Chapter 214: Vain

Vain’s eyes narrowed as he stared at the massive naga beside Jake.

"A massive naga... So it’s you... the abnormality that caused all of this."

His gaze then shifted toward the two swords in Samu’dra’s hands, and his expression immediately hardened as a faint, cold smile appeared on his face.

"I didn’t think you’d come to me yourself. Well, that saves me the trouble of finding you."

His eyes remained fixed on the two swords.

"I’ll take this chance to retrieve Jon and Malvin’s weapons."

Jake’s eyes narrowed.

’Jon and Malvin’s weapons?’

It seemed there was some history between them that he didn’t know about.

Vain’s gaze slowly shifted away from Samu’dra and fell on Jake.

He frowned slightly.

"Who are you? And why are you with that monster?"

Jake let out a quiet breath.

Since they were both human, there was no reason to immediately start fighting.

It would be better to talk things out first and see if they could reach some kind of understanding.

"My name is Jake."

He paused for a moment before continuing.

"As for why I’m with Samu’dra... well, that’s a rather long story."

Vain continued staring at him, clearly waiting for an explanation.

Jake scratched the back of his head.

"Let’s just say we became friends after a little misunderstanding."

Vain’s expression remained skeptical as he laughed.

"Friends? Hahaha! What a joke!"

He shook his head in disbelief.

"If it were any other naga tribe, I might have believed you."

His gaze shifted toward Samu’dra, and his expression became more disdainful.

"But this one? That trashy, mindless naga tribe?"

Jake’s expression darkened slightly.

Hearing this guy trash-talk one of his crew members made his anger boil slightly.

Still, Jake held it back.

There was no point in starting a fight over a few insults, especially when they were both human and could simply talk things out.

He took a slow breath before speaking.

"Look, I don’t know what happened between you and Samu’dra in the past, but we mean no harm. We just want to leave this place."

Vain stared at him for a moment before letting out a strange smile.

"...Leave?"

Then slowly... a strange expression slowly appeared on his face.

"I’m afraid... I can’t let any of you leave alive."

Vain slowly clenched his fist.

Clink.

A strange metallic sound echoed through the cavern.

Jake’s eyes narrowed as he noticed something covering Vain’s hand.

A dark, unfamiliar gauntlet had appeared around his arm, its surface covered in strange patterns that seemed to pulse faintly with energy.

Vain slowly flexed his fingers inside the gauntlet.

Jake’s expression became serious.

’That gauntlet...’

He could immediately sense that it wasn’t an ordinary artifact and... probably was an Enchanted Artifact.

Vain raised his fist and stared at Jake.

"Since you insist on standing with that monster... then I’ll deal with all of you together."

Vain’s eyes narrowed beneath his hood as a cold smile slowly appeared on his face.

"Though, even if you hadn’t... You’ve already know too much. I can’t afford to let any of you walk out of here alive."

The moment his voice fell, Vain’s figure suddenly disappeared like a flash.

Jake’s eyes widened.

His instincts screamed at him.

Without thinking, Jake swiftly conjured a Sword of Light and raised it in front of him.

CLANG!

A powerful impact rang through the cavern.

Vain’s fist slammed directly against the blade.

Jake’s arm trembled from the force as he was pushed several steps backward.

’So fast!’

Vain’s fist remained pressed against the Sword of Light, the strange gauntlet glowing faintly as it resisted the blade.

"Oh? You are quite... strong."

A hint of surprise appeared in Vain’s eyes.

He had expected Jake’s head to be blown away by that strike.

Instead, he had managed to block it.

Vain’s gaze became more serious.

"Interesting."

Before Jake could say anything, a massive shadow suddenly swept toward Vain from the side.

Samu’dra had already moved.

Her greatsword came crashing down with terrifying force.

Vain’s expression changed slightly.

He quickly raised his other hand.

A second gauntlet covered his hand and forearm, its dark surface shimmering with the same strange energy.

BANG!

Samu’dra’s massive sword slammed into the gauntlet.

The impact sent a powerful shockwave through the cavern, kicking up dust and sending small pieces of rock tumbling from the ceiling.

Yet Vain didn’t move.

He had blocked the entire strike with one hand.

Jake’s eyes widened.

’He blocked that?!’

He knew just how terrifying Samu’dra’s strength was.

Yet Vain had actually managed to block her attack head-on.

Samu’dra’s single eye narrowed as she stared at Vain.

Vain looked at the greatsword pressing against his gauntlet before slowly smiling.

"It seems... those two idiots didn’t let their guard down and get killed after all."

His eyes shifted toward Samu’dra.

"So you really are special."

Vain’s smile slowly disappeared.

Without warning, the strange gauntlet on his arm began to glow with a dark light.

His fingers tightened around the greatsword.

"Since you have their weapons... then I’ll take them back myself."

Suddenly, violent lightning exploded from the gauntlet.

BOOM!

