Rogue Villain-Chapter 262: Breathing

Even before he finished the word, an incredible amount of just as incredibly dense mana gathered right in front of Tararat’s wide-open mouth. It took the shop of a small pearl of red and orange light that quickly grew brighter and more powerful.

’Yes! More! This pressure is what I need!’

Tararat’s Breath boiled the ground and air around it even before it was fully condensed, and Ackster could sense danger from it like an alarm bell was ringing in his head. This attack was far more powerful than anything Tararat had unleashed so far.

The mana Tararat gathered was so dense Ackster couldn’t even try to read it like he had done with the claws. Even with his Overhuman Senses pushed past their limits, all Ackster could see was a dense, swirling mass of mana.

Time slowed to a crawl as Tararat’s Breath neared completion, and Tararat pulled back the leaking mana and heat inside the orb. Then, he released it.

Like shot from a cannon, the orb of mana exploded forward and unleashed a torrential beam of destructive force and heat. The Breath traveled at the height of Tararat’s head, and it wasn’t wider than a muscular leg. But the sheer power emanating from it was enough to plow a deep trench through the ground below.

Ackster’s senses were also keen enough to notice shockwaves spread through the air with the Breath as the epicenter. A forceful grin cramped his lips.

Ackster grabbed the Sun God Token on his chest with both hands after stowing away the sword.

He could dodge, but he doubted the Breath was so simple it would continue in a straight line. Besides, why would he? He had a golden opportunity in front of him.

Ackster held up the Sun God Token with the sun symbol facing the Breath. After that, he didn’t need to do anything special. The Sun God Token started devouring the Breath’s heat before the Breath hit.

And when the Breath did reach the Sun God Token, the Token wouldn’t even let the area outside its circumference pass by. The Sun God Token happily took the Breath head-on with only minimal heat and condensed fire pass by.

Still, that minimal heat and fire were enough to incinerate Ackster’s skin, toast his flesh, meld his nails, and calcify his bones.

Ackster could feel his finger bones succumb to the heat, melt, crack, and shatter.

The only downside to Overhuman Senses was that he didn’t need nerves and neural connections to sense things.

Ackster threaded the remains of his hand that hadn’t turned to sooty ash through the Sun God Token’s string and held it up. And the rest of the Breath continued to slice away at his body like a plasma cutter whenever a streak, spark, or splinter broke off and escaped the Sun God Token’s hungry grasp.

Even Ackster’s S-rank Pyro Resistance was no match for Tararat’s attack. However, the inherent attributes of the Breath weren’t as stubborn or corrosive as Tararat’s ordinary attacks, and the mana faded as soon as the Breath passed him by. That meant his skills could regenerate his body as quickly as Tararat wore it down.

Since he didn’t have to worry about the state of his body, Ackster was free to lock his eyes on the deluge of mana surging into the Sun God Token with enough force to push him backward.

Although Ackster couldn’t imitate the claws, the breath’s structure was more straightforward and not as reliant on the fire mana’s intrinsic properties. A Breath made of water mana wouldn’t have the same fiery explosiveness as one of fire, but it would still be powerful. After all, with high enough pressure, water could even cut diamonds.

Ackster wanted to try it out, but he didn’t have the leeway he had given Tararat since the Breath was still blasting the Sun God Token right in his face, which made it more than difficult to gather and condense his mana to the necessary level.

’But maybe...’

Since he had hung the Sun God Token on what remained of one of his hands, his other hand was free for him to do with as he pleased.

Ackster brought out the sword from within his body again.

He could probably do it without the sword as well, but the sword was so conducive to life force that Ackster decided to take the easy route this time.

Ackster flooded the sword with his life force, but instead of merely reinforcing the sword or lashing out with a life blade, Ackster gathered the vitality right at the tip of the sword.

Tararat’s Breath was starting to fade, and Ackster could sense the dragonling preparing another move, so he hurried. He opened the floodgates to his life force and swirled the pearl of green vitality around right beyond the tip of his sword.

Ackster could tell that he wouldn’t be able to imitate Tararat’s Breath through instinct. But he could take inspiration from the idea and create something similar, even if only in appearance.

He wasn’t sure what a Breath of life force would do to someone if it hit them, but he did have an idea. It wasn’t a nice ending. Hopefully, Tararat wouldn’t die.

Ackster continued pumping his sword with life force and amassing more and more of it in the shrinking pearl of vitality until he reached a point where he couldn’t control it anymore, even when working together with the sword.

At the same time, the last flickers of orange embers clinging to the burnt air also reached their limit and faded, leaving behind a world of comparative darkness.

Ackster’s senses barely had enough time to adapt before the light of his own improvised Breath burst out and dyed the land white-green.

Ackster pointed his sword toward Tararat before Tararat could think to understand what was going on.

"Don’t die."

With a deep breath, Ackster let it rip.

Just like Tararat’s Breath, Ackster’s beam of concentrated vitality exploded forward.