Online In Another World

SQUELCH.

A half-dozen slashes were etched into the S-rank criminal’s flesh in that singular dash by Yuna, cutting into Collector’s knees and ankles in an attempt to slow down his movements.

“Gentle Gale!” Melisande invoked.

The unseen box of wind ensnared the downed criminal, who was encumbered by his sliced tendons, locking him down as Yuna went in for further eviscerations.

Nice one, Melisande! Emilio thought.

Still, it wasn’t quite enough to halt the crazed man as he grinned, flexing his way out of the unmastered prison of wind, moving with uncontrollable bursts of speed just as Everett attempted to bash him with his massive shield, rushing by and getting behind the shielder before grabbing him by his ankle.

“–Let’s see how you fly, big guy!” Collector laughed.

Snatching the burly recruit with superhuman strength, Collector hauled Everett off of his feet and tossed him across the chamber.

“Wooooaaagh–!” Everett yelled out, being tossed towards the back wall.

–Crap! Emilio thought.

Providing an impromptu cushion for his ally, the young mage turned the stone where the shielder was flung towards into soft, mushy mud.

“–Aaagh! Oh…nice save!” Everett said, landing softly against the wall.

Though casting the supporting magecraft left Emilio wide-open as a chill ran up his spine, swiftly spinning around to find the speedy criminal directly behind him, towering over him three times over.

“Peek-a-boo!” Collector grinned.

The maddened experimenter was already swinging his lethal ax towards Emilio’s head, opting to split it open like a melon, though in that moment, the young mage recalled the very first lesson he learned against melee opponents:

“–!”

With a wordless usage of wind, he swiped his hand to invoke a strong gust that came at an upward angle against the silver ax, throwing off the swing entirely and interrupting the attack.

“Huh–?!” Collector reacted.

Gotcha! Emilio thought.

In that opened window, he rushed forward with a burst of reinforcement to his legs, throwing his fist forward with utmost strength as he unleashed a full-power Dragon Strike against the man’s purple-toned cheek.

WHAM.

The impact landed with a crack, causing Collector’s neck to strain back before the enlarged figure stumbled back from the wind-cracking blow.

Catching up at last, Everett and Yuna swooped in at the same time whilst the malignant figure was still reeling from the strike.

“Hoooo-rah!”

The heavy shield was slammed against the top of Collector’s head, echoing with a resounding thud that didn’t sound pleasant in the least.

He’s definitely seeing stars after that, Emilio thought.

While Collector stumbled around after being knocked directly against the skull, Yuna went in for the killing blow, jumping onto the man’s shoulders and plunging each of her daggers into his head.

“You did it!” Melisande smiled in relief, catching up.

Though even with the blades fully submerged in the head of Collector, Yuna didn’t seem confident in the lethality of the attack as the criminal’s body had yet to go limp.

“That…really hurt!” Collect growled out.

Rather than plucking the daggers out of his head outright, the brute of supernatural silence grabbed onto Yuna’s legs, preventing the woman from escaping before he slammed her against the ground.

“Gyah–!” Yuna spit out.

“Yuna!” Everett rushed in.

There was a crazed look in the pitch-black eyes of the man as his irises became maddened swirls, looking straight at the shielder with an aura of pure strength that resonated even with the daggers stuck in his head.

Is he a zombie?! It’s not just the ability to heal his wounds–something has fundamentally changed with his body! Emilio thought.

Everett wildly swung his heavy shield around, causing gusts of wind to blow in response to the dense swings, though the green-blooded goliath easily avoided his uncoordinated assault before knocking him back with a kick.

“Ghh-!” Everett winced.

Collector followed through with his assault, gripping the bumpkin’s head with both of his large hands, beginning to squeeze.

“Aaaagh…!” Everett let out in pain.

“Pop! Pop! Pop!” Collector grinned.

“Everett!”

Just as Emilio and Melisande were about to conjure magic to aid their companion, a surprise came as the swift demi-human once again jumped on the criminal’s shoulders, grabbing onto the daggers stuck in Collector’s head and ripping them out in a brutal slice.

“—Graaagh…!” Collector was finally swayed as blood squirted from his head, stumbling back.

Before the beastly figure could grab onto the nimble cat woman’s legs again, she hopped away, learning from her past mistakes.

