127 Running into a Wall
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As soon as Dorian looked at the charging Langshen, he immediately was aware that it was an Anomaly. The connection they had to each other made it possible for other Anomalies to recognize each other on sight.
Yet the Anomaly here didn’t seem to recognize Dorian, or, didn’t seem to care. It immediately burst forward in a rage, charging straight at him.
The rest of the group reacted instantly, far more used to fast-paced combat than Dorian.
Mira dodged towards the edge of the stone path, a peaceful, calming Aura that switched between green and blue rising around her.
Aiden and Leader both broke off from engaging Taemin, moving in different directions. Aiden surged towards Mira, his majestic Aura bounding forth as he skipped across the rocky ground. Leader, on the other hand, charged straight at the beast, intent on preventing it from having a chance at attacking Dorian.
WHOOSH
Leader managed a single energy shot off, sending a yellow arrow of light burning through the air to club the large Divine Wolf on the snout.
The arrow, oddly enough, was bisected twice, split into quarters, before it managed to reach the Langshen. A small explosion of light flashed out and subsequently glanced the head of the charging wolf to no avail.
Dorian caught those actions as he reacted, mentally raising his evaluation of Leader up a notch.
Dorian grasped ahold of his will, staring directly at the charging Divine Wolf. For some odd reason, he felt a connection seem to form between himself and this Anomaly. He could feel some small portion of its emotions, of what it was thinking. Perhaps because its guard was down in its rage, perhaps because of his increased strength, Dorian was unsure.
But he could tell that this Anomaly was enraged because it had just lost a friend.
‘Understand my message.’ He commanded, twisting Fate to send his words through to the Langshen. There was no time at all to speak, he could only rely on thoughts.
Otherwise, this incredibly strong, deadly being would slam into him. He’d had almost no time to react, and dodging was no longer an option. His plan B would just be him activating his Perfect Body Ability and hoping he could tank the hit.
‘I am an Anomaly just like you! I’m not the one that took your friend! You need to calm down!’ He willed this message to sear through Fate into his fellow Anomaly’s mind. Dorian had no idea if this was even possible, but the subtle connection he felt when he saw other Anomalies made him think his chances of success were higher than not.
‘UNDERSTAND ME!’ He mentally yelled and repeated his message, willing with every iota of energy in his body.
WHOOSH
Dorian felt only a small portion of energy flow off of him, perhaps a few hundred points. At the same time, the look in the berserk Langshen’s eyes changed slightly.
They gained a hint of confusion.
In that same second that Dorian had sent a message, a message was returned back to him.
‘Oh-ahh, uhh Xaphan? Mello? Is that you?’ Followed by a near incoherent feeling of anger and rage.
Dorian’s eyes widened as he recognized one of the names. The name of an Anomaly he had met long ago, one that had tried to recruit him into a team of Anomalies. One that had clones spread throughout the 30,000 Worlds, always searching.
‘I’m not Xaphan, but I know Mello.’ He returned a message through the temporary connection he had formed with his fellow Anomaly.
‘You know Mello?’ The Anomaly asked.
‘I know Mello.’ Dorian confirmed, repeating himself.
The Anomaly’s eyes seemed to shiver in relief.
‘This is Aron. Tell Mello. They got Xaphan. Shades. Thanks.’ The berserk look in Aron’s eyes faded away completely as reason won over, Dorian’s mental message and impact able to penetrate through the ungodly anger that had set upon the Anomaly.
All of this occurred over the span of a fraction of a second, a minute portion of time barely worth mentioning. Conversation that was sent through Fate like this took place at an incredibly fast, almost synaptic rate.
WHOOSH
THUD
The grand Aura and power the Anomaly gave off, a power so threatening that it forced all the King Class fighters to go on full alert, fizzled off into nothingness as Aron tumbled to the ground, smashing down into the stone path.
Ash and stone bits were thrown into the air, showering down around the large pathway. The Divine Wolf’s body tumbled and slid for more than a dozen meters, rapidly bleeding off speed.
Dorian set his legs firmly into the ground, bending his knees slightly as his fellow Anomaly’s unconscious body knocked into him.
