Chapter 266 Mercy of a Madman  

Rio's steps moved faster and faster the closer he got to Saisha. Who just stood there staring at him while constantly shooting wooden sticks which turned into arrows and floated behind her.

Besides Saisha, Jaesin also appeared and with a bow artifact in his hands he constantly rained arrows on Rio's figure. His eyes were bloodshot and his hands were shaking in anger and fear.

Fear, which had been haunting him at nights till date whenever he remembered the scene from the library.

According to the healers at the academy he was perfectly fine and the effects of that blessing were already removed.

But reality is often a different case of disappointment.

His mental state had been shaken since then, and it's not wrong to say that he had built a sort of psychological shadow for Rio. Not to mention the amplified hatred he felt while he was in pain at that time which brought back and amplified all the things he forgot or buried in his mind.

And now that there was a chance where he could kill Rio and have his revenge, he wasn't going to let go of such a golden chance.

Wooden spikes shot from the ground stabbing Rio's legs when his feet landed on the ground, as he created bindings which held him in place, while constantly shooting a barrage of arrows at him every second.

'Die, die, die' He yelled in his heart as the scene where Rio's body was riddled with arrows with him screaming and wriggling in pain appeared in his mind and a twisted smile formed on his face.

"This is what you get for messing with me, human. I'll make you regret ever crossing paths with me." Jaesin cursed and ran towards Rio who was trying his best to dodge or avoid the attacks from Saisha. "Stupid worm." Rio said as he channeled his fighting technique called 'Mercy of a Madman'.

It was a battle technique he found in Zenith's library and decided to learn it when he first joined the academy.

This method was honed by a demonic sect within a controlled open dungeon managed by the World Association.

A fighting style best suited for criminals, berserkers or pure aura users. It enhanced the physical abilities of the user and transformed his rage into power. Something like burning blood essence and sense of sanity to gain more power and stamina. magic

This technique is deeply rooted in unpredictability, revolving around inflicting harm on adversaries through relentless and erratic attacks, emphasizing torment and cruelty. Each move, designed to torment or toy with one's adversaries.

Originally this technique was called 'Demonic Rage' but due to the ruthless way those demonic practitioners used it, over time anyone else who saw it called it as 'Mercy of a Madman' - simply meaning, that those utilizing this technique are considered madmen, making death a more merciful fate for their opponents.

Why did Rio learn a technique that can affect one's brain or turn him into a madman, well because when the choice was between remaining sane and remaining alive, he chose the later.

In his time at the dungeon when his body was low on mana and aura to fight those creatures, sacrificing a little bit of sanity to slay those zombies is a cheaper price to pay.

Plus turns out this technique is much nicer when one learns to control it properly.

As for its side effects, well they were removed once he got the system back and modified it a little.

"You're still spouting nonsense, even when you're like this huh." Jaesin smirked and shot another arrow which pierced Rio's shoulder and went straight inside. "Let's see how long you can keep up your arrogant act."

Rio slashed his sword in a circular motion, chopping the 'sticks' shot by Saisha in half as he ran towards her, totally ignoring Jaesin's existence.

"I don't like wasting time with woodworms." Rio said as he asked the system to throw this idiot away from him, so as to not dirty his eyes. [Deducted 200 points.]

System said and next second Jaesin who was still cursing and shouting disappeared from his place and appeared inside the circle of token bearer. Not to mention, the arrows he shot went straight for Leon, hitting him on the shoulder.

???

Question marks appeared on Jaesin and Leon's face as they both stared at each other, wondering where this idiot popped out from.

"Good that you're here too. Let's kill him together." Hermann, who was losing against Leon, saw that there was someone else near him, and directly pulled him into attacking Leon, calling him a partner.

And as expected, Leon who heard the words of Hermann looked at Jaesin with some anger in his eyes and directly shot an arc of flames at him. (Not a magic spell, but a sword technique which can create fire effects.)

Since it's one of Hermann's friends, who's always been creating problems for him , he didn't have to show mercy.

Hermann smiled in his heart seeing Leon's reaction and directly charged forward, trying to use Jaesin as a distraction and kill Leon.

"What are you standing there for, shoot some more arrows." Hermann was afraid that this elf might turn back and run away, so he didn't forget to call for Jaesin again, who was still wondering how he appeared there or where Rio was?

"Let's kill him first."

Jaesin too came out of his thoughts hearing Hermann and dodged the 'fireball' which was about to hit him.

'Doesn't matter how? This guy is also his teammate, so I'll kill you first and then find that bastard.' Jaesin said and prepared his bow and shot two arrows at Leon.

Rio didn't see this situation happening with Leon or he'd be sure to give system and Hermann a compliment for being good villains.

But currently he was busy fighting with Saisha, who seemed surprisingly calm about everything.

Mana was a no go due to the penalty of losing the token and his aura was already getting used up pretty fast for maintaining his avatar.

"How did you do that? You can't use mana or blessings?" Saisha asked as she waved her hands and created a few traps and arrows to maintain her distance. Which was getting harder and harder the closer he came.

Hearing her question Rio ignored it as he ignored the memories playing around in his head, and directly slashed his sword, bouncing an arrow that was about to hit him back at her.