Chapter 51: Mage
"So tell me. Why did you move?" Noah kept his eyes trained on Ethan as he ignored the huge monster that was standing in front of him. Clank! Ethan yanked the chain, digging the scythe blade deeper into the emerald krait's flesh. "HISS!"
He glared at Noah with a look of pure hatred. Did Noah expect him to stay still and let the emerald krait kill him? Well, Ethan wasn't planning on dying here. "Fuck off!" Ethan raised his middle finger while holding onto the chain tightly. Maybe Noah couldn't seen it.
Noah stared at him intently. Yep, he definitely had seen it. "What do you think you're....." "HISSS!" Suddenly, the emerald krait shot forward, heading towards Noah. Shing! He unsheathed his sword as he prepared to meet the monster head-on. Whirrr! Thud!
Noah pounced into the air as he held his sword pointing downwards, ready to pierce through the monster's scales. The monster's momentum meant that it wouldn't change directions suddenly. "SCREEEEECH!" Suddenly, the snake reared its head up in pain. Splat! Crackle! Crackle! Immense pain coursed through its body as Ethan yanked out the scythe blade, creating a third hole in its nose.
He kept holding on to the emerald krait as he flattened his body across its emerald green scales. "HISSS!" It was a terrifying sight. A large snake was heading upwards while being ridden by a crazy looking boy whose eyes were glowing blue.
Noah's eyes widened. "What the...." "HISSS!" The monster shot upwards, mouth wide open as it headed towards Noah. Shing! He changed his grip on his sword as he tried to escape. If he stuck his weapon in the emerald krait's flesh, he'd be able to use it like a lever to push himself out of the way. Clank! Suddenly, a flaming orange scythe blade materialised in front of his face. Whoosh! The air in front of him was sliced apart as it connected with the hilt of his sword. CLANG!
Huh? What had happened? Where did that blade come from? Who had knocked his sword out of his hand. He looked down. Clank! He could see Ethan holding a black steel chain as he caught the kusarigama in his arm. His blue, glowing eyes were full of venom, fixated on Noah with pure hatred.
"HISSS!" Gulp! The emerald krait snapped its mouth shut as it swallowed Noah completely. Clank! Pierce! Ethan's kusarigama swung back down, burying itself in the open wound once again. "SCREECH!" The snake crashed back onto the ground.
"HISSS!" Thud...thud...thud. The monster started thrashing around, trying to throw Ethan away. "Woah!" He gripped on tightly, trying not to get thrown off. Thud...thud...Crack! Suddenly, it rolled over, trying to crush Ethan underneath its weight. Whoosh! He pounced into the air, grasping the chain tightly. He wouldn't let go of the monster.
"HISSS!" Yank! The snake lifted its head into the air, pulling the chain upwards. "I'm not letting go!" Ethan pulled the chain towards himself, pouring mana into his arms as he tried to hold on. "SCREEECH!" Slice! Clank! Suddenly, Ethan felt the tension in the chain drop drastically. Clang! The scythe blade flew out, embedding itself into the ground as it was flew opposite to the emerald krait.
"Fuck!" Ethan swore in frustration. Apparently, the emerald krait wasn't as dumb as he'd imagined. It had raised its head up so that yanking the chain in any form would loosen the blade stuck in its snout. And, like an idiot, Ethan had done exactly what it was hoping for.
Whoosh....whoosh....whoosh. He started swinging his kusarigama in an arc. Right now, even though the emerald krait was reeling from the pain, its mouth was shut. There wasn't an opportunity to get an easy hit anymore. Whoosh....whoosh....whoosh.
"HISSSS!" The monster bared its fangs at Ethan, preparing to attack. Whoosh! Clank! Ethan spun his kusarigama vertically, trying to slice it from the inside once again. Snap! The monster shut its mouth violently, removing the hole in its defence. It had learned from its mistakes. Clang! The kusarigama bounced against its scales harmlessly, sending a shudder through Ethan's arm.
Whoosh! Clang! Whoosh! Clang! Ethan twirled his kusarigama, trying to get through the emerald scales as he swung it into the emerald krait's body incessantly. Clang! "Why....won't....it....get....through!"
CRASH! Suddenly, it shot towards him. The soil underneath his cracked as it crashed into him, pummeling him to the ground. Why wasn't his weapon piercing through the emerald krait's scales? It had easily cut through them when he had swung the kusarigama into its mouth. Then why wasn't it working right now?
"HISSS!" CRACK! "HISSS!" CRACK! "HIII....." Suddenly, the monster paused mid-air. "Hurk?" That noise. Ethan had heard it before. It was something that he had heard very recently. "Hurk!" The snake jerked its body, trying to fight against some invisible foe. Its eyes grew wide as it struggled desperately. "Hurk!"
Whoosh! The white fog started thickening as the monster continued to jerk its body in pain. Ethan knew where he had heard this strange noise. "Hurk!" Another creature had made this same exact voice today. "Hurk! Hurk!" The emerald krait crashed onto the ground, convulsing in pain as the fog started enveloping its body.
