Affinity: Chaos

Chapter 364: Afterimage

Bam! Bang!

The Lightning Elementalist was sent flying once again by Grey’s attack, this time, crashing hard into a tree, almost breaking it in two.

Grey appeared in front of him with no time to spare, punching him straight in the face, sending him flying again.

Bang! Crash!

The Lightning Elementalist crashed into the ground, sliding for almost twenty meters before stopping in a small crater his body formed.

“Such a brutish way of fighting,” Lukka muttered, feeling a little empathetic for the Lightning Elementalist.

Grey’s way of fighting was strange amongst Elementalists, he had noticed it the first time when he saw Grey exchanging blows with the Stone Apes with his bare fists.

Elementalist usually outgrow this method of fighting once they get to the Arcane Plane, yet, Grey was still using it, and for some reason, he noticed Grey’s physical strength was far superior to theirs.

Grey kicked the Lightning Elementalist, sending him into the air once again, while he was still mid-air, he appeared above him, stomping on his chest heavily, stamping him into the ground.

Crack!

The Lightning Elementalist coughed out blood before he even reached the ground. After landing, he felt a sharp pain coming from his chest.

Over fifty percent of his rib bones were broken from Grey’s aggressive attack.

He tried to open his mouth, but blood was the only thing that came out of it, lots of blood.

“You’re weaker than I expected,” Grey remarked casually after landing.

His casual remark threw Lukka off his feet.

‘What do you mean he’s weaker than you expected? You’re the one who’s stronger than normal!’ He almost screamed out loud, but he managed to keep himself calm not to give away his image.

Cough! Cough!

The Lightning Elementalist continued coughing blood, he tried moving his arms to cover his mouth, but he could barely move them.

“I’m done, you can complete your revenge now,” Grey turned to Lukka.

The Lightning Elementalist could barely move, so he didn’t see any reason in fighting anymore. He still had to search for the young man to see if he could acquire more of that liquid.

Lukka looked at Grey for some time, before shaking his head. He had completely given up the idea of looking at Grey normally.

Buzz! Swoosh!

Grey blinked twice before disappearing from his position.

Lukka’s pupils enlarged when he saw Grey suddenly disappearing. A lightning arrow shot past the place where Grey was previously standing.

“What sort of movement technique is that? Or has he been able to attain the legendary speed that allows one to leave behind an afterimage when moving?” Lukka muttered to himself in shock.

Bam!

The lightning arrow struck a tree, almost destroying it.

Grey soon appeared a few meters away, “I knew you wouldn’t give up so easily, even when you can’t move, you’re still plotting a sneak attack,”

Lukka was so shocked by Grey’s movement that he stood rooted to the ground, not moving an inch. He had read of people who attained unimaginable speed that allows them to move so quickly that they leave behind an image of themselves even after leaving the place.

‘That explains why the Leopard was unable to keep up to him. This boy is unbelievable!’ He thought.

Grey didn’t know what was currently going through Lukka’s mind, all he did was escape from the sneak attack with the space element. Although he had also read of people who were able to leave afterimages due to their speed, he hadn’t gotten to that level, yet.

“Aren’t you going to kill him? Although, I think he would still die anyway, given how serious his injuries look,” He called out to Lukka who had spaced out.

“Oh, right.” Lukka came back to his senses, with a point of his finger, he sent a tiny lightning bolt that shot past the forehead of the Lightning Elementalist, leaving a small hole in it.

The Lightning Elementalist twitched twice before his movement stopped completely.

“What are you still doing in the forest?” Lukka asked after taking care of the Lightning Elementalist.

“Rey’s refining the lightning tree, I’m guarding him while we’re here,” Grey replied.

“You also have the lightning element, right?” Lukka asked.

Grey looked at him for a few seconds before nodding.

“Hmm, you’re a good friend,” Lukka said before turning around.

Not everyone would give up the chance of getting stronger for their friend, he could tell Grey didn’t even split the tree with Reynolds, allowing him to refine everything which would bring him better benefits.

“He’d do the same for me,” Grey replied with a small smile, “All my friends would,”

He said the last statement while caressing the ring on his hand.

“It’s good to know you have such friends, your horses will be left at the same place. Make sure you leave here on time,” Lukka said before turning around.

“Okay, thanks for your help,” Grey waved at him before following after him.

Lukka noticed he was coming in his direction, but refrain from asking anything else. He coated himself with lightning, before disappearing, chasing after his group.

The fight lasted around fifteen to twenty minutes, so he guessed the others would’ve left by now.

Grey soon got to the edge of the forest again, but this time, he didn’t see anyone there.

“They must’ve left, but I don’t think that guy would leave without taking what he asked for,” He muttered.

After waiting for almost thirty minutes, he decided it was time to go back. He had to check up on Reynolds, to ensure he was doing okay.

When he got to where the cave was located, he was surprised to see the young man sitting outside the cave, seemingly waiting for him.

Grey’s expression changed only for a second before hiding it.

“How did you find this place?” He asked as he walked up to the young man.

“It’s not that hard to find, if you know what you want, that is,” The young man replied with a smile.

😉