Chapter 482 481   - The Trap(Part 3)　　Point-of-View: Damien Romer

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　　I got back up on my feet as I healed myself with a grimace, as Shiro Blanc stared down at me, wearing the same blue glasses as everyone else...yeah, they definitely planned this out, and I fell for the trap...damn it.

　　Still, it seems like I've gained Alchemic Magic from eating that last heart...so it hasn't been a total loss. But it will be if I fail to escape from here, not to mention that I can't exactly use a power I just gained properly without practicing with it. As things currently stand, my chances of defeating Shiro are slim to none, even at my full power.

　　"Alright, everyone, clear out. I've got this," He remarked, as he suddenly swooped straight down towards me.

　　I swiftly unleashed my True Anima and sprang back to evade as he closed in on me and blasted out a rapid lightning bolt at me, just barely getting out of the way as it struck the ground behind me with a vicious crackle.

　　I grabbed my trident off my back and slashed it at his head, which he easily ducked under and countered by slamming his foot onto my midsection before I could turn intangible, knocking the wind out of me as I got sent flying back and slammed onto the side of a building, coughing out blood as the impact rattled my bones.

　　I then quickly teleported out of the way in alarm as he fired out an Obliteration Magic blast at me, before suddenly pointing his palm at me as I reappeared...and the next thing I knew, I was being rapidly pulled in towards him.

　　As he reached to grab my throat as I closed in on him, I activated my defense Support Magic around my neck, his hand hitting the barrier, before breaking through it as he struck it with his claws.

　　But that bought me just enough time to use teleport again, narrowly getting away before he could grab me...but the moment I reappeared, I froze as he teleported right behind me, his claws piercing into my shoulder.

　　"Been a while since I've gotten to do this...now, die," He stated coldly, as I felt my energy starting to drain.

　　Oh, shit, this is...!

　　I quickly turned intangible to get out of his grasp, feeling like a chunk of my power was now gone...I don't think I lost any abilities, but my power level has almost definitely taken a big hit.

　　"Crap, crap, crap!" I exclaimed in alarm, as I teleported away as fast as I could, diving into a building using my intangibility.

　　But he was hot on my tail, following after me using his teleportation...not good, I can only continuously maintain my intangibility for a maximum of twenty seconds, and then I need to wait a full ten seconds before I can use it again!　　He could easily catch up with me, but he's staying just out of my range...tch, has he realized that my intangibility has a time limit?

　　Damn it, they must have found out about Support Magic abilities by talking to other new Reincarnators...this is really bad, how the hell do I give him the slip!?

　　My Nullification isn't helping at all, it's giving me away thanks to those glasses they're wearing, but if I take it down and use invisibility on its own, the other barrier will detect me...I'm stuck in a deadlock, I can't fully mask my presence while in this nation!

　　My intangibility then wore off as I emerged from the building, out in the open, before I teleported further ahead as far as I could manage...and the instant it did, Shiro suddenly appeared right in front of me.

　　As I froze and began to spring back, he drove his claws towards my head while simultaneously whipping his tail towards my throat...I can't dodge in time, he's too fast!

　　I raised my trident as fast as I could while tilting my head off to the right, letting out a cry of pain as his claws slashed across my left eye, blinding it, while his tail struck the handle of my trident at the spot I was holding it, slicing off two of my fingers on my right hand, my pinky and ring finger.

　　As he then drove his claws towards my chest, piercing through my skin, I grabbed his wrist before he could absorb more of my power, activating my Corruption Magic as fast as I could.

　　He quickly responded by slashing off his hand using his tail and springing back, and I swiftly used that opening to teleport further up ahead, while blasting out several streaks of lightning, fire, water and wind at the buildings and people around, bursting out earth spikes as my feet touched the ground, screams and crashes ringing out all around me.

　　The falling rubble and flying Elemental Magic attacks slowed Shiro down, and as I teleported again, I spun around and slammed my trident into the ground, activating it's strongest attack...

　　"Now, Wrath of Poseidon!" I yelled out, as a massive tidal wave burst forth out of thin air.

　　This is my chance, it's now or never!

　　I teleported into an alleyway and raced through at top speed, teleporting each time the cooldown ended, rushing straight towards the wall as fast as I could.

　　As I teleported again, a scarlet fireball narrowly missed me, whizzing past my left side and crashing onto the side of a building.

　　Shit, he's gaining on me! His teleportation definitely has a shorter cooldown period than mine does, it might actually not have one at all, actually...I won't get caught, I can't afford to let myself get caught!

　　I burst out several tall pillars of earth behind me as I continued to sprint and teleport forward, doing everything I could to slow him down, as the outer wall of the nation finally came into sight.

　　Obliteration Magic blasts burst out from behind me as Shiro barreled through my pillars, loud crashes echoing out as he chased after me...I was forming the pillars and having them positioned so that I was obscured from his vision.　　If his teleportation works like mine and he can teleport anywhere within his line of sight, I need to keep him from teleporting in too close to me.

　　Because if he catches me again, I don't think I'll be able to escape...no, it's more that he won't let me escape. I'm keeping him at bay by the skin of my teeth, but I can't keep this up forever.

　　He's slowly but surely closing the gap, he'll reach me before I reach the wall at this rate, and I've deactivated my intangibility because I can't afford to use up the limit before reaching the wall...so, if this next move fails, that'll be it for me, I'm dead. So, please, let this work!

　　As he broke through my pillars and got me within his sight, his eyes locking on, I swiftly raised my hand and burst out a blindingly bright light from my palm using my Light Magic, illuminating the area in an intense, dazzling light, forcing Shiro to halt, right as I closed in on the wall.

　　Several Obliteration Magic blasts came shooting towards me, and as I activated my intangibility as fast as I could, I let out a sharp cry of pain as his blast eradicated my left leg from below the knee.

　　I can't fall, not now...I gritted my teeth, ignoring the blinding pain as I used my trident as a crutch to vault myself straight through the wall, before quickly teleporting as far as possible as I got to the other side, deactivating my Nullification and using invisibility on its own.magic

　　Shiro then appeared atop the wall, his eyes rapidly darting about with a squint...no way, his vision has already partially recovered, even after a flash that bright?

　　He's way too strong and way too quick to recover, damn it...and with the power he absorbed from me, the gap has widened even further, I'm a long, long way off from standing a chance against him.

　　With my intangibility still active, I teleported again, wincing in pain as the adrenaline began to wear off and my injuries throbbed agonizingly.

　　Thanks to my axolotl Anima, I'll be able to regenerate my fingers and eye within a week or two, and a bit longer to restore my leg...I've stopped the bleeding for now, to avoid leaving a trail of blood, but the pain is not subsiding so easily.

　　I can't fully close the wounds, because that'll prevent me from using my Anima to regenerate the missing body parts.

　　Well, at least I got away...I can barely even see Shiro anymore, and I don't think he's going to chase me blindly. Doing so would give me a chance to kill him, even in my current state.

　　Damn it...that was way too close, I'm lucky to have gotten away at all. Talk about humiliating though...I only managed to kill some small fries and random civilians, and I only got to eat one heart.

　　And to make matters worse, once that barrier that detected my Nullification is set up around all the other nations and trade center towns, moving around will become infinitely more difficult than it already is...I swear, I'll make them all pay for today.

　　And Shiro Blanc, I'll make sure he especially goes through the worst humiliation before I kill him and take his powers for myself, if it's the last thing I do. I don't care how long it takes, I'll ensure that he tastes despair by my hand...

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