Reincarnated Hero System

Chapter 1283: The Tiny Berserker II

Kranul slowly stepped out of the smoking crater, dragging his warhammer behind him as he glared at Evan and Leoniel with glowing red eyes, his teeth gritted in silence.

"That skill of his is going to be a problem. My Sandstorm Unique Skill is heavily specialised in negative status effects," Leoniel said.

Hearing this, Evan cracked his neck before replying, "Then I guess you’re gonna have to use that other Unique Skill."

Crimson gold magic power erupted from Evan’s body in a blazing haze, and Leoniel, glancing at him in that state, exhaled softly.

"You and that damned appraisal skill of yours."

Leoniel stepped forward as hardened grey stone scales slowly spread across his skin, while the earth beneath each step turned grey stone.

"Mesarthim: Orange: Self Immolation."

Orange flames erupted from Evan’s body at that command, turning him into a literal humanoid torch, and at the same time, powerful winds slowly began swirling around Leoniel, generating a small sandstorm around his arms and legs.

Leoniel’s sclera turned amber yellow as his pupils narrowed into slits, and he muttered, "Rise, Pillars of the Earth."

Faced with this, Kranul, who’d been charging at them without thought, suddenly came to a halt and silently raised his warhammer high.

The wildly erupting demonic energy pouring from his body began pulling inward, and what replaced it was an energy no one would’ve ever expected from a being with the word ’demon’ in his race.

Leoniel’s eyes widened in disbelief, and Laurene, who was holding back the remnants of the Third Division members alongside Eliza, immediately froze and snapped her head toward Kranul’s direction as what she’d seen earlier with her Mystic Eyes fully manifested before them.

A rusty red energy flowed from Kranul’s body, lightly sparkling as it coiled around his limbs and poured into his black warhammer.

"Divinity...?" Leoniel muttered in shock.

At this, Evan exhaled heavily.

"Right. This bastard’s a fucking demigod."

The ambient law energy across the entire area intensified, and dark clouds rapidly gathered above, swirling into a storm that spat a bolt of crimson lightning down onto Kranul’s raised hammer.

"Second...Level."

Kranul muttered those words, and the moment he did, the crimson glow in his left eye faded, and fragments of his sanity returned. He crouched lightly, taking a stance with his warhammer pulled back as he stared directly at Evan and Leoniel.

Kuro instantly leapt out of Eliza’s shadow and transformed into his humanoid body, grabbing Laurene and Eliza’s hands before activating Shadow Movement and teleporting them as far from the mountain range as he could in one jump.

At the same time, Evan activated Vortex, Mesarthim’s RED flames spiralling violently around the Vanquisher as he pulled his blade back, while Leoniel silently clenched his fists and activated the Striking Pillar of the Earth.

For one silent moment, the three simply stared at one another.

Then, in the very next instant, all 3 vanished from their positions simultaneously.

Sword, fists, and warhammer collided in the same moment with an impact that distorted space itself.

The entirety of the Kudatha Mountain Range ceased to exist in that moment as every mountain, cliff, valley, and ridge was instantly obliterated by the overwhelming force of their clashing powers.

Peaks disintegrated into dust, the vast maze of hills surrounding the mountain base was flattened into nothingness, and the earth across dozens of kilometres was crushed downward into a nightmarish basin of destruction.

A dome of destructive flames, petrifying sand, and divine lightning exploded outward, vaporising everything in its path as the resulting shockwaves tore across the land and reached the last city before the mountain range.

Its defensive walls, reinforced by powerful magic that had endured for centuries, were overwhelmed beyond capacity before collapsing into ruin beneath the pressure. Magical barriers shattered like glass, watchtowers exploded apart, and soldiers were thrown screaming through the air.

Above it all, a gigantic mushroom cloud of smoke, ash, and lightning rose into the skies, expanding so high it blotted out the evening sky, while the deafening roar of the blast echoed across the entirety of the Kudatha Region.

And all 3 beings responsible for this apocalyptic devastation were blasted away in different directions.

Leoniel crashed into one side of the newly created wasteland, landing on one knee with the stone scales around his arms shattered, his flesh beneath torn open and dripping blood.

Evan was hurled in another direction, his back slamming into the ground with immense force. The bones in his right arm appeared to have fully shattered, but he still forced himself up unsteadily, summoning the Vanquisher into his left hand, and coating his right in Mesarthim’s Green flames of life.

Blood streamed from his forehead over his right eye, forcing it shut, but his remaining eye stayed locked on Kranul.

Kranul himself was far from unharmed.

