Rise of the Godking - Chapter 130

The shirtless man glared at Edward, his eyes turning so red that he was almost convinced for a second that he belonged to different species. Veins stood out on his face in a way that might almost have been comical if he was not the reason behind the man's anger…and a second later, his body's first response was to run.

His pretty face had gotten him into a lot of such predicaments back on the Mainland, too, and his quick feet had always been the ones to save him. It was only after taking a few steps that he realised that the man had even looked surprised the moment he started running, and that surprise filtered over to him, making him wonder why the hell he should react in this way.

Freezing, he turned around to see that the bald man had started to follow. The moment he saw that Edward had stopped, he lurched to a halt, too, and cracked his knuckles while saying, "You dare misbehave with my wife? You won't be the first one going to the grave because of this. Come! Let us settle this like men! Try to run like a mouse, and I'll chase you down even if you flee to the ends of the Mainland!"

The boast made Edward raise one eyebrow. He knew that they were still on the islands, so there was almost no way that the one in front of him had a background he needed to be scared of, but still, it was better to be safe than sorry.

It rankled within him that the woman was cheating him in this manner, and in fact, the thing that confused him the most was… that he didn't understand why she had done it. She was the one who had appeared in front of him, naked… so was this some sort of shakedown?

He had his own pride, built from years of being a mage who could be called truly powerful in a place where no one else knew magic. It tempted him, now, to just attack and ask questions later, but heeding caution as it had saved his skin too many times before, he raised one hand and said in a diplomatic tone, "This is all a misunderstanding. She is the one who came in front of me, and asked for help. It seems that she wishes to play tricks, so I'll just be on my way. I have something important I need to take care—"

He stopped speaking as the man's eyes widened when he leveled that accusation against his wife, and he jumped forward, not listening to a word that came after that. Edward still considered, for a moment, whether he should just dodge him and run, but the moment the thought came to him, he remembered how he had cowered in front of that being.

Like a cornered animal, he suddenly felt the urge to erupt and just rebel against anything that went against him. It could be said that it was the misfortune of these people, whoever they were, that they had come across him after he had gone through that incident… so without any more hesitation, he plunged one hand into his green robes and drew out a dagger.

When he had told his master about the decision to go to the islands to earn some money, the advice he had gotten was that as magic was so scarce there, he should conceal his status and use his ability as a trump card that could end a battle in one go. Ready to heed those wise words, he waited and waited until the man was just a few paces away from his feet… and then, letting go of the group of particles that were keeping the attack he had formed from shooting ahead in front of him, he watched with a smirk as it flew forward, visible only to his eyes.

Eagerly, he waited for the blade to cut cleanly through the man's waist. He even began to imagine going to the woman and actually giving some truth to what she had accused him of…but the moment the invisible crescent blade touched the man's rockhard abs, it stopped in its tracks and was then made to disperse, forcefully, hitting a wall of particles that had been hidden, until now, and still remained hidden after doing their job.



Feeling his jaw go loose for the second time in a single minute, Edward scrambled to respond as the man reached him and punched him straight in his stomach. The defensive charm he had bought on the Mainland clicked into effect, protecting him from the brunt of his power, but just the impact that passed through it knocked the breath out of him and made him gasp as he took a few steps back.

'I'm up against a mage! What the fuck? How?!'

His opponent stopped, then, and put both his hands on his waist with a broad smile on his face. The anger had gone nowhere, though, as those veins were still bulging on the entirety of his face, but when he spoke, it was in a tone that contained pride, for the most part.

"You don't look like a mage…but it's always good to be safe. I haven't had any real training…but no one can beat my defense! If you don't believe me, just try! Try all the spells you have! Or are you one like me, knowing just a few spells? If so, tell me right now, so that we can end this farce!"

Edward blinked. He had heard of such people, but only on the Mainland. They were people born with a frae, but either because they were too weak, or because they never found any access to knowledge that could help them, they only ever learned one or two spells in their lifetime. After all, even someone as dumb as an ox could figure out some or the other use for magic if they focused on it long enough, and experimented with any scraps of energy they might find.

