The God Virus

"Hot face, that…" The question immediately made Hellarose hesitant but she still replied nonetheless, "If I have the time in the future, I'll try visiting you some time! Who knows what kind of messed up trouble a weakling damsel in distress like you will get himself into if I'm not around to save the day?"

That answer, unfortunately, only forced Virus to rub his forehead in frustration. "Sorry I even asked."

"It's okay. Then, guess I will see you when I find the time to visit." Clasping her hands behind herself while fidgeting with them rather nervously, with breathy giggles, Hellarose called his name out loud, "Stay safe, Vee."

Turning around, Virus began walking to the distance. Without looking back, he merely raised and waved his left arm while announcing, "I'm running away before you start acting any more like a normal woman. So long."

Watching his back, many complex emotions were passing through Hellarose's heart as she released a pronounced sigh.

When she was on the way to the Invisible Ancient Fortress World, she had reached out a hand to someone in need and saved a random man being attacked by a group of barbarians.

Experiencing everything that occurred afterward, frankly, not even in her wildest dreams had Hellarose expected that that one act of kindness would save her own life so quickly.

If she had not stepped up that day and thus, wasn't acquainted with him, Hellarose couldn't even imagine what would've happened to her in the Invisible Ancient Fortress World after Henna's betrayal.

'That's why kindness matters, goddess bless us all. One day it might all come back to us in the same or a different form. Thank you, my goddess, for putting him in my path.' By now, an expression full of grace had replaced her earlier cheeky behavior as if she was showing her other true self to a being that was always watching over her.

Meanwhile, various notions such as where should he board his spaceship was going through Virus' head, when abruptly, a foreboding feeling of alarm, something that he had developed over the course of countless years, went off in his head.

Someone was directing killing intent in his direction!

Despite not understanding what was happening yet, Virus didn't hesitate to activate his time-freeze perception while also spreading his sense of awareness all around himself!

The instant the time-freeze was turned on, however, much to his startlement, Virus spotted a person already materializing in front of him as an extremely terrifying punch was about to connect to his stomach.

In fact, this sneak attacker was so fast that Virus' current physique could not even hope to keep up with the individual!

Still, understanding the urgency and deadliness of the situation, Virus chanted two commands.

'Unnamed Virus Technique, First Form – Impulse!'

'Unnamed Virus Technique, Second Form – Friction!'

Even though the two forms were activating quite slowly due to his monstrous perception slowing down everything, Virus predicted that by the time the punch was about to hit him, they would be successfully activated.

Indeed, after a lot of time passed in his time-freeze perception, just as the fist of the unknown man was about to smash into him, both lightning and wind came to his aid.

Of course, even with these two at his beck and call, Virus calculated that his movement speed was nowhere close to the opponent. Thus, he was powerless in dodging it.

Fortunately, that wasn't his aim from the beginning. 

As a matter of fact, the two water turbines of the second form had not even been triggered at the front side of his body, rather, they were operating at his back as they pushed aside any air particles that may hinder his retreat.

What Virus did after that was to forcefully propel himself to the back.

BOOM!

At the same time, the punch made contact with his stomach, sending him flying away into the far distance.

Subsequently, like an arrow that had been released from the string, Virus' figure was thrust backward as it penetrated through one tree after another!

Only when the fourth tree was cut off and he smashed into the fifth one did all the force behind the punch cease as Virus threw up blood before falling on the ground with his broken body!

On the other side, watching this unexpected development and turn of events, Hellarose's pupils dilated as she stared at the spot where Virus had been standing earlier!

It was a few moments later, when, finally having enough time to react, Hellarose screeched while veins were pulsing in her neck, "Hot face!!!"

Meanwhile, the unknown cultivator that was done attacking Virus raised his fist and whispered in some surprise, "Hmm, I guess I couldn't land my fist on him as good as I thought I did."

At the same time, remaining fallen on the ground, every part of Virus' body hurt like hell!

'Ah, that was a close one. Good thing my bones were barely able to endure the damage.' Simultaneously, like a zombie that was impossible to keep on the ground forever unless its brain was penetrated, Virus' frame began to move as he stood up.

"W-who are you?" Glaring at the unidentified assaulter with his chilly eyes, Virus interrogated. Although he didn't recognize the other person's face, that didn't stop him from memorizing it. 'One more face on the list.'

"Me? Hmm, well, I kind of feel bad for killing you even though there is no hostility whatsoever between us, so I shall at least introduce myself before sending you off to the afterlife, Vee." The golden-robed mature man said in a relaxed manner. He talked in a way as if he had already killed Virus. There was not a single ounce of doubt in his tone that he may fail today in his assassination attempt. He truly believed the instant he had targeted Virus, that was the moment his fate had been sealed.

"I'm prince Elijah, remember, that's the name of the person who sent you on your eternal journey." Holding his head high, Elijah introduced himself.

