Reborn Regress Return: I Am the Heir of Shadows!

The guttural sounds the monster created sounded like it struggled to breathe as if it had something lodged inside the ape's throat. From the moment Julian stabbed the beast, he noticed the monster resembled Dreadpaw. A monster that he killed a few days ago in the game world.

"Tsk..."

He looked behind him, hoping to see Umbra, but she wasn't there. 'Damn it!' It seemed the feeling of their connection cutting wasn't just his imagination.

A white claw swept across Julian's face with a brutal force. He slid across the ground with a cloud of dust, creating some distance between himself and the monster.

"ROAR!"

'Without Umbra I will have to be careful...'

Clang!

Purple sparks flew each time the monster thrashed towards him. The power of its white claws caused his entire body to shiver down to the bone. While he attempted to deflect its attacks, a slow fatigue and ache started building, and his muscles burned as if on fire.

The creature didn't stop.

Each time he thought about counterattacking, the gorilla would suddenly jump around and toss boulders at him with an immense speed, forcing Julian to go on the defensive.

He continued this fight of attrition, building up his magic while learning the monster's patterns as it jumped onto the second floor and lifted a piece of rock more than twice its size.

"Shit!"

Julian grasped the air and yanked towards himself. The ghostly shadow claws gripped the beast's arms and dragged it down to off the second floor. Dreadpaw grunted as it flung off the edge and fell towards the ground with a huge boulder above its head. It attempted to escape, but four large spectral hands held it down and prevented it from moving as the rock fell on its head.

Thud!

'That should hold it for now...'

"Haa..."

With his left hand supporting his right, Julian sucked in a deep breath, before shooting a series of shadow bolts at the monster, the first lance like lightning, followed instantly by another... chain casting his small, sharp bolts tore through the beasts chest, like a shotgun he shredded the monsters chest with each new bolt.

'What a monster.'

"Hrrk..."

Blood oozed from Julian's nose as he abused his mana, bypassing the system. Yet he noticed something strange this time, unlike fighting the goblin elite... when he overused his magic, the pain came from his abdomen. A dull ache grew with each spell and built into a searing pain.

When firing the spells in quick succession, he heard a faint message in his mind but didn't take notice of tit.

[Your core has formed]

[Learned new skill: Triple Cast]

However, even though it seemed almost dead, Dreadpaw's chest started to regrow muscle tissue, skin, and fur. The damage and effort he went to seemed to be worthless.

"Hmm?"

But Julian noticed it didn't completely recover.

'Why?'

The monster had taken considerable damage from the boulder, and Julian aimed for its heart since most creatures died without a beating heart... or at least he hoped so. He was no medical expert.

Dreadpaws' chest looked normal, apart from the left side, which remained damaged.

"It's limited!" He whispered excitedly as the ape stood up once again.

Julian dodged another white fist, his mind thinking about how to defeat it.

It was strange that something this powerful appeared now, and if more creatures of this calibre kept appearing... While caught in his thoughts, the ape attacked him with a double punch, causing him to gasp the speed too fast to dodge.

He lifted his arms, crossing his chest with the glowing purple claws, aiming to block the blows, but...

*WHAM!*

His body crashed against a wall.

The black barrier that protected his body shattered into pieces with a low cry of pain.

The purple claws vanished the moment before the fists slammed into his chest and knocked him half unconscious from a single blow. A bitter taste of sweet and coppery blood, which made Julian almost gag.

"Kuah!"

Julian's ears rang, and he felt like vomiting.

The moment he fell, he grasped the air, feeling his abdomen almost scream at him in anger.

The ape rushed forward in an almost berserk rage.

As if ready to ground and pound Julian into meat past, roaring with its huge maw opened wide. Julian's four shadowy hands increased to five and pulled the ape down, using its forward to smash its face against the ground before pinning it down.

"Ngh..."

His head started pounding.

His vision blurry, despite trying to stand his limbs locked in position, while muscle cramps spread through his body. The excess usage of mana was clearly draining the amount needed to keep his body in this combative state.

"Haa..." With a long sigh, he pointed at the beast. If he were going to die, then he would crush the ape's brain. "Die!"

