CHAPTER 82 ROMAN'S BLADE
ROAR!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
A heavy pressure descended on the students as the three massive beasts roared with visible fury.
The pressure forced the students to the ground with zero resistances.
This beasts were beyond their caliber.
Fear filled their souls in a blink.
The ones with ki managed to hold their ground.
Miss Stella was an ascended, so she was slightly affected.
Sir Brock wasn't affected in the slightest.
He raised a brow with a slight confusion.
"The beasts are evolving quickly..
He thought.
While others were frightened and contemplating, Roman eyes were wide opened.....with excitement.
These Minatuars weren't basic tier, they were beyond the advanced tier.
"Magical ranked beast.."
He let the words fly out his mouth in a loud whisper.
The solution to his problems just landed on his laps.
Not one, but three of them!
Though absorbing their cores won't suddenly help him advance, it was a start.
Lunar looked at Roman and smiled.
"Well, what you waiting for, go get them tiger"
Lunar said.
Roman smirked as Fury jumped off his shoulder.
Sir Brock eyed the beasts and let out a sigh.
"I guess I gotta really get my hands dirty"
He said as he began to crack is knuckles.
Then suddenly..
SWITZH....
A red streak of lightning zipped past him and his eyes widened.
There was only one person that could use red lightning in the group.
Sir Brock looked back to the group, Roman wasn't there. Then he looked towards the Minatuars, Roman was there!
"Hey...!"
"Let him have his fun Sir, please...."
Lunar suddenly interjected.
Sir Brock couldn't even speak.
Roman's crimson aura burst to life.
Red spirit energy wrapped around his body like living flames, sending sparks of scarlet lightning dancing across his arms. The fallen leaves beneath his feet lifted into the air before exploding outward.
BOOM!
The ground cracked.
Before anyone could react, Roman vanished.
"What....
"He disappeared!"
The exhausted students only saw a streak of red tearing through the golden forest, leaving a trail of shattered leaves and crackling lightning.
Sir Brock narrowed his eyes.
"He's a fast one"
Ahead, the three Minotaurs raised their enormous double-bladed axes.
Each stood nearly four meters tall, covered from head to hoof in black scales that gleamed like polished obsidian. Their glowing yellow eyes locked onto the approaching human.
One roared.
ROOOAAARRR!!
The sound shook the trees.
Roman smiled.
Finally.
He thought
He shot forward, lightning exploding beneath every step.
CRACK! CRACK! CRACK!
The lead Minotaur swung its axe horizontally with terrifying force.
Roman didn't stop.
At the last possible instant.....
FLASH!
His body blurred beneath the swing.
The axe carved through three ancient trees instead.
BOOOOM!!
Wood exploded everywhere.
Roman was already inside its reach.
"Too slow."
His fist ignited with compressed red lightning.
THOOM!!
The punch landed squarely in the monster's stomach.
Instead of sending it flying...
...the Minotaur barely moved.
Roman blinked.
"Huhh...."
The beast grinned.
Its free hand shot forward.
Roman twisted away, but the clawed fingers scraped across his shoulder.
RIIIIP!
His leather jacket ripped . A thin line of blood appeared.
The watching students froze.
"He... got hit?"
"Roman was actually hit?"
"He dodged at the last second..."
From the side, Sylver's eyes darkened as she was about to stand.
"Relax.. just let him "
Lunar held her shoulder
Roman glanced at the blood on his shoulder.
Then...
He laughed.
A genuine laugh.
"Hahaha..."
He wiped the blood with his thumb.
"It's been awhile!"
He took off the leather jacket and tossed it to the side.
Underneath he wore a black armless vest that revealed his smooth bulging muscles.
"Show off"
Lunar rolled his eyes.
Red lightning exploded around Roman.
The forest became a sea of crimson light.
The remaining two Minotaurs charged together.
Their footsteps sounded like earthquakes.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
Three directions.
Three massive axes struck with no place to escape.
Roman lowered his stance.
His aura condensed until it hugged his body instead of flaring wildly.
Sir Brock raised a brow.
"He's condescending his spirit energy..."
The first axe came down.
Roman sidestepped by barely an inch.