Ethan tightened his grip on the chain. Whoosh...whoosh...whoosh. He started spinning it in a circle as he prepared to face the threat. Noah. He wasn't dead. Somehow, he had survived in that monster's stomach. Whoosh....whoosh....whoosh. No, he should've expected it. Noah had an ability that allowed him to get out of situations like that easily.
"Whoosh....whoosh....whoosh" "Ethereal Body" Swoosh! A pale white arm passed through the black scales of the monster, matching the the deathly colour of the fog. Crack....Crack....Crack! The dried soil cracked as a pair of feet fell on its surface.
Swoosh! Noah stepped out of the emerald krait's abdomen, white hair sweeping through the dense fog. His eyes fell on Ethan. Whoosh! Suddenly, he shot towards him. Clang! Ethan's kusarigama was knocked away instantly by his sword. Slam! Ethan was knocked off his feet instantly. Crash! Noah wrapped his pale white fingers around Ethan's neck, slamming him into the ground as dirt was thrown up by the force of his attack.
Crash! Crash! Crash! Noah pounded him against the floor incessantly, not letting Ethan rest. Shing! Suddenly, he drew his weapon. Whoosh! He swung his sword in an arc towards Ethan's neck trying to decapitate him. Whoosh! A tiny gust of wind blew across Ethan's face as Noah stopped his sword a millimetre before he connected it with hiss neck. "Who sent you?"
"Cough...cough...What the hell are you talking about?" Noah's fingers tightened slightly as he squeezed Ethan's neck more tightly. "Did Haven send you?" "Cough...urk...No! Why the hell would I be with those murderous bastards?" Noah stared at Ethan coldly. So this guy knew who Haven were. But it didn't seem like he was a part of them. He had reacted badly to that corrupted mana emitted by the sphere. Somebody from Haven wouldn't be affected by that mana. "Why did you try to kill me?" If Haven hadn't sent him, then was he sent by one of the five families?
Ethan stared back into Noah's empty eyes with a look of hatred. "Maybe because you left me to die back there." Noah's eyes widened. Was he serious? Was the reason he had risked his life, riding on that powerful monster like a maniac, just for revenge?
This boy, no, Ethan, was speaking the truth. Noah could feel it. The only reason why he'd tried so desperately to kill him was because he thought that Noah had left him to die him. And right now, even while facing death, he wasn't faltering.
Noah could see the same glint in his eyes that he'd seen a glimpse of before they entered this dungeon. And it seemed like that spark was brighter than he had thought. Thud! He loosened his grip on Ethan's neck, dropping him back to the floor. "I wasn't trying to kill you back there." He slowly got up, grasping his sword with both of his hands as he turned around. "Cough...cough...Oh yeah? Like hell I'd believe you."
Crack...crack. Noah started walking towards the emerald krait. "If I wanted to kill you...." He bent forward slightly. "You'd already be dead." Whoosh! He shot forward towards the emerald krait, sword held in front of him as he sailed through the dense fog.
"Cough...cough...that asshole." Ethan grasped his neck lightly, reeling from Noah's attack. He tried to stand up. Noah was probably telling the truth. He wasn't somebody who would to kill others by tricking them. He'd plunge his sword right through the skull of his enemies, dismantling them personally. Of course Ethan realised this after Noah appeared in front of the emerald krait and beat Ethan up. Remembering Noah's character traits would have been helpful before he went ballistic in him.
But still, Ethan had no idea why Noah had sent him to retrieve that white sphere. Or why he wanted Ethan to stay still. Fighting against that monster in this foggy environment was a nightmare. And he didn't know why Noah expected him to take an E rank monsters attacks head-on.
Ethan stared at Noah's figure darting through the white fog as he approached the monster. Were reptilian creatures capable of using magic in this way. Ethan was sure that they were generally very strong physically, relying on their brute strength to kill their enemies rather than any magic attacks. So why was this monster using a spell like the white fog.
Crack! Noah landed right in front of the emerald krait, sending waves of dirt into the air. "HISSS!" The monster had recovered. It raised its head as it bared its fangs at Noah, its purple eyes glowing with rage.
The white fog pooled around the monster, completely engulfing its body. It was almost like.....it was almost like it wasn't the one controlling the fog. Suddenly, Ethan's eyes widened. One of Noah's powers from the book was his ability to transform into a ghost. And the second one? Whoosh! Noah swung his sword through the air as the fog was sucked up, converging on the monster's body.
Shhhhhh! "HISSSS!" It screamed in pain, thrashing around pain as an invisible force attacked it. Noah's second ability- something that was a part of his ghost transformation. The ability that perfectly complemented his dark personality. Something full of death and destruction. And a whole lot of pain.
"Ghost Ability- Graveyard Fog!"
CREATORS' THOUGHTS 
J_Striker
J_Striker Chapter is here! Let me know what you think of this chapter. I think today's chapter shows Ethan getting beaten up a lot, but I feel like its a part of his character. So I hope it doesn;t annoy you guys too much. Thanks for reading! J_Striker out.
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone