Debuff Master

Chapter 573

‘I’m not late,’ Siegfried thought. He was grateful that all Weapon Maestros were still alive.

“E-Elder Brother!” Hakken exclaimed after seeing him. Then, he warned, “Y-You have to get away from here! Run!”

“You guys can run first. I’ll handle things over here,” Siegfried replied.

“But that person is...”

“Hurry,” Siegfried said before walking toward the culprit standing alone, surrounded by the Weapon Maestros.

The culprit’s body was covered in a robe and his head by a hood. It was impossible to tell his appearance, but the fact that the weapons were floating around him meant that he was capable of using Flying Sword too.

“Who in the world are you...?” Siegfried asked.

“Who knows?” the man replied.

“What?”

“I have no idea.

“...?”

“I don’t know who I am or where I came from, but one thing I know is... I have to collect weapons.”

“Weapons?”

“It seems you have something I’m looking for, too.”

“...?”

“Hand it over.”

The culprit extended his hand toward Siegfried.

Wooong!

A massive amount of mana shot forward from his hand, forcing Siegfried’s Inventory to open and—

“Megingjord is...?!”

—The item left behind by Shakiro floated out from his inventory and headed straight to the culprit.

The Megingjord gave him the ability to switch weapons instantaneously and could be said to be the symbol of the Weapon Master, Shakiro.

So, who would have thought the Megingjord could be forced out of his Inventory?

‘No!’ Siegfried shot forward and grabbed the Megingjord before it could get away from him. There was no telling what kind of disaster would happen if the Megingjord fell into the hands of an enemy capable of using Flying Sword.

“Can I take that as your refusal to hand it over?”

“A-Argh!”

“Then die.”

The man waved his hand and a large battle axe floating in the air flew toward Siegfried at great speeds.

“...!”

Siegfried was so shocked by the incoming axe that he instinctively jumped to the side.

Kwachik!

The battle axe struck the ground, but it dragged itself through the ground, tearing it apart for around ten meters before coming to a halt.

A chill traveled down Siegfried’s spine.

What if he had reacted just a fraction of a second too late? He would have been cleaved in half by the battle axe.

‘C-Crazy... This guy is strong. He’s stronger than anyone else I’ve faced thus far,’ Siegfried thought while forcefully shoving the Megingjord back into his Inventory. Then, he tightly gripped his +13 Vanquisher’s Grasp.

He acknowledged that the man before him was a true expert.

The man was giving off a different vibe from all the enemies he had faced so far, and Siegfried felt like he was being overwhelmed even though he was merely standing before the man.

“Just who in the world are you? Tell me!” Siegfried asked once again.

“I have no idea.”

“No idea?”

“All I know is that I have to find and collect weapons.”

“Sigh...” Siegfried sighed out of frustration and decided to flash his Rune of Insight instead.

[Weapon Seeker]

[No information available.]

Surprisingly, even the Rune of Insight couldn't provide any information regarding the mysterious man.

“Hand that belt over.”

“What if I don’t want to?”

“Then I will have to kill you.”

“I’d like to see you try,” Siegfried growled in response. Then, he added, “Let’s see who'll end up dead.”

He placed down Shadow Hell and Blaze Field.

Bzzt! Bzzzzt!

Siegfried also activated the second stage of Overclocking.

‘I’ll die if I drop my guard even for a second,’ Siegfried thought while facing off against the Weapon Seeker.

“I’ll grant a swift death since you’re begging for it.”

The Weapon Seeker waved his hands and sent the weapons of the Weapon Maestros flying toward Siegfried. Surprisingly, he was capable of controlling numerous weapons simultaneously with Flying Sword.

‘This is crazy!’ Siegfried screamed inwardly and gnashed his teeth in the face of the oncoming weapons.

***

Spear Maestro Luna helped Hakken to his feet while Siegfried was fighting against the Weapon Seeker.

“B-Brother... could it be that he's our master?” Luna asked.

“No, there’s no way he’s Master,” Hakken replied, shaking his head. He was certain that the Weapon Seeker was not Shakiro.

“I think so too, but...”

“Yes, he's using Master’s techniques, but Master wouldn't senseless murder.”

“I agree.”

Hakken thought the same as Siegfried. The Weapon Seeker wasn't Shakiro. Anyone who knew Shakiro would come to the same conclusion as them.

Would the Weapon Master really kill innocent people for his own gain? Impossible!

“But did our master have another hidden disciple just like Gerard...?” Hakken muttered.

“Perhaps he's someone who trained alongside our master?” Luna carefully.

“That is a possibility,” Hakken agreed. Then, he struggled to his feet and said, “Anyway, we have to get away from here as quickly as possible–Argh...! We will just get in Elder Brother’s way if we stay here, so the best we can do is tend to our wounds from afar and jump into the fray the moment Elder Brother needs our help.”

“Okay, brother.”

Luna helped Hakken away from where the battle was taking place.

“Argh...!”

“What’s happening?”

“How did this happen...?”

