NOVEL NEXT Chapter 242: Final Fight: Overload?
Though reluctant, they looked, and their eyes widened at what they saw.
"No way!" a lord exclaimed.
"What is happening to him?"
Nathan's eyes shrank as well at what he saw, and worry flickered across his face. "This bastard—what sort of abominable skill is that?"
Seeing the scene unfolding inside the mysterious realm, even the spectators had jumped to their feet, especially the citizens of Cromwell Brony, who were beginning to celebrate after seeing Nox gain the upper hand.
"What is happening to him?" Serena, who had been sitting quietly all this time, bit her lip as she turned to Aina, who was standing just a few feet away. Even the other citizens around that area instinctively turned their gazes to the tall woman's back, their eyes filled with curiosity.
Aina's red hair fluttered in the wind as a sharp glint shone in her eyes. Her expression was also solemn. "It's a skill," she responded in a dark tone, even without glancing at the worried Nox.
Then she added in a low voice, as if not wanting the others to hear, "From the look of things, it's a pretty powerful skill."
"First brother, did you know about this?" the third sister inquired as she witnessed the transformation taking place within the mysterious realm, her fingers and lips trembling. This... this was the first time she was seeing this skill. Though she wasn't present there, she could already feel the raw, primal power Hendrix was emitting at this moment.
Seeing the confused expression on Nox's face only solidified these thoughts in her mind.
The same was true for the others; it was the first time they were seeing this skill! Hendrix had never used it in any of his one-sided beat-down sessions with them.
"No," Adam, the firstborn, spoke with a dark expression on his face, his fingers twitching. "It's the first time I'm seeing this skill as well... but it seems Father knows about it." He paused and glanced at the VIP area, where the duke was currently standing on his feet, though still covered by the curtain, which obstructed anyone from seeing his features.
"Could it be Father gave him this skill?" the sister scratched her chin as she turned to the massive magical screen, anger briefly flashing through her eyes. "Or is it the one you spoke about?"
"I—I honestly don't know," the firstborn stammered in an unsure voice as he pointed out. "But at this point, I'm no longer sure if that Nox kid could defeat him again."
---
Back inside the mysterious realm, Nox looked behind Hendrix, the blade of his trusty dagger gleaming ominously under the dark sky. The loud rumble of thunder reverberated, followed by streaks of lightning that caused the mysterious realm to light up briefly.
With his dark red hair fluttering in the heavy storm and those glowing, lightless eyes, Nox wrapped his arms tightly around his dagger.
His gaze briefly shifted to the retinal display flashing across his eyes.
'If I continue to keep Phantom Cloak active, I'll run out of mana at this rate, and I still need it for the attack,' Nox thought as he deactivated Phantom Cloak, raised his dagger, and slashed down furiously.
*Shing!*
The blade tore through the air, flashing toward Hendrix, who was now on his knees, gasping for breath. Hendrix felt his scalp numb as he sensed danger approaching. He tried to move out of the way; however, it was too late.
Nox's attack was fast and brutal, with no unnecessary flashiness. It bit into Hendrix's back, and a shower of blood sprayed out, splattering Nox's face.
"Aghhhhhh!" Hendrix roared at the top of his voice, but the roar sounded strangely like a laugh, which went unnoticed by Nox.
'Hmmm,' Nox glanced at the gaping wound through Hendrix's thin robes. The gash the dagger inflicted was relatively deep and should have made anyone happy, but Nox frowned.
'It isn't enough!' Those dark eyes burned furiously again as he unleashed a series of dagger strikes.
*Shing! Shing! Shing!*
"Hahahaha! More!!!!!"
Instead of roaring in pain as Nox had anticipated, Hendrix let out booming, maniacal laughter, capable of causing non-mundane Awakened to lose their hearing. Naturally, this wasn't a concern to Nox; however, what was alarming was...
'Why is he laughing?' Nox thought with narrowed eyes as he clenched the dagger even more tightly. 'He's up to something; I need to finish him as fast as I can before it's too late.'
However, before Nox could slash again, he noticed something unusual. Hendrix's muscles and veins were bulging. At first, it was only subtle, but within a couple of minutes, the swelling picked up pace, and now his whole body looked like it was on the brink of bursting into fragments.
"This!" Nox dashed forward, his blade flashing through the air, creating a white arc that shimmered brightly under the dark sky. However, his blade bounced back as if he had struck an invisible protective shield.
The confusion on Nox's face grew; he went in for another slash, but he was forced back once more. Hendrix's body wasn't growing larger like Adam's had; instead, it seemed as if Hendrix's entire being was transforming from within, his skin pulsing with an unnatural light as though it were about to split open.
Even the ground had cracked as if it couldn't withstand the sheer force of the transformation.
'What sort of skill is this?' Nox pondered as he stood some meters away, observing the transformation. There was only one way to find this skill's description.
"Mimicry Activated!"
"If it's a powerful skill, then I'll keep it," he thought. However, before the familiar screen could appear in his retina, Nox felt a shift in the air, and the next thing he saw was that Hendrix was no longer on his knees.
"Let's see you stop me in my Overload state!" Hendrix sneered, charging forward with blinding speed. His pulsing fist blurred toward Nox, and Nox barely had time to dodge. He tried to shift his weight to the side, but Hendrix was simply too fast.
*BAM!*
Hendrix's fist slammed into Nox's chest, sending him hurtling backward. He crashed into the giant circular pit in the middle of the valley. As he plunged deep into the crater, he couldn't help but recall the last thing he had heard before Hendrix's pulsing fist slammed into him.
"O-overload?"
As if responding to him, the system screen also flickered to life before him.