‘HUPPPP!’ He mentally exerted himself to the extreme, forcibly stopping the large wolf body and bringing it to a complete standstill. A small web of cracks appeared in the ground from the impact.
Thanks to his physical efforts, he managed to pull it off effortlessly, making it look as if he had just casually raised his hand, stopping the wolf’s charge.
Everyone on the stone path paused in what they were doing and simply stared at Dorian.
“Hahahaha! Great Lord, a thousand apologies for having doubted you! A mere look from you was enough to send the beast unconscious! Your might has no limit!” Leader’s voice was filled with renewed fervor and faith in Dorian, not that he needed more of that, Dorian noted. The agile archer waltzed up next to Dorian and came to a stop, looking the Divine Wolf up and down.
Aiden, meanwhile, had recovered and reached Mira, and was standing guard over her protectively. When he saw Dorian so ably handle the fearsome wolf, his eyes merely widened slightly. He looked down at his own arms and then back up, as if wondering if he could’ve stopped the wolf with a simple glance and arm movement.
Mira took it all in, her eyes shining slightly as she watched one of the inheritors of her grandmother act.
Taemin, the Diamond Wizard, took it the worst of all of them.
‘Damn it. Another tough one, he one-shot that wolf like it was nothing. This is starting to look bad.’ A seed of worry planted itself in his heart, one that he subsequently quashed out, renewing the faith he had in himself.
“Great Lord, what is it?” Leader asked, continuing to stare it over. After a second, however, he spun around, keeping his eyes on the half-diamond man Taemin.
“It is a Langshen. A Divine Wolf.” Dorian responded inadvertently, trying to figure out where to go from here.
“Astute observation, friend.” A new voice broke in, one that slurred as it spoke, but full of mystic power.
Dorian turned to look over where the voice came from, staring at a middle-aged man wearing a tight, bright pink robe, with a large gourd strapped to his back. The air around this man was pure and almost crystalline, carrying with it a calm, but powerful, Aura.
“Head Jiro!” Taemin’s voice sprang through the hair as he stepped forward, his eyes eager. The blue Aura of Solidity that surrounded him seemed to fade back, his tone one of respect.
“I must report-” He began, but was cut off.
“Vice-Head Taemin.” The Department Head of the Diamond Department gave Taemin a single glare.
“Take Wimo and fall back to the deployment zone. The entourage that came with me is waiting there.” His words were mostly clear as he spoke, an authoritative tone that brooked no argument appearing.
Despite that, Taemin tried to argue anyway.
“Head, I have vital information to share! These enemies dared to disrespect the Bor-”
“Taemin.” Jiro didn’t speak further, he simply looked at Taemin. His eyes, however, were perfectly clear, not a hint of drunkenness affecting him.
The duo exchanged glances.
Taemin’s eyes shivered, the fervor in them not dying down. Instead of responding further, however, he brought his fist to his chest and bowed. He then jogged over to where the injured and passive Vice-Head Wimo was standing, watching on quietly.
Together, the duo set off down the path, running away. A dark air hung around Taemin, as if he was incredibly displeased.
Aiden and Leader watched the Diamond Wizard flee, making no action to stop him. Instead, their primary focus was on the apparent drunk that had just appeared.
The Department Head of the Diamond Department.
‘This is not good, not good at all.’ Aiden mentally swore as he glared at Jiro, his entire body tense. He was prepared to revert to his much more powerful Golden Flame Dragon form at a moment’s notice.
They had run into a Department Head, and not only just any Department Head, but the Head of the Diamond Department.
One of 12 Walls, the strongest Department Heads in the Borrel Autarchy that protected their massive empire. Famed throughout the 30,000 Worlds.
Jiro Korc of the Axe. The Diamond Wall.
The drunk turned back towards the group, a cheery smile on his face as he began to walk towards Dorian.
“Astute observation, friend. This is indeed a Divine being, a Langshen sounds about right.”
The odd Wizard spoke, his voice returned to its veneer of friendliness and drunken ease. As he spoke, the Wizard pulled the gourd off his back and took a long draw from it. A tantalizing, fruity scent spread out, one giving off almost visible fumes of alcohol.
