Chapter 187 Re-Taking Zoren (Part 4)

[ - 20 Health]

[You have been poisoned]

[You will lose 1 Health per second]

[Due to skill (Regeneration) the poison will fade after 1 minute]

[Quest Recieved]

[Defeat th...]

Several messages appeared infront of Leo as he was being dragged into the air but he ignored the last few, focusing only on the battle relevant messages.

The creature had dug its fingernails/claws deep into his shoulder and was holding onto him tightly as it flew.

Everything happened so quickly that in less than five seconds Leo was already over 100 meters in the air.

He grabbed onto the creatures wrists and squeezed hard while trying to pull it's claws from his shoulders.

He could feel the strain on the creatures joints and bones but his strength wasn't enough to crush its wrist.

He felt the claws exit his flesh as he pushed them away but they were suddenly pulled back by their owner. The creature lifted its legs and kicked Leo in the back with all its strength.

[ - 5 Health]

He let go of one of the wrists and used the momentum from the kick to spin around and face the creature.

He placed some energy into his fist and swung it towards the creatures chest from the side. His fist slammed into a translucent barrier that appeared between him and the creatures chest.

'A barrier?'

The entire time this was happening the creature had continued to fly up, gaining height constantly. It was so high now that it had just gone through the clouds, allowing the moon light to hit them.

For the first time, Leo saw what he had been fighting these passed twenty or so seconds.

'It's like John...' Leo thought as the moonlight covered them.

'It's not him though, this one has wings and is clearly female.' Dreifus added.

[Wind Blade]

From behind the creature, a blade of compressed air was formed and shit out towards its wings. Once again, a barrier appeared to block the attack.

"Did John put you up to this!? Why do you look like him!?" Leo shouted as he tried to punch her again but hit another barrier.

"My master gave me a gift so I will do whatever he asks of me!" The woman shouted back.

'Gave her a gift... Master? John turned her into this and now she's loyal to him... But why?'

[Combination]

[Wind Blade + Fire Bolt]

A blade of compressed air appeared behind the woman again but turned into flames as it soared through the air towards her. Just like before though, a barrier appeared and took the hit.

"You can't get through my barrier, it was a gift from Master and you are too weak to break it!" The woman shouted.

' She's not wrong, my attacks aren't even damaging that barrier right now, let alone breaking it.' Leo thought.

'So what are you going to do?' Dreifus asked.

'I have some ideas.'

" Your barrier might be strong enough to defend from my attacks, but how many barriers can you make at once!?" Leo shouted, struggling to hear himself over the sound of the wind.

[Delayed Attack] (×3)

[Wind Blade]

[Lightning Bolt]

[Fireball]

'Three is the most I can do at once right now but it should be able to do some damage at the very least.' Leo thought.

A blade of compressed air appeared from behind the woman while a bolt of lightning shot down from above. Leo let go of the woman's wrist and left behind a fireball that was attached to the spot he was holding.

The woman had been ascending this whole time and the two of them were so high up now that Leo couldn't even tell where the city was beneath them.

Because of her constant ascension, the distance between them grew to at least 10 meters in an instant since Leo was now falling in the opposite direction.

The Wind Blade was released first, flying towards the woman's wings. She turned to face the attack and lifted her hand to create a barrier to block it.

'She didn't notice the other two, good.' Leo thought as he released the other two attacks simultaneously.

The a bolt of lightning shit down from the sky towards the woman at the exact same time as a large explosion of fire erupted, originating from her wrist.

The combination of lightning and fire caused a massive explosion that lit up the sky with a flash of light and generated a sound similar to thunder.

Leo didn't make use of Glide or Fly, allowing himself to fall and Absorb some Energy.

'It's a good thing you learned how to delay your attacks and make them originate from anywhere within your Battle Aura.'  Dreifus said.

'Agreed. Using several attacks at once makes it harder to defend and they compound their damage when they hit.' Leo replied.

[The poison in your body has been neutralized]

[Health 200/270]

'My health would be lower if I didn't have Regeneration to counter the poison and heal me during fights.' Leo thought as he watched his health go up by another 5 points after a few seconds.

From behind him, through the use of Battle Aura, Leo suddenly felt something approaching him with speed.

Maybe it was because he wasn't as surprised or because he was moving in the opposite direction but this time he managed to react in time.

He turned around and saw the woman charging through the air towards him from above. Her right wing had been blown off, just like her left arm from the elbow down.

She lunged towards Leo, attempting to grab at his throat with her right hand. Leo grabbed onto her wrist and pulled her towards himself and to the side. He used the momentum to drag her beneath him and then placed his legs in her chest.

[Combination]

[Leap + Firesteam]

Fire blasted out from Leo's feet as he kicked the woman away. Her body was sent flying towards the ground at incredible speeds as flames spread across her body.

"Aarrgghh!!" The woman screamed as the flames consumed her body.

Her one working wing was flapping wildly, trying to slow her fall as she saw the ground coming into view.

Because they were both in the air, most of the force generated by Leap was transferred to the woman. Leo had slowed down slightly because of it but was still falling at a fast speed.

Her was a few dozen meters above her when he saw the ground start coming into view. It was still a few hundred meters away but at the speed they were falling it wouldn't take long before they landed.

He saw the woman frantically trying to slow herself with her remaining wing but all that did was allow him to catch up to her.

Leo placed his arms to his sides and suddenly increased in speed. He turned himself into a projectile as he fell, approaching the woman with blur inducing speed.

He slammed int her from behind, using his knees to dig into her back. He heard the bones in her body snapping but he couldn't tell if it was her spine or ribs.

He reached out and grabbed onto her flailing wing at its base. With all his might he squeezed his hand and pulled, ripping her wing from her back and throwing it into the air.

The sound of the flesh tearing was somewhat drowned out by the wind but not completely gone. She screamed out in pain as another one of her appendages was taken from her.

Leo looked passed the screaming woman and saw that they were going to land on the city wall. He could see two figure standing there, seemingly engaged in battle.

They were too far away to make out any details but Leo didn't strain himself since he would be close enough to see them in a few seconds.

[Leap]

[Fly]

Leo placed his feet against the woman's back one more time as he used Leap again. He felt her bones cracking and snapping under his foot as she was catapulted down.

Her body slammed into the the wall with immense force, landing right between the two figures that were standing there.

Cracks spread over the wall, originating from the point where the woman had landed. There was a small dust cloud that was created around her landing zone.

Leo flew down with speed, slowing down at the last second. He softly landed right next to the woman's body without so much as a sound.

The dust cleared after a few seconds and Leo could see who the two figures on the wall were, their surprised and confused faces staring back at him.

"I'm surprised to see a coward like you on a battlefield John. Are you going to run away this time as well? I'd prefer if we could just end this once and for all." Leo said as he stared towards a scowling John.

"Maybe your dead follower can help you overcome your fear for me, that way you might be able to die with some honor when I kill you."