situation.
Or at least, that was the appearance from the humanoid's perspective. However, for Nova, who was closely monitoring Aron through the nanomachines embedded in his clothes, the truth was different. She saw a brief, fleeting smile on his face—one that lasted only a nanosecond before disappearing, unnoticed by everyone else.
