Strongest Among the Heavens
Chapter 181: Ibong Adarna

Chapter 181: Ibong Adarna

Matty held his breath. In a step that could described as forcibly strong, he cast a protective arm over Jules. "Stay back. I’ll create an opening so you can run."

Ibong Adarna, the singing bird that healed, dissipated into the air once it sang its final tune. In the background, there were groans and signs of life. However, no one stood up. Whether they were capable of helping them or not did not matter, it was Jules and Matty left standing.

"Matty...thank you but I think I should take over."

He glanced at her. "Are you sure?"

Jules offered him a comforting smile. "Please."

He stared at her and she stared back at him with fiery resolve. Matty relented with a step to the side.

"I don’t understand." Jack’s head tilted to the side by a fraction of an inch. "Why challenge me when you know you will die?"

"Why?" Jules narrowed her eyes. "Why are you killing all these people? I can understand going to the extreme for your wish and defeating your enemies, but this...you’re killing your own allies!"

"I killed all these people because they were unworthy. Simple as that." A gas of darkness flickered to life in his gloved white hand. "You should know how that feels, cripple."

"I am not dying today and neither is Matty." From the palm of her hand, balanced by her raised fingers, a magic circle formed. "Summon: Goldy!"

A black cat emerged and landed on the ground with not a speck of noise. The cat’s golden eyes stared at Jack, calm.

"So my eyes aren’t deceiving me. You possess the Mythical Beast Class...I suppose for a cripple—"

Jules slipped on a silver ring inscribed with old Irish incantations. Her very being pulsed with magical energy and she lifted her arm hip-level with greater dexterity, summoning three magic circles at once. "Summon: the Roc! Summon: Kitsune! Summon: Kinie Ger!"

The mega-sized eagle burst out of the first magic circle. The second magic circle turned into the shape of a small two-tailed red fox while the final circle shattered into pieces and fell into the ground. The pieces came together, stacking on top of each other till the shape of a humanoid creature. Fur replaced smooth flesh and a spear materialized in its right hand.

The freshly summoned creatures instantly pounced on Jack, who threw the ball of darkness directly at the human-like Kinie Ger. It instinctively tried to slash it apart with its spear, resulting in a minor explosion that sent it skidding back next to Jules. Jack was taken aback and was forced to block the fire of the kitsune with his sleeve. The Roc swopped in from above, its claws sharp and ready to pierce him. Sensing danger, he summoned his dark magic barrier, a sphere that protected him from the claws of the Roc and the fire-breathing of the two-tailed Kitsune.

The Kinie Ger charged at Jack in spite of its impossible defence and kept hacking and slashing. It refused to stop.

Matty swallowed, silently observing the three v. one. Jules didn’t assist Nash and his cohorts because they would get in the way, plain and simple. Jules’ beasts weren’t fully tamed and barely recognized Matty as an ally. A bunch of tailored punks would only serve to distract them from the main threat.

It was working too. Jack was at a loss for words. These beasts were each close to Level 30 and overwhelming him in ways his previous opposition failed to.

Still, Matty made sure to keep an eye on Jules. Currently, she was wearing a magic ring that bolstered her mana reserves and efficiency. Once summoned, she didn’t have to expend mana unless she wanted to specify attacks or boost her tamed beasts’ attributes. The strength of her current bond was insufficient for the former, so with a steady flow of mana, she stacked buff after buff to her tamed beasts, primarily increasing speed and strength.

Clang! Clang! Clang!

The Kinie Ger kept bashing at the dark bubble. Its tendency to go wild served well against Jack.

"Black Card."

"Look out!"

Jack created a tiny opening in his barrier and flicked a black card through it. Jules couldn’t react.

Matty could.

He surged forward, shield raised, and blocked it. The card was stuck in his shield and he closed his eyes, waiting for the explosion.

Only pain erupted in his shoulder. This was the piercing card, not the explosive.

’Lucky,’ Matty told himself.

He opened his eyes to see Jack’s mask directed right at them. Through the chaos outside his barrier, between the fifteen feet of distance and fire-breathing, Jack the Ripper stared into their souls.

"No stamina, pathetic reaction speed, easily fatigued, and, most of all, no defence. And yet..." Jack put a face to his mask. The fire intensified. The hacking and slashing grew faster and faster. "Ha. Hahahaha! I don’t believe it, but I am slightly intrigued by you, cripple. Let’s see how you deal with this."

The ground underneath them began to shake. Fear crossed their expressions as Jack began to mummer a series of incantations and ending it with a loud, "Eruption of Darkness!"

Bodies flew as the very ground beneath them was raised by a sea of darkness. The tiniest touch caused the flesh on his arm to tear. In between the debris players screamed and attempted to flee. Some had faked death, lying amongst the corpses to avoid the oppressive gaze of Jack. Others just woke up, partially healed from the Ibong Adarna. Regardless of their situation, many that had come to life were met with searing death. A black volcano eruption that swallowed and killed hundreds.

Matty thought the same of himself. That this was the end for him.

However, as always, Jules was there to save Matty. This time, given a second to prepare, she was able to muster up a Magic Barrier with Matty contained inside it. They floated in the air for a few seconds and then crashed down to the ground. Corpses rained down like it was ordinary weather. The city was in total ruins, with the corpses becoming mangled, burnt, and unrecognizable.

Matty swallowed and turned to Jules. "Are you alright?"

The ring on her finger was brightening. "...they’re gone," she muttered.

Whatever that attack was, it quite literally levelled the city and ruined any chances of burying the bodies. If the spell’s focus hadn’t been spread across, then survival would have been impossible.

Save for a couple cracks, the barrier’s integrity was uncompromised until—

"Ha!"

A knife-wielding psycho in a white mask appeared.

Clang! Clang! Clang!

His scalpel tried to penetrate the barrier and suddenly their positions were switched. It was Jack trying to break through the barrier, not Jules and her beasts.

Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang!

Matty’s heart raced as Jack kept hacking it like a maniac. He was oddly quiet but his movements were like a maniac. He went faster and faster, and more reckless too. A ruthless efficiency that simply wouldn’t quit till they were torn to shreds.

Out of nowhere, he stopped.

"A decent Magic Barrier with symbols. Unexpected." Jack took a step back. "I doubt you can maintain it forever and it’s not as though I have endless mana myself." He extended his left hand and summoned a golden rapier. A beauty of a weapon with a swept inner guard protecting the knuckle, a golden line touching the hand that seemed to amplify his power and stopped Matty’s breath whole. "You had a decent run, cripple, but you do not belong here. You do not deserve that class. It is time to meet your end."

Matty stood in front of her protectively. It didn’t matter. In a blink of an eye, in a single slash, Jack’s golden rapier shattered through the barrier. Darkness erupted from the blade, an oppressive force that threatened to engulf them both.

Matty drew upon every ounce of mana within him, summoning every skill in his arsenal all at once to resist the encroaching darkness. His focus was directed to the single shield on his wrist. A circle of hope hanging onto the bits of flesh that remained in him. His hands burned from the effort, veins pulsating as he strained against the relentless pressure.

Jules’ magic barrier took the brunt of the attack. What Matty was taking was the leftover. ’I can do this! I CAN DO THIS!’

He roared and fought back with a sudden burst of mana. The clash between the blue origin of life itself and shadow unfolded in a torrent. Matty pushed, he pushed, he pushed, until the world went black and he was no longer able to scream.