The four Thornsleepers were hunting the same target not because the target was that strong, but because they feared the protector was too much for a single one of them to handle alone.
'Are you saying we went through all that preparation just to face a person even a blind man could best?' Kromel's brows drew into a dangerously thin line as he stared at the Protector standing by the tree.
Hanon took a shaky step forward as he inhaled deeply.
"I'm sorry, sir Krazel, looks like I made you worry. But set your heart at ease. I'll take care of him quickly so that we can return to the inn." Hanon said without a flicker of fear in his voice.
"I must know." Kromel pointed at Hanon as he spoke. "Where do you get that confidence from? You're going to take care of me, you say. For such a weakling, you sure know bold words."
'It looks like I'll have to step in after all.' Aeloria thought, preparing to stand, however, she stopped when she heard Hanon's voice.
It was as though the Protector was reciting a long lost ancient poem.
"Monarch of the limbless crawler. Grant me permission to carry out your will once more. Ancient liminal sea that flows between myth and truth, calm your violent waves and allow me to sail your waters. Great Guardian Ishnore, your emissary calls your name. Hanon, Venomless-black."
"What is he saying? Is that a prayer?" Zilel, had a confused look on his face as he stared at Hanon.
Aeloria looked at her companion with curious expression, then shifted her gaze to the Thornsleeper. The man laughed out loud, drawing the attention of them all.
"Why didn't I realize it sooner? Hanon, Venomless-Black. One of the few who had almost reached the end of their pathways." 'Every Thornsleeper knows there's only one person who ends their incantation with Venomless-Black.' "It's an honor to meet you, Black demon." Kromel said as he stared at Hanon with newfound curiosity.
The Protector's flesh turned inwards, blood oozed from his newly exposed skin. Hanon gritted his teeth in agony as every inch on his skin tore and turned inwards as though ripped from the inside out. In a few heartbeats, his entire robe were covered in traces of blood.
Then, as though exposed to intense heat, the blood dried and turned black as his skin darkened. And on his new black skin grew scales like that of a viper, covering half of his body. The next to change were his eyes. It's shape altered into an almost twin horizontal lines. His pupils thinned out into vertical slits. Scales covered his cheeks and forehead. The man stood as though he had merged with a viper.
'What… happened to him?' Aeloria stared in stunned silence as the man she had known for a little over two months turned into something she could not recognize.
"When one had almost reached the end of their pathway, they gain the ability to temporarily manifest the characteristics of the viper they are tied to. The duration and amount of characteristics they can manifest is dependent of the stage in the pathway they've reached. Yellow, blue, purple, crimson, black, ash, moon, and finally, rose. To think you've already reached black, tell me, how many of our kind did you kill to reach that stage?" Kromel had a calm expression the entire time he spoke. His face showed no signs of fear or fright, just an expectant gaze.
"How many? I don't remember, I stopped counting at two hundred?" When Hanon spoke, his voice was now like the rustling of dry leaves, but slightly clearer.
Before he finished saying those words, he was no longer standing by the tree, but behind the Thornsleeper, holding Kromel's severed left arm.
'What happened? I blinked and he's already holding the man's arm. Is this the true power of a protector? The one I met before was just good with the blade, but this one is dangerous.' Krazel looked at Hanon in awe, even though the person before him did not look human, it meant he would live. After all, he was on their side.
Kromel looked at the spot where his right arm should've been and smiled, staring at the blood ooze from the wound.
"I wonder, why didn't you go for my head instead?" Kromel said as a new limb grew from the wound on his left.
The bones emerged first, then came the veins, cartilages and tendons, then finally the skin.
'His hand grew back? Is it also a trait of the viper he's tied to?' Zilel's face was a mask of confusion. Earlier, he had come fully prepared to face whatever danger lay ahead, but to think he wouldn't be facing a normal human.
'Looks like he really did have a move up his sleeve,' Aeloria thought with a smile. 'But would he be alright? His opponent doesn't look normal either.'
Hanon took an unconscious glance at Aeloria to gauge her expression, expecting to see a disgusted look, instead, he saw a smile.
Hanon threw the arm away, turning to fully face the Thornsleeper.
"I now understand why all those preparations were needed." His arm was now fully grown. He flexed his fingers to get used to the motion of his new limb. "However, I still think it was unnecessary, it's not like I would lose to you." With that, Kromel dashed forward in a blur, taking out the dagger in his belt and aimed for Hanon's throat.
Seeing the incoming threat, Hanon tilted his head backwards, evading the attack by a hair's breadth.
He then threw a kick of his own, however, Kromel's reaction was instantaneous. He lifted both arms in defence, blocking the attack head on, the force sending him skidding back a few paces.
In this state, Hanon's senses were heightened to the extreme, making him notice the tiniest of details. The scales on his body made his skin almost as hard as steel, the ultimate defense.
Hanon was the one to charge in this time, throwing successive punches and kicks from different angles. However, Kromel weaved through his attacks as though he was a skilled dancer.
'Something is not right, Hanon is using borrowed powers from Ishnore, and yet Kromel is holding his ground even though he had yet to use his viper attributes. This is a losing fight for Hanon in the long run.' Aeloria observed with a frown.
"Surely this isn't all there is to the Black demon. I'm almost getting bored. If you don't show me something to work with, then I'm afraid I'll have to end this." Kromel stared at Hanon with a disappointed expression as he blocked another kick.
'I wanted to find out if there was more than one Thornsleeper as Aeloria had said, so I used minimal movements to preserve my strength. Now that I still don't see any other person nearby, I guess that was unnecessary.' With that thought, Hanon dashed forward at a pace the normal eye could not hope to track, catching Kromel's face an slamming it into all the way into the oak.