The other Weapon Maestros struggled to their feet and escaped from the battle. All of them were severely injured. Forget about being of any help; they would only get in Siegfried’s way if they stayed here.

Just like Hakken said, they tended to their wounds and drank potions while waiting for the optimal time to join the battle and assist Siegfried.

***

Siegfried was forced to concentrate and heighten his reflexes just to dodge the weapons thrown at him by the Weapon Seeker.

Bam!

Siegfried blocked the first attack.

Clang!

Siegfried blocked the second attack.

Whaaam!

And he blocked a flurry of attacks afterward...

Whoosh!

Siegfried could no longer count how many attacks he had blocked so far, but the weapons were still flying toward him.

‘This is madness!’ Siegfried exclaimed inwardly. He could feel his hands getting numb from the repeated impact. To make matters worse, trying to keep track of the weapons was making him dizzy.

The Weapon Seeker attacked with pinpoint precision.

The weapons of the Weapon Maestros attacked as if they were being wielded by experts rather than Flying Sword—no, the weapons were attacking much faster and more lethal than a human being could ever do.

Moreover, the weapons were flying, making it much more difficult to predict their trajectory.

Siegfried could predict the attacks of a human being by observing their joints or their muscles, but it was impossible to predict the next move of weapons under the Flying Sword's influence, as there was nothing he could observe.

But that was not the only problem...

Slash!

The Weapon Seeker closed the distance between them and swung Demon Sword: Papiyas at Siegfried.

Shwik!

Demon Sword: Papiyas slashed Siegfried’s left shoulder.

“Ack!” Siegfried shrieked in agony, but he did not have the luxury to dwell in his pain, as he had to move to dodge the follow-up attack of the Weapon Seeker.

‘I can’t counterattack. It’s impossible,’ Siegfried thought. He had been desperately trying to find an opening, but his opponent's defenses were airtight. Siegfried gnashed his teeth and thought, ‘I’ll have to buy some time first.’

Swoosh!

Siegfried used Irradiate, causing a thick green cloud of radioactive energy to billow out of him, enveloping the Weapon Seeker.

“Hand that belt over.”

However, the Weapon Seeker was still attacking Siegfried, even though he was inside the green noxious cloud.

‘W-What the hell?!’ Siegfried was shocked. His opponent was actually tanking Irradiate's massive DoT.

‘I’ll lose at this rate. I need to do something fast!’

Bam!

Siegfried slammed his +13 Vanquisher’s Grasp into the ground.

Krwaaaaang!

Splitting Heaven and Earth fanned out toward the Weapon Seeker, but the latter sustained no injuries.

Boom!

Siegfried had made sure to use the skill in an unexpected way, but the Weapon Seeker easily jumped away from the impact zone of Splitting Heaven and Earth.

However, that was a big mistake.

Swoosh! Bam!

Siegfried used Flying Sword and threw his +13 Vanquisher’s Grasp. He controlled his weapon through the air and struck the back of the Weapon Seeker's head.

Splitting Heaven and Earth was just a decoy to create an opening.

‘Now’s my chance!’ Siegfried ran right up to the face of the Weapon Seekerand grabbed the latter by his shirt.

Kwachik!

“Haaap!” Siegfried shouted before using the secret technique he had learned from Leonid—Cyclone Slam.

Rip!

The Weapon Seeker’s clothing was ripped, and his hood no longer covered his face.

Thud!

“...!” Siegfried's eyes widened when he noticed that the Weapon Seeker had grabbed his right thigh and left arm.

Whoosh!

Siegfried felt weightless as he was hoisted in an arc.

Bam!

Then, Siegfried was slammed into the ground, and he got buried at least one meter inside the hard, concrete floor.

“Kuheok!” Siegfried ended up throwing up blood from the impact. He did not expect such a counterattack. The Weapon Seeker managed to free himself just before Siegfried could use Cyclone Slam and even countered with a grappling move of his own.

‘I-Impossible... He countered that...? That means he knew what I was about to do, right?’ Siegfried was stunned.

“A-Argh...” Siegfried forced himself to his feet.

The only explanation for Cyclone Slam getting countered so easily was that his opponent knew that he had that skill.

“Just who in the world are you...?” Siegfried groaned while looking at his opponent’s broad back.

The Weapon Seeker's robe had been ripped apart earlier. His back looked like a squirming turtle shell with huge chunks of muscles on it, and he was more muscular than most bodybuilders out there.

The Weapon Seeker slowly looked back at Siegfried.

Hakken was the first to react after seeing his face.

“A-Ah!” Hakken exclaimed. He was the first to react after seeing the Weapon Seeker's face.

Siegfried reacted second, while everyone else had the same reaction as Hakken and Siegfried. Their hearts dropped to their feet upon seeing the Weapon Seeker’s face.

He had long, flowing black hair, deep blue eyes, and milky white skin that made him appear slightly feminine. He also had a sharp jawline. His overall appearance could easily attract anyone.

“Master... Shakiro...?” Siegfried muttered the name of the individual whom he thought had died a year ago.