Swoosh!
Vesh also conjured his Mistlord's Knives as he flew around in dagger form, attacking Arven from all sides.
Arven wasn't having much trouble. His whirling coat of daggers was protecting him as his eyes moved around, trying to trace Vesh in the mist.
Swoosh!
Vesh was fast. Thanks to the effect of Mistoltein's Domain, he was faster than Arven's daggers.
"I'm impressed," Arven spoke, his voice lighting the armosphere in the fire as sparks oozed out of him. "But only slightly."
Vesh felt rising heat in his Mistoltein's Domain, causing the mist to disperse fast.
In a couple of seconds, all the mist was gone, and instead, the heat increased dramatically.
Arven turned his head and looked at the floating dagger that was Vesh. "If this is your Mystic Path's power, I am disappointed."
'Mystic Path…is he going to use his?' Vesh thought, eager but also cautious.
"It looks like I have no choice but to disable you," Arven muttered as he got no response from Vesh.
All of his daggers pointed at himself in a circular formation.
"This is my Mystic Path." Arven's figure glowed dimly as the orange sparks gathered in front of him, turning into a glistering orange card.
Vesh was observing him keenly, wanting to know more about Mystic Paths and how they worked.
But in the next moment, he saw with one of his eyes that Arven's daggers suddenly stabbed him, drawing his blood like a stream of water.
Vesh saw a chance. He didn't know what that guy was doing, but he felt that letting him complete his action might harm.
He accelerated at his fastest speed, consuming as much Mystic Energy as possible to achieve the highest speed and power.
The distance between them was merely a few meters.
But the moment he was about to pierce through Arven's forehead, he vanished.
Clank!
'Arghhhh!!'
Vesh felt insane pain as his dagger form was split into two by Arven, who appeared mid-flight out of nowhere.
'Fuck!'
Vesh instantly turned into mist, increasing his speed and escaping.
'What the fuck was that? What just happened?'
'What is Mystic Path?!'
Arven raised his eyebrows as he saw Vesh rapidly vanishing. "What the hell is he? Taking different forms like that…must be his Mystic Path for sure, but he didn't show even his cards' appearance."
His wounds began healing quickly as he chugged a potion and flew out.
"You can't escape," Arven muttered with a boring expression, flying leisurely despite Vesh already not being visible.
…
'What did he do?' Vesh racked his brain. 'I was watching from all angles. He just vanished, dispersing into sparks along with that weird card, and appeared right next to me mid-flight, struck me so strongly I was split into two.'
He was left with only 138 Durability in his Elk Spirit Slime form! If it reached 0, he would lose form completely.
Switching to Mistlord's Knife and escaping was the only thing he could do.
Fortunately, he was fast. The enemy was not on his radar.
Vesh continued flying, moving towards Veron and the group.
'Master, we have surfaced. Ah, t-there's someone here.'
Vesh frowned. 'Who?'
'Someone strong. He is s-smiling at us. Why does it feel like he was waiting for us?'
Vesh sped up and soon arrived there.
A bearded man with black hair was standing in front of the group.
Suddenly, he appeared before Veron, punched him in the gut as he fell, and gasped for breath while a barrier manifested, trapping the whole group as the man looked at Vesh from inside, smiling.
"So Arven failed to get you, eh? You must be quite a runner."
Vesh descended in his human form. "Let them go. I'll stay here."
Faust laughed. "Nope."
He snapped his finger.
Suddenly, both wolf pups were covered in sand before floating up and squeezing.
"Ronu, Monu!" Miru cried out.
Pchhhh…
Blood spread out, turning both sand balls crimson.
Revi tremblingly tried to close Miru's mouth as she cried loudly.
Fear gripped the whole group.
Vesh flinched. Fury rose, fists clenched, but he calmed down.
'Damn it!'
He was the most powerful back on Earth, but not here.
And right now, he was completely powerless because of his sealed attributes!
"You thought they could escape, eh?" Faust smiled. "Unfortunately, I am an expert in ground. I found the moment you started tunneling."
"What will it take you to let them go?" Vesh asked.
"First, hand over the Gray Citadel Rose."
'So he wants this.'
Vesh took out the rose from the storage ring stored within his lifeform's inner space, as he called it.
"Let them go, and I'll give you this."
Suddenly, the spikes burst out from the ground around Vesh while sand sandstorm covered him.
In a second, the position he was standing in was completely shut tight, with not even room for air.
Faust looked up. "Indeed, you are fast."
Vesh barely got away. If he had a heart, it would be beating thousands per second.
'Fucking hell!'
"Let them go, and this is yours." Vesh's voice was hoarse. "They have nothing to do with what I did."
Misha bit her lips. "Let them go…please. You want me, right?"
Fuast yawned. "I don't know why you think you can negotiate with me."
"It's over for you. You cannot escape. You cannot save them. You cannot do anything to oppose us and get a good result…except for obediently listening and obeying me."
Vesh looked up.
Arven was there, floating with his arms crossed, with his flaming wings visibly distorting the air around him with their heat.
'M-Master…'
Veron and Revi were scared. Miru even more so.
Vesh took a deep breath in his non-existent lungs.
"Here." Vesh let go of the Gray Citadel Rose as it fell down.
Faust grabbed it by materializing a cup of glass and sealing it.
'Glass?' Arven's eyes flickered. 'He progressed in his Mystic Path.'
"Now, can you let them go, please?" Vesh asked, his tone pleading. As long as they escaped, it was all good and well.
Pride and shit didn't matter.
What mattered was that they absolutely must not die. Not with him as the cause. It was not fair.
He was on a journey to make everything fair, to change the very destinies of those who were unfair.
"You were very aggressive back there for a while, but now you're all meek, eh?" Arven raised his eyebrows. "Just what are you? You don't feel like a human."
"I am not a human."
Faust blinked twice. "What are you then?"
"A ghost who lives like a human. A monster."
"A weak monster," Arven remarked. "Now then, Fuast, what are you waiting for? Let's finish this and take our full payment."
Vesh was silent. It would be good if they just left, but they would not let him go, and he was fine with that.
Raising his hands, Vesh said. "Capture me and do whatever you want to do with me. I killed them and did everything. They have nothing to do with this."
Vesh felt a searing hit as flaming chains bound his arms and legs.
"We'll do that even if you didn't speak. You thought you could escape again?" Arven snorted.
Vesh felt the bindings. It was strong. He couldn't escape by turning into mist. It was like he was bound to the chains instead of chains binding his limbs.
"Take him and her." Faust moved the earth beneath Misha and put her out of his barrier. "I'll deal with them."
"Wait! You are letting them go, right?!" Vesh shouted.
Faunt smiled and snapped his finger.
Instantly, an earthen spear, thin and sharp, emerged from the ground, piercing Miru's body through her head.
"N-N…" Revi's breath got caught, seeing Miru's face completely bloodied, utterly overwhelmed her as he fell, her eyes rolling upward.
"NOOOO!"
"YOU KILLED HER!" Veron started swinging his Mist knife while producing more to attack.
"WHY?!"
Alas, Faust picked his nose boringly as a thin barrier constantly flickered around his skin, rendering all attacks of Veron completely useless.
"Bye." Faust waved at Vesh, who could only look with a blank expression as, in the next second, tens of earthen spears pierced both Revi and Veron, as the blood leaked out ever so slowly that this scene froze in Vesh's eyes.