Code Collector

Chapter 101: Identity

The plan was simple. Bernard would attack the beast to lure its attention. On the other side of the giant lizard, Allen would attack the open wound and activate their effects all at once.

"Open it," Bernard said, telling Sebastian to create a hole in the bubble so they could exit through it.

"Wait a minute," Sebastian placed two of his fingers on Allen's forehead. He hummed and a gentle blue light lit up from his fingertips.

On Allen's mask appeared a water droplet symbol. It was glowing on the mask like a LED light. After seeing this, Bernard sighed and exited the bubble. "I'll start distracting it."

"This should keep the heat out," Sebastian said. "Now go. Defeat that monster."

Allen nodded at the blind man and followed Bernard out of the bubble. Just like he said, he couldn't feel the heat that was radiating from the Fire Dragon. The building was melting, but his skin still felt normal.

Bernard raised his giant sword, looking at Allen. "Are you sure you can do this?"

"Of course," Allen replied with full confidence. He bounced his foot on the ground as if to hype himself up. "I trust my instincts and myself."

"Okay then," Bernard sighed. "Let's start."

Meanwhile, right after the two left, Rourke growled, "You're letting that boy handle this? The Fire Dragon isn't a toy beast that he can test on. That's a whole beast that's capable of killing us all."

"Impossible," Jack laughed lightly. "Bernard has all the powers to slay that beast. He's not the Primordial Ox Bearer if he's that pathetic. These two think it would be wise to test the boy."

"T-Test him?" Rourke tilted his head to the side. "Why would you want to test him?"

"He's not just a boy," Sebastian said. "He has the power to change the tides of fate and rule over Earth and the Otherworlds together."

Bernard let Allen run to the opposite direction of where he was at. He was still raising his sword to keep the attention of the beast on him, and not on the boy.

"Yo, ugly!" Bernard yelled, making the beast growl. "Try and chase me if you can."

While Bernard was busy letting the beast chase him around, Allen reached the corner. He searched around to see if he could get on top of something, a platform or a tall ladder. The wound Bernard create was on the higher part of the beast's neck so it was hard to reach it even when he jumps to his full potential.

"Something," Allen whispered. "Just something I could use."

Slowly, the boy was losing hope. All he could see around him was melting concrete and metal. There was nothing there that could boost him to jump.

A few more seconds had passed and Allen finally lost hope. Even when he tries to leap on the wall, his leg would only pierces through it seeing as they were almost liquid by the intense heat.

"Aren't you done?" Bernard yelled. Allen shook his head in response, making Bernard sigh. "Fine."

The man let go of his sword and slammed it to the ground. He paused and conjured three more giant swords, albeit smaller than the one he just used, they were still big.

"Animalistic Throw!" Bernard grunted as he threw all three swords at the dragon. The beast growled and dodged all of the swords with its swift movements.

Even when its sheer humongous size, the Fire Dragon could move freely. This was a problem. Their movements should be calculated or else they'll suffer in vain and lose the chance to defeat the beast.

Clank. Clank. Clank.

Allen watched where the sound came from. "What the"

He was looking at the three swords that were now piercing the wall. When the swords pierced the wall, the melted concrete solified. Allen looked closer and saw that the swords had a symbol on its pommel.

The symbol was of two arrows forming a circle, both pointing at a different direction as if it was showing a loop.

"This sword must have reverted the state of the wall," Allen whispered. "A Bearer was indeed powerful. They have a wide range of their pool of Codes that they have Codes for specific events like this."

"Use that to jump!" Bernard yelled. He picked his sword up and blocked the claw from the Fire Dragon. It was slamming its claws on the man, but the man has blocked all of them almost effortlessly.

"Ten seconds," Bernard signaled. He pushed the claw off of him and leaped a couple of meters back. He then sighed and nodded at himslef. "Seven seconds."

The beast roared and followed him. This time, instead of clawing the Hunter, the Fire Dragon opened its mouth to reveal its red burning uvula. This was where the flames would come from, its core.

"Gotcha," Lay whispered.

A small hole appeared in Sebastian's bubble and the ranger inserted the tip of his gun through it. He placed his eye on the scope and took a couple of deep breaths. "Blazing Inferno!"

The man pulled the trigger, but before the shot could be fired, he swerved his gun to the side, making the beam curve as it approached its target.

Pop.

The Fire Dragon roared after its uvula was hit. It shook his head a couple of times, clearing its mind after receiving a devastating blow.

"Volatile Spin!" Bernard leaped off of the ground as he screamed his attack. He raised his sword to the side, letting it glow with the bright brown color like it did before. Right before Bernard could land his blow, he spun a couple of times as if he was a spinning top. The glow of his sword made the dragon freeze in its spot as the attack landed on it, taking down a huge chunk of its thick skin.

After seeing this, Allen leaped off of the ground and used the highest sword to jump in the air. He readied himself while positioning Iron Shredder on his left arm.

"Let's do this!" The boy swung the spear right into the open flesh from the wound Bernard gave earlier. This made the beast roar in pain. It could only watch as a dark gray wheel encircle its entire body, signaling the start of the Spiral Wheel effect.

"Take this!" Allen roared as he pulled out and slammed his spear back inside the beast, trying his best to maximize the damage he was going to deal.

As he hit the target with Iron Shredder, their defense would be lowered. This means that the damage he was going to deal would less likely be blocked by the target's defense, the damage points would fully penetrate it.

The boy raised his sword and took a deep breath before simultaneously stabbint it along with the spear. He was standing awkwardly as he bobbed both his hands up and down as if he was doing something completely inappropriate.

Splat. Splat. Splat.

He used multiple Codes to enhance his attack speed, gaining momentum and earning 60% lowered defense and 24% crit rate on his enemy. The beast's defense was practically compromised.

At 7.5 seconds, Allen raised his sword. It was like slow motion as he watched the gray wheel that was encircling the giant beast spin and get smaller. In half a second's time, the ring dealt a high burst damage on the beast.

After the burst, Allen slammed his spear straight to the bones and held the Kaleidoscopic Blade with both hands as he slammed it deep into the beast. 

'The target is now poisoned.'

The woman's voice rang in his ear like it was a joyous angels singing for him. His plan worked. The beast raised its head to the skies as it felt the poison enter its body.

Its defense was compromised and the poison would deal critical damage to it. Since the damage was critical and the defense was too low, the beast had met its end. The boy raised his hand in victory, feeling the heat that was coming out of the beast die down slowly.

'Sacred grade beast killed. +500 EXP. Sacred grade Code earned.'

Allen heard the woman, but his body already went numb. He just realized that he used four skill Codes at once, and his body just gave up on him. He couldn't move anymore. 

Roar.

With one final cry of pain, the Fire Dragon fell to the ground. Allen could only close his eyes as he felt himself going down with the beast. He has no stamina left to move. 

"Stupid."

Allen felt a pair of arms catch him. He opened his eyes and saw Jeremy carrying him in his arms. "What the hell?"

"I finally figured out who you are," Jeremy said. "It took a while, but it seemed like your voice was familiar after all."

"Really now?" Allen smirked. "I have no energy left in me. Lay me down first and I'll sleep."

"Okay," Jeremy smiled. "Dante."