Chapter 96: Sin Devourer vs. Iron Muscles (3)

The assassin with the small hat and plague doctor mask began to have his muscles expand. It wasn’t a clean or natural change, but a grotesque one, as if every fiber were swelling violently beneath the skin.

The reddish color in each muscle fiber grew even more intense, and the blood that poured out like sweat became so abundant that it dripped to the floor from his biceps. Each drop fell thick and heavy, leaving dark stains on the basement stone.

Seeing the scene, Daniel made a face of disgust. It wasn’t fear or hesitation, but an honest grimace, almost insulting, as if the bloated monster in front of him looked more revolting than impressive.

A gesture the assassin took as a direct provocation. He immediately charged at the boy, and with his increased speed he closed the distance in a blink despite his gigantic body. His size no longer made him slow.

The boy, despite the magic he kept stealing from his enemy, could only raise his forearms to block the attack from his monstrous opponent. When the blow connected, it smashed him back into the basement wall again. The stone cracked behind him.

“(Shit! What monstrous strength. If the wall wasn’t there I’d already be flying all the way to the town square!)” Daniel thought. Even with the magic he was draining from him, that bastard still hit like a beast built to tear buildings apart.

Without losing a single second, the assassin attacked again, throwing blow after blow in an endless rain of punches. There was no pause, no elegant technique, no room to counter—only a brutal avalanche of strength crashing down on the boy.

Daniel endured each one with grit, but despite his resilience, every impact began to build damage inside his body. His body was still holding, yes, but his bones and organs were already starting to pay the price.

The crater behind him kept expanding with every impact, and the force was so immense that a violent gust of wind burst out with every punch. The air slammed against his face between strikes, as if even the pressure wanted to crush him.

One rib broke, then another. Piece by piece, Daniel’s body began giving ground to the damage. It wasn’t an instant collapse, but a slow and brutal one, like watching his body lose a war inch by inch.

With no other option, and spitting blood between his words, the boy shouted with all his strength:

“ROT!”

{{Dark Magic: Necrotic Magic:}}{{Dead Man’s Plague}}

The command came out mixed with blood, rage, and desperation, right when he could no longer keep blocking like before.

A greenish-yellow gas began to seep from his body, almost like sweat evaporating the moment it appeared. The mist formed around his skin and spread outward with a sick, ancient, unnatural appearance.

At first it was pushed away by the enormous force of the blows and the air pressure released with every strike. The violence of the fight tore the cloud apart again and again, scattering it before it could settle in one place.

But inevitably the putrid mist began to damage the assassin’s fists. Feeling pain in his knuckles for the first time in his entire life, he instantly jumped back. It was a clumsy, impulsive retreat filled with genuine shock.

“What… what is this?!” the muscular giant shouted in his watery voice while staring at his knuckles, which now had a faint yellow tint on the skin, a sign of the toxic presence of his enemy. It didn’t look serious, but it was real.

“What? Weren’t you acting tough before? Come on, I’m still breathing… Don’t be a coward, get closer, idiot,” Daniel said while enduring the pain as his bones slowly healed. He said it while panting, but with a grin that refused to fade.

“YOU ARE A MONSTER!” he screamed in terror. Despite striking forged metal, even pikes and spears, he had never felt even the slightest pain before. But now, for the first time in his life, the assassin felt pain in flesh and bone.

The giant, now without hesitation in his mind, turned around and prepared to leap away. But suddenly a voice stopped him cold. It wasn’t a shout or an open threat, but something worse because of how calm it was.

“Where are you going? I hope it’s to fetch your weapons and bury this boy… Unless, of course, you’re going to dig your own grave,” said a man dressed in black, wearing a long coat, a white plague doctor mask, and a hat.

“S-Sir Xavier… N-no… No… I was just stretching,” the enormous assassin replied, fear filling his watery voice. All the courage he had shown against Daniel vanished the moment he heard that man speak to him like that.

“Hmm… I see… that’s fine then, I don’t mind… But hurry up, Charlie. I came to get you because our client asked us to stop the attack for now… So once you finish the boy, return to base.”

The man spoke so calmly and cynically that he even ignored Ebony, who was in the middle of the basement trying to untie Lucian with her teeth. He didn’t even bother looking at her as a threat.

With that, the man who emitted not even the faintest trace of threatening magic calmly walked back up the stairs, whistling a funeral tune that for a moment made the mountain of muscle tremble. That calmness was far more terrifying.

“Sir Xavier is in a good mood… That’s bad… I have to finish you…” the giant said while looking at Daniel and clenching his fists, trying to regain his composure. His voice remained high-pitched, but now it carried a hint of panic.

“Was that your boss? What an idiot. He forced you to stay here and die by my hands, haha,” Daniel said confidently. The taunt came out almost automatically, half bravado and half because he needed to keep pretending he had the advantage.

“You have no idea… YOU HAVE NO DAMN IDEA!” Enraged and desperate, the giant charged at Daniel again. This time there was no hesitation or fear in the movement, only furious desperation not to disappoint that man named Xavier.

But this time the boy, smiling and using all his strength, answered the attack and slammed his fist against the assassin’s. The impact created an incredible blast of wind. However, at that moment Daniel’s forearm began to spray blood from the strain.

The assassin couldn’t believe what he was seeing. Even with his spell multiplied, that tiny man had nearly matched his strength. His eyes widened behind the mask, unable to accept something so absurd.

“That hurt… but I bet it’ll hurt you even more in a moment,” Daniel shouted with a grin.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep