Chapter 593: A Crashing Mountain

A powerful gravitation force pushed him away from the Ghost Ruler as they rose to their feet, and their mere acting of touching the ground crushed it. Oriole had to push his body forward just to stand straight.

"I know who you are," said Oriole with a forced smile on his face, trying to conquer the fear in his heart. "I just don't understand the reason that it is you."

The face that was looking at him was far from being friendly, and Oriole could see the difference from Alka. Her ferocious face was still there, but faint scars were covering it now, connecting her piercings.

It made very little sense why Princess Jasmine would be the one appearing on Earth, now, and in Runera. Furthermore, the fact that she was the one holding the artifact that controls Runera means she was from the time it was created.

"How about we have a little chat before we do anything reckless?" he asked while backing away from the superhuman. After all, being the leader of the Devils Hunters meant that he was aware of every nation and its strengths.

The monster in front of him was known as the walking calamity. She did not have any abilities or arts that he needed to be afraid of, but her physical stats made her nothing but a moving mountain. A simple punch from her could obliterate the past him and the current him alike.

"Your little ruse will cost your life, runemaster," said Jasmine with eyes devoid of the kindness that she once had. Their meeting might be short during her stay in Runera, but Oriole knew she was on their side. "I hope you are ready to die."

"I am not that prepared, to be honest," said Oriole while clenching his trembling hand. "I have a lot of comics on my to-read list."

"You should have gone into the shelters like the rest of the humans here," sighed Jasmine while looking down. "You are forcing me to take another soul out of this world."

"You are a strong independent woman! No one is forcing you, alright?" said Oriole with sweat rolling down his face. He had a chance before to fight this monster, but it turns out that she was restraining her strength lest she kills him. "We can talk about this over a cup of tea."

"You reminded me of my grandfather," said Jasmine as she raised her eyes to meet his. "However, things changed, and I no longer belong to myself. I am nothing but a puppet that replaced another."

Oriole could not make sense of her words, and his eyes glanced toward the unconscious Maryam on the ground. He had to pick her up and run away before the princess jokingly poked him and sent him to the afterlife.

Even though he wanted to understand what was going on for the sake of Arthur and Runera, he did not enjoy that luxury. Instead, he could feel a crushing presence from Jasmine before him, and his instincts told him that she was not joking about killing him.

"There is no place to hide inside Runera," said Jasmine. "I control this place as I control a finger of mine. A single thought can take me from one place to another and, even better, trap everyone within."

Oriole paused as he heard that. His thoughts of running away were temporarily halted because he realized that he did not need to find the space arrays if he could take the artifact from her. He would gain a superpower by simply overcoming the challenge before him.

However, what can an ant do when a mountain comes crashing down from the skies? This was what Oriole had to face to obtain the artifact and let Arthur out of this place.

"Your fear has lessened. Is it replaced by courage or foolery?" said Jasmine as her hand moved. That simple gesture created a wind current that pushed back at Oriole and squashed whatever fantasies he had earlier.

"Even if one faces fear and death, there are times when we must not flatter. Courage is found deep within fear and despair, and even if it kills me, I must conquer the weakness within me."

This was one of the phrases they had as Devils Hunters, which would help them fight for the grand purpose of saving the world. As much as Arthur hated his father, and as much as Oriole did, that man gave them a sense.

"You are ready to die, young man," said Jasmine with surprise. "I fail to understand the reasons behind your actions, but I admire them nonetheless. If this is about your friend, you deserve an honorable death where I show you true strength."

After her acknowledgment, Jasmine took a step forward. The world caved in beneath her bare feet, which created a giant as soon as it touched the metallic platform.

"There is no need to go all out, haha," laughed Oriole nervously before retrieving a pair of knuckledusters that appeared around his hands. Their glean was dangerous and overbearing, but it was a kitten compared to the tiger in front of him.

"I hope he forgives me one day for this."

Her words did not make sense before she rushed forward, and Oriole failed to follow her with his eyes. However, he had no intention of doing that. Instead, Oriole raised his arms and brought his knuckledusters down, striking the hard metallic platform with everything he had.

Sparks flew around, and if not for the shock-absorbing runes he had on the weapons, his fingers would have been broken by the impact. The force translated into a shockwave and a booming sound that distorted the mind, overloading it with information.

Oriole saw her stagger as the sonic attack reached her, which was the opening he needed. After deafening himself by intercepting the nerve single from his ears, Oriole was left with nothing but some discomfort and dizziness.

However, this chance could not be missed, so he rushed forward to strike her. All he needed was to knock her out for a minute so that he could find the artifact. It was bound to be on her so that she could use it, but it did not make things easier since she was a human fortress.

"You bastard," her rage arrived as she held her head in agony. "I can strike even if I cannot see!"

Oriole was already within her range, but he did not flatter. This was a risk he had to take to have a fighting chance. After all, he might as well run away if he did not plan on risking everything. Jasmine threw her arm in what seemed like a punch, but it was far from striking Oriole.

As the attack went past his right side, Oriole punched her head. A single strike was all he needed for his next attack to be effective, and he was inches away from connecting it. However, Oriole felt the force of the attack a moment after it passed.

'This has to be a joke,' thought Oriole as he felt the devastating force crush the right side of his torso. Her attack did not connect, but the residue of the impact destroyed his body and everything else in its path. 'This is the level of...'

His feet left the ground as the attack sent him flying away, even though his hand was still outstretched to strike her head. However, his attack never connected, and Oriole was sent rolling over the ground before slamming into a giant mana generator.

The air got kicked out of his lungs before Oriole started coughing blood. His mind was dizzy, and he could not see what was happening, but he knew that she was approaching him. Every step left a booming sound as it made the platform scream in pain.

"You fought well, as most people with your strength disintegrate to nothing if faced with that attack. Unfortunately, however, this is the end of..."

Oriole noticed that she stopped talking and moving while standing there in a daze. Then, a figure rushed towards Oriole, grabbed him without making a sound, and jumped on the side of the road. Then, he lost consciousness.

***

Oriole tried to move his heavy body, but his commands traveled down his spine and sunk into his muscles without triggering any movements. This happens when you go beyond the physical capabilities that your body can withstand.

"At least I am alive," said Oriole while laboriously breathing in the dark cave where Maryam took him. The runemaster was still sitting beside him, shaking at the scene she had witnessed. "Are you alright?"

"How can I be after witnessing such a monster?" said Maryam with a shake of her head. "Everything in my body told me that I was a single touch away from the death. I even imagined it, which is one of my imaginations," she said while her eyes turned toward his missing right side. There was blood everywhere, and his organs and ribcage were showing.

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