Re-awakening: From mortal to godhood-Chapter 34: AIDEN

The tree guardians, bulky ethereal-like beings that were over 10ft in height, with broadswords and towering shields that pulsed with energy.

They were encased in knightly armor.

But none of it even made Aiden flinch in the slightest. He only looked at them as souls waiting to be harvested.

Aiden said no word. This was a battlefield, and words held no place here. Only strength spoke.

He entered a combat stance, his left foot sliding backward, his body stretching, and both daggers held tightly.

The floor cracked as he blitzed forward. As he got closer, he jumped

The first guardian was caught by surprise as Aiden drove his dagger through his throat. Before it could even die completely, Aiden absorbed its soul, storing it in his soul pouch immediately.

The light in its eyes dimmed as it fell to the floor with a thud that scattered dust around.

Everything had happened so fast that none of the guardians could react.

Like glass shattering, their mind snapped back into place. One of them swung in a wide arc, its sword tearing through the atmosphere.

Aiden somersaulted over the sword. Time seemed to slow as he performed this impossible movement.

As he landed, he dashed forward, his dagger flashing forward in a streak of deadly, silver light.

In response, a guardian brought his shield down, blocking the strike cleanly.

Aiden did not falter; he leapt back just in time to dodge the deadly counter.

The other guardians had begun to close in from wherever they were, their thunderous march shaking the forest.

Aiden counted the ones in front of him while calculating how much harder it would be to fight all of them together.

’7, excluding the one I killed. That means there are about 29 coming here. That’s too much trouble,’ he thought.

From the sides, Lucan smiled before appearing next to him.

"Why are you here?" He asked Lucan directly, his tone cold.

"I wanted to help you since I finished those ones," Lucan pointed at the place the treants once were.

"Don’t worry, I can handle myself," Aiden interjected.

"Even when they don’t have blood and ice does not have any effect on them?" Lucan asked again.

"You noticed it too," Aiden said, surprised. "I never expected you to notice it, though."

"I saw ice mana appear on your blade, but it did not affect them."

"I will admit, it was very perceptive of you to see that, but that does not leave me defenseless. I have absorbed too many techniques, although not the full affinity. I can use the techniques my victims once had, and that includes this," Aiden said, before darting forward to meet the guardians. He sprang up, then slashed, a simple flick of his dagger. But the pressure it generated was more than that. The wind itself seemed to have come in tandem with his dagger.

The wind surged forward, sharp and unforgiving. It sliced through all seven, splitting them with lethal precision.

He landed on the floor, gracefully, like he was a divine being that had come to grace the world with his presence.

With a casual wave of his palm, he absorbed their souls.

Lucan just stared at him like he was looking at an anomaly. ’Just when you think you have his abilities, he just comes out with another ridiculous one,’ he thought.

Then, their eyes snapped to the left at the same time, looking at the incoming guardians. All of them were coming together.

"Should I help>?" Lucan asked again.

"Don’t worry," Aiden replied, before shooting forward. He appeared in front of them in an instant, his dagger trailing through the air with a fierce glint.

He tore through the guardian’s leg like butter against a hot knife. Without even looking back, he jumped to the next one.

Lucan stared at the guardian that had already turned back to attack Aiden, even if it cost it its balance. "I guess even he can make a blunder," he commented as he prepared to draw his sword. But he was met with something shocking. The guardian suddenly stopped mid strike, its entire body convulsing for a moment, before it melted into sand.

Lucan blinked. "I was overthinking it. He never makes mistakes."

In the midst of the guardians, Aiden moved like a phantom, claiming lives and absorbing souls with brutal efficiency.

The usual playful glint in his eyes had long been replaced with one of calm and coldness.

A sword came down, its form casting a huge shadow over him. But he merely sidestepped. As the blade hit the floor, the earth shattered into rubble.

Aiden, not losing momentum, stepped on the blade’s edge. He dashed forward, slicing through the guardian’s neck smoothly. In the same motion, he hopped to the nearest guardian, his dagger piercing through its skull.

Aiden continued his rampage until there were only 5 guardians.

By this time, his breathing was already ragged, and each draw took longer to complete. His chest heaved high from stamina depletion.

Something crazy happened as Aiden stared at them.

A burst of light erupted from them, then coalesced. As the light died down, there was only one figure in his line of view, but the power it released was several times that of the previous 5 together.

"Hey, you want to fight, right?" Aiden asked slowly.

Lucan looked at the bulky frame that oozed with power. Before Aiden could even hear a reply, it struck.

Thorns shot from the ground, all of it concentrated on Aiden. Even Lucan was not spared; several spores exploded from nowhere.

As the gas thinned out, Lucan had already been knocked unconscious.

Aiden could not look back; his attention was on the thorns. He maneuvered his way through each one, his body flowing through each one.

He looked back at Lucan, but it was a deadly mistake. As he lost focus, a vine pierced through his knee, impaling him to the ground.

Blood splattered on the floor for the first time since the battle had started. And it was not from Lucan the weaker one, but Aiden.

His eyes turned red from pain. His blood affinity was pushed to its limit, clotting the blood to stop the bleeding.

He did not wait there; he unleashed all the souls he had absorbed since the beginning, absorbing all of them to strengthen himself.