Chapter 174: Training Program: 10 [Domain]
First, Betrayed? by Arlyne's team.
Second, He felt a certain resonance with the Dark Mana of the monsters.
So he was ready to dissect them to uncover their secrets.
However, something unexpected happened.
"ggrrrrrrrrrr"
"aaahhhooooooo"
"Wait You fucking Bastards!!"
'Slash'
"ereerrrrrrrr"
"aaaahhhhhhoooo"
"...."
Eli couldn't comprehend what was happening as the monsters seemed to avoid him, even though he had every intention of dissecting them with his weapon.
He stopped, looking around in utter confusion. The monsters were there, but they didn't attack.
They seemed to be filled with fear as their eyes flickered with trepidation.
Eli couldn't make sense of it all.
First, these waves of monsters had appeared out of nowhere.
Second, they appeared to be targeting someone, as some of them ran in the direction where Arlyne's team had disappeared.
And third, they were avoiding combat with him.
"They Fucking avoid fighting me!!!" Eli screamed in frustration.
Eli had managed to eliminate a few of them at the front, catching them by surprise. But afterwards, they skillfully evaded every attack he launched. It was more than annoying.
At one point, Eli resorted to his magical arts to defeat them, attempting spells like Gale, Fireball, Water Bullet, and Earth Spikes. However, the monsters seemed to absorb these attacks with their dark mana, allowing them to retaliate.
Despite these advantages, they didn't attack him. Instead, they surrounded him, moving as if they were loyal followers, not foes.
"sigh....Do I look like more monster than them?" Eli wondered if he looked more monstrous than these creatures. It was a strange thought that crossed his mind.
"..."
"..."
Eli and the monsters maintained an odd standoff, neither side making a move. Several minutes passed with no change in the situation.
"...What you want?" Eli, who was growing increasingly frustrated, asked aloud, wondering if the monsters could somehow understand him.
"GGRRRREEEEE"
To his surprise, one of the humanoid monsters growled with a hint of fear in its expression.
Unfortunately, Eli's ears remained deaf to their sounds, leaving him at a loss for how to react, even if he could understand them.
'Anyhow, it seems they could understand me?...Did I finally become a monster?' Eli frowned and nodded as if he had figured something out.
"Why are you avoiding me?" Eli questioned, but then he shook his head in frustration, realizing the futility of the question, 'Why am I even asking?'.
"GGRRREEEE"
The same humanoid monster growled and extended its human-like hand toward Eli.
"...." Eli's eyes narrowed in confusion.
Eli turned his attention to Celestria, which he held in his hand.
".....I see" Eli finally comprehended why the monsters were avoiding confrontation with him. The dark mana emanating from these humanoid creatures was similar to that of Lilith, and these weapons had been given to him by Lilith.
It didn't require a genius to understand what this implied.
'So they think I'm one of them?'
Yet, this realization didn't solve the mystery of why these creatures exhibited the same mana signature as Lilith.
"But I'm not the same as you," Eli remarked, pointing Celestria at a particular monster that seemed to have some level of consciousness.
In response to Eli's gesture, the monster growled and backed away.
"GGRRRRREEE"
Eli inquired in an indifferent tone, "Who do you guys belong to?"
Suddenly, all the creatures began to growl.
"EEERRRRRR"
"AAAGGGOOO"
"AEEEEEEE"
The entire group backed away, growling in response. Eli glanced at his surroundings and pondered, 'I'm not sure if I can defeat them, unlike those mindless scorpions, these have some human-like instincts....What should I do? They seem to be above the Early Domain Rank in cultivation, not only in quality but also in quantity'.
"Flame Arts: 1st Form"
/FireBall/
Eli suddenly shot a big red fireball and just about it the three monsters.
'sssoooooiiii'
Dark mana enveloped the creatures, devouring the fireball. But that was part of Eli's plan.
Seizing this opportunity, he darted behind the fireball as it was being devoured and swung Celestria, its teeth covered with minute metal spikes.
'Chuukkk'
Eli succeeded in slicing the neck of one monster, although he had hoped to take down three. Unfortunately, the minute metal spikes had already disappeared after slashing the first monster.
'Tsk, it's going to take more time' Eli muttered to himself.
He was about to repeat the process when he remarked with a sarcastic smile,
"Look who's here" upon seeing the group that had seemingly betrayed? him.
Eli wasn't entirely certain if they had betrayed him, 'Well, whatever, at least they came' he thought.
He was familiar with the consequences of being easily misunderstood and regretting it later.
While he wasn't going to cry over their betrayal, if it indeed was one, he might feel differently.
But if it turned out to be a misunderstanding, Eli was willing to admit it was his mistake being deaf now.
