996 Trust
Varian was pushed to dangerous limits as the injuries on his body piled up.
Even with the formations severely restricting him, his strength managed to exceed that of a mid level 9.
But facing two peak level 9 Archdukes and fifteen high level 9s rendered him helpless against the flood of attacks.
Every passing moment, his body would be struck with another lightning weapon—a spear, a bullet, a bolt, a sword, a net—and be broken down a bit more.
From the bird's viewpoint, Varian was engulfed in an almost blinding golden light. His silhouette was dark and bits and pieces of him—the dark tidbits broke apart and melted away in the flash of gold.
The whole human body was suddenly rendered with numerous holes and gaps. Even the most resilient of level 9s couldn't stand a minute under this torturous onslaught.
But somehow, Varian's damaged body was regenerating. The broken, torn dark silhouette in the golden light was recovering fast. But the rate of destruction was higher and as time went by, the gap between the two widened.
As they kept attacking him relentlessly realizing he's still breathing, even the Archdukes felt their stomachs churn.
Their hearts screamed in fear as they kept their gazes locked on the young man who was quickly breaking down.
They didn't feel elated. Only fear lingered in their hearts.
'Monster…'
'You're the true Undead monster.'
Even though no one said it out explicitly, they all understood that if they let Varian go now, even by accident, they might never have another chance to slay this monster.
Forget two Archdukes, even if ten of them gathered, it's not likely.
So, with the highest hear in their hearts, they redoubled their efforts and attacked him with everything they got.
At the center of their attacks remained Varian. His eyes remained closed as the searing pain numbed his body and threatened to break down his mind.
His skin was broken down every second before it's regenerated and then broke down again. After countless on and off, it felt like he's just wearing a skin suit. It was a creepy feeling, one he wished he didn't have to experience.
But that wasn't the end of it. His flesh was burnt alive, and he felt like an animal roasted. It was scary, disgusting and most of all, it left him feeling helpless.
He couldn't make much of a moment nor could his attacks reach his enemies. There's literally nothing he could do to stop them.
This was the most vulnerable Varian could remember ever being. And he threw himself in this situation fully knowing what's in store.
This was a trial for him, in ways more than one. Now his fate rested on the Sia, Sarah and Evander.
Varian hated handing his fate over to others, even if it's close ones. Unless necessary, he'd do everything by himself.
But there's no other way now. Among all the ways he could think of, this was the only way for them to invade Pluto.
'If I get out, then I'll…' A lighting bolt broke Varian's defenses and exploded right beside his head, nearly freezing his thoughts. 'K.i..l.l…y..o.u!'
His plantar power began racing ahead of the rest of his paths, followed by his body and lightning powers.
The others were also progressing at a fast rate, but compared to the first three, they were significantly slow.
One thing was clear, if Varian did manage to come out of this alive, just by the virtue of all the growth suffered in these short but extremely intense minutes, he'd no longer be in the league of a peak level 9.
Formations or not, when he barged in next time, they'd not be able to be able to freeze and target him.
But if he didn't escape, then everything would be for naught.
The abyssals hoped for it to be the case but the notifications ringing in their ears informed them that the level 9s of human army barged in. They still had some formations they could use, but it wouldn't stop those level 9s.
"Archduke, four of us will go and stop those intruders." A level 9 stopped his attack and proposed.
Three members gathered around him and looked at the Archduke for permission.
Before the Archduke could even speak, Varian's golden silhouette shook and a strong shockwave hit everyone.
The dark silhouette in the golden light moved and raised its fist.
"Attack!"
"Hold him down!"
The archdukes shouted and the four level 9s resumed their attacks and barely managed to keep him freezen.
Realizing that Varian almost escaped, cold sweat rolled down the foreheads of every abyssal.
The archdukes swallowed their saliva and stared at Varian's silhouette with even more hatred. But they noticed something. A tiny detail that everyone else ignored.
…They couldn't see his face. But his dark silhouette in that golden light, almost like a shadow, had a smile on its face.
It seemed to say, 'I'm not trapped with you. You're trapped with me!'
The archdukes panicked and tried to send a bunch of their colleagues to deal with the human level 9s.
In their original plan, Varian would be killed in seconds and then they could leisurely deal with the rest of humans.
But what the fuck?! This guy just refuses to die! It's been minutes already!
The plan derailed and the abyssals only managed to send three level 9s to stabilize the situation.
But they too knew that it won't be enough.
Instead of becoming a certain victory where all the human invaders would be wiped out, this turned into a race on which would happen first.
Could they kill Varian before other human level 9s get there.
Or…
BOOM!
A formation broke exploded in the distance and the psychic power attacking Varian disappeared.
"Sia." A weak but confident smirk sounded before a wave of psychic energy swept over the abyssals.
The very next moment, a lighting awakener clutched his head and knelt.
A woman in black bodysuit appeared behind him and swung her shadow dagger into his neck.
Before the Archdukes could even attack her or stabilize the situation, another explosion occurred in the distance, loosening the space around Varian.
"…Sarah." The hoarse voice grew more confident and proud.
The space around an abyssal in the fringes froze and a white light spear pierced his heart, ending him for good.
Then the silhouettes of Sarah and Sia blurred as they tore through the level 9 abyssals.
After Varian drew all the attention and forcibly kept the level 9s occupied, they landed on Pluto, broke through the few powerful formations they had to face and navigated through the illusions to reach Varian.
Even though they had their fair share of injuries, when facing the level 9s that were still afraid to stop attacking Varian lest he got away, they were killing machines!
If they're left alone, everyone other level 9 except the archdukes would be dead! Then, they'd team up with Varian and end them!
Realizing the danger of leaving these two alone, the Archdukes turned to attack them despite the risk of letting Varian free.
They rather hoped the monster was too injured to act, which he was.
After the attacks on him stopped, Varian couldn't even float in the air and collapsed from the sky like a torn parachute.
Instead of fighting the Archdukes, Sarah and Sia appeared beside Varian, and held him carefully.
The space around them fluctuated before they disappeared into a familiar ghost ship!
"Don't let them escape!" The Archdukes' cries were left unanswered as Boo tore through the fog and shot out of Pluto.
