Dragged Into Another World Because of My Otaku Friend-Chapter 162: Dawnbloom Vs Azul

Linus instantly raised his staff, assuming a battle stance. His eyes locked onto the man standing before him.

"Be careful, Linus. This man is strong. We need to approach him with caution," I warned, tightening my grip on Indra in my right hand. Beside me, Bob stood ready while breathing heavily. He also clearly focused now.

Beltimore positioned himself behind the three of us. The masked man stood between our small group and the rest of the party, cutting us off completely.

I didn’t know why, but my heart was pounding wildly. It was the same sensation I felt when facing Gazelle the Blackwing in the Arena card. A feeling when standing before a truly formidable opponent.

"Relax, all of you. Why so tense?" The masked man spoke with a calm, playful tone. "You must be exhausted after climbing all the way up here. Why don’t we have a little chat instead?"

Then, as if suddenly remembering something, he chuckled. "Ah, where are my manners? I haven’t even introduced myself. My name is Azul. Nice to meet you."

Azul bowed politely, placing one hand over his chest while extending the other outward.

"Why don’t we introduce ourselves?" Azul tilted his head, his gaze drifting between our group and the others behind him. His tone was casual, but none of us responded. Our expressions were dead serious. No one here in the mood for small talk.

"No?" He sighed dramatically. "I just wanted to make new friends. Well, alright then. If you don’t want to chat..." His tone dropped. "...I don’t have any choice but to finish this fast."

Click!

He snapped his finger. In an instant,dozens of black-robed figures materialized around us from shadow. Bob and I recognized them immediately as we had fought these assassins before. Each one drew their dagger in unison, each filled with killing intent.

Behind us, William and the others immediately took defensive positions. But I noticed something. William’s expression shifted from readiness to confusion the moment his eyes met Azul’s. It was that same conflicted look Beltimore and Alice had when they first encountered Azul in Coldshire Cave.

William turned his head slightly, seeking Beltimore’s confirmation. His eyes were wide, as if he was asking, Is it him?

Beltimore met his gaze and shook his head slowly, denying the thought in William’s mind. Even he himself wasn’t entirely sure what, or who, they were facing.

" You must be the one who controlled this Kaoslith, aren’t you? Why the hell did you do this?" Lee suddenly blurted as he walked forward beside William.

"Lee! What are you doing?" William hissed, grabbing at him, trying to pull him back.

"That man and his mouth, he always tries so hard to antagonize everyone he meets." Bob shook his head. Even he knew when to back off.

Azul turned his head toward Lee. "Hmm. Yes, of course. I’m the one who cast this... beautiful, gorgeous creation here, as my lord wished. Do you have a problem?"

"Beautiful? Problem? Hell yeah we have so many problems here! Why don’t you go back to your lord and bring all your goons here before we kick your ass!" Lee snarled.

Ahh...this guy. He’d already done it. There was no saving him now.

"There are two things I dislike most," Azul said with cold voice, "weak people and... idiots."

Thump!

Azul vanished from where he stood.

Suddenly, Lee felt a crushing force on his left arm and ribs. Pain felt through his body as he was sent flying, crashing through the rooftop gate before slamming into the next building. The impact leaving behind a cloud of smoke and dust.

"Lee!" Mark shouted. His eyes wide with fury as he saw his friend taken down in an instant. He spun around while drawing his twin blades, and lunged toward Azul with a fierce slash.

But his strike cut nothing but air as Azul had vanished again.

"He can move instantaneously at will! Be careful, everyone!" Selene shouted, tightening her stance.

"Oops. Looks like my trick’s been discovered. You’re quite the genius," Azul mocked as he reappeared right beside her.

Before Selene could react, his leg swung toward her.

"Defensive Stance!"

Thud!

William intercepted the blow with his axe. The force of the kick sliding him backward several metres as his boots grinding against the floor.

Everything, from Lee’s fall to William’s defense, all happened in less than ten seconds.

For a moment, the rest of us stunned by Azul’s speed. But the sight of William holding his ground snapped us back to our senses.

"Now!" I shouted.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

I fired Indra toward the black-robed figures standing near the edge of the rooftop, forcing them to scatter and leap aside to evade. 𝚏𝐫𝚎𝗲𝕨𝐞𝐛𝕟𝚘𝐯𝚎𝗹.𝕔𝐨𝗺

"Looks like it’s already started," Azul said casually, waving his hand. "Bye-bye. I’m not interested in you."

In the next instant, he vanished again.

The dark-robed enemies sprang into action, leaping across the rooftop and charging at our guild members. Steel clashed against steel as the two sides collided under the gray, overcast sky.

As we sprinted forward to regroup, Azul suddenly reappeared right in front of us. We flinched but steadied ourselves instantly.

"Go!" Bob shouted.

The three of us Bob, Linus, and I charged toward him, while Beltimore stayed behind to cover. Azul stood there, calm as usual.

Swoosh! Swoosh!

Bob swung his [Gaia Sword] and [Embersteel Sword] in a cross pattern, while Linus spun his staff.However, despite all those attacks, Azul barely tilted his head and shifted his feet, dodging every strike without much effort.

"Eat this!"

Bang! Bang! Bang!

I unleashed a barrage from Indra, each shot all targetting Azul’s vital parts. Before this I told Bob I prefer not to kill anyone while fighting, but with this Azul guy, it’s different. If we don’t try to eliminate him, he’ll do it to us first.

Azul tilted his head left and right, dodging my shots like they were nothing. My jaw dropped. How could anyone evade everything that came at them? He’s cheating!

"Phew, just a millimetre from my mask. It’s not fair to use a gun, boy," Azul mocked.

"Hellfire Burst!"

I have no time to react to his taunts. As Linus and Bob pulled back, I channeled an amplified Hellfire Burst through Indra. Flames swallowed half of the rooftop.

When the fire died down I expected to see him burned to ash. But, I was disappointed. His body was nowhere to be seen.

Ping!

A shattering sound above us. I looked up and Azul was already overhead. Luckily, Beltimore reacted instantly, casting Ice Shards to blunt the impact and keep us from getting crushed.

The three of us backed up toward Beltimore, who already had his grimoire open as the pages fluttering wildly.

"Looks like this is gonna be a tough one," Bob wiping sweat from his forehead.

"How can we even hit this guy? We can’t even touch a single strand of his hair!" I snapped as frustration was building inside me.

"Stay focused," Beltimore said. "You three keep him busy. Distract him for as long as you can. I’m going to cast my ultimate."