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Chapter 47
🕑 Added 2023-12-31 13:15:01 +0000 UTC“We have been searching for you, Seth,” One of them said, stepping forward.
By the tone of the person's voice, it was a woman. It was hard to see their appearances beyond the cloaks and the masks, and he was surprised to hear his name from her mouth.
“I don't know why you were searching me out, but I don't give my services at this time. Why don't you try tomorrow? I have to get to the City for now and who are all of you anyway?” he asked and the woman chuckled, stepping forward.
Seth studied their cloaks in detail. They wore black cloaks with blue embroidery on them and going by how all of them looked similar, he could tell that they were part of the same group or organisation.
The woman in the centre held a long blade which shone with a glint in one hand, and on her other hand, he noticed a glove. Her companions stood on the back imposingly, also wearing similar gloves in their left hands. One of them had a large hammer on his right and the other was unarmed, making him suspect that he was a mage of sorts.
“Unfortunately, we can't let you go,” the woman said. “You are coming with us to our cult.”
“Your cult?” he asked.
“Yes, Seven Seals desire your presence, failed vessel.”
Hearing the name of the cult and “Failed vessel” Seth widened his eyes, realising who they were.
Seth knew that with his connection to the Seven Seals now out in the open, he would have to deal with them sooner or later, but he hadn't expected them to come looking for him so soon after the battle with Gideon.
How they had come to know of him was beyond him as it couldn't be Gideon, but it was a question for later.
“I'm sorry, but I can't come with you.” He frowned, his eyes glancing around the forest.
He was confident he could take one of them, but he had no chance against all of them. They were all at Rank 4 and even if he might be able to stand against them for a while, he was overpowered, both in numbers and strength.
The only way out of here was to injure them and run. Although he wasn't sure about their strength, Seth was confident in running away from danger.
“What will you even do with me if I come with you?” He tilted his head and the woman sneered.
“You will know soon, failed vessel.”
“I'm not a failed vessel!”
He roared and the woman rushed at him, brandishing her sword at him as he stepped out of reach of it, then kicked at her, putting some distance between them, but the woman looked unaffected.
She was the strongest out of the three, being at Level 34 and it showed in her movements. She swung her sword with a dexterity that was hard to dodge and he blocked it with his dagger, her eyes going towards the Dark Blade.
“The lost sacrificial blade.” Her eyes shone as she looked at it. “It would soon unlock its true powers.”
“I don't know what you are talking about, but can you please shut up,” Seth said, pushing his mana into the blade and slashing at her chest.
She moved back, dodging his blade and from the corner of his eye, he noticed something. Using the Flickering Step, he escaped the hammer that made a hole in the ground.
Gritting his teeth, he looked at the hammer-welding cultist, his wide arms and muscular body making him look like a bodybuilder from Earth. He lunged at Seth and he used Flickering Step, dodging every attack that came his way from the two.
Seth saw an opening and aimed to use Savage Flurry at the woman, but something held his steps. Looking down, he saw vines rising from the ground and trapping him in one place.
The mage. Fuck!
He looked up to see the third cultist smirking. Vines danced around him and he extended a hand towards Seth.
Vines sprouted and headed towards him with a fury and Seth swung his dagger, freeing himself and jumping back, but one of the vines hit him right in his jaw. He cried out before hitting the ground.
He saw the shadows of the hammer over him and rolled, just out of the impact and landed on his feet before swinging his blade at the cultist. The burly man swung his hammer, but Seth dodged it easily before slashing across his chest.
Blood spurted out and he fell back before glaring at him. Despite the cut going through his chest, the man looked fine and Seth knew it would take much more to finish him off.
Seth didn't have a moment to rest as the woman attacked him.
Her longsword glinted with dark energy and she swiped at his face with it, but Seth slid to one side, avoiding her attack with a flexibility and swinging his dagger at her shoulder. The woman stepped back, but the attack hit.
Blood sprayed out from the deep cut, and she yelped in pain, flinching away from the attack.
Seth moved quickly, channelling his mana into the blade and trying to end the woman, not knowing if he would get the chance again, but something stopped in his tracks.
The mage was quick to capitalise on Seth being occupied and launched several vines at him. He swung his blade, cutting a few of them, but it wasn't enough.
Several others escaped the edge of his dagger and lashed out at him, pushing him back as he hit a tree. A crackling sound echoed as he felt his bones cracking.
A sharp pain hit his head as he felt blood soaking his hair. Despite his armour soaking most of the impact, it hadn't been enough, especially with his head having no protection.
He gritted his teeth in pain and looked up to see the three cultists looking down on him. The burly man and the woman looked to be in mild pain, but it was nothing compared to Seth. The mage stood in the back, being the most dangerous of the lot as vines swirled around him.
The woman took a step ahead and laughed, “If you had just come without struggle, you wouldn't have been hurt.”
“I don't think a few bones are enough,” the burly man sneered. “Let me break a few more. Maybe his weapon hand.”
“Silence!” The woman barked back at him. “We need him in one piece.”
Saying that she walked towards Seth, holding her longsword with the vines right behind her to protect her and bind him. As she knelt down to pick him up, her body froze.
Abyssal energy simmered around Seth and a large blast of energy slammed into her, throwing her on the ground as he got up. His dagger shone with abyssal mana, the surge of energy making it glow like a piece of darkness.
It wasn't only his blade. All around his body, abyssal mana covered him and even his eyes turned hollow like they were mirror to the abyss itself. It felt strange, but Seth liked the feeling of power pulling him up, making him feel like he was way stronger than before.
His wounds slowly healed and the world seemed to change around him. He was more sensitive to everything— Mana, air, wind and every small movement that was happening in the background. He sensed and heard it all.
I will be exhausted and without mana after the skill ends. I need to end it fast.
