Cherreads

Chapter 78 - 78 - A dance with death

AN: This is for all my readers across the 6 platforms I am posting at, i am honestly shocked by how many people welcomed and were waiting for my to come back, thanks all of you, I promise I'll do my best to never disappear again.

This is for my webnovel readers specifically, if you don't leave a power stone as soon as you read this your balls will fall off.

I don't make the rules.

Enjoy the 2.7k words thick chapter.

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Battered and bleeding Levi flew away as fast as he could, Orionis and Elysia right on his tail, even when he had assigned his state points it didn't make much of a difference, the only reason he was still not dead was Acnologia's massive health point substituting for his, along with Koh and the red dragon, the blue eagle's health point were too low to have any effect.

His only hope now was to lose them in the vast spirit world, to confuse them with its randomness and bizarreness until he got away, 'That won't work.' he thought in trepidation as he realized the ugly truth. They seemed to be familiar with navigating the spirit realm just as much as him, and before long they caught up to him again as he had to stop and engage them in combat, each second chipping away at his HP.

"Just give up and make this easy for the both of us," said Elysia as she delivered a kick right to the side of his torso, launching him crashing to the ground. Flipping mid-air Levi landed on his feet and looked up, they hadn't pursued him but they were keeping a close eye on him, there was no way he could escape.

Orionis brandished his sword and dived towards him, seeing him coming Levi reinforced his body using ethereal force, pushing it to the limit as he had never done before, he didn't back away or dodge out of the way like before, he wanted to fight, to at least prove to himself that they weren't that strong, that his situation wasn't helpless.

Orionis' sword landed directly on Levi's armor, piercing it immediately, but unlike before it only made a faint clunk noise when it hit his scales, his ethereal force powered by Limit Breaker was showing its effect.

'Success' thought Levi in elation as he immediately punched towards Orionis hitting him square on the stomach, it was obvious though he barely did any damage, but Levi wasn't discouraged, that wasn't his goal in the first place!

"I'll admit, you're proving more of a hassle than we had expected, of course that is always the case with you isn't it?" said Orionis in a mocking tone.

"Is that so? Well then, I'd hate to disappoint you." said Levi as a smirk covered his face.

Seeing this Orionis felt something wrong as he tried to rush at him again but he couldn't even move from his place, it was as if he was sealed to that particular spot.

Shifting his focus upwards Levi locked eyes with Elysia, he had deduced that she was weaker than Orionis after exchanging dozens of hits and moves with both of them, and as a warrior he had learned to make use of every opportunity he could get.

Crouching down, his legs muscles bulged to unnatural degrees as veins ran through them as he jumped at her with so much speed that he even surprised himself, he was sure that if he was still in the physical world he would have broken the sound barrier.

Frowning Elysia punched with all her might, but her eyes went wide in shock as her arm froze in place, in fact her entire body froze, it was as if her body was rebelling against her, it was only for an instant before she managed to break free but for levi with the enhancement of Limit breaker and Ethereal force that was all he needed.

Holding a sword in each hand Levi swung as fast as he could, slicing and dicing and using every move and combination he knew, his maxed weapon mastery level making sure there were no wasted movements, no unnecessary pause or deviation giving no chance for his opponent.

In an instant Levi had sliced at her hundreds of times as she backed away and kept punching at him, she tried her best to defend but that slight mistake at the beginning had cost her dearly, Levi had gained the upper hand and she couldn't extricate herself no matter what.

Orionis was trying his best to break free, it took all of his effort before he finally managed to do it but he was already too late. From the moment he was sealed till now it was barely two seconds, but for people at their level that was way too long.

"ELYSIA." he shouted as he finally broke Levi's seal and rushed towards her.

Reaching her side he extended a shaking hand as he tried to hold her but she lifted her hand to stop him.

"I…" she tried to say before she puked a mouthful of blood, "I am sorry Orionis, I told you not to underestimate him but…." another mouthful of blood spilled out, her power seemingly the only thing holding her together.

"...in the end it was me who underestimated him." she said finally, tears falling out of her eyes as she looked at him, "A…avenge me and my…" she tried her best to finish her sentence but it seemed she had reached her limit as her power failed her and she burst into a mist of blood.

