There was no flow of energy, no setup. Nothing he could follow. He was instantly hit by a terrifying wave of pain as foreign energy flooded his body from all directions. Parts of his body stopped festering and showed signs of necrosis spreading instead.
Severing the Concept of Harm, he had become able to accept anything meant to destroy and harm him as his own. Severing the will to resist, he had become the supreme victim. Severing the Lie of Wealth, he forced the world to be honest.
In his domain, he was a sinkhole for all the negativity of this world. But the power rampaging through his body right now had no negative attribute. Pure alms given with kind intentions had become his greatest weakness, rending him and cutting away at his very being.
But he forced the world to be honest. True kindness didn't exist in this world! He should have been invincible. So how was it- How was it that this energy held not even an ounce of ill intent? It was painfully kind as it burned and penetrated him like the merciless rays of the sun.
"
"
"This won't be enough," he panted in defiance. His eyes glanced at the giant tree, which was devastating his sect. Fights broke out at the edge of its crown, where the enemy kept his brothers from fleeing...he closed his eyes.
He realized that he wouldn't be able to save them. But he would do his best to take at least the culprit with him. he would get revenge for their sect, even if it meant burning his cultivation.
...
"Haha! I get it now! You are like an undead!" Fin exclaimed when she was finally able to stand up. This was the closest she had gotten to a loss, ever since joining Minas Mar. The enemy's powers were weird and hard to understand.
However, she finally had an enlightenment. In the desperate moment, she had activated the
Seeing him suffer burns and back away from the field was the last puzzle piece, making everything fall into place. The system notification that called her attacks specifically "malicious energy". The shield she had raised in defense, holding even within the domain. Now, him suffering from support magic without any offensive capability.
Fin may not have been able to understand his powers, but she could draw a conclusion. He absorbed anything evil, harmful, or negative against him, but he couldn't deal with the power of support magic!
Maybe skills that supported others were rare or non-existent in this world. But knowing his weakness, she was now his worst nightmare. With a satisfied smile, she pointed her finger at the panting sect leader.
"Time for payback, asshole-
With horror and satisfaction, the fairy witnessed the man's festering skin turn dark as it began to rot. Along his arms, his battered, festering skin actually began sliding off his muscles in flaps of dying skin. Yet, he didn't even seem to notice.
Slapping Monkey was still looking at her with an unwavering gaze, despite enduring pain that would drive people insane. Seeing that, Fin questions what other buffs would do if simple
"
Then what would
The resolve to take down the enemy, even if it meant the end for oneself. She had already heard that desperate cultivators were prone to exploding. That was when their eyes met. In exactly that moment, they both realized that they knew what was about to happen.
Slapping Monkey twitched and almost vanished from her sight when he shot at her like a loosened arrow. His speed was incomparable to before. It made no difference whether he teleported or not, as he moved by burning his life. Fin had no chance to escape.
However, she didn't think of trying to escape either. The former Battle Cleric moved on instincts ingrained into her over decades of dungeon raids.
"
The spell that could bring the recently diseased back to life turned the sect leader to dust! Bathed in the conical light of the spell, Slapping Monkey was like a vampire in the face of the sun. Moving at incredible speed, sacrificing his life and cultivation, he turned to a cloud of dust that was blasted away by its own inertia.
Fin, her hand still stretched out, stared at the place where the sect leader turned to ashes with shock and confusion. She had not expected it to work. Not this well... One moment, a man hellbent to take her down with him was charging at her with the eyes of a demon, and the next moment...nothing.
Just dust in the wind.
Her arm slowly fell back down, limply hanging on her side. She took a deep breath and let out a long, loud sigh before all tension left her body, and she plopped down to the ground. This fight had been brutal.
She had totally underestimated her opponent's level and the power they called domain. Would the others also have such a hard time? Could they even manage someone that made them unable to attack or resist...?
As she sat there, she reminisced about the fight, going over her mistakes and memorizing her weaknesses and the opponent's strengths. It was the best way to cope and prepare for the next fight. Her attention was diverted when she noticed another tree rising on the horizon.
"Hmm, that's... north," she mumbled, looking toward the tree. That meant Seth was also done on his side, getting rid of the remnants of the Silk River Sect. He had taken longer than her. Had he also encountered a difficult opponent?
Looking at the distance, Fin didn't notice that the device she had received from Seth was now glowing with a dim light.
