NOVEL NEXT Chapter 241: Hemomancer
Lord Frere grinned even wider. His face contorted like a piece of fabric. He took off his hat and placed it on his chest like he was sharing sympathy for another.
"My full name is Blair Frere. Lord of Noreal.
My desire is Pain. Pain for me. Pain for the world. Pain for my enemy.
If you can give me the greatest pain I can ever experience, I would be more than happy to offer you my life in exchange."
Siderius tilted his head to the side. His squinted eyes scanned Blair from top to bottom.
"Now this is a witch I am familiar with. The type that knows no bounds and has no reasons."
Siderius grinned back. He raised his sword high, up to the level of his eyes. His body stood sideways and his knees bent.
The center point of his body was lowered. His fingers wrapped tightly around the handle.
"Oh? What a fantastic stance! You must have trained with many professionals!"
Blair laughed at a high pitch.
"I did."
Siderius pushed down on his feet. His body turned into a blur and the flaming sword painted a line of orange in the air.
Blair's pupils dilated. He quickly ducked to the side.
The tip of the flaming blade went over his hair, burning the side of his ear a little.
"Quick! So quick!" Blair's eyes widened.
In Blair's vision, he was in slow-motion while Siderius moved at normal speed. Siderius changed his strike mid-motion and redirected the sword toward the direct Blair was ducking.
"He's very skilled too!"
Blair's left index finger bent down. His left thumb slammed down on his index finger in a precise way. The bone in his index finger broke in half.
A circular purple barrier appeared. It was small but its location was directly in the way of Siderius' strike.
His blade slammed on the barrier and immediately, cracks appeared on the barrier.
"How?! This blade is unusual!"
Blair jumped backward. The barrier was unable to stop the sword but it bought him enough time to extend the distance.
Siderius struck through the barrier and shattered it like glass. When Blair was in mid-air, Siderius drew a V in the air.
An overwhelmingly nauseous feeling took over Blair.
"What… What is it this time? Ailment? Curse? Hex?"
Because of Vertigo, Blair was unable to stick his landing. He fell on the ground and rolled a few times.
Siderius followed closely. He lunged at Blair and painted a curved flaming strike from above, right at the middle of Blair's waist.
"Again?! This wicca is relentless!"
Blair's left hand curled. His index, middle, and thumb bent backwards in an unnatural way.
Three purple black holes appeared around Siderius. From within them, purple crystals shot out.
"Huh?"
The crystals were quicker than Siderius. He had to change his initial attack into a circular swing, smacking all the crystals into pieces.
That gave Blair enough time to get up.
"How fast. But to think a witch like you have to use the barbaric techniques of the mortals."
Blair chuckled. He raised his left hand. The left index and thumb that were supposed to be broken seemed perfectly healthy. Blair flicked his fingers.
The left thumb and index finger snapped backwards. The noise of bone breaking was heard again.
Siderius' eyelids fluttered gently as he noticed the recovery of Blair's two fingers.
"Never saw a witch with pain as their desire. His attacks don't have a clear signature or trait. The only thing I can gather is that he can heal."
Suddenly, his knee joints popped. The pain flooded to Siderius' brain.
"Huh?"
Siderius was about to fall but he slammed Blazing Soul to the ground and used it as a walking stick.
"HAHAHA! How does it feel?!" Blair laughed manically.
His left index and thumb slowly went back to their position. The protruding bone went back into its place and the blood seeped under the flesh.
Siderius squinted his eyes. His feet trembled slightly.
"Can't move now, huh? Now you are useless. HAHAHA!" Blair shouted.
Siderius's left thumb, left index finger, and left middle finger drew three circles at the same time.
The symbol of <DISPELLERA> appeared in the air. The flow of mana inside Blair was disrupted.
Blair's fingers stopped healing immediately.
"What?!" Blair gasped.
"Heh!" Siderius smirked.
He ignored the pain in his knees and stormed forward with Blazing Soul. The flaming blade fell down like a hammer, aiming directly at Blair's head.
The witch raised his cane to block the strike. The Dull Steel broke the wooden cane easily and continued to go for Blair's head.
Flame enveloped Blair and he was split down in the middle.
Siderius maintained his breathing and stamina. He wiped the single drop of sweat on his face and quickly popped a bottle of Bael Thorn's Extract to drink.
Who knew that the extract was going to be useful this soon. The liquid made the pain in his knees fade away and allowed him to focus on the battle once more.
He threw the bottle away and wiped his mouth.
[TOXICITY +10]
[TOXICITY LEVEL: 10/125]
"Extract has its usefulness as well. Very small amount of toxicity."
Siderius then immediately popped the second bottle of Bone Regeneration Tonic and chugged it down.
[TOXICITY +25]
[TOXICITY LEVEL: 35/100]
His popped knee and cracked bones popped into place as it quickly returned to normal.
Not far from where Siderius was, a cloud of blood appeared. It formed Blair Frere, the witch that was just cut down.
"How many of those dolls do you have?" Siderius sarcastically said.
"Impressive. You even know about the Dummy."
"Substitution Dummy. A rather common method that witches used to save their life.
As I have asked… How many do you have? Can you survive my blade?
I will cut all of them down. One by one. Until you have nothing left."
Siderius raised his flaming blade again.
"Tch." Blair clicked his tongue. His jaw clenched tight.
Blair underestimated Siderius. Who knew that a mortal's technique combined with a witch's magic can be such a devastating combo? That blade and flame weren't ordinary. Those movements had years of experience. And that unique spell that he activated via fingers…
"I have to admit. I underestimate you, witch. But believe me. You won't have another chance." Blair said.
The man took out a curved black knife from his pocket and sliced his own wrist. Blood gushed out and floated around him in strings.
"Hemomancer? So that is who you really are. You are really good at hiding." Siderius smirked
"Stop talking nonsense, white witch! You die today!" Blair shouted.
"That nickname again… Why do people like to call me white witch? Nevermind.
Now that I know what kind of witch he is. This fight has become easy."
Hemomancers were witches that specialized in blood magic. They could turn their own blood into weapons or control other people's blood.
Siderius understood immediately how Blair was able to cause pain in his joints and healed at the same time. It could be easily replicated with the power to control blood.
Stealing life force from other people's blood was one of the abilities of hemomancers. With a little precise control, this spell could even affect bone, flesh, etc.
The strings of blood around Blair turned into bloody spears. They all aimed at Siderius.