The right side of his armour was burning with prismatic destruction flames that refused to go out, pushing back both his divinity and Tiny Berserker’s enhanced resistance to negative effects.

A massive hole had been blasted through his armour on his left side where Leoniel’s fist had landed. His shoulder joint was crushed, and from that wound down toward his upper ribs, his body was slowly turning to stone.

But while he could resist Leoniel’s petrification with his divinity, it was completely ineffective against Evan’s prismatic flames, which had charred his armour black and continued to burn his arm with every passing second.

He exhaled deeply, steam flowing from his lips, and the red glow in his right eye vanished completely, his full sanity returning with the deactivation of Tiny Berserker.

The man looked down at the warhammer he could barely hold in his burning right arm, his eyes narrowing at the damage the weapon had taken.

A deep fist imprint dented its left side, with fractures spreading outward, while the right side bore a slash mark where Evan’s blade had cut straight through the weapon.

’Evan Eris’ power... is greater than what the reports said. He did more damage to my warhammer than the Basilisk’s fist. His weapon’s raw attack potency is an even bigger threat than expected.’

He looked up and studied Evan carefully, observing the level of magic power Evan was radiating, the law energies of fire and destruction gathering around his body, before his gaze dropped to Evan’s arm, cloaked in green flames.

’His arm is completely damaged. That Laneford girlfriend of his must be healing him from the shadows somewhere nearby.’

Kranul couldn’t sense her presence, so he thought back on the reports regarding Evan and reached a conclusion.

’His contracted Shadow Spirit. Speaking of spirits, where are the other three he’s usually with?’

The man glanced toward Leoniel, watching the Basilisk slowly rise onto his two feet as his shredded flesh gradually regenerated, pushing out the remnants of Kranul’s lightning within the wound.

’His recovery is just as troublesome as expected.’

Kranul exhaled, then tightened his grip on his hammer as he rose from his knees, but just then, a voice rang out in his mind.

[That’s enough, Kranul. The other Chiefs are nearby. Retreat.]

Kranul’s eyes widened, and he immediately turned his attention toward Arbor Felix before clicking his tongue in annoyance.

He glared at Evan one final time, then slammed his warhammer into the ground.

The impact launched him skyward like a cannon blast, and as he spun his hammer like a propeller, his small body shot through the skies and vanished into the storm clouds of the early evening horizon.

Watching the disappearing man, Evan heaved a relieved sigh, then unsummoned the Vanquisher, raising his seemingly broken right arm and clenching his fist.

"I really don’t wanna have to pull off something like this again," he muttered, withdrawing the destructive energy within his arm and increasing the intensity of the flames of life.

Leoniel closed the distance at that moment, and Evan casually waved at him.

"Yo. You good?"

"Obviously not," Leoniel responded, extending his arms, still crackling with residual lightning.

"I’m a poor match against divinity, so getting rid of this would take even longer than usual," he added.

Evan inspected his wounds, then shrugged and said, "Liz can handle it. You’d be good as new in a week when she’s done with you."

He then summoned a cloth from his inventory and used it to wipe the blood off his face with his left hand.

Leoniel glanced at his right hand as he did this, then narrowed his eyes slightly when he noticed there wasn’t any lingering lightning on his arm.

"Your wounds... are they self-inflicted?"

Evan blinked in surprise at the question, putting away the bloodied cloth as he responded.

"You noticed? About 65% is. Kranul used divinity for that last bit, and unfortunately for him, divinity is a poor match against me."

Raising his hand, Evan continued, "But since I want to keep up the ruse of me being a Level 700+ for now, I had to show I’d taken the right amount of damage that any Legendary would when they interfere in a clash between two Superior Sovereigns."

"I’m immune to Mesarthim’s flames, so I couldn’t burn my hand, so I had to overload my arm with destructive energy instead."

Evan’s words made Leoniel give him an incredulous look, and the man couldn’t stop the words that slipped out next.

"I don’t know if you’re just bold, or batshit crazy."

"Both, Leoniel," Evan replied with a chuckle. "Both."

He turned around after speaking, looking in the direction of the nearest city as he continued, "Let’s make ourselves scarce. Tharvoria’s Sovereigns are close."

Leoniel looked in that direction before nodding in agreement, and Evan then grabbed his shoulder, activating Lethe to conceal them both, before using his Blink + Farsight skill combo to teleport them out of the area.

By the time Tharvoria’s Sovereigns arrived less than a minute later, they were met with nothing but a giant crater spanning several kilometres where the Kudatha Mountain Range used to be.