Swirling purple mana crackled and formed streaks of electricity that flowed across Julian's face, sparking the metallic mask covering half his face as a sphere of shadow magic spun at the tip of his finger.

"Well, I feel great, haha."

To fight against a beast like this for five minutes as an Evoker, to block and parry most of its blows... enough to gain a skill for both, Julian realised his past thoughts about never beating an assault type in close combat were a lie.

It just depended how far he would go, how much he would sacrifice.

The dirt beneath him crumbled as Julian stood up, his nose dripping with blood, his pale face and his steps staggered at best.

Drawing more mana from the air and his smouldering core, he curled his lips into a smile, noticing the shadow grasp spell would continue in the real life, as long as he let mana keep pumping into it.

Of course...

"Hrrk..." More blood spurt from his lips, the agonising pain in his stomach beyond his limits now... as he almost lost consciousness.

However, he couldn't die.

Not now!

"GRAAA!!!" The monster roared as it ripped the four hands clutching at the ground, crushing the stone, sinking into the ground as if it would flip the entire earth with muscle and willpower alone.

Julian also found himself shouting, mimicking the monkey as he channelled more mana into the Shadow bomb in his hands.

"HAAAAAAA!"

In the background, a soft but bitter voice whispered. "Such an idiot... why match the monkey..."

The next moment, a blue aura wrapped around the figure, forming swirling ribbons as she spoke again.

"Kang School Style

A moment of silence passed as Julian's eyes widened at the figure glowing bright pink and blue darting across the broken floor like a fairy.

—Phantom Swallow Rend"

With a single flash, her blade cut through the silence, slicing off the ape's right arm.

Her sword, in an upper position, slashed down.

The slash cleaving its left arm from the bone another slice... tore its chest and throat and finally her figure stood in front of Julian's lowered waist in an Iaido stance...

"Julian, the moment I strike. Release your spell."

After she had spoken, in one smooth motion, her blade flashed in an instant, delivering a final wide-arcing draw slash that cleaved through the monster's head.

"NOW!"

A burst of purple aura like a tidal wave split through the ape's body before she jumped back, avoiding the shadow bomb that Julian released.

His eyes were not on the beast but the beautiful woman who flicked her gaze back at him as she flashed a confident smile, gripping his arm and dragging him to the ground.

BOOOM!

A Black explosion swallowed everything on the first floor.

***

▼ Battle Ended

You have slain Dreadpaw (Lv:⁂): + 13,500 EXP

—

Julian's body burned as if on fire, and an intense stabbing pain spread through his abdomen while pinned down.

The force of the explosion caused his ears to pop, distorting sound.

But he didn't care, his face buried in Sena's breasts, his hands clutching her shirt tightly while she wrapped her arms around his neck, covering him with her warm and comforting embrace.

Her face buried into his neck as she removed his mask, looking down at his pained face, covered in dirt, blood and soot.

"You fool..."

She smiled while whispering before kissing his forehead.

Julian didn't speak about Umbra or the strange feelings and thoughts in his mind as the ringing in his ears drowned out most of the collapsing stone and rock. He gazed up at Sena, breathing slowly to avoid the pain.

"Ah... I am a fool, but only for you."

"..."

His corny line made her shut him up with a passionate kiss.

Their lips were warm and sticky from his blood, but neither cared at this moment. Their emotions overwhelmed their senses while outside they could hear shouts and the sound of guns firing at monsters which escaped in the confusion.

However, this didn't bother them as he clutched Sena tightly.

He wanted her more than anything right now, despite feeling like vomiting from the pain in his stomach. The more he kissed Sena, the quicker the pain faded, as if her saliva was a cooling gel that soothed his pain.

"Mmmph!"

Julian's tongue pushed into her lips, sliding along Sena's teeth before she wrapped it with her own, sucking on his lips in a sense of frenzy unable to control herself after they slayed the monster.

"Ugh..."

But his gasp for air broke their passion, making Sena realise he was suffering and needed medical treatment.

"Julian, are you okay?"

"Ah... I just overdid it, you know I am not suited to be a mage."

"You are suited to anything, you fool. Let's get home."