Chapter 229 228: A Finger


    Despite Divine''s shout, Corey remained calm, and his eyes flickered, seeing Divine''s incredible speed. He contemted whether he should expose his Lightning Movement Art.


    "Let''s go."


    A hand touched his shoulder, and a soft voice flowed into his ears. Corey looked at Rosa, who nodded at him before running after Divine at a speed so fast and powerful that the ground got destroyed with every step she took.


    Corey looked at her, exhaled softly, and shifted his stance slightly. Lightning appeared around Corey''s legs, and with a whisper, he said:


    "Thunder Step"


    BOOM!


    BOOM!


    BOOM!


    With every step that Corey took, a loud sound of thunder echoed throughout the castle.


    A few secondster, Corey caught sight of Rosa''s back, and he felt a chill run down his spine when he felt an intense amount of killing intent directed toward him.


    "Wait! Rosa It''s me!"


    Corey quickly shouted and stopped running as he realized that Rosa probably mistook him for an enemy due to the loud sound of ''Thunder Steps.''


    ''If she wants to betray me, I''d have to run. I can''t defeat her.''


    Corey shifted his stance as he prepared to run if Rosa still thought about attacking him despite his words and actions.


    "Huh? Smile Reaper?"


    "Yes. Yes. It''s me."


    Corey quickly nodded and ran towards her.


    "I''m really sorry. I didn''t know it was you. I thought it was an enemy."


    Corey looked at Rosa, who truly had an apologetic expression. "It''s okay. I understand. Let''s go."


    Without waiting for Rosa''s reply, he activated ''Thunder Step'' again and ran towards Divine.


    Rosa gazed at Corey''s feet with amazement for a few seconds, then she executed her skill and followed Corey.


    In a matter of seconds, Rosa overtook Corey, and Corey clicked his tongue in dissatisfaction.


    ''Our stats are truly worlds apart.''


    Corey frowned as he realized that Divine and Rosa would most likely reach the portal way before him, and he would be the one to slow them down.


    ''If the thing emitting a vast amount of energy is a treasure. I want to be the first one to get to the top.''


    ''...It could help me.''


    Corey''s eyes became resolute when he thought of this. Then he heaved a soft sigh.


    ''I didn''t want to use it, but… I have no choice.''


    Corey''s eyes turned white, and he used a few seconds to observe the stairs that led to the portal.


    "sh Step."


    The instant Corey uttered those words, his body became engulfed by lightning, and by defying thews of physics, Corey moved, and a white light appeared around Corey.


    CLAP!


    Rosa looked back the instant she perceived the light. She reflexively closed her eyes due to the white light that entered her eyes.


    "Smile Reaper?"


    She called out, and…


    "What are you doing? Move Rosa."


    "What!"


    Rosa instantly looked to her front, and to her extreme shock, she saw Corey standing some meters away.


    "Stop dilly-dallying around."


    Rosa had a nk expression as she looked at the light smile on Corey''s lips. Her pupils moved as she noticed lightning sparks around Corey''s body, and like a bolt of lightning, he moved up the stairs.


    "I want him so bad."


    .cοm A dazed look appeared in Rosa''s eyes, along with a broad smile on her lips.


    sh Step was the skill given to Corey after unlocking the second level of The Lightning Movement Art.


    sh Step was an extremely powerful skill that allowed him to move as fast as lightning. The more mana Corey poured into the execution of sh Step, the higher the distance covered after the execution of sh Step.


    sh Step was a skill that, when used properly, could be used to kill an enemy before the enemy realizes it instantly.


    And…


    It could also be used to run away from an enemy much more powerful than Corey.


    However, Corey faced two major drawbacks whenever he used ''sh Step.''


    First, the mana consumption was immense.


    Before Corey maxed his stats to reach the violet star phase, he could only use ''sh Step'' once.


    But now, Corey wasn''t sure anymore since this was the first time he used ''sh Step'' after reaching the violet star phase.


    The second drawback was pain and injuries.


    The lightning that appears whenever Corey executes ''sh Step'' causes burns and wounds on Corey''s body.


