Grabbing the blackguard by the throat, Erik slammed him against the wall with a force that rattled the metal panels.
The blackguard's eyes bulged in shock, and Erik felt a brief satisfaction before tightening his grip and crushing the man's windpipe.
[ENEMY HUMAN KILLED: MANA ABSORBING PROCESS STARTING.]
[0%...1%... 5%, 30%, 70%, 100%]
[MANA SUCCESSFULLY ABSORBED, STARTING CONVERTING PROCEDURE.]
[3...2...1...0]
[MANA SUCCESSFULLY CONVERTED INTO EXPERIENCE. 9000 EXPERIENCE POINTS AND 90 DNA POINTS AWARDED TO THE HOST.]
The body went limp, sliding to the floor as Erik released it. But there were many more blackguards inside that room now.
In the meantime, the ice barrier protecting Richard was still up. The cold would at least make his pain go numb a little, and would offset the higher temperature.
Another group of blackguards entered these armed with brain-crystal rifles. But they used not only these weapons.They also used brain crystal powers, among which were telekinesis, enhanced speed, and energy manipulation.
That was, at least, based on what Erik could see through his analysis.
<They are better than I assumed.>
Erik had difficulty fighting them because these guys really knew what they were doing. But of course, they were blackguards, expecting less from them was stupid.
A first blackguard darted in with superhuman speed, aiming a precise strike at Erik's heart. The man blocked it with a forearm; the impact reverberating through his bones, but whatever damage the man inflicted, the wound instantly closed.
Erik thought back to when he got the Hevadrin's brain crystal power. That had been a very smart decision.
He responded with a powerful punch to the man's chest, launching him backwards. The problem, for the blackguard, of course, was that he instantly died, since the chest was basically destroyed.
Erik must have crushed the man's lungs, aside from his bones, and most likely stopped his heart from beating.
[ENEMY HUMAN KILLED: MANA ABSORBING PROCESS STARTING.]
[0%...1%... 5%, 30%, 70%, 100%]
[MANA SUCCESSFULLY ABSORBED, STARTING CONVERTING PROCEDURE.]
[3...2...1...0]
[MANA SUCCESSFULLY CONVERTED INTO EXPERIENCE. 9000 EXPERIENCE POINTS AND 90 DNA POINTS AWARDED TO THE HOST.]
There wasn't even the need for him to use brain crystal powers. He was simply too strong, and he was currently using the frostwind fire tempest just to protect Richard.
The only difficulty was in countering their fighting tactics, especially considering how complex the situation was given where he was fighting.
But if attacking powers were redundant, Instability was pumping up mana.
There was nothing that the blackguards could do, despite how good they were, because every time they thought, he listened, and once he listened, he acted.
The telekinetic blackguard levitated several metal shards, hurling them towards Erik. Without the Instability brain crystal power, Erik would have been injured, but thanks to it, he knew the attack was coming.
The man dodged each shard one by one. A step left, a step right, a jump back. It was like Erik could see the future; at least that was what the blackguards thought.
Though, when he was clear from the shards, he dashed, without leaving time to the others to attack, and kicked the man in the sternum, killing him on the spot.
The energy manipulator was next. This power was simple; it was just a sort of mana cannon. But it was strong.
Erik knew he had to act quickly because the attack was dangerous and could kill Richard.
He lunged forward, closing the gap before the blackguard could release the blast. The man, though, used the brain crystal rifle and unleashed several blasts at Erik while he kept pumping mana into his brain crystal power.
Then, what happened within the room was not clear; Erik moved too fast; the man couldn't even take aim.
But Erik arrived in front of the man and drove his knee into the blackguard's gut, doubling him over.
"That was a bad idea, man."
He followed up with an elbow strike to the back of the neck, dropping the attacker to the ground. He broke his neck.
[ENEMY HUMAN KILLED: MANA ABSORBING PROCESS STARTING.]
Erik glanced back at the ice barrier protecting Richard and then dismissed it. The old man was slumped on the floor, barely alive. His body was a mess of raw, exposed muscle and sinew. The skinning Volkov made was unsettling. He couldn't even understand how someone could do something like this to another human.
Granted, Erik knew the rebels used similar methods back in the Red Palace, but this was too much, even for them.
His eyes, half-lidded and glazed with pain, barely focused as Erik approached.
"I got you. Don't worry."
Erik hoisted Richard onto his shoulder and left the room in which Richard had been kept prisoner. However, he wasn't in Sector G anymore.
There was no sight of the corridor from which he came. Instead, he found himself in a distinct part of the prison, but he didn't know where.
In front of him was a tunnel that stretched out for a while. On the other side, there was a door, but where it led, Erik didn't know.
However, from the area, he could infer something. The walls were metallic and glowing with
blue light.
"Aclaitrium."
The glow didn't leave space for anything else. It must have been aclaitrium.
"Pretty overkill..." Erik said, glancing around the glowing tunnel. He then turned his mind to
the biological supercomputer.
<System, find us an exit, and tell me where we are.>
The supercomputer responded almost as Erik was done thinking.
<Alright, Erik. Based on the data from the surrounding infrastructure, you're deep in the underground section of the Grand Ducal Prison. This area is fortified, given the use of aclaitrium ore, and there are many guards based on the camera feed. >
<Tell me something I don't know.>
<Right,> the AI said. <To find an exit, I'll connect to the prison's security network. Give me a
moment.>
Erik felt a faint hum in his mind as the supercomputer interfaced with the prison's systems. After a few seconds, it spoke again.
<Got it. There's a maintenance tunnel about 500 meters ahead that branches off to the right. Follow it until you reach a service elevator. It should take you up to some levels above.>
But the biological supercomputer paused again.
<Be cautious, Erik. The security system shows a high number of personnel moving in your
direction.>
Erik nodded, even though the system couldn't see the gesture. He tightened his grip on Richard, adjusting his weight. <Thanks. Let's get out of here.>
He set off down the tunnel, his steps quick and purposeful, the faint glow of the Aclaitrium
ore lighting his way.
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