Transmigrated to a Dark Fantasy World of SSS-Rank: King of the Void-Chapter 71: The Land of Ash [10]
Having finished the job, he sat down on the ground beside Monar and looked up at the sky. The glow around his body faded a moment later, returning everything to darkness. Then, he let out a long sigh, as if that brief encounter had drained all his strength.
’I think I could’ve done better, but since this is just the beginning, maybe I can improve in the next fight.’
The dark elf chuckled, interrupting Mitsuki’s thoughts.
"You don’t look so good. Tired? Arcane Magic usually isn’t as exhausting as conventional magic."
Mitsuki shook his head without answering. He didn’t really feel like talking right now. He had just killed what were once two little girls, and that left him with a faint sense of emptiness he couldn’t shake off.
"Well... then, should we wait for Marco and Azel? They should show up any moment now. They both know my magic has a range limit, so they should already be bringing the enemy back here. You’d better be ready in case you have to fight again."
’I think that’s pretty obvious at this point. If they show up, I’ll make sure to land the final blow. That’ll probably give me more experience than those statues.’
He closed his eyes, looking at the window displaying his stats.
[
❖ Name: Mitsuki Kirishima.
❖ Level: 14
❖ XP: 620 out of 700
❖ Sanity: 55%
❖ Physical Status: Mild Exhaustion.
❖ HP / MP / Stamina:
220 / 85 / 40
❖ Strength / Agility / Intelligence:
45 / 30 / 85
❖ Titles:
King of the Void, Master of Cinder, Prince of Misfortune, Poisoned Cake, Herald of the Unnameable.
❖ Skills:
Pro Gamer, Insomnia, Sarcasm...
]
’I’m really close to leveling up, and my stats already show a real change. I can’t complain about being too weak anymore.’
Strength would come with enough effort and dedication. Today’s enemy would become tomorrow’s experience.
Clang! Metal clashed against metal, vibrating with the exchange of power. Arrows flew through the structures, while the trail of light created by Marco’s body danced through the darkness like a shooting star, clashing against the specter, which refused to retreat no matter what.
Both figures vanished into the darkness with each strike, as if their bodies were being transported to another dimension. Every collision of power amplified the destruction around them. Powerful gusts of wind pushed debris aside, and their immense leaps shattered the ground.
From atop a small church, Azel drew his bowstring once more. Several arrows of light formed instantly, shooting across the battlefield like a rainstorm, passing through the gaps in the ruined houses and threatening to strike the specter.
The creature, however, had highly developed senses. Just as the arrows were about to hit, without stopping its exchange with Marco, it twisted its body in a grotesque way. The light projectiles destroyed parts of the buildings instead, failing to reach their target.
Azel clicked his tongue in annoyance.
"This isn’t getting us anywhere."
And he began charging more arrows into his bow.
With Blondie, it was a different story. His eyes showed the ferocity of a natural-born warrior, and every one of his movements was perfectly measured. His sword tore through the air with intensity, generating waves of wind that hindered the specter.
Their blades clashed once more—resulting in an unexpected deadlock. Marco unleashed a downward slash, but the specter blocked it with both daggers. The creature’s feet trembled under the brute strength of Blondie, who fortunately wasn’t tired enough to give in.
He smiled at that monster, hoping it understood the difference between them.
"Getting tired of clinging to life?" he asked.
The specter narrowed its ghostly eyes.
"Never..." it replied. Its voice remained just as broken and resolute.
"Then let’s see how much longer you can last."
Marco increased the pressure in the clash. His sword vibrated, scraping against the specter’s daggers. There was no escape at this point; if the creature didn’t act now, this man would split it in two. Of course, for a specter, that wasn’t much of a problem—there would never be a "true death" for it. Its wounds would heal according to what its shattered, spectral heart dictated, and its will would not fade easily, having watched from the darkness for four hundred years.
This was the Land of Ash, after all—the home of the very concept of eternal decay; something that only continues to wither, yet never dies, condemned to suffer for all eternity.
The creature finally gave in. The sword fell, piercing through its ethereal body.
Both fighters remained silent, staring into the darkness, aware of the outcome of the battle. Azel sighed in relief upon realizing the specter had been defeated, but frowned moments later. Something wasn’t right.
"He..."
The specter hugged itself, as if desperately trying to keep its body intact. It stared into the darkness in silence, as if deep in thought.
Marco, knowing he had won, lowered his sword and faced the creature.
"No..." the specter whispered. "It’s not time yet..."
"You’ve already lost," Marco said. "Stop clinging to something you’ll never achieve. Accept your fate. Accept that everything is over for you, and rest forever in the Ethereal World. Everyone else is surely waiting for you there."
The creature didn’t seem to listen. Ignoring Marco, it turned around and jumped off the roof, landing softly on the dirt below. Still clutching its decaying body, it began walking toward a specific place.
Blondie sighed.
"We have to follow it. Finish it if it does anything suspicious."
Azel nodded and ran across the rooftops. Marco did the same.
Back with Mitsuki and Monar, both were still sitting in the same spot. The dark elf looked up at the sky. 𝕗𝗿𝕖𝐞𝐰𝗲𝕓𝐧𝕠𝕧𝗲𝐥.𝚌𝐨𝚖
"And now you can see everything went well on Marco’s side. They managed to defeat it—or at least, that’s what the fluctuation of his mana told me."
Mitsuki frowned, thoughtful.
’You’re always talking about sensing energy and all that. Maybe I should learn how to do that too. I mean, it wouldn’t hurt to be able to tell when something bad is about to happen.’
One more thing to add to his training.
"...It’s..." Monar whispered. He immediately took a defensive stance.
Mitsuki followed his gaze, coming face to face with the dying specter walking toward them.
