The black flames of Amaterasu manifested out of thin air directly at Bonolenov's coordinates, instantly engulfing his body.
Simultaneously, two spell cards appeared in Ronin's hands.
One was [Castle Gate], aimed at preventing Phinks from activating his spell card. The other was [Shift], locked squarely onto Bonolenov.
Bonolenov never expected Ronin to open with a point-blank Amaterasu. Even having experienced the attack before, he couldn't dodge the black flames that spawned instantaneously out of the void.
The moment the flames latched onto his conjured armor, Bonolenov felt his heart seize. The horrifying, flesh-rending agony seemed etched right into his very soul, wracking his body with a violent shudder.
Before he could even make a tactical decision, the effect of the [Shift] spell card hit him head-on.
Wrapped in a swirling mixture of black flames and teleportation aura, Bonolenov turned into a beam of light that smashed through the shop's ceiling and vanished into the sky.
Meanwhile, the colossal ribcage of Susanoo erupted around Ronin!
Feitan's rapier struck the ethereal construct, but it couldn't pierce the defense, let alone threaten Ronin inside it.
Instead, when Ronin's crimson eyes snapped toward him, Feitan felt a visceral spike of dread pierce his heart. His body instinctively threw itself backward in a desperate retreat.
Right at that moment, an onslaught of light cascaded down outside the shop.
The allied player crusade had arrived.
The shop had already been completely demolished by the massive, expanding frame of Susanoo. However, Feitan's retreating body suddenly jerked to a rigid halt.
It wasn't Ama-no-Tokotachi. The second Feitan made eye contact, the Sharingan's Genjutsu took hold.
It was Ronin's favorite opener: Demonic Illusion: Shackling Stakes Technique!
Massive iron spikes materialized out of thin air, violently impaling Feitan's limbs and drawing hysterical, agonizing curses from his lips.
But it was useless. Because all of it was an illusion. In reality, Feitan hadn't taken a single hit from Ronin yet, meaning his personal Nen ability remained untriggered.
Susanoo dispersed, and the deafening chirp of a thousand birds erupted from Ronin's hand.
But the very second Susanoo vanished, another presence appeared silently at his back, swinging a devastating punch straight for his head.
It was Phinks!
The second Feitan and Bonolenov launched their assault, Phinks knew things had gone sideways. Their actions had thoroughly completely destroyed his window to use [Leave]. He couldn't just abandon them to face Ronin while he fled alone.
Even though his instincts screamed that retreating was the right call, he couldn't do it.
So, he began winding his arm, desperately searching for an opening to strike.
When the black flames erupted, Phinks immediately put distance between himself and Bonolenov, avoiding the Amaterasu while simultaneously bringing himself closer to Ronin.
But the sudden appearance of Susanoo pressured him immensely. Seeing Feitan's full-force thrust fail to even scratch the bizarre construct only hardened his resolve to keep winding his arm, amplifying the devastating power of his impending punch.
He hadn't anticipated Feitan freezing mid-retreat. From the look of it, something was terribly wrong with him.
Phinks had no choice but to act.
He dashed to the edge of Susanoo, throwing his hyper-charged fist with the intent to shatter the construct and the man inside it.
But just as his fist was about to make contact, Susanoo vanished!
At the exact same time, Phinks's entire body locked up, his fist inexplicably frozen mid-air.
Ama-no-Tokotachi!
Ronin hadn't forgotten about Phinks, even while readying his Chidori to execute Feitan. And the easiest way to deal with Phinks was to physically restrict his movements.
For anyone else, this would be a monumental task. But for Ronin and his Ama-no-Tokotachi, it was effortless. With a single glance, he locked the spatial coordinates around Phinks's thrown right fist.
All of Phinks's Nen was currently concentrated into that single strike. Even without it landing, Ronin could feel a hair-raising sense of lethal danger radiating from it.
But it didn't matter. That suffocating pressure rapidly dissipated the moment Phinks's arm was sealed in space.
Before Ronin could exploit the opening to execute Phinks, Feitan violently shattered the Genjutsu.
Ronin frowned slightly. Too fast. Sensing something was off, he didn't hesitate. He thrust his lightning-wreathed hand straight toward Feitan's chest with explosive speed.
But the strike missed.
Feitan's speed was equally monstrous. The split-second he broke free from the illusion, he accelerated into an evasive maneuver.
The strike missed. Phinks's interference had cost Ronin a crucial fraction of a second, and Feitan had shattered the illusion far faster than anticipated.
By the time Ronin tried to pivot for a follow-up attack, the arriving players had already manifested their spell cards, unleashing them indiscriminately.
None of the cards used were for movement. They served only two purposes: restriction and theft!
They restricted the two Troupe members from using cards to escape, and mercilessly pillaged the spell cards and Designated Slot cards from their binders.
Exactly as Ronin had predicted—by stepping forward and absorbing the duo's lethal aggro, he removed the sense of danger for the players, turning the ambush into a frenzied looting festival!
Neither Phinks nor Feitan could even spare a thought for their binders.
Phinks suddenly felt the restriction on his arm vanish—Ronin had deactivated Ama-no-Tokotachi. But because of that forced interruption, the pent-up kinetic energy hadn't been unleashed; it had been stifled, leaving Phinks choking on a suffocating wave of frustration.
Meanwhile, Feitan buried the lower half of his face into his high collar. His narrowed eyes brimmed with nothing but pure, unadulterated madness and killing intent.
Shalnark had once analyzed Ronin's abilities. According to his theory, making eye contact with Ronin's strange eyes would lead to disastrous consequences.
It seemed Shalnark was spot on. Eye contact pulled the victim into an illusion. Thankfully, Feitan had mentally prepared for it, allowing him to break free rapidly.
Otherwise...
Watching the lightning slowly dissipate from Ronin's hand, Feitan felt a lingering chill of retroactive dread.
This meant for the rest of the fight, he couldn't afford to look anywhere above the bridge of Ronin's nose. Even a momentary lapse in combat of this caliber would mean instant death.
It was troublesome, but manageable.
As for the locust-like players swarming to steal their cards, Feitan didn't even consider them a threat.
His only real concern was Bonolenov.
When that idiot was teleported away, the black flames were still clinging to him. If they didn't kill Ronin so Bonolenov could extinguish the fire, there was no way they'd get the chance to farm another [Breath of Archangel]!
---
Support this fanfict by leaving Positive Review, Comments, and Power Stones.
For Advance Chapters, Visit:
> Patreon.com/NegativeTranslations