Ancient Pasts - Tbate

Hell of an Enemy

Cathan Leywin Pov

I lept back and swung Rupa in an arc, splashing blood from its neck. The humanoid man with red scales let out a shrill screech before dropping down to the ground with lifeless eyes.

Before I could rest, I sensed the air pressure change and ducked down, avoiding the claws of a lanky werewolf with black fur. Wind mana condensed beneath me before exploding and sending me slamming into the werewolf.

The werewolf slammed into one of the ruined buildings as rubble fell on top of it. Before the werewolf could even move, I raised my hand, and the mana moved according to my will.

A massive ball of blue flames condensed into my hand before I threw it at the werewolf. The fireball expanded as it moved towards the werewolf that was trying to use its power to hold it back, and it exploded, destroying a decent chunk of the town and disintegrating the werewolf.

'How are things on your end?' I asked Athena mentally.

'Nothing out of the ordinary. Most of these beings aren't sentient but still work with each other.' Athena replied.

Taking a look at the aftermath of my attack, I nodded. 'I think it's time we look for another pack.'

'I'll be there soon.' Athena replied.

I stabbed my black longsword into the ground as a throne of stone rose. I sat down and conjured some cold water before splashing my face.

It was tough.

The scorching heat made me sweat, the constant screams and cries of the damned souls harmed my ears, the neverending ambushes from those damned souls, and the lack of food, water, oxygen, and sleep.

They all piled on top of each other to deprive anyone of sanity.

I barely held on.

Athena and the will to see Claire and Amber was one of the few things that kept me sane.

I would have lost it long ago if it weren't for Athena, Claire, and Amber. I couldn't live with myself if I left any of them alone, and besides, I can't rest until I understand everything about Arthur's mysterious powers.

Although I'm not human anymore, it's still my nature to be curious like a human. Then again, I don't have any full-blooded human friends aside from Bairon, Varay, and Claire.

My mother, Ellie, Arthur, Chloe, Amber, and I are mainly Djinn, but we have some human blood. Amber, Arthur, and I technically have draconic bodies, so that's another thing.

I took a deep breath and stood up as six pitch-black rods flew into view and sank into the bracelet on my wrist. Nodding, I controlled the ambient mana to fly away.

I looked around, trying to find anything to no avail. Everything on this floor didn't use mana, only used brute force, and were not sentient.

In terms of overall strength, barely any of the beings here were my match, and even then, my speed, technique, and versatility made me a few dozen times stronger than a group of them.

Not to mention, I still have my mana arts.

I still needed to improve my mana arts, which I never used due to how long it took to cast them. Most of these beings were too weak to train my mana arts, so I'll have to wait until we're on the next floor.

It's been a few months, but we were still on the fifth floor, so I can only imagine how strong the beings would be soon. Then again, Prisim probably didn't account for my techniques and abilities.

Everything here only relies on brute strength, to the point that even S-class mana beasts would be more powerful than them. That led me to believe that the nine circles of hell only accounted for sheer raw power.