The blade crushed the earth where he had stood.
The second axe swept toward his ribs.
He planted one hand on the flat of the blade, red lightning bursting from his palm.
Using the weapon as a platform.....
He vaulted into the air.
The third Minotaur tried to swat him out of the sky.
Roman spun.
His long crimson hair whipped through the air like a banner.
Lightning gathered around his leg as he spun.
BANG!!!!!!!!
A spinning kick crashed into the Minotaur's jaw.
The impact echoed across the forest.
The giant's head snapped sideways.
Its hooves slid several meters through the dirt.....
.....but it still didn't fall.
Roman landed lightly.
"More sturdy than I thought..
The Minotaur slowly turned its head back toward him.
A faint crack had appeared on one of its black scales.
Nothing more.
Roman's grin widened even further.
"I'm also just getting started.....
Behind him, the three monsters spread out in silence.
Without needing words, they began circling him like Hunters surrounding prey.
The red lightning around Roman crackled louder.
The golden leaves overhead trembled.
Neither side moved.
For one heartbeat, the entire forest fell silent.
A single crimson spark fell from Roman's fingertips.
The moment it touched the ground.....
BOOM!
Roman exploded forward.
The Minotaurs reacted instantly.
Instead of attacking one at a time, all three moved with frightening coordination.
These were magical ranked beasts, possessing levels of intelligence.
The first swung low.
The second brought its axe down from above.
The third charged straight through the middle, lowering one horn like a charging bull.
Roman's eyes sharpened.
"They're working together."
He ducked beneath the horizontal swing.
The overhead axe crashed down a heartbeat later.
BOOOM!!
The impact split the earth open, sending boulders flying.
Roman stepped onto one of the airborne rocks.
CRACK!
Red lightning burst beneath his foot.
He launched himself over the charging Minotaur.
As he passed above it...
His hand shot down.
"Catch."
A sphere of compressed crimson lightning no larger than an apple dropped onto the beast's back.
Roman was already twenty meters away before it detonated.
KRAAAAA-BOOM!!
Scarlet lightning erupted like a miniature storm.
The explosion swallowed the Minotaur.
Chunks of black scales scattered through the forest.
Smoke rolled between the yellow trees.
Several students shielded their eyes.
"What was that?!"
"I couldn't even see him move!"
The smoke parted.
The Minotaur stepped out.
Its shoulders were scorched.
Fresh cracks spread across its obsidian scales.
Thin streams of dark blood dripped from beneath the broken armor.
It snorted angrily.
Roman's smile faded just a little.
"...Now we're talking."
The wounded beast slammed both hooves into the ground.
BOOOM!
The forest floor rippled.
The shockwave raced outward.
Students lost their footing.
Several collapsed.
Roman bent his knees.
The shockwave reached him.
Instead of resisting....
He jumped.
The wave passed harmlessly beneath him.
Midair...
The second Minotaur was already waiting.
It had predicted his movement.
The massive axe whistled toward his neck.
Roman's pupils shrank.
"Fast!"
He leaned backward.
The blade missed his throat by a hair.
Even so..
SHHK!
Several strands of his waist-length crimson hair fluttered through the air.
The axe had sliced them clean off.
Roman landed in a crouch.
One hand touched the ground.
His fingers slowly picked up a severed lock of red hair.
He stared at it.
Then looked at the Minotaur.
"...You cut my hair."
The temperature around him seemed to rise.
Scarlet lightning no longer danced randomly.
It spiraled.
Circling his body in perfect rings.
Sir Brock frowned.
"His spirit energy is becoming denser..."
This was because Roman was finally mixing his spirit energy with ki.
Roman rolled his shoulders.
Tiny arcs of electricity snapped across his skin.
"You've earned a little more effort."
The nearest Minotaur roared and charged.
Roman didn't move.
The axe descended.
At the exact instant before impact...
FLASH!
Roman disappeared.
The Minotaur's eyes widened.
Roman reappeared behind it.
His right hand rested gently against the creature's back.
No punch.
No dramatic motion.
Just a touch.
Crimson lightning poured into the Minotaur's body.
Not outside....