"YOU DAMN MONSTER." shouted Orionis at the top of his lungs as he turned towards Levi with bright red eyes, Elysia's blood covering his face and armor dyeing him red, 

He rushed at Levi so fast that he couldn't even react, slicing his arm off and piercing his torso with his sword dozens of times before Levi finally managed to react.

"YOU DAMN ABOMINATION, EVEN NOW ALL YOU CAUSE IS PAIN AND SUFFERING, DIE DIE DIE DIE DIE." Orionis kept shouting at the top of his lungs as he stabbed at Levi, piercing him again and again with his sword, each attack shaving away a huge chunk of his HP.

He would have managed to react if he was in his best shape, but he had reached his limits with Limit Breaker, not only he couldn't rely on it any longer but it had worn him down so bad that he was in worse shape than he had been in years. He would have managed to react if he wasn't so injured but sadly that wasn't the case. He would have managed to react if Orionis wasn't so crazed and his attacks weren't so random and following no pattern, but in his anger, Levi couldn't defend against his attacks.

'Am I going to die here?' He couldn't help but question as the sword pierced his forehead, going all the way through his brain and going out on the back of his head, he tried his best to stop it or redirect it but it was useless, Orionis was like a rabid beast not even caring to defend as he attacked Levi.

Acnologia's anxious cries reached Levi's ears making this situation even worse, whether it was the remaining effects of Limit Breaker or the moment before death or Gamer's mind Levi found his thoughts clear. He didn't care if he died here today, sliced into thousands of pieces like Elysia, he had no regrets or worries, Katara and Sokka were safe, they were strong enough to take care of each other and there was Tobirama to make sure of that.

The fire nation stood no chance, the Avatar was bound to bring peace to the world, and if he didn't Tobirama was there again to bear the burden himself.

But one thing he couldn't be at peace with, he couldn't let Acnologia die here today.

"WHY WON'T YOU JUST DIE." Orionis was still screaming in a hoarse voice, his anger and hate were slowly turning into fear as he saw Levi taking all of his attacks, a lot of them to vital areas and still breathing as if they were nothing but surface wounds.

Levi didn't know how he could survive this situation, his remaining stat points weren't enough to make much difference, he couldn't even use the summoning function, he didn't know of anyone he could summon that was strong enough to help him, those that could were too expensive for him.

The only thing he could think of was to retreat, to survive for as long as he could and in turn make sure Acnologia was safe, as long as he was alive there would always be hope, there would always be a chance to turn things around.

Mustering all his strength Levi activated Limit breaker as he kicked Orionis sending him flying away but he was barely damaged.

Levi felt as if all his internal organs were crushed as he vomited a mouthful of blood, even with his pain tolerance he could feel waves of pain almost crushing him under them, that was the price for using Limit Breaker again in his current state.

He could only do his best to hang on as he turned around and flew as fast as he could, even then he didn't get far before he felt the sharp edge of the blade slice his back, he could feel it clearly cleaving his spine in two, but he kept going, his eyes darting all around, looking for something, anything, that might help him survive his current situation, but there was nothing.

'I am sorry buddy, I tried my best.' sent Levi his voice broken, almost in tears, he didn't mind dying, he died once before, but he couldn't imagine his scaly friend suffering the same fate as him.

'Leviiiii, let me out, I can fight by your side, I can delay him while you escape.' Acnologia's anxious screams came along with his struggles to unmerge from Levi, but he was unsuccessful, unless Levi willed it he couldn't do anything, and Levi knew that the moment he was out he would be targeted he wouldn't risk that.

Acnologia's anxious screams kept echoing in his mind but he shut them off, the only thing on his mind right now was to survive and if he couldn't at least find a way for Acnologia, he couldn't be distracted.

Seeing an ocean ahead Levi dived straight down as he used his remaining strength to bend the water and attack Orionis from all directions, but it was useless, even his attacks with Limit breaker boosted by Ethereal force barely made a scratch let alone some water, he tried bending his blood like he did before with Elysia but he wasn't successful.

He tried sealing him but he seemed to have gained some newfound strength in his rage, or maybe he figured out Its weakness previously, as he broke through his seals like paper, he tried stealing his face and although he saw some reaction it didn't slow him down at all.

