Jett strode toward the nine Specters of Madness, his crimson bolt crackling at his side. Cerven—the na of the crimson lightning bolt—was his most powerful lightning weapon, designed solely to inflict maximum damage. He could launch it with blinding speed, recall it instantly, and wield it like a deadly blade.
As he advanced, one specter stifled its fear and charged in a four-legged sprint unlike any human run, churning rotten flesh and soil in its wake. Jett remained motionless, serene.
When the creature entered his range, Jett's heart pounded and magic crackled at his fingertips as he traced a crimson arc, slicing its forehead with surgical accuracy. A thunderous boom echoed as the specter's skull exploded in crimson light, its body collapsing in a heap.
Shaken free of dread, the remaining monsters lunged from all sides. Jett swiveled his head once to gauge their positions before locking onto his next target.
He dashed forward, abandoning his guard stance for a direct thrust at the nearest chest. His lightning bolt grazed the specter's torso, triggering a violent explosion of crimson energy.
Shifting into a throwing stance, he released Cerven with a sonic boom, obliterating a second foe. Stepping aside, he extended his arm to recall his weapon. A shrill screech announced its return—Cerven impaled a third specter on its way back, carrying a thick tang of decay.
Three down.
Two more specters spotted an opening and charged like rabid beasts. With a single wide slash, Jett cleaved them both in half.
With the path cleared, none remained who could harm him. Amid the scattered remains, he stood still, hand clenched around his weapon, eyes alight with excitent.
I love this... no VR combat can compare. I feel mana surging through and the world. Every strike connects. It's fucking real. It's fucking good.
For a heartbeat, silence swallowed the garden—then the dying specters released a thick, dark crimson energy overhead. It coalesced into a grotesque maw with bestial eyes carved in midair.
"WARDEN!" a chorus of fragnted voices thundered, dripping with anticipation.
Jett t their gaze at the uncanny visage. Sothing primal stirred within him—a need to destroy rather than to protect. His mana flared, his heart hamred.
Silence pressed in around them, broken only by Mia's sharp intake of breath.
"Are you the Harbinger?" he asked calmly.
"WARDEN!" the voices repeated.
The crimson maw solidified, grafting soil and rotting flesh into a golem-like form with human bits protruding grotesquely. It towered over him.
"You want ?" Jett asked.
With a guttural roar, the creature raised a massive claw to pulverize him. Jett lifted his hand overhead, fingers splayed, as blue sparks crackled along his arm.
"Iebo," he whispered.
BANG!
The claw slamd into his palm—and froze.
Iebo—the snapping blue spark defense that blankets my body and stores incoming damage for a counterstrike!
Pressing his palm against the stunned claw, Jett redirected the force back at the Harbinger. Blue sparks surged through the creature's arm and burst forth like lethal thorns, shredding its earthen flesh into bloody fragnts.
He flicked soil from his shoulders and looked up. "You can't break my defenses. You're finished." He reford Cerven in his free hand and hurled it into the creature's gaping maw, lodging the bolt halfway down its throat.
Crimson arcs detonated within its throat, purging the Harbinger's mana from the Rose Garden. A fierce rush of triumph and awe swelled in Jett's chest. Amid screams and howls, Jett fixed his gaze on the dissipating energy.
So this is the Harbinger—feeding on battle frenzy and turning the dead into specters to fuel its Evolution. I see its design.
With a final shriek, the creature dissolved, its presence wiped from the garden.
[You have defeated all Specters of Madness.]
[You can now awaken the second maid of your choice from her slumber to attend you.]
Mia approached, bowing deeply. "You have dispatched your foes with unparalleled skill, Master Jett. I cannot fathom the extent of your potential—your execution was flawless."
Having long been told it was a pity he lacked mana despite his talent, Jett accepted the praise with a broad grin. He turned to Mia.
"Thanks, Mia—seriously."
It was her greatest joy to see her master so pleased.
...
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