Jason sensed the putrefaction rats' fear from their mana fluctuations and he could immediately tell that the amplified roar which probably stemmed from a peak-Unblemished or Magical ranked beats was an enemy.
'If they were pursued why did the putrefaction rats try to kill me, Artemis and Scorpio? From their bloodthirsty aura, it's obvious that they weren't in a rush. Furthermore, the whole fight against them takes already longer than two hours! Did this unknown beast hear our noises that attracted its attention?.... I'm really out of luck today! '
The black origin flame transmitted him the thought that the baptism would be completed in a few minutes at most.
However, this was the only good news because Jason had to ask himself seriously if he could even survive for that long!
His strength was too shallow to fight against a beast that might have already begun to liquefy the mana within its mana core.
As such he could only use everything up to his sleeves to retain a certain distance towards the unknown enemies before he was able to open his eyes again.
Releasing a large amount of mist at once, Jason exerted the weightless steps movement technique to retreat quickly while avoiding the putrefaction rats that jumped towards him suicidal.
Jason knew the rough direction of the unknown opponent but that was already everything he knew, which was definitely not much.
From the mana fluctuations he perceived from the beast after everything had calmed down, Jason could tell that it was either a newly advanced Magical rank beast, also called Lique stage beast, or that it was about to liquefy its first drop.
Sighing deeply, Jason stored the Viridi-Starstream daggers away before grasping one putrefaction rat after another to throw them towards the direction he assumed the unknown opponent to be.
Only a moment later, he heard another mana amplified voice which caused his ears to ache as he used mana to protect them from sustaining any injuries.
After that, he had to focus on releasing more mana while retreating further, without caring where exactly he was going.
Jason was still able to perceive his surroundings and as long as putrefaction rats were between him and the unknown opponent that seemed to be aggressive, yet small if he didn't hear wrongly, everything would be fine.
Two minutes had passed and the unknown enemy was still far away from Jason as he had heard many loud squeaking noises that were amplified by mana.
This seemed to be the unknown beast's most used way to attack which was good to know for Jason.
As long as he could protect his ears and avoid the soundwaves or whatever the unknown beast attacked with, he would be fine!
Rather than wasting his time attacking, Jason wanted to survive and tend his soulbonds wounds!
They were already extremely exhausted and he could feel their pain that was equal to his own which was not something either of them had wanted to endure.
However, what annoyed him the most were the putrefaction rats because they tried to cling to his leg, bite into it and rip his flesh out.
Jason couldn't understand why they weren't trying to run away from the unknown opponent, but it was clear that something was extremely weird.
Only a moment later he heard the crunching sounds of breaking bones multiple times from further away.
Suddenly he perceived strong mana fluctuations shooting towards him and Jason could immediately tell that it was the unknown opponents' shockwave attack.
He was able to barely evade the attack by twisting his body into an uncomfortable angle.
After that, Jason sensed that the beast was about to attack him with its small body when it entered the range of his mana released mana fluctuations that was a radius of 50 meters.
Creating a thick wall of ice in front of him, Jason used the tree behind him to push himself into the air, straight towards the ice wall which he had erected
Using this ice wall he pushed himself from it again.
Lifting his arms he grasped the tree branch above him before he pulled himself up.
Running along the tree branch he could only hear the unknown beast using several sound waves to attack him.
While the first two missed him by a large distance, the third missed him by a hairbreadth.
Unfortunately, Jason was not able to avoid the fourth soundwave which hit his back.
He was fortunate enough to have enveloped his body with a thick layer of mana which he had drawn out of the mana sphere bracelet only a moment before.
Crushing into the ground, Jason felt the putrefaction rats jumping on top of him, trying to bite through the mana membrane enveloping him.
Shouting out, he released a thick layer of highly corrosive poison that was barely efficient against the putrefaction rats who jumped back in astonishment.
They didn't expect the bipedal being to have the same affinity as the gigantic sapphire-blue scorpion.
Jason used this moment of astonishment, to push himself from the ground as he received the black origin flame's notification that the baptism has been completed.
A radiant smile emerged on his face as he ordered the black origin flame to enter his mana core which it did without hesitation.
Black churning flames enveloped Jason within a moment and he didn't even perceive that a tiny trace of a golden color was intertwined in the black flame as he opened his golden eyes which were filled with coldness, anger, and the intention to eradicate everyone obstructing his path.
'You little f*ckers!! I've had enough' This was the only thing he thought as his voice that sounded calm, yet overbearing and cold resounded through the surrounding area.
"Die!"
Jason's killing intent was fully unleashed through his eyes as he supplied them with mana which made them glow faintly.
The putrefaction rats who were about to attack Jason once again, stiffened and the same seemed to happen to the other putrefaction rats that stared at him in fear.
If they were able to, they would flee, as far as possible, but they were unable to move a single inch when they sensed an ominous being infiltrating their body and mind.
Eternal darkness enveloped them and the putrefaction rats' eyes turned pitch-black without a single trace of white left before they began to attack each other.
Suddenly, Jason felt as if he were about to collapse on the ground as the terrifying aura around him vanished in an instant as he noticed what was going on.
When he opened his eyes, Jason felt weird and he couldn't explain what had happened in words.
If there were a word to describe everything he felt at that moment, it would probably be; almighty!
However, that sensation vanished faster than one could even blink with one's eyes and Jason could only perceive how the putrefaction beasts continued to massacre each other, even after their eyes regained their normal color.
Turning around, towards the unknown beast that stared at him in hesitation, not knowing what to do, Jason could only smile lightly as he mumbled.
"A f*cking oversized weasel tried to kill me? You annoyed me long enough!!"
His entire being was filled with wrath, thinking that the Gigantic vociferous weasel that was in front of him might have been the reason for the putrefaction rats to attack him, Artemis and Scorpio, which was, however, not the case.
Nevertheless, Jason's mind was filled with anger and he was unable to extinguish it.
The simple thought that the low-Lique stage beast in front of him might have been the cause for his soulbonds' pain made his blood boil.
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