Chapter 354: Archon Form
Chapter 354: Archon Form
Raven vanished from my view instantly as I stood there. I... was a bit lost for some reason. I turned around cautiously.
The dust settled, and the person I saw standing in front of me surprised me, but not that much.
"Vexa..." I awkwardly stared at a girl who had just landed from the sky despite being a water elemental mage.
Vexa stood there in her cyan nightgown, which glowed under the moonlight.
"Looks like I was late," she said, her eyes staring in the direction where Raven had left.
"Yeah," I said.
Now, this one's weird. I really don't know what this girl wants.
"You helped her leave? Without being noticed by that guy- I mean, the headmaster?" she asked, closing in towards me. "How?"
"Same as you." I didn't sense any hostility from her. "Isn't it past your bedtime?"
Vexa didn't say anything, just stood there staring at me before she extended her hand outwardly. A rift appeared, and she pulled a sword out of it.
She's well above seven stars to be able to use spatial magic.
I pulled one sword out of the void too. I had kept a few items ready in case I didn't want to use the system.
"That was fast," she muttered. I heard it because of my enhanced senses as I pushed mana throughout my whole body.
I've seen what she did during the selections for Mage's Gambit. She literally destroyed Mary. Vexa put the sword on her shoulder. "You're not going to ask me why I pulled a sword?"
"Nah, attack if you want," I said.
For some reason, I hoped she wouldn't do that.
"Have you ever wondered how weird you are?" she asked, her eyes glowing under the moonlight. They are the brightest blue I've ever seen.
"You come to me and awkwardly ask me to be your friend-not even that, let's start from the beginning. You destroyed that Amphiptere Dragon by yourself and didn't even brag, just let it be and then acted like it never happened," she started. Isn't she talking... more than usual? It's the first time I have seen her talk more than necessary.
"Then these people... Why wasn't there enough buzz to shake the whole kingdom? By normal standards, it doesn't seem like every day a teenager kills an S-tier creature by himself," Vexa's form had no gaps. I might not know much about sword arts, but I know one thing from hand fighting: while talking, she never let her guard down. She doesn't fully believe me, just as I don't fully believe her.
"Well, I thought since I am quite a loner, I'd make some friends. Sad I got rejected." I ran my hand through my hair, tying it in a bun-outgrown as fuck.
"And then there's this face too. Not a single hum-women here fawn over this?" Vexa questioned, more to herself than to me.
"What does that mean? I guess I am not their type," I feigned ignorance.
It's obvious, it's the fucking curse. I'm not trying to be narcissistic, but I know that if it weren't for this, I'd be less hated by any means.
Vexa shook her head, way off her normal self. "Nope. Power and beauty-you got both. Better than Adam, but still nothing. I spent quite a bit of time asking around about you, and the more I know, the less it makes sense."
"Come to the point," I said, letting the sword down.
"Tell me what's happening." She stared into my eyes, deep into them, and I stared into hers. There was a long, awkward pause. I felt like I was being caught for something that I didn't do. So how should I answer this? Hey! I have been ensnared by a curse given to me by the world. It shows on a system panel given to me by an unknown entity, but there are multiple of those. They could be one of the gods. But then I'd have to explain that there are multiple gods, and they all want to kill another god-the god of demons. For that, they chose Adam. But according to the story, Vexa shouldn't be here. But how do I know the story? Because I'm from a different world, and this world is just a game in my world.
Easy, right? I might've missed things here and there, but that's just the gist of it.
"What is happening?" I asked in exchange, because there's no way I am telling all this bullshit to anyone.
"Okay," she raised her sword in front of her and asked, "Who's your patron god?"
SILENCE
Patron god?
She knows about-wait.
"What are you talking about?" I asked.
"Don't dilly-dally around-tell me what god you're serving under," she demanded, but I sawn/o/vel/b//in dot c//om
it.
I saw the uncertainty in her eyes. Her eyes were shaking, and she was looking for something. She just threw a dart in the dark.
"Ellora," I muttered.
Her eyes turned white, and the next thing I saw was a projectile of ice coming towards me. I leaned to the side, and then there was a change in the air.
I felt goosebumps as I raised the sword up and made contact with something.
"You are fast too," I muttered. Her face was up close to mine, and her sword kept pushing. I saw my sword chipping away because of its low quality.
For Vexa, she seemed to regret opening her mouth. Her expression was now clearly one of
anger.
She knows I am not Ellora's chosen one, and I know she's not the chosen one for Ellora either. Her sword pressed harder against mine, her eyes filled with a mixture of frustration and determination. "Don't lie to me, Ren. I know you're not Ellora's chosen," she hissed.
I gritted my teeth, trying to hold my ground. "Who are you?" I shot back, pushing against her with all y strength.
For a moment, we were locked in a stalemate, each of us testing the other's resolve. Then, with a swift motion, she pulled back and spun away, creating some distance between us.
"You're hiding something," she said, her voice low and dangerous. "Something big." And in that moment, another loud bang sounded as somebody else landed nearby. "What the fuck are you doing here at this hour?!" shouted a very familiar voice.
I turned to see Aron, who had just landed. He seemed out of it, his skin covered in hundreds
and thousands of cracks, glowing with pulsating energy.
The wind grew stronger around him, and his posture was slanted as if he was struggling.
'Hey, princess, I'm back,' Blaze's voice echoed in my mind.
Stay there. Keep distance between us.
I looked towards Vexa, who stood there, eyes widened and the sword slipping from her grip.
It looked like she was thinking the same thing as me.
Aron... he's going through his Formation towards his Archon form.
This motherfucker is a chosen one.
Okay, this is interesting.
"What the hell is happening here?" Aron asked groggily as he walked toward us. "I saw you
-" and then he fell to the ground. Before hitting the ground, he managed to balance himself
using wind.
I looked at him. His whole body was covered in cracks-some disappeared, and new ones
formed.
This was very similar to the scene where Adam Stales was blessed. Ellora had blessed him with her power, and he went through the same process before getting his Archon form.
'What the hell is an Archon Form?' Blaze asked, nearby but hiding.
The Archon Form is a second form that a chosen one can use in battle. It gives them more
control over the elements and makes them stronger.
Adam's Archon Form was powerful enough for him to fight a whole battalion of demons by
himself.
In the game, we always had the option to switch forms, and the Archon Form was often overpowered in battle, but it consumes a lot of energy.
Here, though, Aron hasn't fully processed the power yet, and he's still undergoing the
changes.
"Which God is it?" I yelled toward him.
Aron, who walked like a zombie, looked at us. His mask fell to the ground, revealing the
gruesome side of his face. "I-I can't hear you."
I picked up on that.
"He's going through the Archon Form," Vexa, who had been silent for a while, muttered.
"You know about that too, huh? Who's your patron God?" I asked, but Vexa didn't answer.
"We need to get him to calm down," she said. "We need to get him to calm down! Or else he's
going to explode!"
Explode... that's new.
Aron dropped down, and the wind crackled around him intensely.
THUT*
"Whoa..." A shockwave spread, slightly pushing me back.
I stepped forward, and so did Vexa.
We both cautiously walked toward the fallen prince.
"And what's happening here?"
In that moment, another unexpected person appeared-one I was also familiar with: Falco.