Vincent immediately shot out another trace of intent, attempting to dissuade the man from the suicidal plan, but before Kruger could respond, he felt the creature swimming towards them both at a terrifying speed.
Vincent's head flickered to the right as he glimpsed the approaching disaster. The top of its grotesque head split open, and with just a mere look, he felt his head throb as if the sound of a heavy drum blasted in his ears.
Bang!
"Ugh.." Grimacing, Vincent bore the brunt of the pain culminating from his mind and shoulder, quickly shifting his focus back to the priest as barnacles began sprouting from the skin of his own neck. Sensing he could black out at any second, he discarded all hesitancy and slid his hand closer up on the sword's cross-shaped guard.
At the same time, he pulled his hand back and thrust forward, using his extended leg to propel himself. With little drag, his streamlined form cut through the water in a quick burst of speed.
Instantly, his hungry steel met flesh. With a muted crunch, Kruger's chest caved inward, and his eyes snapped open. His hand shot forth, locking around Vincent's wrist with surprising strength as his face paled from the pain flaring through his body.
Blood spilled from his mouth after his lips parted, yet the priest's gaze remained firm.
"Do not…huff.. Stop," Kruger gasped, the words broken through strained breaths. He then locked his gaze onto the creature and added, "No matter what you feel or hear, do not hesitate!"
Still reeling from the creature's sound attack, Vincent struggled to understand what he meant; however, he knew there was no time to.
Kruger's grip tightened, his fingers trembling as his lips then moved without audible sound.
'O shepherd Of Old, birth from body of gold.'
["O Pastor do Alt-Eon, naska do korpus do aurum."]
'Implore Five wills burdened by gloom and filth.'
["Evoqe femf volen graven do temen-skuna"]
A short incantation rang out within Kruger's mind, and his spiritual energy quickly rose past Vincent's peak power, weaving itself into his hand.
Suddenly, the agony in Vincent's left shoulder subsided.
'Huh?.. Did he just heal…? No, this isn't healing.'
It should have been impossible for a priest of Destined Death, yet before his eyes, the torn flesh was encased with crimson energy after heat bloomed in his palm.
Crawling up the hilt and into the blade, the red spiritual energy shook, and dragging his arm downward under its weight. He then yanked the blade from the priest's chest in a single motion and discovered the man's blood had remarkably formed a hardened coating.
""Avenge Us!""
It was only for a second, but Vincent swore he heard five voices shout in unison from within its edge.
This almost caused his grip to loosen as the creatures closed the remaining four meters gap between them. But without even thinking about it, his expression changed as he hastily twisted around and swung his sword diagonally.
Thump!
In a heartbeat, the hardened blood on the blade liquefied as if acting on his near adultum tier will. Immediately after, dozens of marble-sized droplets of Kruger's blood launched from the sword's edge, streaking towards the creature in a violent arc.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
They ignited instantly upon contact, flashes of burning red detonating across the creature's body. Each explosion chained together in rapid succession, every impact tearing chunks of blue flesh away as the creature's spiritual pressure faltered.
Shortly after, the creature shrieked in anguish as the water boiled with the Holy synthesis of blood and heat. At the same time, Vincent shielded his face from the water rushing back.
"Its energy is start--" Vincent's eyes quickly widened, but before he could even finish his sentence, an arc of cold crimson energy flew past him, cleanly slicing through the creature's lower half as it tried coiling up to resist the blasts. The massive body then buckled as the severed section drifted away, dissolving into ash-like fragments.
'What..!'
Vincent's body grew more tense as he felt the thick essence of death affinity and furious intent infused within the attack. Instinctively, he swerved his body to the side, circulating his energy to defend himself before then relaxing as he caught sight of Kruger.
The priest now floated upright, his left hand pressed against the grievous wound in his chest. His right? Still, Clad in the scarlet devil-faced glove was held aloft, yet something was different.
The outline separating the glove's fabric from the man's russet flesh had completely vanished, seemingly fusing both to form a set of five elongated claws below a sinister grin plastered on the devil's face. They extended to a length of five to seven inches and bore a red rock-like texture, darkening to a deep black at the tips.
'Do not lower guard yet, that attack alone will not suffice with the creature channeling the Death affinity from the conjurer.'
As those words reached Vincent, Kruger's left hand snapped outward, and three yellow talismans flew from his loose coat sleeve. The first floated upward, halting just above their heads as its scarlet runes glowed and a sage green light then poured out, washing over them both.
At that moment, the blue crustaceans festering on their flesh shattered simultaneously.
But Kruger was far from done.
His second talisman quickly attached itself to Vincent's back, channeling warmth through his body and strengthening his limbs. The third talisman slowed midair, its form stretching, until it became a wide, translucent plane etched with layered runes.
Noticing this, Vincent stared at the priest, bewildered after his breathing steadied. While he was capable of breathing underwater through a skill, doing so had become far more taxing when his energy quantity fell. Thankfully, Kruger's energy was a much-needed grace, but it also raised questions.
'Had he been this powerful from the start, or did the creature's action truly earn the man's ire?' Vincent wondered.
It's possible the creature targeted the man from the beginning, aware he was the greater threat, however it was just as likely that the priest had leveraged his blessed blood and implored the souls of the victims as support in his previous slash but regardless Vincent unable to ascertain how the man could channel the broken spirits or which Affinities the three talisman were infused with.
'Keep up, we shall force it from the water as I dismantle the connection between them!' Cutting through his thoughts, Kruger's voice sounded.
Without waiting for Vincent to respond, he created a square, plane-shaped barrier under his feet and propelled his body forward, quickly passing through the transparent, third talisman.
With a cracking sound, the talisman disappeared, and suddenly, space below the creature distorted.
Seeing this, Kruger pulled his arm back and threw his fist upward.
Bang! A massive, demonic hand manifested, knocking the creature up thirty feet as the last of the explosions burned out.
Amidst the shock waves spreading through the water and a stream of air bubbles, Vincent mimicked the priest's maneuver, further boosting his speed with the water manipulation skill to launch himself up.'I should've thought of this sooner.'
As he neared, the creature's form began to swell, its shadowy flesh expanding as the gloomy spiritual energy was seemingly being restored by the unseen conjurer.
The next second, Vincent angled his sword to pierce the mass and increased his output. At his current strength, he had doubts whether he could maintain a maximum output for long, but he planned to make the most of it.
Bang!!
Feeling the impact rattle his bones, Vincent almost smiled, but his expression quickly deformed. Despite his speed, the blade had failed to break the dark imitation of flesh upon contact.
Already anticipating this move, Kruger decided play his hidden hand.
Without a moment's hesitation, he crossed his index and middle fingers, activating the talisman plastered onto Vincent's back, and a half-transparent green, rune-layered sphere materialized around Vincent and the beast.
Rather than being surprised by Kruger's sudden actions, Vincent clenched his teeth, stabilizing his body for what was about to come. Honestly, there wasn't much else he could do
Sensing his calm intent, Kruger then followed up with another ruthless punch, but not at the creature.
Instead, the sphere itself shook as the kinetic energy of what felt like a speeding train transferred through the talisman field and doubled against Vincent's back.
Rumble!!!