    Corey did not have any resistance to lightning, nor did he have any affinity to lightning to prevent himself from getting injured and pain from his skill. But thanks to his high pain resistance and regeneration skill, he could ignore the pain and heal the injuries caused by the lightning sparks.


    Corey kept executing sh Step as he moved up the stairs, and a few secondster, he caught sight of Divine, who was carrying an expressionless Fatty ck Bonez as he ran to the portal.


    Divine frowned when he heard the sound of thunder and lightning approaching him. He looked behind him, but a secondter, his pupils constricted when he saw a sh of light pass by him.


    He quickly looked to his front, and when he saw Corey''s figure, his eyes widened in surprise.


    Corey gave a short wave, and in the blink of an eye, he disappeared.


    ''Was that… the long lost Ancient Lightning Movement Art?''


    ''No, no, no, no. That should not be possible. It''s most likely another movement that uses lightning.''


    Divine shook his head, and then he ran after Corey with a highly solemn expression.


    Some seconds passed, and Corey finally reached the top of the castle. He kicked the door open with his hexagon barrier active and his Eyes of Omniscience on.


    He looked around carefully, and just as he guessed, he found not a single living being except for a skeleton sitting on a golden and magnificent throne and the swirling portal.


    Corey scrutinized the skeleton with his Eyes of Omniscience for a sign of life, but he found none.


    His eyes moved to the hands of the skeleton, and he noticed three things.


    One- There was a ck finger on the right hand of the skeleton that still looked ''normal.''


    Two- The appearance of a golden-colored ring on the left finger of the skeleton.


    Three- The source of the vast amount of energy.


    Corey''s eyes were fixed on the source of the enormous amount of energy- The finger.


    A contemtive light appeared in Corey''s eyes as his mind calcted a lot of things. His Omniscient Eyes receded, and his Tri-Pupil Eyes appeared.


    He stared at the ck finger and willed for his Tri-Pupil Eyes to store it in his storage space. The instant his Tri-Pupil Eyes tried to store the finger, Corey''s expression changed drastically.


    COUGH


    COUGH


    Vast amounts of blood escaped from Corey''s lips as he coughed and fell to the ground weakly. Blood poured out from his eyes and nose, and in Corey''s mind, a crack resounded.


    PAIN


    PAIN


    PAIN


    So much pain assaulted Corey''s entire being, and he knew he had done something that he should have never done.


    ''Fuck!''


    Bang!


    "Kid?"


    Divine''s voice drifted into Corey''s ears, but Corey was too weak to look at him or even respond.


    "What in the nine zes happened to you?"


    Divine questioned again, but Corey could not respond at all. His body was wrecked, and he felt his insides twisting in immense pain.


    "I don''t know what happened to you. But as your captain, I can''t leave you here."


    Divine said, then nced at the skeleton on the golden throne. His eyes moved to the golden ring on the skeleton''s fingers, and a wisp of greed emerged in his eyes, but a secondter, he shook his head after sensing something and turned to Corey.


    Thud!n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om


    Seeing Corey''s state, Divine dropped Fatty ck Bonez, who still had a nk expression on his face, then he carried Corey in a princess-like manner, and just as he did, he saw Rosa walking in.


    She gazed at Corey, and her expression changed. Just as she was about to speak, Divine ced his palm out and said:


    "Let''s leave this ce first."


    Without waiting for Rosa''s reply, he waved his hand, and Racing Wolf appeared in the room. He threw Fatty ck Bonez into the back seat, and Rosa quickly entered the driver''s seat.


    Divine gently ced Corey in the back seat, and he entered the passenger''s seat. Rosa started the ignition and promptly drove to the portal.


    Just as they were about to enter the portal, Divine perceived something, and he looked back.


    The instant he did, his heart skipped several beats as he saw a golden-colored serpentine pupil gazing at the skeleton on the golden throne with a tinge of confusion.


    Divine wanted to say something.


    He tried to scream, but immense fear gripped his heart. He saw the eyes move, and Divine knew that if the creature so as much nce at them, they were done for.


    They would definitely die.


    Luckily for them, they were extremely close to the portal, and before its gazended on them, they entered the portal, and the portal instantly closed.