Affinity: Chaos

Chapter 2155: Wounded

The two other Ninth-stage Necromancers stared at Grey in shock. They had already known he was strong from their earlier exchanges, but they had never expected him to be this ridiculously powerful. Under the combined assault of three Ninth-stage Sovereigns of the same cultivation realm, he had still managed to kill one of them. Something like that was almost unheard of.

They exchanged a quick glance and saw the same flicker of fear reflected in each other’s eyes. When it had only been the weaker Necromancers dying, they had felt little real threat from Grey. Now the situation was different. He had proven he could create an opening on his own and kill one of them. Of course, several factors had made the kill look easier than it truly was. The most important was that they had underestimated Grey’s overall strength, attributing most of his reputation to his unique mental energy attack and his space element.

Grey used their brief hesitation to steady his breathing. He had taken the full brunt of the desperate combined attack earlier and the injury ran deeper than he wanted to admit. He kept his expression blank, refusing to show any outward sign of weakness. If the two realized how injured he truly was, they would never give him even a second to recover.

The hesitation lasted only a few heartbeats. Then both Necromancers launched themselves forward. The battle had already gone too far; their only real hope of survival now was to kill Grey, or at the very least capture him.

Boom!

Their joint attack slammed into Grey and forced him several meters back. The impact jarred his injury, drawing a soft, involuntary groan from his lips. He did not try to meet them head-on. Instead he immediately turned and fled in the direction where Reynolds and Void were still fighting.

Both Necromancers were experienced fighters. From that single exchange they noticed Grey’s reactions were no longer as sharp as before.

A sharp glint flashed through their eyes at the same moment.

He’s injured.

Finally, a real chance to seize the advantage against this monster. They felt as though the heavens themselves had shown them a rare moment of mercy.

If outsiders could have heard their thoughts, they would have found the situation completely absurd. Three Ninth-stage Necromancers had ganged up on a single opponent, lost one of their own, and still felt they were the ones at a disadvantage.

Neither of them intended to waste the opportunity. They shot after Grey at full speed. One of them began forming a rapid series of intricate hand seals while they flew.

Grey was only a short distance from Reynolds’s battlefield when a sudden, overwhelming sense of crisis washed over him. He spun around just in time to see one of the Necromancers completing the final hand seals.

Brilliant golden light erupted from four different points around him. The light shot upward, curved inward, and solidified into a translucent golden barrier that sealed him inside together with the two Ninth-stage Necromancers.

Grey’s expression darkened the moment he understood what had happened. He was trapped.

The second Necromancer lunged the instant the array fully formed, a dense spear of darkness already formed in his hand. He thrust it straight at Grey’s heart, pouring every bit of power he could muster into the strike.

Grey twisted his body at the last possible moment. The darkness spear tore a deep gash across his left side instead of piercing his chest. Fresh blood sprayed into the air. He gritted his teeth and answered with a burst of blue flames mixed with sharp wind blades. The combined attack forced the lunging Necromancer to pull back, but the golden barrier around them flared and absorbed most of the residual force, preventing Grey from creating any real distance.

The array master hovered a short distance away, both hands still moving as he continuously reinforced the formation. Complex runes flowed across the inner surface of the golden walls, pulsing with steady light. The pressure inside the sealed space was noticeably heavier than outside; every movement cost more energy than usual.

”You can’t run anymore,” the array master said coldly. ”This formation isolates space and suppresses elemental circulation. Even your space element will be far less effective here.”

Grey wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth with the back of his hand. Blue flames still burned around his arms, though they flickered slightly under the array’s suppression. Lightning crackled weakly along his shoulders. He could feel the formation interfering with the flow of his essence, making every technique heavier and slower to form.

The second Necromancer attacked again without waiting for a reply. Darkness tendrils shot from multiple directions, trying to bind Grey’s limbs. At the same time the array master pointed two fingers forward. Several golden spears materialized from the walls of the formation itself and stabbed toward Grey’s vital points.

Grey’s figure blurred. He used a short burst of wind and lightning to slip between the first few tendrils, then crossed his arms and formed a layered barrier of earth and blue flames. The golden spears slammed into the barrier one after another. Each impact sent a jarring vibration through his bones and made the injury in his side throb violently. Cracks spread across his defense. He was forced to pour more essence into it just to keep it from shattering completely.

The moment the barrage ended, the other Necromancer closed in again. A heavy palm strike coated in corrosive darkness aimed at Grey’s chest. Grey met it with a fist wrapped in spinning wind and lightning. The collision exploded in a shockwave that pushed both of them back several steps.

They were still evenly matched in raw power, but the array was slowly tipping the scales. Every technique Grey used cost him more than it should have, while the two Necromancers fought without the same restriction.

The array master seized the opening. He formed another set of seals, and the golden walls suddenly contracted, shrinking the available space by several meters. At the same time, countless thin golden threads shot out from the walls, attempting to wrap around Grey’s body like a net.

Grey’s eyes sharpened. Blue flames surged outward in a wide explosion, burning through many of the threads, but several still managed to coil around his left arm and right leg. The moment they tightened, a numbing sensation spread through those limbs as the array tried to lock his essence circulation.

He snarled and used the light element to break the threads, yet the brief restriction had been enough. The second Necromancer’s darkness blade was already descending toward his neck.

Grey tilted his head at the last instant. The blade carved a shallow cut across his shoulder. Blood ran down his arm. He countered with a point-blank burst of blue flames that forced the Necromancer to retreat once more, face twisted in frustration.

Inside the golden prison the three of them continued to clash at high speed. Grey’s movements remained sharp and precise, his multi-element combinations still dangerous, but the accumulating injuries and the constant suppression of the array were beginning to show. His breathing had grown heavier. The blue flames around him no longer burned with the same stable intensity.

The array master’s eyes gleamed with growing confidence as he watched. He formed yet another set of seals, and the golden light of the formation grew denser.

”It’s over,” he said coldly. ”You won’t leave this place alive.”

Grey wiped more blood from his mouth, eyes cold and unbroken despite the worsening situation. Lightning and blue flames still coiled around his body as he faced the two Necromancers inside the shrinking golden cage.