Holding his hand in front of him, Collector grinded his teeth in frustration, presenting the unique ring on his index finger that had an onyx gem that began shining with a cosmic radiance.

“…I was hoping to settle this without having to use any more of my toys, but you’re all quite annoying, really! Come, pieces of my collection!” Collector shouted.

The mystical ring he wore hummed before three, large portals that held a dark, ominous swirl opened around Collector.

“Gateways…?” Yuna questioned.

“It’s always somethin’ new with this freak!” Everett huffed.

Coming through the portals were the abominations made by Collector; deformed orcs, chimeras, and even crimson gelatins that oozed acidic material.

“Lotta uglies comin’!” Everett shouted, wielding his shield.

“I can see that!” Melisande responded.

Emilio found himself fascinated by the ring worn by the criminal that spurred such an effect.

…Something like that could be handy. I bet it’s a high-end trinket—Jeane would be totally enthralled if he saw this. Argh…enough about that! Think about winning first! He thought.

“I’ll handle the big guy!” Emilio shouted.

“Are you sure—?” Everett glanced over.

Emilio nodded, “Trust me.”

“But—” Everett was about to respond.

“Go ahead. We’ve got your back,” Yuna said, giving a nod.

As the horde of monstrosities swept in, the united front of Everett, Melisande, and Yuna clashed against them, holding them off as Emilio stared down at Collector.

“Bravery or sheer arrogance, I commend you nonetheless, boy!” The goliath-turned man said to him.

“Save it,” Emilio replied.

BA-DUMP. BA-DUMP. BA-DUMP.

Once more, he dug deep into his being, dragging out the dormant wrath embedded into his very soul as the blood rushing through his veins began to heat up.

It was a precise method; like tossing a fishing line into the depths of his soul, having to hook in the burning destruction inside.

Scales stretched over his body, armoring him from head-to-toe in knight-like equipment, obscuring any resemblance of Emilio himself.

[Current Stage: Dragon Son | 3/10]

“Oh? Very intriguing! I knew to trust my eyes! You’ll make for a Masterpiece above any other iteration—my magnum opus!” Collector readied himself as his green veins shined.

As a pair of towering orcs attempted to assault the Dragonheart, he stood still until the moment they struck, countering in the blink of an eye, snatching both of their heads off.

It was a seamless action, nearly taking the Dragonheart himself by surprise at his own physical capabilities as the headless bodies of the scaled orcs dropped over, limp.

I’ve got it. I’m getting the hang of this now. Use that anger—point that resolve to live and protect, and destroy your enemies, he thought.

As he dashed forward, fully utilizing the monstrous physical enhancements with his draconic armor as he broke the sound barrier, Collector flinched, using his spatial ring to bring a shield of goblins in front of himself.

That won’t stop me, Emilio thought.

With a single thrust of his fist, he emitted a burst of azure flames against the grouping of deformed goblins, blasting them to bits as he rushed in close to Collector.

“–So strong! Great, great!” Collector smiled, surging with the bright-green serum in his veins.

As the two came within striking distance of one another, Emilio struck forward again with his right fist while Collector responded in kind, causing his left arm to bulk up momentarily before throwing a wild haymaker in return.

WHAM.

The air cracked around them as a shock wave howled out, cracking the stone around them as their knuckles clashed.

Still, the draconic force emitted from the Dragonheart’s fist proved to overpower any enhanced physical prowess that Collector had, repelling his strike as his arm harshly rippled back.

“Ghh–!” Collector winced.

Even after losing the clash of strength, the smile wasn’t wiped from the madman’s lips as he rushed forward with animalistic aggression, catching Emilio off-guard with his tenacity as he swept in within an instant–

“Nnh…!” Emilio let out.

The massive knee belonging to Collector struck upward against his solar plexus, dragging upward before knocking Emilio directly into the air of the underground colosseum.

As he was flung up, he looked down, watching the battlefield as his companions fought with their utmost:

“Hooo-rah!” Everett roared out.

The shielder swept through smaller goblins, knocking them back with his shielder and speedily defending Melisande as she cast her magic, defending her from the blows of a violent orc.

“Thanks!” Melisande called out.

It was a split-second from a stone-armed orc bludgeoning the silver-haired girl from behind, but Everett managed to intercept and bash his dense shield against the fiend’s face.

“—No problem! Leave the defense to me!” Everett shouted.