novel bin Chapter 1202: Friend or Foe No More (4)
Chapter 1202: Friend or Foe No More (4)
Chapter 1202: Friend or Foe No More (4)
Bill's invisible hands struck against the approaching fog. They created temporary gaps in the fog that quickly closed up again. Wherever the spectral hands carved through it, the fog
simply flowed back together.
"You think this will stop me?"
There was an edge of panic in his voice. His invisible hands multiplied; thousands of them struck at the barrier walls while simultaneously aiming for the gas.
The barrier rippled from Bill's attacks but held. It was powered up by six barrier masters, after all. The hands split the fog, yet it simply swirled back into place. Each time he carved a path through the mist, Amber's power replenished it, negating his efforts to disperse it.
Bill's movements grew erratic as reality started sinking in-his powers failed against the advance of the corrosive cloud.
His composed demeanor cracked. Sweat beaded on his forehead as his breaths grew faster. "This can't be happening." Bill redirected his attacks to the barrier again, but the mana construct simply absorbed each impact, rippling but never weakening.
The corrosive fog filled more of his prison. Bill created a dome of overlapping invisible hands around himself, layering them so dense that even air could barely pass through. For a moment, he thought it might work-the gas seemed to slow its approach.
Then it began seeping through the microscopic gaps between his defenses, proving as unstoppable as time itself. Bill's breathing grew ragged as his space shrunk, the deadly mist forcing him toward the center of his prison.
His first scream pierced the air like a blade through silk. Bill's left hand was the first one to be touched by the corrosive fog, and the pain was unbearable.
Erik heard it; Amber and the others did, too, and most importantly, the blackguards heard it. The blackguards lost all order when they heard their commander screaming. Soldiers stopped fighting, dropping their weapons as they realized what was happening to Bill.
Everyone, from new recruits to experienced fighters, watched in shock as their seemingly unbeatable leader was dying.
Bill's flesh sizzled on contact with the gas, turning gray before beginning to dissolve. The corrosion spread up his arm like a rapidly growing tumor, eating through skin, muscle, and bone.
The barrier amplified his cries, which made everyone flinch. His clothes melted into sludge that dripped from what remained of his body.
The outer layers of his skin followed, sloughing off in sheets that dissolved before hitting the ground.
Bill tried focusing his powers, trying to create a shell directly against his skin, but his concentration shattered as the waves of pain intensified and quickly overwhelmed him.
Then his powers flickered and failed as the neural links required to channel mana were eaten away by Amber's corrosive fog.
The gas reached his torso, going through his chest like thousands of hungry worms. His ribcage became visible for a moment before dissolving, internal organs liquefying and dropping to the barrier's floor in wet chunks that were quickly consumed by the relentless fog. His last scream cut off abruptly as the fog reached his throat, dissolving his vocal cords mid- cry. His face followed quickly after, features melting like wax under intense heat.
His eyes, already clouded with agony, dissolved last-two final points of horror before they too succumbed to the gas.
What remained of Bill collapsed into the growing puddle of his own dissolved tissue and clothes. Blood mixed with liquefied flesh and various types of bodily fluids, creating patterns like oil on water before the corrosive gas broke down even these remains.
Amber was having trouble breathing. It was clear she used all her mana, and that she strained
a lot to seal the deal with Bill.
Erik knew Amber's power was strong even with her only being at the B rank of the Ferebitz
scale. It was a highly efficient power, and making more neural links made it even more efficient and deadly. The problem was that Amber didn't have that much mana, at least not compared to monsters such as Bill and Monica.
Creating and maintaining the corrosive fog while fighting against Bill's constant interference
had drained her.
Her fog had proven superior to Bill's defenses, but that was because it was impossible for him to create an air-sealed space, nor could he bring the fog out by using the invisible hands to repel it, and that was because the barrier didn't allow it.
Besides, Bill had more mana than her, and to bring the man down, she had to make so much of it that not even the man could destroy it all.
Each time his invisible hands tore through it, she produced more fog until she overwhelmed him, but in another situation, she would have lost. Bill was fast, shrewd, and resourceful. The moment he saw Amber, if the barrier hadn't been present, he would have killed her.
He felt a twinge of regret at the lost opportunity to get Bill's powers. It would have been incredibly useful, especially if he merged Bill's birth brain crystal power and the invisible
hands.
Amber's corrosive gas destroyed everything completely. It turned Bill's body, clothes, and equipment into basic particles. Most importantly, it destroyed the brain crystal in Bill's head - the source of his powers.
"It's a shame," he said. "With that kind of power, we could have been much safer on Mur. But
I suppose this couldn't be helped."
Despite all of Erik's different powers, he could have never beaten Bill in a direct fight. Those invisible hands were simply too strong and versatile.
Bill's three powers worked perfectly together: invisible hands, super speed, and matter destruction. He could block or dodge anything Erik tried.
It hit Erik hard: some brain crystal powers were stronger than others, even if they were on the same level. A single powerful and versatile ability, like Bill's invisible hands, could overcome multiple different powers of equal rank.
Bill's fight showed that three well-chosen, complementary abilities could counter a wider range of powers. Quality and synergy mattered more than quantity.
"I really need to make more neural links for telekinesis."
If he could wield telekinesis with the same mastery as Uncle Benjamin, who could lift entire buildings and control thousands of objects simultaneously, he would be much stronger than anyone else in battle. Similarly, the Hydra's head brain crystal power needed more neural
links.