Chapter 84 The Mysterious Flames
Elias and Cyril realized they were at a disadvantage. However, they could take action faster than Asher, who still regretted his decision to create The Earth Protector.
They activated their elemental powers as the first defense when Radmilo charged them. Elias could create anything using his lightning power.
He instantly created a lightning shield. It could effectively counter Radmilo's dagger. However, he was aware that the dagger dealt significant damage. The lightning shield was likely only effective for five or six attacks. He had to move faster to make another guard later.
At the same time, Cyril stood in Radmilo's way, preventing the masked man from backing down. He hurled a massive fireball at Radmilo. Despite this, the man ducked to the side and fled from his attack.
The massive fireball was extinguished as soon as it lost its target. Cyril's fire could detect anyone who wanted to harm the user. As a result, Cyril did not have to worry about the possibility that his attack would hit his friends. That was never going to happen.
"I know you guys are troublesome since you are members of the Joint Committee," Radmilo said once he was in the corner of the barrier.
He ignored Elias and Cyril because he wanted to give priority to Asher. He dashed towards him while dodging the thunderbolt and fireballs that kept following him.
"What are you doing? Get away from there!" Cyril shouted at Asher. He growled in annoyance because he knew the difference in his strength with Radmilo. The masked man had not even used his main power yet, but he could not hurt him in the slightest.
Meanwhile, Asher returned to his mind because he did not want to die today. He made a new ground barrier before Radmilo could launch an attack. However, the man walked on the barrier and managed to reach him.
"That man is completely insane," Elias muttered with his mouth open in shock.
Now he knew how Radmilo got into The Earth Protector. The masked man could move faster than the ground that Asher had spawned. It was tremendous because ordinary people could not match the growth rate of the magical ground.
Inside the ground barrier, Radmilo would not waste his time frightening Asher. After all, the man in front of him was already trembling from his presence.
"D-do you need money? You are blackmailing the IRO for wanting money, right? If that's the case, then I'll give you many expensive items! My family has a great influence in the world of hunters. I can give you any item you want. Just let me go!"
Asher tried to persuade Radmilo while walking backward. However, the masked man scratched his ear instead.
"What are you talking about? Sorry I didn't hear you."
Radmilo's question made a light smile appear on Asher's face. He thought the masked man was interested in his offer. When he wanted to explain one more time, Radmilo suddenly moved with incredible speed and slit his throat with the dagger.
Asher fell to the floor with a shocked face. His eyes bulged as if they were about to pop out of their sockets. He found it difficult to breathe and move after Radmilo's fatal attack.
A moment later, Asher convulsed, and his eyes turned white. He was no longer moving, dead. Elias and Cyril heard their friend's voice while gulping in anxiety. They were sure the masked man had succeeded in killing Asher.
"Are you okay?" Cyril asked Elias, knowing that he had a close relationship with Asher.
Elias stared at the ground protector and took a deep breath. "I don't think this is the time to be sad about our friend's death. If we do that, other people will cry over ours."
The moment Elias spoke, Radmilo stepped out from the Earth Protector. He walked with his blood-splattered dagger.
"I still have the remaining tickets to the afterlife," Radmilo said with a broad smile. "Do any of you want those tickets? I'm willing to give them away for free."
Elias gripped his lightning shield tightly when he saw the drops of blood on the floor. Anger almost overtook him because he knew it was Asher's blood. He was determined to stay calm when facing Radmilo, but he thought he could not control his anger anymore.
In no time, Elias jumped high and created a huge lightning mace. "Why don't you use the ticket for yourself?"
Cyril scowled as the mace was about to strike him as well. He dodged while cursing Elias, who took action without regard for his safety.
"That idiot! I should have guessed he would act like that since he and Asher were just using me," Cyril grumbled after arriving in a safe place.
A confused frown appeared on his forehead when he saw that Radmilo did not escape. Was the masked man underestimating Elias' power? It was a reckless act. Radmilo could not be arrogant because Asher's lightning could destroy the strongest shield or armor.
"Don't say he..."
Cyril did not continue his sentence, knowing that Radmilo would show his main power for the first time. He focused his entire attention on the masked man. If he knew his ultimate power, he could devise a strategy to restrain him until the Earth Protector was gone.
Even though Asher had died, his ground protector did not disappear immediately. Some awakener powers had an effect about five or ten minutes after they died. It could be advantageous because it would be a useful ultimate attack.
However, it could also backfire on others, like what happened to Elias and Cyril right now. Elias had decided to use the big mace on Radmilo. As soon as he dived down with his weapon, the masked man suddenly whistled.
The world around them began to slow down. Everyone involved in the fight with Muramasa froze. They noticed that time was passing more slowly.
Their entire focus was on the Earth Protector. There was no more plausible theory than Radmilo using his power. Daryl and Muramasa stopped fighting because they could not adapt to the changing times.
Meanwhile, Radmilo used his slow-down time to dodge the huge mace's attack. At the same time, his speed was impressive as he approached Cyril. He was a fearsome opponent who could handle anything thrown at him with ease.
"This is bad..." Cyril could already guess what would happen to him. He had a more simple trigger than other awakeners. All he had to do was control his power with his mind.
But still, it was useless because his attacks moved so slowly. Radmilo even laughed to mock him when he swerved the fireball.
The masked man was now in a position where he was ready to attack Cyril. As soon as the two of them met, Radmilo swung his dagger and stabbed his opponent in the chest. He also tore Cyril's clothes to find the teleportation item he was looking for.
At that time, Elias thought he would share the same fate with his two friends. He froze in place when Radmilo turned towards him. However, the masked man used the teleportation item instead of killing him.
Time went back to normal after Radmilo left. Lynette immediately cried to activate her healing rain. She became used to crying since she had to use her power wherever and whenever.
The people in the conference room felt a little relieved after Radmilo's departure. They believed the masked man had gone to meet Emrick. However, they were not worried about that because the security team guarding Emrick was different from the security team at the conference building.
Now they only had to take care of Muramasa and the blaze that suddenly appeared after Radmilo's departure. The fire seemed to be why Hector was late for the conference room.
"Huh? The fire didn't hurt me." Lynette frowned in confusion because she felt nothing as the fire burned through her shoes.
Daryl also realized the fire had no harmful effect on him. He backed away to avoid Muramasa's cursed claws. For now, he had to find out where the fire was coming from.
"That's my friend's fire magic," Muramasa spoke as he approached Daryl. "Stop thinking about that. Just focus on me. Are you not interested in using your curse?"
For the umpteenth time, Daryl managed to get around Muramasa's attack. He had extraordinary speed because he had trained not to rely on his main power.
"I only show my curse to strong people," Daryl said, giving a mocking smile as he made a sharp turn to evade Muramasa. "You will die in an instant when I use my power."
"Don't talk nonsense. Why don't you prove it by killing me?"
"I don't kill weak people because it damages my reputation."
"Are you making up things to make yourself feel better?"
Daryl did not answer. He kept silent not because Muramasa's words were true but because the flames went out suddenly. Several people in the conference room gasped for breath and lost consciousness afterward.