Death Ascension - Chapter 79

“Listen, Kid. I’ll be in charge of mobility while you’re in charge of attacks.” Mikael instructed, “Just focus on one spot and one spot only. Understood?”

“Yes, sir!”

And with that, the second round of Kaede versus the Super Major had begun.

Cursed with zero agility, Mikael successively activated his teleportation skill to approach the monster.

His movement speed was so fast that normal soldiers wouldn’t have been able to follow him, but the Super Major did, proving once again that it was far superior to its kin in all aspects.

The monster’s hypersensitive antennae twitched, sensing his approach.

The ant turned its massive head toward Kaede’s direction, its hind legs tense in preparation for an attack.

“Kid, you ready?” Mikael asked as he halted some distance away from the monster, allowing Deon to concentrate on his target—the monster’s eye. The only part unprotected by its shield-like carapace.

The unfortunate thing about the cursed sword “Nostalgia” was that the first point of contact is set as its Skill target. Also, Item skills only work when the sword is ‘equipped’ by the host which meant that they cannot remotely attack using psychokinesis.

Fighting at a distance was never an option in the first place as their opponent can instantly close the 5-meter skill radius.

Kaede’s right hand held the cursed sword forward, pointing directly to his enemy’s left eye, “I’m ready.”

Like a puff of smoke, he disappeared.

Materializing in front of the monster, Kaede thrust his rapier onward!

<Skill: Stab Lvl. 1 is activated.>

But the ant had anticipated his attack!

Its left antenna powerfully slapped Nostalgia away.

Instead of the eye, the sword stabbed the ant’s forehead, but the monster didn’t mind.

If anything, it seemed to enjoy the fight, purposely letting Kaede hit as if to mock his futile efforts.

As if to tell him that no matter what he does, he would never win.

Even if he boosted his strength…

Even if he changed his weapon… the Super Soldier would break them ALL to pieces.

The monster wanted Kaede to realize how foolish he was to fight the greatest warrior in the Queen’s army.

A red laser-like dot glowed from the sword’s point of impact. It spread radially outward, forming a mana circle drawn like a dartboard with ancient symbols instead of numbers.

Ping!

<System Notification: Target Set for Item Skill: Nostos>

‘UGHH! F*ck!’ Mikael cursed in frustration.

Their work had just become a hundred times harder. Even with their amplified strength, the damage dealt was only slightly deeper than the last, forcing Mikael to re-evaluate the monster’s toughness.

The Super ant took Kaede’s momentary distraction as a chance to counterattack.

Its acupuncture-like antenna suddenly appeared from the back and stabbed Kaede’s left shoulder.

“AAAAAAAARRGHH!!!” Kaede roared in agony.

Tremendous pain erupted from his wound and black spots danced in his vision.

Kaede slipped off the antenna, its length slick with his warm blood.

‘Sh*t,’ He staggered, hand pressed on the gaping hole in his shoulder.

Before the Super Major could land another blow, Kaede teleported to safety.

“Hah! Hah! Haah…” his breathing became rough, and his heart hammered in his chest.

‘The wound… only a few inches more and it could’ve pierced my heart.’

‘It deliberately missed…’

‘This bastard… it’s just playing with me!’

Kaede fell on his knees, intense anger and frustration bubbling from the pit of his stomach.

A few moments later, the blood stopped pouring and the hole closed by itself.

Kaede understood that as long as the monster attack doesn’t cause instant death, the atmospheric mana will continue to heal his body.

And from the looks of it, the Super Major does not intend to kill him in one blow. It wanted to play with him longer, inflicting pain so severe that Kaede felt like dying and then letting him go to recuperate. Rinse and repeat.

This knowledge gave Kaede the courage to keep challenging the monster. The longer he drags the fight, the greater his chance at winning.

But that too was limited.

The countdown timer showed that he only had 58 minutes, 32 seconds left of the body reinforcement.

‘We just have to endure.’

Kaede’s pale green eye flashed, ‘This f*cker… you think you can afford to toy with us? Don’t be overconfident, A*shole! we’ll definitely kill you!’

<Skill: Psychokinesis Lvl. 2 is activated.>

Kaede’s left hand extended to the piles of dead ants then he threw them right in the Super Soldier’s disgusting head.

As the ant busily swatted the corpses away, Kaede stealthily approached.

<Skill: Stab Lvl. 1 is activated.>

He moved in for the attack, coming from the ant’s blindside.

“TAKE THIS, YOU MOTHERF*CKER!!!”

<Item Skill: Nostos is activated.>

Kaede didn’t even need to position his rapier. The sword guided his hand toward the target like a homing missile.

Crack…

The small dent dug a centimeter deeper and a micro crack finally appeared on the ant’s forehead.

The ant swung its huge head to Kaede but he had already teleported away.

‘Hit and Run’—this was the answer that Mikael came to.

Seconds stretched to minutes.

His first attacks were a sort of trial phase with Deon’s life on the line.

The first few caught by the monster sent them one step closer to Hades’ Court of Judgment. The Super Major broke his arm, twisted his legs, crushed his hand… but they all mended in mere seconds, leaving only a desperate desire to kill the enemy even a moment faster.

As time went on, Kaede’s movements became more fluid as Deon’s hesitation disappeared.

With every succeeding strike, he hit the target more viciously than the last.

‘HIT IT!’

‘MORE!’

‘HARDER!!’

‘FASTER!!!’

His attacks went on autopilot as his survival instinct took over. He danced around the monster, rapier glinting in the dark as he dodged attacks with more ease.

Crack…

Crack!

Webs of fracture lines snaked from the target point.

Until, finally, the monster lost its calm, perhaps irritated that a weak human was hopping around it like a bug yet it could no longer land a proper hit.

For the first time in its life, the Super Major cast away its duty to protect the Queen. It was consumed by a strong urge to crush its enemy.

Its legs dug into the dirt, storing energy to unleash a devastating blow.

The monster lowered its massive head and sprung forward with astonishing speed!

But Kaede did not even try to evade. He trusted that this would be their last exchange.

Whoever breaks first will lose and die.

Cursed Sword versus a monstrous shield.

Kaede stood his ground, Nostalgia pointed forward.

<Skill: Stab Lvl 1 is activated.>

<Item Skill: Nostos is activated.>

BOOOOOM!

CRAAAACK!!

The Super Soldier headbutted against Nostalgia and the momentum sent Kaede flying 15 meters away.

To onlookers, Kaede appeared to have lost the duel.

Yet in truth, he emerged victorious.

The cursed sword pierced the ant’s skull hilt deep.

The Super Major swayed like a drunkard then it fell to its side, revealing an unexpected sight.

At its back was Dame Nora with her black sword sticking out of the ant’s abdomen.

–Chapter end–

A/N here, ‘equipped’ means the host holds the item. If Mikael uses Psychokinesis, the sword will be ‘unequipped’ and it becomes an ordinary sword since its item effects won’t activate.

Fun Fact: Nostos is Greek for ‘Return or Homecoming’. It is the origin of the word ‘Nostalgia’ along with another Greek word ‘Algos’ which means ‘Pain or suffering’ so ‘Nostalgia’ literally means ‘Pain from an old wound’ (which I think is cool for an attack skill. Hoho).. It was coined to describe the anxiety of mercenaries fighting away from home.