Several bolts of lightning erupted from Vain’s arm, crackling wildly through the air.

Samu’dra’s single eye widened slightly.

The lightning surged along the greatsword, forcing her to release her grip.

CRACK!

The weapon flew from her hand and crashed onto the ground.

Vain immediately reached for it.

But before he could grab the sword, a bright flash suddenly appeared between them.

Jake’s Sword of Light came swinging down toward Vain’s arm.

Vain quickly raised his gauntlet to block the blade.

CLANG!

Sparks flew between them as Vain’s eyes narrowed, his gaze fixed on Jake.

But before he could say anything, Samu’dra let out a roar and swung her other sword at him.

WHOOSH!

The sword tore through the air with terrifying speed.

Vain’s expression didn’t changed as he quickly pulled his other arm back and raised his second gauntlet.

BANG!

The sword slammed into the gauntlet, sending sparks flying in every direction.

But this time, Vain’s feet slid back slightly from the impact.

He quickly jumped backward, trying to put some distance between them.

Samu’dra didn’t give him a chance to recover.

She grabbed her greatsword and began swinging it in a frenzy.

CLANG!

CLANG!

CLANG!

The sound of metal colliding echoed violently throughout the cavern as Samu’dra unleashed a relentless barrage.

Despite her massive body, her movements were astonishingly fast.

Her swords moved almost too quickly to follow, forcing Vain to raise both gauntlets again and again just to keep up.

His eyes widened slightly in surprise.

Each strike was heavier than the last, forcing Vain to continuously block with both gauntlets.

And the more Samu’dra attacked, the faster her movements became.

Vain’s arms were repeatedly knocked back by the sheer force of her strikes.

...Yet despite the relentless assault, he managed to block every blow precisely.

His expression gradually became more serious.

’This monster... is smart.’

Vain had initially assumed Samu’dra was nothing more than a mindless beast relying on brute strength.

But every strike was different.

She was adjusting her attacks, changing their angles and timing, constantly looking for an opening.

His eyes narrowed.

’That shouldn’t be possible.’

After all, Vain knew what kind of naga they had released into this place.

It was supposed to be nothing more than a mindless beast, the bottom caste of all naga races.

A creature that should have possessed little more than animal instincts.

Yet the monster standing before him was fighting like an experienced warrior.

And worse... he could tell she was learning as they fought.

Vain’s expression slowly twisted into a sneer.

"But a beast is still a beast."

The moment those words fell, his hand suddenly shot forward.

CLANG!

He casually grabbed Samu’dra’s greatsword with one hand.

"...!"

Samu’dra’s single eye widened in surprise.

She immediately swung her other sword toward him.

But before the blade could reach him—

CRACKLE!

Lightning suddenly surged through the greatsword in Vain’s hand.

The electricity raced along the blade and violently spread into Samu’dra’s massive body.

"ROOOAR!"

Samu’dra let out a furious and painful roar as her entire body convulsed from the shock.

Her grip on both swords loosened slightly as sparks of lightning danced across her scales.

Vain’s sneer widened as he clenched his other free hand.

CRACKLE!

Lightning began gathering around his fist, growing brighter with each passing moment.

The pressure radiating from Vain’s fist was oppressive, causing the surrounding air to tremble.

Then he suddenly swung his fist forward.

BOOOOM!

The lightning gathered around his fist erupted, releasing a deafening roar like thunder itself as the attack shot toward Samu’dra.

Samu’dra’s single eye widened.

She could immediately sense the danger from that fist.

But then—

"Aura Slash!"

A bright red aura suddenly tore through the air and collided directly with the incoming thunderous fist.

BOOOOM!

The two attacks violently collided, sending a powerful shockwave through the cavern.

Before the dust had even settled, Jake suddenly appeared behind Vain.

WHOOSH!

His Sword of Light swept toward Vain’s neck.

Seeing this, Vain sneered and raised his gauntlet to block.

But at that moment, Samu’dra’s single eye flashed with a cold light.

The muscles in her arm bulged as she suddenly pulled her greatsword free.

CLANK!

Vain glanced toward her and sneered.

Because... no matter what these two tried, he was confident he could deal with them.

After all... the way he saw the world was completely different from these two.

However, Samu’dra didn’t try to attack him again.

She already knew that would be pointless.

Instead, she immediately drove her greatsword into the ground.

BOOM!

"Earth... Control!"

The moment the skill activated, the earth beneath Vain’s feet began to shift.

RUMBLE!

RUMBLE!

Vain’s expression changed slightly.

Then—

CRACK!

CRACK!

The ground beneath one of his legs suddenly collapsed.

His leg dropped deep into the earth, throwing his balance off.

At the same time, the hand he had raised to block Jake’s incoming sword was forced downward.

Jake’s eyes flashed.

The Sword of Light immediately slipped past Vain’s guard and swept toward his neck.

ZING!

Vain’s expression finally changed as he realized his mistake.

’These two... are working in sync together!’