Inside.
For half a second...
Nothing happened.
The beast turned, confused.
Then....
Every crack in its scales lit up scarlet.
The lightning erupted from within.
KRAAAAAAAAAAAK!!
The Minotaur convulsed violently.
Electricity burst from its eyes, mouth, nostrils, and the gaps in its armor-like scales.
Its legs buckled.
With a deafening crash, the giant dropped to one knee.
The remaining two Minotaurs froze.
Their glowing eyes shifted from Roman...
...to their crippled companion.
Roman exhaled slowly.
A faint wisp of steam rose from his palm.
His grin returned.
"One kneeling."
He rolled his neck.
"Two left."
The wind picked up, several strands of Roman's waist-length crimson hair drifted through the air.
They landed silently among the golden leaves.
Roman stared at them.
His fingers slowly brushed the shortened ends of his hair.
His frown deepend.
"My hair"
The Minotaurs snorted.
The students, however, felt something else.
A pressure.
Heavy.
Oppressive.
The red lightning surrounding Roman stopped crackling wildly. Instead, it became eerily calm, wrapping tightly around his body like streams of living energy.
Without warning...
BOOM!
The ground beneath Roman exploded into a crater.
He launched straight into the sky like a crimson comet, tearing through the canopy in a flash of scarlet lightning.
The forest fell silent.
Every head tilted upward.
Roman climbed higher...
...and higher...
...until he became nothing more than a crimson silhouette against the yellow sky.
Then...
He stopped.
Hovering for the briefest moment.
Far below, the three Minotaurs looked up, their axes raised.
Roman looked down at them with cold, unwavering eyes.
No excitement.
He let gravity take him.
His body tipped forward.
Then he fell.
Faster.
The wind screamed past him.
His crimson hair whipped violently behind him as scarlet lightning spiraled around his descending form.
The faster he fell, the more violent the lightning became.
The atmosphere itself trembled.
Roman's left hand drifted toward the sheath strapped securely against his thigh.
His fingers wrapped around the hilt of a small dagger.
With one smooth motion...
SHING!
He drew it.
The instant the blade left its sheath, crimson lightning erupted along its edge.
The dagger vibrated violently.
Then it began to change.
In the space of a heartbeat, the dagger transformed into a magnificent katana.
Its guard and hilt were forged from matte black obsidian, swallowing the surrounding light.
Its blade was a deep crimson, almost black near the spine, glowing faintly as rivers of scarlet lightning raced from the guard to the razor-sharp tip.
"He finally pulled out his sword.."
Lunar smiled.
All eyes went to the katana.
It was the first time they were seeing it and the force it carried was immense.
"Is that his spirit weapon?"
"But how's that possible?"
The students pondered.
The weapon hummed.
Not from steel...
But from the immense spirit energy and Ki coursing through it.
Roman held the katana in one hand, his arm extended as he continued his freefall.
Below, one of the Minotaurs roared and planted its feet.
With a thunderous bellow, it swung its massive double-headed axe upward, intending to split the falling boy in two.
Roman never changed his trajectory.
Their weapons met.
For an instant...
The forest became perfectly still.
Then...
SCHHHK.
There was no explosion.
No clash of metal.
The crimson katana passed through the axe as though it were mist.
The obsidian-forged weapon separated into two perfect halves.
The blade did not stop.
It continued downward.
Through the Minotaur's armored hands.
Through its black scales.
Through thick muscle and bone.
The giant was cleaved cleanly from shoulder to hip as effortlessly as a hot knife through butter, its legendary scales offering not the slightest resistance.
Roman landed in a kneeling stance behind it.
The katana rested at his side.
For a heartbeat...
Nothing happened.
The Minotaur remained standing.
Then a glowing crimson line appeared across its body.
Its eyes widened.
Its massive axe slid apart.
A heartbeat later...
So did the Minotaur.
Both halves collapsed to opposite sides with a deafening crash, shaking the entire forest as dark blood stained the golden leaves.
The scarlet lightning dancing along Roman's blade slowly faded, leaving only the low, ominous hum of the crimson steel.
TBC
A/N
Roman finally brought out his sword...
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