With his weapon mastery at max level Levi wouldn't make any mistakes but he was already severely injured and tired so he couldn't block the last attack as three fast slashes severed his remaining limbs, leaving only his head and tail protruding out of his torso, his blood mixing with the water around and dyeing it red.

He didn't see any hope of survival anymore, the only reason he could still move and was conscious was all thanks to his Gamer's body, anyone else with these injuries would have already welcomed the sweet embrace of death.

Using every fiber of his being, every shred of his remaining will Levi pushed himself forward out of the water and zipped through the sky, but he was slower than before, Orionis was still behind him seeming to finally start calming down but his attack remained unceasing.

"I should have expected this, no, we already did, we know coming after you wasn't going to be without any consequences." said Orionis, his tone eerily calm, another sword swing hit his spine and almost bisected him, his intestines spilling from his back through his shattered spine and ribcage, his HP points nearly depleted.

"Feel proud to die by my blade for…." Orionis stopped mid-sentence as he stopped chasing after Levi seemingly in a daze.

'Success.' thought Levi as he pulled some distance between them, he had just used his theft ability, his target? Orionis Thoughts, it was just a last-ditch effort he didn't expect to work but it did, and it gave him a few extra seconds to widen their distance.

It wasn't long though before Orionis regained his composure and chased after Levi again, this time not speaking as if afraid his own voice might be used against him in an attack.

Just as Levi was flying ahead, his brain racing to find a way out, his expression changed, first from helplessness then to confusion and surprise, and finally to hope.

Orionis was behind him again swinging his blade as hard as he could, this time aiming for the head, wanting to finish it once and for all, but the familiar sensation of metal cutting through flesh didn't come as his eyes widened in shock, Levi had disappeared from right in front of him!

It took him a while to process what just happened before he started flying all around the place looking for him and spread his senses around, hoping he had just slipped into a narrow crevice or into some underground cave, or maybe he used some trick to turn invisible, he used countless techniques and abilities to find him but he couldn't, Levi had escaped! And worst of all he had escaped right in front of his eyes.

"No no no, how could this be?" he muttered in panic almost going crazy.

His only mission was to eliminate him but now not only had he allowed him to escape he had also killed his partner, before coming here Orionis had never imagined something like this could have happened, they had come prepared, knew almost everything about their enemy while he knew nothing about them, and still they had failed.

"I would be shocked too if I were you." came a voice right next to his ear, its tone sympathetic, hearing it Orionis tried to move out of there but to his horror he found that he couldn't budge a muscle, it was way worse than when Levi sealed him previously, the only thing that seemed to be working was his head.

Turning her head towards the direction the voice came from his face lost all its blood, "You!…. How are you here? How can you be here?" he asked, his voice shaking.

"Come on now, you thought you're the only one who can scheme?" asked the voice mockingly, "I've been waiting for you guys for ages now."

Hearing him Orionis' body seemed to lose all its strength as he started laughing maniacally "Hahah so this was a hopeless endeavor all along."

"Well you can say so." said the voice nonchalantly, "Any last wishes?" it asked.

"So there was nothing I could have done, it's not my fault, hahaha I didn't fail." Orionis kept mumbling to himself and laughing before he finally seemed to register what the voice had said.

"I wish to see you all dead, every last one of you, you damned, rotten, degenerate, filthy…." 

"All right that's enough." said the voice in a calm tone as red light started shining in Orionis's face, invading his body from every pore before he was reduced to dust. 

"Now that that's taken care of where have those two gone." said the voice speaking to itself as a violet light started shining before it spread all around in a sphere, only the owner of the voice knew the distance it had covered.

"Impressive, even I can't find them." it said, its tone holding genuine surprise, and deep down where there was even a hint of reverence.

"Anyhow, with their strength those two should be fine, I should focus on more important things now, like curing dysfunction." said the voice, cracking a bit in the end as he waved his seven-colored wings that shined in a blue light, teleporting Sage out of there.

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An: Honestly I surprised even myself with the intestines spilling from the back scene, I never could have imagined something like that was possible, plus I had never seen it written anywhere else, if you did tell me where.

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