Chapter 52: Parties in the Dark, A Single Move
Chapter 52: Parties in the Dark, A Single Move
When Nero shouted, a bright silver ray illuminated this section of the alleyway, brightening everything within his immediate vicinity. The scythe mark on Nero's arm brightly glowed as if it was trying to manifest something, but it failed.
'What's going on? I feel a bit limited...' Nero questioned in this state, as he carefully observed his change.
Adult Nero replied, "Your Digitize Bit is trying to summon your Inheritance Weapon, but you are only partially awakened. Hence, the summon has failed..."
As if Adult Nero's words were right, Nero observed that his hair started to grow longer; a silver mask appeared on his face covering only the upper portions as his body even became a step taller. Eventually, a semi-transparent cloak had covered his body, as if one looked on his arms, they would see two similar semi-transparent but shiny silver gauntlets.
Suddenly, as if Nero's world changed, his eyes shone in a spooky light that caused everyone around him to feel a surge of pressure, Nero even noticed that connected to the bodies of each Bit Hunter were a series of red lines and spiritual entities that were wailing. His eyes then glowed further as their bodies turned into silhouettes showing only a small clump of light at the center of their forehead.
'I already knew my power would show a great increase, but this is different... is this another trait of the Reaper's Eye?' Nero inwardly asked as he looked at the scene in surprise.
Adult Nero promptly replied, "The visions before you are the sights only viewable to entities with the Reaper's Eyes. As time is limited, I won't go too much into the details, but you can think of it as seeing life and death in its truest sense, much like how you see the World Spirits in that realm."
When Nero heard this, he no longer asked any questions, he knew his time was limited, and he was dead set on killing every single one of these Bit Hunters.
Bang! His silver magic power exploded, causing a chill to any others in the area, he then summoned his Common Iron Sword that shimmered in sharp rays as he stared at the Bit Hunter's with his sinister glowing eyes.
Not only Bit Hunters, anyone within the vicinity had a chill upon seeing his eyes, regardless of their strength level. They felt as if they were being stared upon by a God who oversaw death, as if he could peer through their very souls, giving them a slight sense of oppression.
By this time, those that stood in the dark were observing in surprise as a few had a look of strangeness when they saw Nero's change. Looking at each of them, one would notice that some of them had strange devices, ranging from sci-fi goggles to tablets or modified mobile phones, pointed towards his direction.
If one paid attention to the data displayed on their screens, they would see that a series of digits flickered before stabilizing, showing his rating.
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[Grade 3 Inheritance Bit (Unknown)]
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"Impossible! Although it's a level above the standard amongst typical talents, how can a mere Grade 3 Digitize Bit, used by a beginner brat at the initial stages of Novice Rank cause me such an amount of oppression?" One bearded individual with a bull mark on a hat said as he stared towards Nero's direction.
"Bull, I don't know, but even if it's a bit above standard, I still feel that there might be more about this child that it appears. He's worth every ounce of effort to recruit to our Hatman Society," A skinny individual said with an eagle symbol on his hat, and a long face.
"Indeed, che! Eagle, take a look, that bitch Yullia and her attendant 'Stickman' has already shown up, Doppleman was right, we definitely can't let them take him for themselves," Bull said as he glanced towards the nearby corner.
Eagle followed his sights and noticed that a mature black-haired woman with bangs, garbed in a business suit with small eyes and delicate facial features, stood at the side of a slender blond man with a long face and a straight body as if like a stick.
"Hmph! Even if she tries, she'll have to get through us first," Eagle said with a sharp look in his eyes, glaring at them from a distance.
As if Yullia noticed their gaze, she stared back at them with a gentle smile and sent a kiss with her palm that transformed into a middle finger before looking away.
The Hatman duo snorted and looked away, not paying her any mind. Other than this scene, Uncle Ian and Avollo were watching from afar. They noticed that two considerable powers within the DU had gathered, and as such, no matter how much Avollo wanted, Uncle Ian hindered him from interfering.
"Damn! Can't we do anything?" Avollo cursed while being in a frozen state as if something was binding him.
Uncle Ian sighed and spoke, "Let it be Young Master; besides, even if he fails, nothing will happen, not with these many experts around."
Avollo clicked his teeth and sighed; he knew he couldn't resist Uncle Ian's power; he only watched from a distance with a hint of worry. Away from this group, no one seemed to realize, but two more parties were well hidden.
On one building, was a man whose features were wrapped with cloth, as he wore a cloak covering his entire body. Beside him was a familiar-looking spiky red-haired youth, his body as malnourished as ever, but his dark red eyes carried a wild intent as he looked at Nero and spoke, 'A Grade 3 Digitize Bit? Father, he isn't worthy of my time?'
The man beside the youth chuckled and spoke, 'You don't know whose son you are dealing with, never underestimate your rivals, as overconfidence is nothing but a prelude to one's demise...'
"..." The red-haired youth remained silent as he continued to stare on in silence, his eyes flickering with blazing flames.
The man looked at his son before shifting his eyes away towards a far-off building. On that building were two other persons; one was a tall man in an overcoat wearing a simple hat and dark glasses, while the last was a silver-haired woman that wore a spiral mask.
He narrowed his eyes when he saw them, especially the woman, but said nothing as he focused back on the battles below. At this time, the towering man with the hat frowned as he spoke, "Odd, I shielded his bit to Grade 4, how is it showing Grade 3?"
The woman by his side chuckled and spoke, "Hehe... you're losing your touch, old friend."
"Huhu... maybe so, it happens when you get too old, I suppose..." The towering man said with a sigh, but his eyes flashed as he stared at Nero who was readying to attack, he spoke with praise, "He truly is amazing, there isn't even a trace of hesitation that I can feel from him. It's as if he is already grown mentally enough to handle killing people."
The woman spoke with pride, "Well, of course he is, he's his child after all... besides, this child has been through more than enough hardship to understand the world."
The towering man remained silent, not saying anything; the word's 'his child' was enough to make him halt any further statements.
When all the other powers were shocked, there was only one party that seemed ignorant of the threat before them, and it was none other than Perm and his lackeys.
Perm didn't seem able to hold back his excitement; he glanced at Nero and shouted, "Kill him!"
The Bit Hunters were obviously inexperienced. They charged towards Nero like wild thugs, though they were moving at a speed nearing 40 km/h, they weren't even capable of using a proper movement skill.
Nero sensed the movements of each man that were approaching from all angles; he could feel the beat of their hearts as sense the meager amount of life force from the soul in their bodies. He even felt as if they were nothing more than ignorant lambs charging towards a tiger that hadn't eaten in a long time.
In this instant, Nero adopted a posture that he never did before; it was as if it was encoded within him by instinct. His stance became low, and the sword in his outstretched arm that was placed behind his back seemed to give the impression of the scythe.
Adult Nero smiled at this as he thought, "Well, I'll be, I never thought that he would enter this state so soon. Excellent..."
Nero didn't hear Adult Nero's words, his mind was now elsewhere, seeming no different from an edge ready to bring an end to its ill-fated foes.
"Allow me to send you all on your way..." Nero cold voice sounded across the alley filling each of the men with shock, as it was unknown when, but Nero had vanished.
Swing! With the sound of something cutting through the wind, a bright silvery flashed of light had appeared, cutting circularly before fading away.
Once this happened, Perm looked with wide eyes as the bodies of his lackeys were split into two halves. Each had an expression of fear as they looked at Nero, who once more stood in the same posture with a calm look.
His eyes shining in a cold ray, as he stared at the clumps of lights that flew away, being the first of humanity to be sent by him to the netherworld, and certainly not the last.