Chapter 65: Chapter 65 Raiju Part 04.
"..Soma".
The thick pillar that rained down from heaven completely enveloped Soma entirely, pulverizing him. This was the second time Hina had witnessed this sight. First, Soma somehow got help from the mysterious entity that possessed him, but now the attack directly swallowed him whole.
Her sight turned dim as the world turned grey, and her heart cracked before it broke, leaving an empty void that never could be healed. All of a sudden, her vision started to turn red as intense rage began to envelop her inside, clouding her pure heart.
".. Unforgivable, unforgivable, unforgivable, unforgivable…".
She keeps muttering those words as if being possessed by something terrifying. The tears that travel along her cheeks turn red as the blood gathers on her head, and the red emotion that clouded her heart slowly turns dark. She clutched the katana in her hand, preparing herself to throw away herself fighting the wolf.
However, her anger subsided as she noticed the thick lightning pillar, began to dismiss its might and revealed a shadow of a human boy who stood calmly inside that terrifying dragon maw.
"So, ma".
Light began to emerge from her void eyes filled with life, her boiling rage that almost devoured her reasoning subsided, and her thought began to work as it used to. Although her mind was starting to understand the situation, her body was unable to. Her hand kept strangling the katana sheath, ready to draw its blade to the wolf at any time.
Soma, or rather Martial Saint, still keeps its calm face even after getting struck by that massive bolt of lightning that charred the surrounding ground in black.
The wolf opened its eyes in shock at the human who received one of his ultimate attacks and managed to survive. He noticed something change in the human figure. His flat hair slightly stood up, and a crackling of lightning traveled along its skin in a yellow color affected by the Divine aura of the Martial Saint.
"Let\'s see whose lightning is better."
[First Step, Lightning Scatter]
The current air began to change its course as now it started to gather around the Martial Saint\'s side, surrounding him in its swirling, protecting him like a cage. The wolf, who noticed the change, started to shift his focus and managed to take control of half of the wind that scattered around the battlefields.
On the battlefield, there are two individuals who attract storms upon them while facing each other, ready to strike at any time.
[Thunder God necklace activated for 1 minute]
[The requirement for ascending to the next level has been fulfilled]
[You level up!]
…
[EXP: _/340]
[You received EP +30]
[Congratulations, the user unlocked one of the Martial Saint techniques]
[Receiving EP +50]
[Three Steps of Heavenly Lightning Tribulation Techniques learned]
{This is?}
A translucent window appeared before him and filled his sight to the brim. But the notification brought forth a smile of satisfaction, seeing his level that went up and the bonus he received after all this time being stuck on level ten. A massive boulder on his shoulder has been lifted as his body grows some wings of freedom.
"Surprised? There is still more to come. So watch and learn, Soma".
Martial Saint\'s calm voice brought back his elated mind to the surface. Soma shifted his attention, focused and nodded his head.
{Okay}
The slight crackling on his body intensified, sending a tiny bolt of lightning that scattered to the empty air like a small snake dancing. Martial Saint starts to take his stance while preparing himself to launch his attack.
Martial Saint inhale a deep breath, then exhale the breath at a regular phase. He lifted his face before kicking the ground, sending a small debris that got crushed by the sheer force of his enhanced physical strength and lightning-clad body.
There is no trick in his approach, just a straightforward run, and the wolf also understands what the Martial Saint means, but he doesn\'t have any intention to meet the attack head-on. So, the wolf focuses his attention on the other else as he manipulates mana in his surroundings, preparing to launch his attack.
"Grrr".
The swirling wind that protected him began to gather and compress themselves into dozens of wind slashes that floated around the wolf. Then, with a slight shake of his head, the wind slashed fly in a straight line to intercept the approach of the martial saint. Multiple wind slashes from compressed air fly in various angles, horizontal, vertical, and diagonal.
The appearance sometimes deceives everyone, as the dozens compressed wind slash turns into a hundredth of slash for it was created rapidly behind the wolf\'s back.
He was facing those hundredths of wind slash. Martial Saint\'s lips lifted as he enjoyed this moment. It\'s been a long time since he could feel the excitement in battle, exchange of beliefs, performing a trained technique. The adrenalin that pumped over the system heightened one sense.
Now, he could feel that tension in battle again as he possessed the body of a young man who received his inheritance and was in the process of breaking its first shell.
Martial Saint, who ran in a straightforward way, kicked the ground once more and sent him to the air, but another wind slash already awaited him there. The wolf sneered because his attack would graze him or maybe kill him.
However, contrary to the wolf\'s thought, the martial saint once again kicked on empty air and started to maneuver in the air, changing his position freely while avoiding the slashes, hopping around like a rabbit who dances in the sky.
The first step technique Martial Saint created, one of its advantages, will let the user freely roam the globe with its unrestricted foothold, which means the user could use any place as a foothold whether it\'s on the ground, air, sea, space, etc.
In the previous battle, Soma had to use the equipment he received after defeating the Valiant Wolf to acquire the ability to walk in the air, and that was restricted to two times. But with the Martial Saint technique, he could conquer any obstacles and use every space as a foothold that will significantly help him in battle that will unfold in the future.
Martial Saint swiftly avoided the slash and arrived in front of the wolf, making the wolf wide in shock. Then, using the momentum of moving in the air, the Martial Saint raised his right leg, swung it vertically like an axe and struck the wolf\'s face with its back heel. Making the wolf\'s face slammed to the ground as he whimpered in pain.
The wolf recovered fast as the Martial Saint, who finished with its attack, didn\'t show any sign of continuing its attack. So the wolf uses that chance to take a leap behind and forms a new plan for him to kill the human, who gets stronger every second the fight is prolonged.
"Grrr".
Letting out a threatening growl, the wolf began to shift its attention toward his surroundings, trying to find a way for him to immobilized the human in front of him. His gaze stopped at Hina, who stood pretty far away from him, but with his strength and speed, he could cover that much distance in an instant.
He flashed his sharp canines while fixing his gaze on Hina, who seemed to glare back at him.
"Like I will let you".
Martial Saint, who suddenly blocked the wolf\'s line of sight, kicked the monster in its lower jaw, blanked the wolf\'s mind and blew him away from its standing place.
{Martial saint, you must finish the wolf while he is still in dismay}
"Yeah, you are right. Let me raise the tension a little bit".
[Second Steps, Lightning descent]