Seeing their astonished expressions, Eli looked at them with a puzzled expression, thinking, 'What's going on? Why are they staring at me like I'm some rare animal or something?'
Just as he was about to ask for their assistance, the humanoid monsters around him finally took notice of the bewildered group.
As soon as they spotted a white sack in the possession of the group, their eyes turned blood-red, and dark mana began leaking from their bodies even more.
"What the...?" Eli muttered in disbelief.
Without hesitation, the monsters began to run toward Arlyne's group, not paying any attention to Eli. As they closed in, the air was filled with the sound of their footsteps and growls.
'chuccckkk'
"Ggrrree---"
Some of the creatures even pierced themselves when Eli held Celestria horizontally, seemingly driven by an uncontrollable urge.
"...."
Eli could only look on in speechless astonishment as the chaotic scene unfolded before him.
The creatures resembled zombies, their eyes devoid of conscience, and they seemed to be fixated on the sack Arlyne had on her shoulder.
Noticing this, A wicked smile curled on Eli's face.
"???"
Arlyne, alarmed by the approaching mass of monsters, was in a dilemma.
Theo and Simon had already started backing off, while Kira and Kyra, despite their exhaustion, stood steadfastly beside Arlyne.
Arlyne looked at the sack then looked at Kira and Kyra, 'Fuck it', Just about to run again,
"Hey!!"
Eli's voice rang out, catching her attention. He jumped up a little and shouted, "Hey, Ms. Arlyne!"
Arlyne abruptly stopped and turned to see Eli.
He continued, "Throw to me what they are looking for"
"..." Arlyne frowned, hesitating for a moment, but it was Kira who spoke up firmly, "Give it".
Then Kyra was looking at Eli with her striking aurora night sky eyes and seconded, "Arlyne, do it."
Hearing that,
"B-But--"
"Oliver will be fine and you do know that your father won't let it side if your brother loses his Rank, right?" Kira interjected firmly. Her blindfolded gaze was fixed on Eli.
As the monsters closed in on them, Theo and Simon shouted fervently in the background, urging them to run.
"....'Deep breath'" Arlyne took a deep breath... She and her brother had come a long way thanks to the princesses' help, and she couldn't disregard the weight of their words.
Without their assistance, her brother had already been reduced to a servant by their own father.
"AAAAAAhhhhhh....." With determination in her eyes, Arlyne swiftly rotated her body and launched the sack high into the sky, aiming to keep it out of the monsters' reach while anticipating their reaction.
Seeing this, Eli smiled and was ready to catch the sack.
The sight of the sack soaring through the air brought the advancing monsters to an abrupt halt.
"gggrrrr..."
"Aaahhoooo"
"eeekekekek"
Their growls intensified as they desperately leapt to reach it, but their efforts were in vain.
And yet, one particular monster that answered Eli's question jumped over the other monsters and leapt higher than the rest, nearly reaching the sack.
Arlyne expressed her concerns about this situation, fearing the worst.
"NNNOOOOOO!!!!"
Arlyne shouted.
'ssshhh'
'Chuukkk'
'GGGRRRRRRRREEEE!!!"
'Thud'
However, her fears were unfounded as a black trident, crackling with sparks, severed the creature's outstretched hand, causing it to writhe in pain on the ground.
'clang, clang'
A chain then wrapped around the sack and pulled it back into Eli's possession. With a profound sense of relief, Arlyne watched as Eli successfully caught it with his left hand.
"Gotcha!" Eli said as he caught the sack, 'Damn, its weight like a human' he thought.
For a fleeting moment, he considered the sack's weight but quickly dismissed the notion as preposterous, especially with the presence of two Saintesses on the team.
Eli didn't know the truth...yet.
"Grrrrrr"
"AAAeeeee"
"EEERRRRR"
The monsters who were before running away from Eli with fear in their eyes now looking at him with outraged expressions and....horny?
'Tuck'
'Tuck'
Wielding Celestria in his right hand. He taunted them by tapping the sack and provocatively asking,
"You want this, right?"
"ggrrrrrr"
The monsters surrounding him licked their lips with their long, grotesque tongues. They seemed outraged and, oddly enough, lustful.
Seeing that, A grin appeared on his face....to be truthful he was annoyed by these monster antics before.
If he wanted he could have used this opportunity to escape, however, He was really pissed when couldn't land a single hit on them and what's more they were thinking he was the same as them....it really annoyed him more for some reason.
He wanted to fucking tear these bastards apart and now they become brainless idiots, he was going to use this opportunity to know how much he comprehend Arts during this hectic 'Training Program'.
Mana Breathing
'Deep Inhale'
"Terra Arts: 2nd Form"
/Domain/