Chapter 260 Claws
Gron and Zayne were immobilized, and there was no way they could get out of the chains. Clort knew this spell well, so this was supposed to be the one that would lead him straight to victory.
However, just as he was about to kill Zayne, something changed drastically.
'Star Silhouette won't help me anymore... There's no point in mastery if I can't use it... Damn, I can't even move...' Zayne internally muttered while a wild power grew inside him.
'I don't know if others are capable of it, but it's good that I have another option... This is a real blessing...' Zayne clenched his teeth tightly as a clearly visible aura appeared around him.
He hadn't gone through the Awakened Process yet, so this change surprised everyone, especially Clort, who was ready to attack and kill Zayne.
"I never said I was your ally... However, because of your actions, we can definitely only be enemies..." Zayne said in a low tone as his silhouette blurred.
In a heartbeat, before a magic projectile flew out of Clort's staff, Zayne broke free from the chains tearing them apart.
Then, he was quickly in front of Gron and in a flash released him, carrying him deep into the forest.
Gron's eyes went wide with surprise, but he couldn't even say anything as he was too exhausted.
"Damn, it looks like these chains aren't just restraining, but are also capable of siphoning energy from creatures..." Karin muttered with a dazed expression, "What a powerful spell. I wish I had one of those."
Fride nodded, "Yeah... That mage is actually a dangerous opponent and this is definitely not his limit. He has great potential. However... Zayne's potential is even greater, almost limitless..."
Edvin smirked, "His power has two forms... It's a great rarity and he's using it better every second. I think he'll easily pass this stage and the last stage will be a mere formality."
"What...?" Toruf looked at him puzzled, "What are you talking about?"
"I'm curious too!" Kota exclaimed with an excited expression.
Edvin shrugged, "Just watch, he'll tear that mage apart like a wild beast, and then he'll realize his power."
Step. Step. Step.
Zayne placed Gron next to one tree and quickly tore back towards Clort's. He stopped a few meters away from the mage, staring intently at his enemy.
It only took a few seconds, but Zayne's appearance had changed considerably. His black hair became long, below his shoulders, and his blue eyes red as bloody rubies.
His muscles were tensed to the max and looked like steel, and his nails were now more like sharp claws, capable of tearing apart even the toughest hide.
"I see... So you've had a trump card all this time... Well, considering you're one of the Shattered Moon Order, it's no surprise. Regardless of your current strength, each of you is more like a monster than a human... especially on the inside..." Clort muttered with a complicated expression.
"But... Looks like you learned how to use your sword for nothing... With claws like that, there's no point in your sword." Clort smirked, thinking it was useless.
Zayne tilted his head, "Agh? Do you think this is the first time I've fought in such an appearance? I'm used to it by now..."
Whooooooooooooooosh.
At the same moment, Zayne rushed forward, quickly approaching Clort.
Clort's pupils narrowed due to Zayne's tremendous speed, although he didn't use any skills at all, it was his pure physical strength.
'Shit... I shouldn't act arrogant... Even if he's new to the Shattered Moon Order, he's still one of them. Well, I was going to use everything I have anyway!'' Clort inwardly exclaimed before striking the ground with his staff.
He had created many layers of strong barriers around him, which should not only stop Zayne but also bring some of the damage back.
Zayne realized this, but he wasn't going to stop, so he just swung his sword.
Crack. Crack. Crack.
The black sword blade collided with the multi-layered barrier, causing a powerful tremor. Zayne felt a strong pressure, and in his place, any knight would not be able to stand on his feet. However, this was not above normal for Zayne, he could endure much more now.
Gradually, the sword cut the barrier apart, shattering it into thousands of shards and quickly approaching Clort.
Clort didn't have time to cast a new spell, so by the time he realized anything, Zayne was already behind him.
At the same moment, a stream of blood spurted from Clort's right leg, causing him to temporarily drop to one knee.
Zayne swung his sword, knocking the blood off the blade, and turned around, casting a cold stare at Clort, whose face was contorted in vivid pain.
"Come on. It's time to end this already. Use everything you have or I'll slowly cut you until you bleed to death." Zayne said calmly as his gaze grew deeper and his mind traveled to the inner space.
In front of him was a thread of eight points again, Zayne just thought and increased the number of his movements to 80. It was a lot and now each movement only had a fraction of the power, but they were many and they gave Zayne speed.
After a few seconds, when Zayne returned to the real world, he saw a dangerous scene. Energy particles were coming out of Clort's staff, turning into spheres, it seemed their number could grow endlessly.
Each sphere trembled slightly, as if a projectile, dangerous and destructive, could fly out of it at any moment.
"Good... Now we can finish everything much faster..." Zayne nodded slightly, as their gazes collided.
Clort looked at him with hatred and a desire to destroy him. They shared that feeling to some extent, so after a slight nod, they both attacked.
Zayne's sword flashed with blue flames and scarlet wings appeared behind him as he tore straight at Clort, with tremendous speed.
Clort was ready for it, so as soon as he pointed his staff at Zayne, the spheres began to explode, showering Zayne with a hail of hundreds of magical projectiles.
Each of them was very dangerous, and the only way to get rid of them was to destroy them.
'Fine... I can do it... I don't know why, but even now I feel like it's much easier than fighting Enar. His attacks were faster, and they were filled with death energy.'' Zayne pondered as he looked at the energy projectiles approaching him.
Whooooooooooooooooooosh.
Without stopping, Zayne swung his sword several times, destroying more than five projectiles, but that was just the beginning.
With each movement, Zayne became faster and faster, and his energy increased. Also, because of the blue flames, he left behind a thick layer of ice, and the temperature around him dropped significantly as if it was deep winter.
Clort was wary, he saw that Zayne had no trouble dealing with his attack, so he had to do something about it.
"Die!" Clort angrily exclaimed, launching a powerful energy ray at Zayne.
However, Zayne didn't block this attack, he just flapped his wings, quickly moving dozens of meters forward.
At the same moment, an explosion with powerful purple waves of flame erupted behind him, but they couldn't hit Zayne as he was too far away.
Then, Zayne jumped high up, staring intently at Clort, from top to bottom.
"This is the end... I'm sorry about your lady, but I can't go against my principles." Zayne said calmly before swinging his sword twice.
An X-shape flaming cross swept down on Clort, quickly approaching him and freezing everything around him.
"NO!!!!" Clort exclaimed desperately, realizing what awaited him, only cold death.
Clort tried to create several protective barriers, but it was all obviously useless. The flaming cross, effortlessly shattered each of the barriers, reaching its one and only and final goal.
Zayne fell to the ground, and his appearance returned to normal.
The Flaming Cross passed through Clort, quickly disappearing into particles since its task was already accomplished.
Clort was no longer moving, as his entire body was covered in a thick layer of ice. His eyes were wide open, and his gaze was filled with fear and despair.
"Agh... I didn't think it would go this far... but sometimes life doesn't leave us any other choices." Zayne took a deep breath as cracks went down Clort's body.
Clort like an ice statue split into four massive pieces, falling to the ground and shattering into small shards.
They covered the entire ground, slowly spreading around. Very soon, due to the bright sunlight, they would melt.
Zayne looked up with a deep gaze, looking around. He felt strange, but it was something good and powerful, like a flame that flared up inside him.
Zayne could feel something inside him changing and the power within him growing.
'Hmm... Looks like I'll reach Awakened Process before I finish Chaos Trial...' Zayne internally muttered as his gaze became much deeper and his mind moved into a dark space.