Reincarnated Hero System - Chapter 928 - 928: Notable Adversaries

Scales shattered, flesh ripped, and blood sprayed as the dragon’s body dissolved, fading into a dark mist of death energy, dead in just four hits.

Just as Arthur landed on the floor after ending the dragon, a winged woman wielding a sword coated in blue divinity charged at Arthur from behind.

Evan noticed this and acted quickly.

He reached out with his right hand and seized Maude’s face with a tight grip, slamming her into the ground with enough force to crack the earth beneath her.

Without a moment’s pause, Evan unleashed a point-blank energy blast, vaporizing her skull in a fiery burst.

He then teleported right behind the winged woman who raised her sword overhead, intent on slicing Arthur clean through.

Grabbing her by her wings, Evan used his brute strength to rip off her left wing, then gripped her right and flung her body skyward.

The Valkyrie’s figure arced through the air and tumbled down right onto the tip of Evan’s sword which he raised.

Not even looking at the woman he just impaled, Evan spoke to Arthur.

“You made short work of Faldo.

And here I nearly died against him.”

Evan wore a depreciating look as he shook his head, and in response, Arthur laughed and pointed at the dead winged woman.

“I still remember this particular Valkyrie. She’s the first demigod I used my Progenitor godslayer Authority on.

If it wasn’t for my time magic, I would not have been able to reverse the self-damage I took in that fight.”

What had once been intense battles now felt almost trivial with their current levels of power.

But the real issue was their sheer numbers; endless waves of Aramisian Divine Humans and resurrected creatures charged with abandon, intent on overwhelming them.

Even as they spoke, bursts of crushing gravity and prismatic flames erupted from the two, annihilating anything foolish enough to get too close.

Arthur and Evan turned to glance in the direction of Artemisia and Beatrix, both surrounded and engaged in their battles against an unceasing flood of opponents.

“Let’s go help them out, shall we?”

“Yeah, let’s.”

Arthur agreed to Evan’s decision, and without delay, he concentrated his power and unleashed a Gravitational Maelstrom.

An immense vortex of force formed to the east, drawing thousands of Reborn Adversaries and Idrilla’s undead soldiers into its pull. They collided at its centre with bone-crushing force, bodies reduced to mangled masses of flesh, which quickly dissolved into energy.

Meanwhile, Evan set his sights west. He silently activated his Vindication’s Strike,

A gold-rimmed portal swirled into existence, releasing a torrent of prismatic flames that swept across the battlefield like a deadly wave. The esoteric flames scorched thousands of undead and Reborn Adversaries, consuming them utterly and leaving only ash and faint remnants of Idrilla’s Unholy Resurrection magic.

With the area momentarily clear, Arthur and Evan launched themselves forward, cutting through waves of enemies as they dashed toward Artemisia and Beatrix.

Their blades moved in perfect sync, each strike a blur that sliced through dozens of Reborn Adversaries.

Leaping into the air, they unfurled their wings and beat them to accelerate past sonic speed.

Streaks of crimson gold and silver light blazed across the sky as they descended onto the masses of enemies surrounding the two girls.

Seeing this, Idrilla gripped her scythe tightly, silently etching a deep gash in the earth as she invoked a spell in her mind.

‘I bestow upon you the title of ‘Notable Adversaries.’

Arise, fallen warriors, and seek your vengeance.

By the command of Death’s Saintess, reclaim your honour.’

With each word, a surge of magic and death energy siphoned from her, and the inscriptions on her dress flared, drawing a dark divinity from some distant source to enhance the Reborn Adversaries.

Tombstones rose from the cracked earth around her, glowing with a dark divine light. Shadows burst forth from the graves at breakneck speed, weaving through throngs of undead as they honed in on Evan and Arthur.

‘I should cut off the energy flow for the girls… the sheer amount of adversaries Evan and Arthur have is astronomical.’

Amidst the tens of thousands of Reborn Adversaries charging toward the four teenagers, neither Evan nor Arthur noticed a few odd hundred suddenly vanishing.

◇　◇　◇

In the meantime, Arthur and Evan were hacking their way through waves upon waves of Adversaries, all while assessing their next move.

They knew that simply cutting down Idrilla’s forces wouldn’t end the onslaught; she could summon them almost indefinitely.

What’s more, they were wary of the ‘Notable Adversaries’ she had spoken about.

Both boys knew the tough opponents they had in the past that could deserve that title, and since they hadn’t seen any of them, they knew Idrilla hadn’t yet revealed her all.

Just as Evan was about to suggest a sneak attack using Factor Mimic, the ground beneath them suddenly split open. A massive, shadow leopard, as large as a building, leapt out of the earth, its crimson eyes glaring at him.

“Huh? Isn’t that the monster I killed in Roselia’s dungeon?! It was just a mere Gold Level, why is this thing in front of me giving off Epic Level energy!?”

Evan exclaimed, wide-eyed, as the creature fixed its gaze on him, roaring with fury. With a swipe of its paw, it unleashed a barrage of energy blasts.

Evan raised his shield to block the oncoming projectiles and protect Artemisia and Beatrix behind him, but before the first blast even reached him, a hulking, muscle-bound Orc materialized at his side, bringing down its massive blade with a thunderous swing.

At nearly the same moment, a Wraith Queen appeared, summoning a horde of spirits while releasing a piercing, mind-numbing scream.

As if that weren’t enough, Xakon emerged again, his appearance starkly different and his power elevated to Epic Level just like the others.

