Chapter 356: Chapter 355- Again?!
Spells flew at Adrian. He couldn’t dodge them—he had to stop them.
This wasn’t just a fight. He was protecting someone. He couldn’t let a single spell hit the house.
Ptah!
He fired a spell-breaking bullet at the nearest Acolyte, then swung his axe. A slash of water burst out, tearing across the man’s chest.
"GAAAHH!" The scream was cut short as Adrian teleported above him and slammed the back of his axe down.
THUMP
CRACK
The man’s skull split. Blood streamed from his ears as he collapsed, dead.
"Surround him!" one of the Acolytes shouted.
Adrian caught sight of vines creeping toward him. He flipped in mid-air, lined up his shot, and fired another bullet.
KRIUK!
Flames burst on impact, burning the vines to ash.
But Adrian had miscalculated.
"Got ya!"
An Acolyte appeared behind him mid-air, seizing his arms.
Adrian gritted his teeth—then the man exploded.
BOOOOM!
The blast shook the air. A charred body crashed to the ground.
Only one.
SQUELCH
Another Acolyte froze as Adrian’s blade pierced through his chest.
The plan of suicide bombing had failed.
THUD
Adrian pulled back, breathing steady. Two enemies remained.
The one in command stood still, red cloak fluttering.
Adrian tilted his head. "A bit too weak, don’t you think, for people aiming to wipe out the Vermillion family?"
The cloaked man spoke calmly. "They were all Elite-ranked. Trained by me. Like my own children."
Adrian smirked. "Did I hurt your feelings?"
"Feelings are for the weak. Their deaths only prove they weren’t worthy."
Adrian gave a low chuckle. "Cruel one, aren’t you? Let’s see if you say the same thing when you’re the one lying down."
He lunged at the commander. But in that instant, the man behind the red-cloaked one, vanished.
RUMBLE!
Adrian jumped away just in time.
A fist wreathed in lightning smashed into the space Adrian would have entered.
CRACKLE!
Bolts crawled across the ground, scorching it black.
’That’s not speed...’
The figure vanished again, reappearing behind Adrian with his fist raised.
No time to dodge. Adrian teleported—
CRACKLE!
Another thunderous strike ripped through the air.
CRACKLE!
The ground split as lightning scorched through the backyard. Adrian reappeared on the roof, chest heaving, eyes locked on his foe.
But the man was gone again.
WHOOSH!
Adrian spun, axe already in motion—only for his blade to slice empty air. The Acolyte blinked behind him, fist raised.
Adrian vanished.
BOOOOM!
The fist landed on the wall instead, stone exploding outward, spraying rubble across the yard.
The backyard was turning into a battlefield—trees shredded, ground caving in, scorch marks spreading like wildfire.
Adrian reappeared above, throwing another dismantling bullet.
The Acolyte blinked, avoiding it at the last second—
BANG!
The shot tore a crater in the earth, flames bursting upward.
WHOOSH!
The white cloak flashed behind Adrian again. Lightning clawed across the air, but Adrian teleported away.
BOOM!
Another patch of ground shattered, debris raining down.
They were everywhere at once—two shadows blinking in and out of existence, every appearance followed by an explosion of water, lightning, or flame.
SWOOSH!
CRACK!
BANG!
The house groaned under the constant shockwaves, its windows splintering one by one. Smoke and dust rolled through the yard as the two teleporters flickered in and out, clashing without landing a decisive blow.
Adrian clenched his jaw. "Tch... not the house."
He reappeared just before the Acolyte shifted again and drove his palm into the man’s gut.
"Guh!"
The strike hit clean. The Acolyte stumbled back, glaring daggers at Adrian.
With a flick of his wrist, he tore off his cloak, revealing a young man with short black hair and a thick mustache. He slammed his fists together, sparks crackling between his knuckles.
"You’re nothing but an annoying pest. Crushing you here will only benefit us."
Adrian tilted his head. "Why don’t you look down before making such bold claims?"
The man frowned and glanced at his chest.
Blink. Blink.
There was a small metal disk.
His instincts screamed at him, alarms ringing in his skull, but it was already too late.
BOOOOOOM!
A thunderous blast ripped through the yard. Fire rolled outward, swallowing trees and tearing the ground apart.
Adrian had already thrown up a shimmering barrier around himself and the house. The flames bent harmlessly against the wall of ether, smoke billowing upward into the night sky.
The last Acolyte, however, stood unmoved at the side of the blast, body uninjured, eyes cold.
Adrian’s gaze narrowed. He wasn’t here for glory. He wasn’t here to put on a show. Ending this quickly mattered more than anything else—even if it meant resorting to tricks.
Silence blanketed the courtyard until the commander finally spoke.
"You’ve been getting in our way for too long. Is it personal, Professor? A grudge?"
Adrian gave a half-shrug. "You can say that. I wouldn’t have cared if you did your dirty work elsewhere. But you chose to target people close to me. That’s when it became personal."
He tilted his head, voice sharp. "So, are you starting to regret coming here?"
The Acolyte chuckled low. "I might have, if I believed I would lose. But you only cut down pawns. The King still stands."
Adrian’s lip curled in distaste. "King? Spare me. What makes you think you’re any different from them?"
The man didn’t answer. Instead, a glowing magic circle spun to life before him—its lines etching themselves in midair without a single chant.
Adrian’s expression hardened. He fired a dismantling bullet, the glowing shot slicing through the smoke and smashing against the circle—
SHIIING!
And vanished, leaving the spell completely unharmed.
’Again?!’ Adrian’s eyes widened. A second failure.
"Witchcraft?!" he demanded.
The Acolyte’s grin widened. "So you know of it. I underestimated your intelligence, Professor."
Adrian’s grip on his axe tightened. The runes along its blade flared, light racing up the steel as he spun it over his head, preparing to counter.
But he was too late. Or rather—he never had the chance.
DUUUM! KRIIIIK!
A wave of sound slashed through the air, faster than his eye could follow. It tore across Adrian’s side, carving flesh open before ripping straight through the house.
CRRRRSHHH!
The family home split in two, its roof groaning before crashing down. Wood splinters and stone chunks blasted outward, smoke and dust consuming everything.
Adrian staggered, heat flooding his left side. Blood poured down, soaking his shirt in seconds.
THUD.
His axe slipped from his hand, striking the ground. He stared at the Acolyte in disbelief, chest heaving.
That speed—such precision—he had never witnessed spellcasting this sharp. No chant, no delay, only instant devastation.
The Acolyte smirked, his voice carrying over the wreckage. "You see that, Professor? This is sorcery unlike anything you’ve faced. Refined. Relentless. Devastating."
With a grin, he asked, "So you tell me now...are you regretting your decision to interfere?"
°°°°°°°°
A/N:- Thanks for reading.