CLEAVER OF SIN Chapter 577: Technique
Previously on CLEAVER OF SIN...
Number Four, Number Five, and Number Six squinted their eyes in disbelief at Asher's astonishing speed and graceful movements. They found it hard to accept the scene unfolding before them; in their view, it bordered on the impossible. They had been assailing the youth in front of them with nonstop barrages from all imaginable sides, but he committed no errors whatsoever. Beyond mere defense, he spotted openings amid their flanking onslaughts and even struck back.
The most astonishing aspect was that he wasn't enhancing himself with Astra energy at all. He was keeping pace with them relying only on his inherent bodily strength. Even Number Five, who relished fights and had a keen sense for warfare, could sense that if the confrontation kept going like this, it would surely conclude with their fatalities.
Asher's violet gaze abruptly shifted leftward. He swiftly evaded a spear jab from Number Four. Right after dodging, a dagger whistled toward his neck. But he sidestepped once more in a smooth, continuous flow, as if he had foreseen the strike well in advance.
As Number Five rushed in with his scimitar, Asher swung out in a silvery gleam, and their blades met in a fierce clash of metal.
Yet Asher showed no pause. The second he parried Number Five's blow, he shoved the weapon away and unleashed a flurry of attacks in an instant, compelling the three to resort to solely protective maneuvers. Right then, Asher retreated, putting some space between him and his foes. Still, before he could widen the gap significantly, Number Four flung his spear ahead.
The spear sliced through the atmosphere like a marksman's shot.
Asher merely tilted his head aside effortlessly, the rush of air whistling past his ear as the spear just missed him. However, the instant it passed, his Omni Perception detected Number Four abruptly positioned right behind him.
Asher's eyes twitched faintly. He had noticed no spatial distortion when Number Four materialized, indicating that the man hadn't used teleportation. This skill he exhibited had to be linked straight to the spear.
The very moment Number Four showed up at his back, he promptly executed a technique.
Astra energy burst forth explosively, channeling fiercely into his spear as he triggered the move. His armament morphed into a poisonous serpent, his velocity surging dramatically as he delivered over a hundred stabs in the briefest span imaginable. The atmosphere squeezed intensely around the spear's point before ripping apart repeatedly, more than a hundred times in quick sequence.
Asher responded quicker than a thought. He whirled around promptly, and instead of deploying one of his own devised arts—since these opponents didn't merit such respect—he opted for Hillary's technique.
His rapier flickered with icy keenness as he produced over a hundred gust arcs that smashed straight into Number Four's barrage with devastating force and accuracy.
With a thunderous boom, the two arts consumed one another completely. Debris blasted everywhere as howling gale blades slashed over the field, endangering both Asher and Number Four with being torn to bits. Their clashes etched profound gashes into the ground, slashing huge furrows through the dirt and obliterating swathes of the nearby woods.
Both combatants erupted from the swirling haze and grit born of their impact.
Asher came out entirely unscathed.
Number Four, on the other hand, bore wounds. Fine slashes marked his frame, superficial yet plentiful, evidently from Hillary's method. Still, the Astra energy shielding him had shielded against lethal or severe harms.
The instant Asher reemerged, Number Five and Number Six charged at him without delay. They wasted not a moment.
They both triggered their techniques at the same time.
Number Six disappeared in a flash, her form manifesting all over the battlefield simultaneously. Each appearance brought a cut. The strikes funneled toward Asher like a fatal web tightening from every possible direction, as if she aimed to entomb him in the onslaught. Her Astra energy amplified the quickness and deadliness of each blow.
Asher didn't waver. A single error would spell bloodshed.
He sensed the peril emanating from the approaching barrage, yet he prepared to confront it directly. He dropped into position right away, bending his knees a bit while dropping his sword to his midsection. Then, without losing any time, his form rotated at incredible speed in a full circle as he executed a flawless three-hundred-and-sixty-degree sweep.
No Astra energy. No Star energy. Simply raw sword skill and immense aptitude.
As Asher finished his spin, a vast circular gale burst forth with destructive might. It howled fiercely against Number Six's strikes, and the second the powers met, the entire area seemed engulfed in a massive blast of destructive force.
More than a kilometer of terrain vanished instantly as everything turned blinding white. A powerful tremor spread outward like a close-range atomic blast. A gigantic mushroom plume of fumes and particles climbed skyward, as if pleading for some higher power to halt the chaos raging beneath.
Even amid the havoc they had unleashed themselves, their weapons kept meeting with deadly accuracy.
Number Six's features were dusted over and etched with a heavy scowl. Several cuts marred her body, her blood soaking her attire. She hadn't evaded the clash quickly enough, and when her art clashed with Asher's swing, the superior power had struck her squarely. Without her Astra energy barrier, she could have perished.
She couldn't suppress a frustrated tsk, thinking that timely use of her Golden Box would have spared her these hurts.
Before Number Five could complete his technique activation, Asher materialized in front of him with a sudden blur. His rapier whistled through the sky at the man's throat with unrelenting sharpness.
Number Five instantly dropped his offensive move and shifted to a blocking deflection. Leveraging the drive of Asher's attack, he diverted the energy and gained separation from Asher.
Number Four and Number Six promptly joined him, acknowledging without pause that they had been overpowered with terrifying simplicity; the trio then ignited their powers in unison, giving full throttle.