"Prince Elijah, huh? I'll remember that. And by the way, you're wrong about there not being any bad blood between us." Glowering at the target of his hostility, Virus declared.

"Huh? What do you mean?" Narrowing his eyes, Elijah was lost. For an instant, he even wondered if he had come across this person before in his life, but then shaking his head, he denied that possibility. There was no way he would forget such a handsome face.

"I mean, the second you took a strike at me and tried murdering me, was the moment animosity was planted between us." Virus clarified at once. 

"Oh, now that I think about it, you're right! I suppose I don't need to feel sorry for killing you then, wonderful, hahaha…"Maintaining eye contact between them, Elijah started cracking up. 'What an amusing target.'

"But, since I don't even recognize you, will you tell me who sent you to take my life?" In spite of being uncertain about the response he may receive in return, Virus threw this doubt of his into the conversation.

"Um, I wonder if I should be telling you that or not?" Touching the base of his neck, Elijah shortly deliberated.

After a few seconds of contemplation, showing a contorted grin, Elijah concluded. "Well, I guess he would be happier and appreciate it even if you were aware of the mastermind behind your death, so let me elaborate a bit."

"The culprit who sent me to take your life is no one but," pausing, he started making noise of suspense before revealing the truth, "Adept Falcon!"

The moment those two words left Elijah's mouth, he suddenly felt as if he was choking for some reason. It took him an entire second before realizing that the source of the suffocating killing intent was in fact Virus himself!

"I see, it's that fucktard, huh? So, he survived that night. What a cockroach. But it's better this way…" By the end of his sentence, Virus was grinning as if he had been just notified of some good news. Now, he was looking forward to the day he was strong enough to go looking for that bastard and disintegrate him into nothingness for possibly daring to go after his life and even harm the golden beauty.

'Impossible, did he just oppress me with his killing intent alone. No, more than that, what kind of murderous intent is that? It looks like it's not even intended for me but it's still so heavy!'

'Ridiculous, I, prince Elijah, was shaken by the murderous intent of a youngling at the Liberation Stage?' The further he pondered the question, the angrier it made Elijah. Therefore, grinding his teeth together, Elijah felt as if his pride as both a cultivator and a prince had been just trampled.

As a result, blood began to gather in his eyes as he charged in Virus' direction like a madman, wanting to end him for real this time.

In the meantime, seeing Elijah's frame vanish out of nowhere, without further ado, Virus' time-freeze and the two forms of his Peak-Human movement technique were called upon!

Crackle~

Simultaneously, a shriek of terror resounded some distance away from Virus and Elijah. "Priestess, please save him!" 

The anxious voice belonged to Hellarose who was apparently calling for someone's help.

Albeit, even after her scream, no one magically materialized to save Virus.

As Elijah was upon Virus once again, this time around, he reached out with his leg and unleashed a side kick toward his chest.

"Die!"

BOOM!

While raising his arms to block the strength behind the kick, Virus could only powerlessly endure and try his best in order to lower the damage by simultaneously jumping back just as the attack was about to make direct contact with his hands.

Crack~

Alas, the noise of his bone shattering reverberated in the surrounding area as Virus was sent flying away like a broken kite!

"Hot face!" Screaming in utter horror, Hellarose no longer cared about anything as she charged toward the place Virus had been sent flying to just now.

When she reached him at last, however, Hellarose could only cover her mouth while some traces of tears forced their way out of her eyes. That was because she saw that one arm of Virus was currently in an extremely sorry state.

A bone was sticking out of his flesh followed by the considerable flow of blood!

Meanwhile, determining Virus to be still breathing and alive, truthfully, Elijah was now feeling awestruck!

Virus' endurance had already gone way beyond anything he had expected. This opponent of his was oddly resilient.

"Well, guess I just need to hit you until you die." Muttering that, Elijah vanished again. Elijah's current philosophy was that if once wasn't enough, he would go at him twice, and if that wasn't enough as well, he would continue to do so until Virus draws his last breath.

Opposite to Elijah, perceiving his movement and upcoming attack that was guaranteed to deal a fatal blow to Virus, without even considering the possibility of her own death if she tried to interfere, Hellarose stood in front of Virus like an immovable mountain and spread both her arms. Next, closing her eyes shut, she screamed, "Stop!"

"Like hell, I will! You die as well!" Obviously annoyed very much by Hellarose's interruption, Elijah was just about to dash into her and end her swiftly before proceeding on his next target, when, without anyone's notice, an old woman materialized in the space between the two of them!

The old woman had been so fast that neither Elijah nor Hellarose were capable of discerning or reacting to it in the least!

"Hohoho! Young miss, is he really worth that much to you for you to risk your life so carelessly for his sake?" Laughing weirdly, the old woman ignored the petrified Elijah entirely as she simply gazed into Hellarose's pupils and questioned.