OLD-WORLD EXTRA-Chapter 119: Tyrant II

Time slowed down as Emir's instincts kicked in, immediately activating his Temporal Perception ability.

His gaze remained locked with the Maligorth's bladed appendages.

'Down.'

Emir dove to the side, narrowly evading the lethal swipe.

The monster's attack tore through the air, sending a gust of wind whipping past his body. The sheer force of the strike reverberated through the cavern, causing the walls to tremble.

Emir's mind raced, adrenaline fueling his every move.

He had to find a way to counter the monster's assault, at least until his plan took form, but the odds seemed overwhelmingly stacked against him.

With his daggers still gripped tightly in his hands, he prepared to face the Maligorth head-on, determined to survive this deadly encounter by any means necessary.

In an instant, the atmosphere crackled with Aether as he tapped into the wellspring of his Celestial Essence.

Manifesting his command over Aether, his daggers underwent a transformative surge.

The blades shimmered and shifted, transmuting into the deepest shade of black as he infused more and more Aether into his daggers.

The Maligorth's smile faltered for a brief moment, a flicker of uncertainty crossing its contorted mask.

It had not anticipated such a potent display of power from the human intruder.

It paused for a moment, and spoke, its voice dripping with malicious intent:

"You seem to be a rather intriguing specimen among your kind, human... I must admit, this fight has piqued my excitement. Please entertain me."

With a change in stance, the Maligorth raised its hand, and with a flick of its finger, the air around them instantly turned into a noxious cloud of poison, obscuring Emir's vision.

Reacting quickly, he activated his Aetheric Shield ability, knowing that his augmented force shield alone wouldn't suffice against the corrosive element.

However, even in that brief moment before the shield formed, the toxic fumes made contact with Emir's skin, inflicting their insidious effects.

Suddenly, his surroundings transformed into a nightmarish scene.

The Maligorth seemed to multiply, spawning a horde of grotesque creatures that materialized from the shadows, each fixated on him as if he were a tantalizing feast.

'Illusions... These are illusions...'

He constantly reminded himself as the illusory creatures closed in on him, their hungry eyes and slithering forms amplifying his sense of dread.

'Houff...'

Steeling himself, he did what was necessary, gritted teeth expecting extreme pain.

With a quick command from his neural network, he sent a shockwave of pain through his body through his nanobots, jolting his senses back to reality.

The hallucinations shattered like fragile glass, revealing the true nature of his foe, a lone monster.

All that happened in under a second, but that was enough time for it to approach him.

And as Emir emerged from the illusion, 'his' time slowed to a crawl.

The Maligorth loomed before him, its hand arcing towards his neck in a deadly swing.

With instinct guiding him, he reacted, deflecting the strike with his daggers, his reflexes honed by his many battles.

The clash of blades was accompanied by explosive sparks and the force of the impact pushed him back, but he quickly regained his footing, his feet digging into the ground for stability. Emir then launched a counterattack, his Aether-infused daggers tracing patterns in the air. With calculated strikes, he aimed for the vulnerable points on the monster's body, seeking to exploit any weaknesses.

However, the Maligorth was not caught off guard by his quick retaliation.

With its own formidable reflexes, it defended itself, using its blades to deflect his strikes. The battle became a dance of strength versus agility and skill, with Emir evading the Maligorth's counterattacks through quick maneuvers and well-timed parries.

Each clash of weapons sent echoes through the cavern, a sound of danger and death.

This sound repeated for a little while, the battle was at a standstill, but that changed after the Maligorth switched up its attacks.

It suddenly unleashed a surge of corrosive venom from its mouth, aimed directly at Emir.

Reacting with split-second timing, he darted to the side, narrowly evading the glob as it sailed past him.

Keeping a vigilant eye on the monster's movements, he anticipated its next attack, his focus unwavering. This allowed him to notice its subtle gestures.

Emir glanced behind him and saw poison snaking its way toward him, threatening to engulf him in its toxic grip.

Adjusting his stance, he tapped into the Aether flowing through his body.

Infusing it with his legs, he used his second aspect, the Aerialis, to amplify his movement speed to unprecedented levels.