He walked all the way up to stand right next to Dorian. Leader stood frozen, the incredibly intimidating air that coated the Department Head making him go on such high alert he didn’t know what to do. His Pride wouldn’t let him back down, but his inability to respond to the overwhelming threat he sensed forced him to stand still.
The same applied to Aiden and Mira.
Dorian, conversely, was spared from this for the most part. Not because he was more skilled, but because he couldn’t actually interpret the dangerous sensation due to his lack of personal experience. He couldn’t remember most of Yukeli’s memories anymore, not after Yukeli woke up inside him, and had to rely on himself. He still had bits and pieces here and there, but mostly only about fighting techniques or actual physical combat practice.
Thus, of the four here, only Dorian was able to turn easily and reply,
“Yes, the Langshen are a rare breed, but only so-so in person it seems.” He placed his hand on the snout of the creature, where a brutal sword pierced upwards through it, a part of the Divine body of the creature.
ting
He flicked the sword lightly, causing a metallic ring to echo out.
Dorian and the Department Head crossed eyes.
As they did so, an enormously powerful Aura seemed to press down on him, trying to force him unconscious. The unbridled, raw sensation the others felt was concentrated and lobbed directly at him with the Department Head’s gaze, slammed into his consciousness.
His eyes wavered for just the briefest instant as he felt the huge weight slam into him. In that brief instant, a deadly, virile Aura slipped out. One that was raw, chaotic, and deadly.
One that was Absolute.
WHOOSH
The air fluttered between the two, a strong breeze forming out of nowhere.
Dorian activated his Perfect Body Ability.
Immediately, the world around Dorian seemed to shiver, ever so slightly. Faint permeations spread out instantly, faster than he could track.
Color itself seemed to have faded slightly. Everything around him had taken on grey undertones, any bright or warm colors fading.
The warm glow of the Magma Sea seemed to fade to a duller grayish red. The bright pink robe the powerful Wizard in front of him was wearing dulled to a much drabber tone. The world around him seemed to become leeched of color.
At the same time, Dorian felt as if the world around him was moving in slow motion. His body didn’t feel as if energy was condensed in him like with his Condense Ability. Instead, he simply felt superbly healthy and solid, as if every part of him was operating at maximum strength.
As if his body was in a truly perfect condition.
Dorian’s vision restored itself as he gained full control thanks to his Ability, blinking slightly. He had a clear memory of what had just happened, however, recognizing the Aura that had just barely slipped out from his body.
With his Perfect Body Ability active, the extremely vast and heavy Aura that the Wizard in front of him was giving off seemed to slide off his body, unable to have even the slightest effect.
In addition, part of Yukeli’s Aura had slipped out. An Aura that was so fierce in nature it would be hard to find one that was fiercer.
The Department Head seemed to realize this as he looked at Dorian in shock. A moment later, however, his face returned to its cheerful facade of drunkenness.
The powerful Aura that the drunk was unleashing vanished and everything suddenly became much less tense.
Leader watched all of this in awe and ecstasy, glee at seeing his Great Lord’s might. The two Dragons, Aiden and Mira, watched on in silence, an indecipherable look in their eyes.
‘Thank you, Fate twisting soul, and whatever remnants of Yukeli are still left and helping me.’ Dorian sent up a mental prayer for his luck as the situation settled. If Anomalies weren’t abnormally lucky, Dorian knew for a fact that he would’ve long since died.
He went on with the moment, however, keeping his Perfect Body Ability active as he held out his hand.
“The name is Dorian.” His voice contained absolute confidence, as if he was so incredibly assured of his power that nothing in the world could give him pause.
Head Jiro looked at his hand gingerly, for the first time a look of uncertainty appearing in them, as if he had been caught off guard. After a split second’s hesitation, however, he struck out with his hand, grasping Dorian’s firmly.
He gave Dorian a meaningful look as he shook his hand, as if this was an action of great importance.
“Jiro, Jiro Korc of the Axe. A pleasure to make ya’ acquaintance.”
Hic