Chapter 157: RAG vs Bethro

Chapter 157: RAG vs Bethro

Back to right after Keith and Subject 7 teleported from the shaking room.

“Keith! He’s gone!” Sasha shouts.

“You won’t need to worry about him,” an unfamiliar voice says.

Sasha freezes. “Huh?”

The silhouette of a large man enters the room.

“Who are you?” RAG asks.

The man steps fully into view. He stands about seven feet tall with a massive build. He has short brown hair, and tattoos of purple stars cover his face. He wears silver armor adorned with stained-glass window art depicting the Light Goddess.

Kogen’s Underling — Bethro.

“I am Bethro, and I serve Master Kogen,” Bethro says.

Sasha immediately recognizes the Light Goddess on Bethro’s armor.

“So you’re not a worshiper of the Light Goddess?” Sasha asks. “Then why are you wearing that armor?”

“I do worship her,” Bethro replies. “Serving Master Kogen will give me the best way to serve her.”

“That’s the stupidest logic I have ever heard,” Sasha retorts.

“You wouldn’t understand,” Bethro says dismissively.

Suddenly, a cluster of stars appears around Sasha and launches toward her. She dodges by jumping away.

“Sasha, you go on ahead,” RAG says. “I will take care of this guy.”

“Okay!” Sasha replies, already moving.

Sasha starts running toward the opening Bethro came from.

“You’re not going anywhere!” Bethro shouts.

Before Bethro can act, RAG punches him hard in the face, knocking him to the ground.

RAG smiles confidently. “I’m your opponent. You can just forget about her. Come on. It’s big man versus big man.”

Bethro rises and wipes the blood from his face.

“Very well,” he says. “You will see the power of my Star Formation magic.”

Bethro spreads his arms wide and lets out a low moan. Large purple stars begin emerging from the floor around him.

RAG forms magic energy orbs that flow around his arms, then charges forward. He thrusts his right arm ahead, and the energy orbs fire one by one like cannonballs. Bethro counters by launching multiple purple star energy beams at the incoming orbs.

Bethro fails to intercept all of them and is forced to brace himself. The remaining orbs slam into him, followed immediately by a powerful punch from RAG. Bethro is knocked backward as RAG continues his assault.

“I use Run And Gun magic!” RAG shouts. “Continuously moving is part of my fighting style!”

RAG closes the distance and unleashes a flurry of punches, which Bethro blocks with his arms.

Bethro is driven back against one of the large purple stars shooting out from the floor. The star fuels him with power as a purple aura surrounds his body.

Bethro overpowers RAG and lands a heavy punch, sending him flying into a wall.

RAG screams as he powers up, increasing his magic output. He pushes himself off the wall and then charges forward again. He thrusts his arm out, firing a barrage of smaller energy orbs like a machine gun. Bethro blocks and dodges in rapid succession.

RAG suddenly leaps forward. Bethro isn’t ready to defend himself, allowing RAG to smash his knee into Bethro’s face. RAG lands behind Bethro, and follows up with a kick to Bethro’s back, knocking him forward.

RAG keeps charging, not wanting to let up his onslaught of attacks.

Bethro lies face down on the ground, then rolls over and fires a barrage of purple star energy beams. The beams strike RAG hard, stunning him. Bethro rises and begins punching him repeatedly.

A star energy beam erupts from the ground beneath RAG, launching him into the air. Bethro jumps up and delivers a sweeping kick that sends RAG flying back.

“I’m just getting started,” Bethro declares. “I will vanquish those that stand against the Light Goddess.”

RAG starts laughing, even as he lies on the floor.

“Maybe you didn’t notice, but my energy barrage destroyed a lot of those purple stars you had coming out of the ground. My Run And Gun will be more effective now. Also, saying you will vanquish those who stand against the Light Goddess while you fight on Kogen’s side is pretty damn funny.”

He pushes himself up to his feet.

“Let’s go!” he shouts.

A cluster of purple stars suddenly forms around him and launches inward. The stars collide with RAG and erupt into explosions.

“No, maybe you should take a rest,” Bethro says.

Smoke flows outward from the blasts. RAG bursts out of the smoke, leaping straight toward Bethro.

“Huh?” Bethro reacts with widening eyes.

RAG throws a powerful punch and continues striking Bethro repeatedly, driving him backward with each hit. He finishes the barrage with a fully charged magic punch. The impact sends Bethro crashing into a wall and destroys most of his armor.

“My armor!” Bethro shouts in growing frustration.

RAG keeps charging forward.

“Don’t worry about it…!” RAG yells.

He slams his fist into Bethro’s face, shattering part of the wall behind him.

“…because you’re a fake worshiper anyway!” RAG finishes.

Bethro releases a furious wave of energy from his entire body, blasting RAG backward.

“How dare you!!” Bethro roars.

Bethro forms two large purple stars. They float in the air, their movement mirroring the motion of his hands.

“What could this be?” RAG wonders.

Bethro claps his hands, and the two stars slam into RAG.

“Ahhh!” RAG shouts, groaning in pain.

“Hmhmhm!” Bethro chuckles. “That is what they do.”

RAG forces the stars away by pushing with his hands, and immediately charges forward again. Bethro slaps his own forehead and jumps aside.

The stars crash into RAG’s back, launching him far past Bethro.

Bethro turns to face him.

“With this ability, you won’t win,” Bethro declares.

RAG lets out a short laugh.

“If I can’t get past them, then I will just have to go right through them!” RAG declares.

He charges straight at Bethro.

Gritting his teeth, Bethro thrusts his hand forward, sending one of the massive purple stars directly at RAG. RAG collides with it and grabs onto its surface.

The star begins pushing him backward.

“No! I will overpower this!!” RAG shouts.

RAG charges his magic energy. Large energy orbs swirl around his arms, then fire into the star he’s holding onto. The force slowly pushes the star forward instead.

“What!?” Bethro exclaims.

The energy orbs punch holes through the star and then tear into the second one, destroying it completely. RAG crushes the remaining star in his grasp.

With both stars gone, the energy orbs slam into Bethro, knocking him down and inflicting heavy damage.

RAG rushes forward. He reaches Bethro while he’s still down and unleashes another barrage of punches, each hit delivering skin crushing pain.

Bethro’s rage boils over. He releases a massive wave of magic from his body, blasting RAG away.

Bethro’s magic aura swells to an enormous size.

“Now you have done it!” Bethro growls. “Now I will release all of my power!”

With momentum slipping away, Bethro intends to unleash all of his power, sending the battle into its final phase.

Chapter 157 END
To be Continued in Chapter 158: Bethro’s Ultimate Attack