Last time, he had used his skill unintentionally against Gideon and it had left him in a state of mana exhaustion, so he charged straight towards the burly cultist.
The man, seemingly shocked by Seth's sudden surge of energy, took a second more to block his attack, and he slid past his hammer to cut into his abdomen. He grunted but swung his hammer.
The heavy weapon left a mark on the ground as Seth slid past it, a touch swifter than before and stabbed into his back. The cultist turned around just in time, but the attack landed on his arm. Dropping the hammer, he held his arm as his face strained behind the mask. Blood trickled down, dirtying the cloak.
“That skill!” Seth turned back as he heard the mage's voice. Red eyes peeked past the mask he was wearing and his voice was cold and shaky. Vines swirled around him and Seth could sense the palpitating mana in the air. “How can you use it?”
Seth didn't reply, saving every bit of energy as vines came for him.
A blade of energy cut them apart as they fell to the ground. He headed right for the mage, intending to finish him off but as his blade was about to reach him, a wall of vines blocked him.
He cut them apart, but more and more vibes appeared, blocking the mage from him. Footsteps echoed in the back and Seth turned around just in time to block the longsword from taking his neck.
“You survived,” he grunted, looking at the dishevelled woman. Blood coated parts of her cloak and her breath was rugged, but the dark energy swirling through her blade was deadly, vicious.
Seth didn't know what element it was, but it wasn't abyssal mana like he used.
The woman attacked his sides, but he blocked it again, trying to push her off, but she held her around. Both of them exchanged blows for a while as Seth failed to take another strike at her.
Gritting his teeth, he slid past an attack, using Flickering Step to appear in some distance, but a vine struck him right into the stomach before he could cut it off. He was thrown back just in time for the third cultist to recover as he attacked with his hammer.
Seth jumped back and for the next few minutes, he fought against them, but all their defences were too formidable for him. Even if he managed to land a strike at them, they were too strong to die in one blow and he was also sure that they had some kind of regenerative skills as their wounds healed at a rapid pace.
The battle drained his mana more and more as time went and realising, he wouldn't be able to kill them, even with his Title Skill, he made a decision.
Rolling back to dodge another attack, he vanished from the surface. The three of them looked around, waiting for him to appear again in the clearing, but a few seconds went by and the mage widened his eyes.
“He's escaping!”
Realising Seth was making a run for the city, the three of them chased after him.
It would take nearly an hour to reach the gates. 40 minutes if I can maintain my speed.
Seth used Dark Step with Flickering Step interchangeably, significantly increasing his speed. His only hope was to reach the gates and take shelter there.
Even if the cultists tried to attack there, there was a group of adventurers coming back from their hunts every day in the evening alongside the guards. That would be enough to hold them off until someone informed the Mayor.
He did his best to run through the forest, leaves crumbling under his foot, but after a while, footsteps echoed in the back. Taking a look back, he could see the three of them chasing him with ease with the mage in the centre and the burly cultist in the back.
Despite his size, he was maintaining his speed, probably using some sort of a skill himself.
The real problem was the mage as Seth could sense him coursing mana on his palms. Frowning, he increased his speed, trying to use trees to throw them off, but a vine erupted from the ground and grasped his leg.
He cut it off with his blade, but more and more vines lashed at him in a grasping motion, making it difficult for him to fight back while running.
His face strained as one of the vines grasped his left hand. He cut it off as others came at his legs and waist. The distance between the cultist and him lowered as he struggled with the vines.
I can't waste my time like this! My mana is already running low!
Using Flickering Step, he ran ahead, trying to escape them and not wasting time with the vines. He grunted with each step as his mana reserves lowered and lowered, making it harder and harder to keep going.
They chased after him and he managed to keep them at a distance, but suddenly, a wall of vines rose from the ground up ahead and blocked the path.
“Fuck!” Seth cursed and tried to jump over it, but more vines dragged him down and he slammed on the ground. Slashing at them with his blades, he looked at the three cultists who now stood a short distance away, stopping their sprint to give him a snare.
“You can't escape anymore,” the woman said as Seth made a run for the trees, but vines grew out of the forest floor, intertwining together to form a barricade.
After the third barricade was up, Seth realised he was trapped.
“Just come with us, vessel,” the mage spoke. “You are more interesting than I initially assumed. It seems like we might have a use for you as a slave.”
“Fuck off!”
Just as he said that more vines erupted. He knew the mage was strong, but his mana reserves were almost unending. They headed toward him as he used the last bit of mana he had to cut them off.
They fell on the ground, but more took their places. Finally, one vine grasped his waist, holding him down as he lost the grip on his blade.
More came from his right and held him in one place as Seth struggled to escape. The mana coursed through his whole body as he tried to break through, but more and more vines held him into place until he stopped trying.
“You were stronger than I gave yourself credit for,” the mage said, stepping towards him. The woman had a scowl on her face next to him and the burly cultist laughed in the back, excited looking at Seth on the ground.
“What… What do you want from me?” Seth asked, feeling like it was even hard to speak. His mana reserves had run dry and he was barely keeping himself going.
“You will know soon, but I will tell you one thing,’’ the man kneeled down, his eyes giving him a maniacal look. “Your life ends here. You will only be a slave from now on. That's what you were brought into this world for and you will now fulfil your rightful role.”
“I think I have a few things to say about that,” a voice cut off into the conversation as the three cultists turned back.
Seth looked up to see a man leaning against a tree. He wore a hood, hiding his face, but he was sure that he didn't know the man. He had never heard such a voice before and he hadn't even sensed anyone else being in the forest in such a close vicinity, despite him being so sensitive in his current state.
Who is this guy?
Seth grunted, feeling the situation becoming worse as the man took a step forward from behind the cultists.
Comments
Chris
The plot thickens. Lol