Combined with the enhanced capabilities of his augmented suit, his speed became explosive as he propelled himself forward towards the towering monster.

His second step almost grazed the ground as he closed the distance to the Maligorth in a fraction of a second.

The poison trailed behind him, unable to keep up with his accelerated movements.

Gathering all the strength into his legs, he then leaped upwards, defying gravity and soaring towards the cavern's rocky roof.

Within moments, he reached the elevated perch, flipping his body midway through the leap and reorienting himself to face downward with his feet up, ready to unleash a devastating strike from above.

Emir then pushed himself off the rocky perch, launching himself towards the Maligorth.

Materializing above the monstrous creature, his daggers gleamed-the darkest hue they had

ever taken.

The Maligorth, however, was not defenseless.

It brought up its sword-like hands, intercepting his downward strike with its own formidable

defense.

The impact caused the monster's feet to dig into the ground, accompanied by a resounding thundercrack that echoed, almost deafening him.

Appearing unfazed by his attack, the Maligorth retaliated by kicking him off. It then utilized the toxic gas lingering outside the cave, and shot it at him, combining it with the second glob of venom it released towards his face.

Emir quickly ducked down, avoiding the poison, and jumped back, maneuvering himself out of the long sword-like weapons that sliced through the air right in front of him.

The misty swords that materialized in the air were seemingly conjured by the Maligorth's ability to control poison itself, to wield it.

Each blade dripped with toxic venom, their forms twisting and coiling like serpents poised to

strike.

The misty swords lunged towards Emir but he twisted his body out of their way, jumping and contorting mid-air as he performed gravity-defying spins.

They constantly sliced through the empty space he once occupied, their lethal tips grazing him and Emir kept maneuvering through their chaos, his body twisting at seemingly

impossible angles to evade death.

A single hit, a scratch even, would've done him in, yet he remained calm throughout. His movements were a testament to his Temporal Perception, honed reflexes and heightened senses, allowing him to anticipate and respond to even the slightest shifts in the toxic mist, not even a hiss escaping his notice.

Their battle was fierce, electrifying, obviously one-sided yet somehow it didn't end.

It was only a result of his calm, which slowly left him and was replaced by excitement. He smiled with serenity, the overwhelming, no, the impossible odds gave him a sense of life. Life was truly felt the most in times of chaos. And amidst that chaos, he continued to analyze the patterns of the misty blades in slowed time, seeking out a vulnerability in the monster's

relentless assault.

Every motion, every decision was calculated as he searched for the perfect opportunity to turn

the tide in his favor.

But then, in a moment of decisive resolve, Emir's calm fa?ade shattered entirely, his smile widening even further, as all that he thought at that moment was a simple:

'Fuck it!'

A sudden and tremendous surge of Aether flowed through him, permeating every fiber of his

being. The raw energy coursed through his veins, as he absorbed, processed, and wielded Aether at

an unprecedented rate, faster than he had ever done before.

His Aether core pulsated with power, pushing his limits to the maximum.

With a resounding declaration, he screamed:

"AETHER OVERDRIVE!"

The Aether Overdrive ability, as he called it, pushed his body to its limits, igniting a searing

heat that intensified with every subtle movement, with the pain serving as a reminder of the immense power he wielded.

And as the ability took hold, Emir's form underwent a profound transformation.

He radiated an aura akin to that of a Paladin-ranked Ascendant, his body surging with Aether.

While all that happened, his reflexes kept being pushed to their limits as he effortlessly sidestepped two blades swinging at him from behind.

With agility, he twisted his body, narrowly evading the arcs of the misty weapons.

Emir then leaped forward, soaring through the air, it crackled with Aether as his ability helped

propel him towards the vile monster.

In the blink of an eye, he appeared before the astonished Maligorth once more, his sudden appearance catching it off guard.

Just as his feet landed firmly on the ground, his daggers glowed with Aether even more, making the blades so black that they snuffed all the light around them.

He then channeled his enhanced speed, power, and momentum into a devastating strike, his blades tracing an arc towards its heart.