Anko felt a particular fear. The aura that Rider of the Apocalypse exudes upon emerging is unique, enough to make even an adult urinate in fear. Now, both Anko and Orochimaru sense this aura, both feeling confused.What did Devan just do?
"Shit…" Orochimaru muttered a curse after a moment, the sound of horse hooves bringing him back to reality. He blinked a few times while swallowing, "What the hell is supposed to be happening?" he wondered, incredulous.
"There's no trace of Chakra in that movement, only pure spiritual energy," he quickly focused on Devan, who had fainted near the center of the rift, "How?" he didn't understand. He quickly thought of several explanations for the appearance of cracks in the ground, the darkening sky, and something seeming about to emerge from the depths.
"It must be a forbidden jutsu. Devan has mastered something that Danzo wants, so…" Despite the slight fear he felt due to the aura of the Rider of the Apocalypse about to emerge, Orochimaru reached a conclusion. He quickly focused his eyes on Devan and almost instinctively ran toward him at great speed.
"This jutsu must consume all your energy, so you can't defend yourself," Orochimaru moved ahead at great speed, his body almost disappearing from his own spot, his eyes completely focused on Devan.
"Shit!!" Anko cursed, noticing Orochimaru's intentions. However, she couldn't move from her spot; her body trembled constantly, and due to the aura of the Rider of the Apocalypse, she could barely maintain consciousness.
The woman focused her gaze on the necromancer, her heart skipping a beat. She clenched her teeth with rage and closed her eyes.
Clash
The sound of a powerful clash of metal against flesh and bone was heard. Anko, however, did not want to open her eyes; she felt that if she did, she would see how Orochimaru had taken Devan.
"Why the hell are you so worried about him?" her inner voice spoke in her mind. "You barely know him, and yet you were willing to sacrifice yourself so he would survive. It's stupid, it makes no sense…" the inner voice spoke again, this time reproachfully.
"It's not like there haven't been men before who showed you empathy. Is it because he asked about betraying the village? Is it because he's quiet? I don't understand," Anko began muttering something nonsensical.
Somehow, she felt influenced by Devan's actions; their conversation last night had touched an important point in her heart, her memories, her thoughts, her past.
"But it shouldn't affect me enough to grow fond of a stranger," Anko concluded, shaking her head with rage and, gritting her teeth, opened her eyes, "I need to see," she murmured quietly.
However, what she saw was not what she expected. Devan was still there, unconscious. Instead, she saw something spectacular.
A knight in black armor with glowing green edges, a helmet that didn't show any skin, along with full armor, was holding by the neck the man who had once been his feared master.
Beside the knight was an imposing skeletal horse. Despite its lack of flesh, it wore black armor with green edges that made it look massive, and its hooves glowed with a dark green hue. Its skull, with goat-like horns, gave it a unique appearance.
"I have returned!!" the Rider of the Apocalypse said as he exerted pressure on Orochimaru's neck.
Taken by surprise, the mad scientist felt a slight mixture of excitement, fear, and anticipation at seeing a creature like the Rider of the Apocalypse. His eyes, about to pop out of their sockets, tried unsuccessfully to see through the slit of the helmet of the one holding him.
He had attempted to take Devan's body and escape before anything bad happened, however, Rider of the Apocalypse emerged from the center of the rift, stopping his advance by grabbing him by the neck.
"You are… no, you… you're not from this w-world," Orochimaru barely managed to say before his body exploded, turning into many snakes.
"Not from this world?" The Rider of the Apocalypse shook his head. "I come from Hell. I am the fourth Rider of the Apocalypse, in charge of torturing human souls," his voice sounded like a mix of several voices, and his skeletal horse growled with a magnificent tone as if agreeing with its owner.
With a little more pressure from the Rider of the Apocalypse, Orochimaru had no choice but to unravel his body, transforming into small snakes that scattered in all directions.
"A little trick?" Rider of the Apocalypse said in a mocking voice, slightly moving his helmet to point at a spot where a head was beginning to emerge from the ground.
"Hell? In charge of torturing human souls?" Orochimaru repeated confused, his head emerged from the ground showing his androgynous face. "I've heard about the existence of Shinigami, the god of death who rules a world where the souls of ninja go when they die. Are you referring to that place?" he asked as he emerged from the ground.
However, the Rider of the Apocalypse shook his head. "I don't know any Shinigami. Hell is under the command of Lord Lucifer Morning Star. However, I have no reason to explain to you what Hell is; I only do my job," the Rider of the Apocalypse said as he calmly walked toward Orochimaru.
"Hmph, interesting. In fact, your body is strange. I sense a lot of spiritual energy in you, yet I cannot perceive your physical energy. Is this why Devan didn't use Chakra to summon you?" Orochimaru asked, but he received no response from the Rider of the Apocalypse.
Despite the slight fear he felt, the mad scientist still crouched slightly, observing his strange enemy before performing hand seals at great speed.
"Wind Style, Wind Bullets," Orochimaru puffed out his chest and spat numerous wind bullets, generating a powerful noise as they charged toward the Rider of the Apocalypse at great speed.
"Fire Style: Hurricane!!"
"Earth Style: Earth Bullets!!"
Immediately afterward, Orochimaru launched other jutsus, which were quickly propelled by the wind bullets.
The fire mixed with the rocks propelled forward by the earth bullets, and boosted by the wind bullets. Earth, fire, and air combined to create a powerful attack.
From a safe distance, Anko watched this with wide eyes. "Incredible, Orochimaru, launching three jutsus in succession and combining them like that…" she muttered quickly, seeing her old master's attack advance at great speed like a storm.
"This attack is probably considered rank B. Definitely, this is another world; the first enemy I encounter can launch a rank B attack with such ease," the Rider of the Apocalypse murmured, quickly reaching for the handle of the mace hanging at his waist.
His mace is made of a strange and hard-to-obtain material, completely black and several inches thick, becoming thicker at the tip. It has small spikes along its body and an inscription of a skull at the tip.
"However, this type of attack is useless…" The Rider of the Apocalypse, just as the combined attack of three jutsus was about to hit his body, moved his mace at great speed in all directions.
His movements were so fast that his mace left so many residual images that it looked as if a transparent black shield had formed in front of him.
Clash
Clash
The stones heated by the fire exploded, generating powerful steam around the Rider of the Apocalypse. The wind bullets were completely repelled, and Orochimaru's combined attack was practically a failure.
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