Chapter 68 - Gargoyles

A black-colored stoned-skin humanoid creature with wings folded on its back and a face that resembled a lion could be seen starring him from atop the roof.

The creature seemed to be on the verge of going on a rampage, seen from the expression on its face that became ugly with its saliva dripping onto the ground while baring its sharp teeth.

Viktor could see at least three of those stage three abyss creatures around, and with the creature's ability to fly and the cover of darkness at this time of night, he knows there were probably a lot more of them out there.

It was an unexpected situation, and he didn't need to be an expert to see that he had bitten a bit more than he could chew.

Hanging around for too long in this place would be tantamount to suicide, and he needed to use the last of his strength to escape.

Viktor turned around and saw that in front of him, a few dozen critters and some of the flaming dogs had gathered, their eyes focused on him with clear unsettling hunger.

Knowing there was no way to go through those creatures unscathed in his current state, Viktor thought of a way that has been sitting in the back of his mind ever since he understood the principles of [Metal Bending] and created his first chest armor.

With that in mind, he raised both of his hands and concentrated, feeling each thrum and radiating warmth from his spirit core. With the utmost concentration he could muster, he cast [Metal Bending]

With much better control, he pulled all the previously broken, tempered metal from the bus and reformed it on his body, creating a full plate armor that covered almost his entire body.

"Well, It seems now I have become a comic book character!" Viktor grinned.

Right after he spoke, the drawback he had expected came to be. He could feel all that tempered metal weigh down on his body, slowing down his movements. However, Viktor had known this all along and had prepared himself to deal with this. In order to make his plan work, he decided to use his divine skill.

[All might]

[You have received 40 points in strength.]

[Duration: 4 minutes]

[Strength - 29 (69)]

[Agility - 59]

[Endurance - 31]

[Battle Power - 40(53)]

[Spirit Force - 63]

A figure, clad head to toe in reinforced metal, dashed straight through the hordes of critters and hellhounds, creating a storm of snow while leaving carnage in his path. No creature was able to avoid the precise, quick swing of his axe and the sheer force he exuded..

Splat!! Bam!!

Thanks to the metal armor and enhanced strength, his punches and kicks became so strong that one hit was enough to reduce all the critters into a smear of blood on the snow. Even stepping on them was enough to kill them.

Splaatt!

[Spirit force increased by one point.]

The combination of enhanced heavy armor and the divine skill turned Viktor into a living, raging metal tank capable of steamrolling over everything in his path.

However, even as he kept running as quickly as he could, he could still feel it in the back of his neck. The terrifying stage 3 monsters were chasing him without relent, and the flapping sounds from behind him only grew louder and louder.

[3 minutes left]

"Seriously Djinn? no warning!?"

<Actually i planned to… but you told me to shut up!>

"God dammit, Djinn! If I am going to die here, I am going to throw myself off in a deep river and make sure no one finds you even in 10,000 years!"

As soon as he finished his enraged cursing, however, one of the gargoyles managed to jump onto his back.

Bammm!!!!

The strong hit struck true, and the monster's claws managed to break through the tempered metal. With nothing else to protect him, a sharp pain erupted from his back. Painful enough to make him lose his concentration and all the metal surrounding his body broke apart.

His vision blurred for a moment from the pain, and Viktor suddenly felt that closing his eyes would be the most comfortable thing in the world. However, knowing that falling now would certainly seal his demise, Viktor gritted his teeth, kept his balance, and pushed himself to keep on running, even as blood trickled down his back.

He has been running for his life for the past one hour, and that fact hasn't changed even now. But he was aided with divine skill this time, and he found that the feeling was far different compared to the usual. The skill did in fact enhance his muscles, and when he jumped he could feel powerful energy that made him spring out in the air.

Viktor decided to quickly try a new way of running. He combined the quick movements of his legs and occasional heavy jumps to go through obstacles, allowing him to flee much faster than before.

[2 minutes left]

Viktor managed to exit the town, and now all he saw was just endless forest and snowy hills. He had managed to outrun all the critters leaving the dozen flaming dogs and a few flying creatures trying to swoop down on him from the sky.

By this time, Viktor knew that there was no way for him to actually outrun them, and he needed a different plan. His hands shook, terrified with the creature's strength. Unable to see any other way out, he took his desert eagle and started shooting the magnum bullets towards the creatures while running.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

In other circumstances, this would be a bad idea, as the loud sounds would attract any monsters in his vicinity, but push has come to shove, and Viktor had to use any means to survive.

But, to his shock, he watched the high-caliber bullets fly and got deflected right as it hit the monster's body.

"What exactly are these monsters!! Why are you chasing me!"

Viktor felt like his head was spinning, his brain going crazy thanks to all the tiring fights. Finally, when the one minute remaining notification appeared in his mind, Viktor decided to stop running.

"Come on here all of you, you ugly bastards!"

The flying monster took his taunt first, and swooped down from above at such speed. In retaliation, he swung his axe, but his strike didn't even faze the creature.

Instead, he was pinned down, and all he could do was depend on his arm to not get his face bitten off. Its rotten breath made Viktor curl his lips in disgust.

"Dont you fucking kiss me, you ugly bastard!"

He held the monster's neck with one arm, and used his other arm to pull the axe and chop the monster's neck with it.

Clang! Clang! Clang!

"What the fuck?!" Viktor cursed. It felt like he was hitting a rock with a pencil. He was unable to believe that a tier 2 axe and 69 points in strength was unable to even put a dent on this monster.

Right as he panicked, the Djinn slowly spoke into his mind.

<Unfortunately, this particular abyss creature could only be hurt by magic.>

"What! What! What the fu*kk!"

When he was drowned in his shock, the monster managed to bite his shoulder and take a chunk off his flesh. Adrenaline shot through him, and Viktor quickly used his wrestling skill to throw the monster back, before standing up and running.

But fate was not on his side. He only managed to run for another dozen steps, before his [All Might] skill's time ran out.

With his strength leaving him and the drawback of the skill affecting him, Viktor fell onto the snow, unable to stand. In his blurred vision, he saw a figure dashing towards him.

They were wearing a white armor, alongside a robe decorated with an elaborate, large red cross symbol.