Born in Blood

536  Discord

As it continued sniffing the waters, World Destroyer's nose eventually led to him raising his head at the participants. There was a pregnant pause… n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om

BOOOOM!

…followed by a sudden, upward burst of speed from the megalodon. A sight dreadful enough to make any man shiver. Fierce waves were sent in all directions. Everyone scattered like the shrapnels of a grenade. Liam made sure to stay close to one of the weaklings as the people split.

Totally not to use him as a sacrificial lamb. Of course not! The World Destroyer whipped its tails and propelled itself forward, lurching wildly at the closest participant. However, instead of trying to kill them using its jaw, lines of electricity crackled between its armor links, growing in intensity as it charged towards the tail.

VMM! VMMM! VMMMMM!

As it reached its peak, the tails conjoined together, then blasted one powerful, ghostly bolt of lightning that seemed strangely corporeal.

KROSHHHHH!

Time felt slow.

As it was, the Flamboyant Woman was the closest to the creature. And the bolt of lightning was heating the waves of water as it made its way towards her.

However, instead of evading away or fearing for her life, she simply flashed a smile!

She took a stance.

In an instant, she extended her arms, her palms open and softer than silk.

With graceful, almost beautiful movements, she simply…

Made contact with the bolt of lightning with her finger tips, then proceeded to pivot her foot around and twirl, as though it was part of a tranquil dance.

For a split second, those watching felt a pang of awe. How was such a thing even possible? Wasn't the creature Rank 5?

How could she make bare contact with it despite the difference in strength? "ASTA IS IMPRESSED!" Asta bellowed with mad laughter.

What Liam saw was different.

His eye could see a faint, transparent energy coating the woman's hands and body.

But as it was, some of that red lightning broke through it.

Although it didn't seem like it, the woman was definitely in pain, and her arms were subtly shaking.

But that wasn't the issue.

Awe quickly turned into dread when those watching realized what the Flamboyant Woman intended to do with the lightning attack. She wasn't redirecting it for no reason! She was redirecting it towards someone! When her eyes opened, she flashed another smile. A little malicious smile.

"WATCH OUT!" Asta screamed, laughing. She had found her target!

And who was this target?

Who else?!

It was Liam!

In one fluid motion, the stylish lady completed her motion, causing the bolt to shoot at Liam in a beeline.

The weakling beside Liam grimaced deeply, thinking the bolt was meant for him.

But Liam knew better.

He was targeted because she knew Liam was a threat.

As the weakling beside Liam — the vertical-faced hammerhead shark — attempted to swim to safety, a firm grip landed on the creature's shoulders.

The shark immediately turned around with both a panicked and vicious look, only to see Liam smiling gently at him.

Liam winked.

Then, he was seized.

…And used as a shield against the bolt of red lightning.

KRSHHHH!

It struck the hammerhead shark square in the chest, violently crackling across his entire form.

"DIRTY, DIRTY, DIRTY! BOOOO!"

Despite Asta's childish chant, no one said it wasn't allowed.

However, it was here that Liam realized this lightning was not real lightning. As soon as it struck, it caused no damage to the hammerhead's physical body! If it was real lightning, he would've been turned into a crisp.

Instead, it shot through the shark!

Part of the strike passed through Liam.

By the time he had used the weakling as a shield, he maintained contact with him even when the bolt hit.

He had avoided the majority...but some was unavoidable.

Neurotoxins.

That's the closest feeling that Liam could relate the lightning strike with as sparks popped around him.

It felt like a lethal, quick acting poison.

It seeped through his skin.

Then found his nerves.

Then it spread like lightning.

In mere seconds, Liam's senses were going haywire!

He grimaced.

But his Transfiguration was dead.

He had to endure this raw.

And the more he tried to resist, the worst it got!

It felt like his nerves were being entangled!

Whenever Liam moved his arm towards the right, it moved towards the left, or some random direction!

And when he tried to move it towards the left, it moved towards the right!

And it was like this for his whole body!

In some video games back on Earth, there was a certain crowd control ability that caused its victim to suffer from confusion and disarray. To an extent, this is what was happening to Liam!

...And the hammerhead shark was the same! Since he suffered the brunt of the attack, even his eyes weren't under his control, let alone his limbs. As the milliseconds passed, it looked as though both Liam and the hammerhead were fighting with an invisible opponent made out of vines, cords and strings.

The more effort Liam exuded, the more ridiculous he looked at trying to resist the pressure.

And the poor hammerhead was having a seizure.

Not to mention... the World Destroyer was still shooting bolts of lightning at other participants!

Sadly, no one was hit.

By the time Liam was attempting to cure his disarray, the megalodon had failed to catch anyone other than him. But no thanks to the devilish participants, the megalodon was being led to Liam's side!

The armored monolith was swimming towards Liam with a hungry, toothy smile.

Liam grimaced.

This wasn't part of the plan.

What was he supposed to learn here?

Frustration?!

Disgust?!

Anger?!

Except... there was no solution to this problem. All of Liam's powers were sealed. However, his Shadows, mental energy and a few other powers were not.

So... what was the issue?

...He still couldn't use them!

The electricity had not only sent his physical body into utter chaos, it did so with his powers, too. Darkness, Chaos, White Matter, Corruption, mental energy... it had all gone full retard.

The shark was just ten seconds away.

With a subtle frown, Liam closed his eyes and began moving his entire body, all at once… which, due to the disarray, made it seem as though he was drowning.

Everyone else was inwardly mocking Liam and the hammerhead.

…But Asta's smile grew a little wider.