The wingspan of his bat-like wings had increased, and one could see a glowing magic circle on the interior part of his wings. On his forehead was a magic crest consisting of a star inscribed in a circle overlapping a triangle, and his red hair had grown to the point where he could tie it up in a ponytail.

“True Form Release!?”

Evan shouted as he flipped mid-air and landed on his feet. He shot a quick glance behind him and felt a wave of relief as Beatrix teleported herself and Artemisia to safety just in time.

Simultaneously, Arthur was faced with his own set of ‘Notable Adversaries’, analysing them silently.

One thing Arthur noticed right away was that, despite their original strengths, all of Idrilla’s summoned Adversaries now wielded Legendary Level power—a huge leap from what they’d held in life.

‘Like Zach and that Celestial I killed in Nemo.’

Both had died at the Grandmaster and Epic Levels, respectively, but after being conferred ‘Notable Adversary’ status by Idrilla, they now wielded the power of Legendries.

Arthur glanced at Evan and saw Xakon’s power confirming his conjecture.

‘So, this is what the Notable Adversary thing does, huh?’

While Arthur took stock of the battlefield, Idrilla was also calculating her next move, analysing her options to gain the upper hand.

‘Arthur probably knows his past opponents’ skills and battle styles, and the same goes for Evan.’

Such were her thoughts as she considered sending Evan’s ‘Notable Adversaries’ after Arthur and vice versa.

However, she dismissed the idea just as quickly.

Each Notable Adversary’s newfound power was balanced to match the level of the one who originally defeated them.

That was a ‘rule’ she set to maintain equilibrium in return for the ability to summon Adversaries across space and time.

Evan’s adversaries were capped at Level 653, while Arthur’s were at Level 793.

Though Idrilla knew Evan couldn’t survive a coordinated attack by Arthur’s far stronger opponents, she also recognized that Arthur would never allow it. He was more than capable of taking down Evan’s foes in a single blow and closing the distance in a flash to defend him if need be.

Also, Idrilla had a grave misconception.

The woman believed these enemies had been tough battles for Arthur due to their power levels. In truth, most had been nameless casualties caught in his area attacks, like during his bombardment of Plomux-East’s Coastal Bases.

‘There are only a few people here that I actually remember. And even less that I knew long enough to figure out their names.’

Those were Arthur’s thoughts as he glanced at the Legendries surrounding him.

‘Zach Pearce from the Academy Monsterization Incident.

Ursan, the Southern Emperor of Planet Phirex

The Valkyrie demigod Daughter of the god Jarox of Phirex.

The Malevolent god of Darkness Kulir from Planet Gade.

Legendary Realm Divine Humans and Low-Ranked gods from Duskhand and the Triton’s Ark.

The Celestial from the Nemo Galaxy auction.

The demigods who attacked me outside Lucifer’s Domain in Varona.

Divine Humans from Plomux-East’s coastal bases.’

The sheer number of Notable Adversaries made it clear how much of a threat Idrilla considered him.

Fighting numerous opponents was never easy, after all.

|¬Authority of the Progenitor godslayer. ¬|

He summoned the Soul Devouring Sword of Destruction, Lostvayne, in his left hand while his second semi-transparent blade, Celestia occupied his right.

As he summoned Lostvayne, Idrilla paled visibly and though Arthur didn’t see it, he could imagine how her expression was.

Any existence who manipulated souls would instinctively recognize the sword’s threat.

His thoughts were confirmed in the next moment as Faldo who had been barrelling toward Evan veered to unleash his Breath of Annihilation at Arthur instead.

◇　◇　◇

As Arthur was being bathed in Faldo’s breath, Evan was facing off against Xakon in his True Form. Years ago, this same True Form Xakon had made short work of him and Roselia.

Now, things were different. Evan was sure he could take Xakon, even if he was empowered by Idrilla’s Bounded Field.

But just as he prepared to attack, a pair of fair slender arms wrapped around him from behind and pulled him into a back hug.

Then…the unthinkable happened.

“Evan~~ I’ve missed you~.”

Eliza’s voice rang out in his ears, whispering his name sweetly.

However, rather than happiness, Evan’s body shivered uncomfortably as he activated his skill.

‘Mesarthim; Orange: Self Immolation.’

“KIYAAAAAKKK!!!!!”

A scream of agony pierced the battlefield as orange flames erupted from Evan, searing the arms and torso of the figure who had embraced him in an attempt to charm him.

Years ago, that same charm was something Evan had trouble with, but now, it was nothing more than an annoyance.

Evan turned to face her, a beautiful woman with an unsettling form: human above, but from the waist down, a grotesque spider’s body with eight massive legs.

At his command, the flames spread, igniting her lower half as prismatic colours of his esoteric fire engulfed her in a scorching blaze.

A flash of lightning caught his eye, and on instinct, he arched backwards just in time to dodge a sword slash aimed at his neck.

He reached out, catching the electrified blade in his grip, activating a burst of strength to pull both the weapon and its wielder over his shoulder, slamming them into the ground.

In the brief moment he had, Evan took in the figure: a male humanoid encased in full-body armour, his face hidden beneath a hat-like helmet, save for a pair of glowing red eyes fixed on him.

In its left hand was a long, curved black blade seemingly fused to its palm, and at its side, a familiar crossbow.

“Blade Wraith: Veradas…”

Evan muttered the name of this monster as he swung the armoured figure to intercept a claw swipe from the giant Shadow Leopard, then reversed the motion to block an ice spell from Xakon.