Confusion gnawed at him, at first, as he couldn't understand how such a person was on these islands, but then, as he stared into those gloating eyes, he remembered who he was and drew himself up. With all the majesty of someone educated talking to a village fool, he said "Ah, so that's how it is. Today is not your lucky day, then. Before you die, know that your death comes at the hands of a disciple of the legendary Jaravis Magus School!"

"Pfft. Jaravis, Karavis. Who cares? Fight, or die."

Sputtering, Edward drew on all of his might, already visualizing the cocky man dead, on the floor, cut into a hundred pieces.

He chose the most dangerous and gaudy spell he knew, first, as he really, really wanted to see fear in the man's eyes before he killed him. It was a spinning maze of fireballs, meant to revolve and speed up near an enemy in a mesmerizing pattern that enabled them to hit the target no matter how much they dodged. 

With a triumphant smile, he sent forth the six balls of fire, each hot enough to burn a hole through the man's flesh.

The man merely grinned and stayed there…and remained unmoving when all six fireballs crashed onto him and dispersed in the same way as the blade.

Edward frowned. 'Such robust defenses? Somehow, he is even hiding all hints of the spell he is using! It might be a charm he bought with all the savings he collected in his pitiful life. That beauty is waiting for me! I have to finish this quicly!'

Assuring himself that nothing was not as it seemed, he created a spinning, man-sized blizzard, next. Each icicle was sharp enough to cut through flesh like butter, but the moment they collided against the man's body…they broke, and tiny shards of ice fell to the ground.

With growing frustration, Edward let go of the need to be flashy. He conjured a large fireball, trusting its heat that was even greater than those of the first ones he had sent, but when it flew forward… the man stood, unscathed, as it simply went past him, not even hurting him in the slightest.

He felt like pulling his hair out, but he continued his attempts, provoked repeatedly by the man's eyes and his slightly expectant, but already disappointed face.

He raised a boulder nearby and made it shoot through the air.

It broke down into small rocks when it hit his head.

He made ten rotating blades made of air fly to the man.

All of their edges were blunted on his body, not even a scratch appearing no matter how much they tried.

He made the ground under the man's feet crack. 

His opponent simply took a step back, as casually as if he was thinking about what to eat for dinner.

Finally, Edward even conjured lightning, utilizing a spell he was unfamiliar with, but the moment it struck his head, it dissolved into sparks that floated away into the air.

Fully drained, he fell to his knees, then. He had no more energy left in him; he had already drawn too much on the store of vajrams hidden in his boots. Signs of being overtaxed also appeared, and he knew that he was done for.

He realized, now, that a lot of things were wrong with the situation. If the man was who he appeared to me, he should have had no way to defend himself against so many attacks. There was also no way that he was using some sort of a charm, as no charm that he knew of could stand up against so many powerful spells.

Raising his head, he saw the man walking towards him. He opened his mouth to beg for mercy…but then, something happened that made his mind go blank.

Blazing fireballs, spinning blades of air, sharp boulders, sharper icicles, and finally, a bolt of lightning all appear at once, spinning around his body, combined perfectly in a way that he could never have been capable of. They were all the spells, mimicked in a way that was even superior to how he had cast them.

Watching them all and convinced that he was done for, he mumbled, "You're… a master. You were just playing with me!"

In response, the man shrugged. All of the attacks vanished, and in their place, a hammer made of ice appeared in the air. It had a spike on the top on which each of the elemental attacks that had just disappeared flashed, one by one, and walking forward, the man grabbed it in his hands and hefted it, as if to check whether he was satisfied with its weight.

"Perhaps. But you should not have messed with my wife. This is for daring to assume that she would lie to me. Oh, and I'm not done with you…so no matter where you're going, put it on hold."

The hammer fell, then. Edward could almost swear he saw stars revolving around his head, and as unconsciousness rushed over like a tsunami birthed in the very depths of the sea, he muttered the last thought in his mind before being swept under, and away.

"She's probably unsatisfied with you, so she came to me. Ah, I'm never gonna have that foursome..."