Nameless King

Tremble. Tremble. Tremble.

Wain's aura grew to its limit as he stepped forward. The ground beneath him cracked and his silhouette blurred. A moment later, he was in front of the roots with a sword full of energy as he with an ice-cold look rained the sword down on the roots.

Crackle. Crackle. Crackle.

Last time it had left only a small scratch on the root, but now, the sharp blade went through the entire very thick root with ease. Wain felt how sturdy it was as a wave of recoil ran through his body, but he wasn't going to stop there.

"Fine, that's what it takes. I can definitely handle this artifact with this strength, but I'm a little short on speed." Wain muttered in a calm voice before stepping forward.

Whoooooooooosh.

He dashed along the root, cutting it in two before jumping up to climb the root. Wain quickly thrust his sword into it and the next moment the root was split in two with a streak of dark energy. Then, Wain did the same thing again and again until one of the two roots was cut into more than ten pieces.

"Bastard!" Virion exclaimed with an angry look as he swung his arm.

At his will, the four roots attacked Wain simultaneously. They weren't as thick as the previous ones, but they were much faster and sharper, able to penetrate almost any armor.

"It seems that when you're angry or panicked, you stop thinking at all." Wain uttered in an ice-cold voice as he swung his sword leaving a streak of dark energy in the air, "There's no way they can get to me, you need to do better than that if you want to stop me."

Whoooooooooooosh.

Wain took a step forward as his pupils narrowed and his hands became a blur. At the same time, the roots approached Wain, practically thrusting into him. After a moment, the roots stopped as if someone had frozen time, then, they split into dozens of pieces and fell to the ground.

Tap.

Wain stomped his foot, applying some of his power that was enough to create a small shockwave that scattered the parts of the roots apart.

"Well, well, did I catch you off guard again?" Wain uttered in a calm voice before disappearing.

He wasn't running or jumping anywhere, he seemed to just vanish and Virion couldn't figure out what was going on.

'What the hell...? Why did he become so strong...? I'm sure I calculated it right. Given his speed, the roots should have been a little faster than him, but in the end, it turned out very different!' Virion inwardly exclaimed with a slightly panicked look.

Whooooooooooooosh.

Suddenly a dark silhouette with eyes as icy as ancient glaciers appeared behind him, literally piercing his soul.

"Did something not go according to your plan? Well, this is only the beginning." Wain uttered before bringing his sword down on Virion.

Virion flinched as he tried to retreat with a startled expression. He moved as fast as he could as several roots instantly appeared between him and Wain.

'Not bad... Considering how quickly he took action, you're actually a serious threat to him now.' Gladius said in a confident way with a slight smile.

Crackle. Crackle. Crackle.

The sharp blade of the sword went through the roots with ease as the tip of the sword reached Virion's back. The sword only penetrated his flesh by a centimeter, but given Wain's power, it was enough to leave a massive cut on Virion's back in an instant, from which a stream of blood gushed forth.

"ARGH!!!" Virion exclaimed in pain as his gaze went blank for a second, but he quickly regained consciousness and jumped aside.

"Damn... I've made a serious mistake..." Wain muttered while looking at the dark sword in his hand, "If I had been a little faster this fight could have ended right now."

Tap.

Virion appeared on the other side of the arena as he fell to one knee in agony. At the same moment, several slender roots were headed toward him, green flowers unfurling at their tips. They glowed faintly, but just enough to make Virion's regeneration increase severalfold.

'I see... These roots aren't just weapons. They can probably also be a very strong shield as well. Well, that's to be expected from an artifact of this level.' Wain muttered inwardly, staring intently at Virion. His gaze was slightly different now as he looked at Virion as one who was already close to defeat.

'Fuck! What a bastard! Stop looking at me like that! You almost couldn't even touch me up to this point! Fuck!!! Virion shouted to himself as he clenched his teeth hard because of the indescribable anger inside him, 'Maybe I should use this right now...? No! I have to come to my senses, I still have three artifacts to stop him. He sure can't keep that power all the time.'

Tremble. Tremble. Tremble.

In a few seconds, Virion's wound had nearly recovered as a long scar remained on his back. Then, the amulet in his hand trembled violently as if something powerful was about to burst from it at any moment.

'Wain, don't relax. This attack was a big step toward victory, but it's definitely not over yet. Don't forget, he still has three more artifacts as well as roots that can give you no small problem.' Abyss Artist said in a serious voice.

'Sure. I'm ready for anything.' Wain nodded slightly as his pupils narrowed.

The space next to Virion dawned as dark smoke began to slowly billow out of the amulet. Gradually it filled everything around it, so Wain thought that this artifact was similar to the previous one, but it was not as the smoke began to dissipate almost immediately.

All that remained was a pillar of smoke at its center, from which a tall silhouette with a long black scythe gradually emerged. Its blade was seemingly able to cut through even the world itself.

Under the soft stream of wind, the silhouette's black cloak swayed, torn in many places as if it were very old, while the mysterious creature's eyes stared at Wain like two fading white lanterns.