Fantasy Realm – Infinite Worlds Adventure

Chapter 536: Turnabout after Turnabout—Fateful Choice

As Alex’s dagger is about to land in Crocodile’s chest, piercing through his heart—shocking the Warlord to his core, his face showing a look of pure regret and horror—Alex’s movements suddenly stop.You have dealt 71 damage to Crocodile

Wha... whaaat?!

Slowly but surely, his motion continues… but instead of pushing the dagger forward, it travels backward. Alex takes step after step in reverse, as if time itself is being rewound around him. He even puts his [Seastone Dagger] back into his inventory, unable to do anything about it except watch in horror.

What the fuck?! NO!

Step by step, Alex’s body keeps moving in reverse until he stands exactly where he began his charge at Crocodile.

However, everything else remains the same. Luffy sprints out of the window holding Cobra, disappearing from his view, while Crocodile is still frozen and has a deep, piercing wound in his body, his face twisted in pain, as the poison attacks him.

You have dealt 1 damage to Crocodile.

I… my movements?! I walked back in time… but I still feel the same, and everyone else is unaffected. This seems to only affect me… and my movements. This?! What is going on?!

Finally, Alex can move again—and just in time, as a vicious-looking Crocodile glares at him with intense hatred.

“Desert… Spada!” he yells, shooting a deadly sand wave towards Alex, ripping the building apart as it tears through the floor of the building.

Fuck me!

Alex barely twists his body to the side, making the attack miss him by a hair's breadth.

As he does, he finally sees two men behind him.

One is the leader of the Seeker Group he saw at Water 7. The other is a Japanese-looking man.

This guy… I haven’t seen him yet… so that means… he’s that Shinji? The guy they teleported to with the Accompany card?!

However, to Alex’s delight, Crocodile’s attack has also just barely missed them, forcing them to stagger and throw themselves aside, crashing onto the floor to avoid getting shredded to pieces.

“Crocodile!” the leader of the Seekers yells, panting heavily. “We had a deal! Look, the target and the King have already escaped! Let us deal with this scum! I just saved your life with my Reverse Step Hatsu.”

“If you don’t hand me his corpse…” Crocodile says in an eerily silent voice, “I’ll not only collect it myself, but your corpses as well, should you survive. Mr. 6… I’ll enjoy burying you deep beneath the desert sand… why don’t you struggle for a while longer while I finish the King, obtain Pluto, and then seize the entire country for myself?”

…Better not antagonize him. I need to shut up for once.

Suddenly, Crocodile jumps out of the window, desperately chasing after Luffy.

Really?! Hahahahaha! He left! He really left. I am so fucking lucky.

“Heh,” Alex says, snickering, almost unable to believe his luck. “Heheheheh. You think you can take me on without fucking Crocodile? I think you are indeed Seekers… death seekers, hahaha! With Crocodile here, I would be 100% dead! You arrogant fucks will pay for that!”

Immediately, Alex activates Sealion’s Icewing Embrace, creating the familiar massive frozen armor around his body, covering both his [Draining Meteor Sword] and Mustrano, who is still conjured with an icy wind, capable of inflicting heavy frost damage.

Once again, he charges forward, still performing Ren, his Aura spiking to his limit.

“Die, fucking goblin slave!” the leader of the Seekers yells, shocking Alex as he performs Ren of his own and suddenly draws a large combat knife from his inventory.

They plan something… this fucker can reverse my movements… so it’s best if I act before he can do so! I need to surprise him.I can’t use my [Uzin’s Rage]—the cost and risk are too high… I still need to take care of Crocodile as well…! So the answer is...

Flying Blizzara Sword!

Out of nowhere, Alex performs a ranged slash, imbued with not only the powers of Blizzara, but also Sealion’s Icewing Embrace, which synergizes with his magical sword slash and adds even more frost damage to his attack.

Shocked, the leader raises his knife, desperately blocking—only for the blade to shatter and the slash to pierce into him.

You have dealt 97 damage to Player Jason

You have dealt 21 damage to Player Jason

You have slowed Player Jason

“Now die!” Alex roars, his eyes filled with murderous intent.

However, his partner suddenly summons an armoured war-horse out of nowhere, immediately appears on it, magically mounting it with some kind of ability, and points his spear straight at Alex.

The horse—unbothered by the chaotic, half-destroyed building—perfectly obeys and charges forward, allowing its rider to thrust the spear straight at Alex.

Alex dodges, but the attack magically changes its angle mid-thrust, still clipping him. His icy thorns deal some damage back to the attacker in return.

You have received 21 damage

Icewing Durability -2

You have dealt 20 damage to Player Shinji

The fuck is this? I don’t understand their abilities… shit! This makes no sense!? How can he just hit?! It’s like his spear is somehow drawn to my sword, how?!

Gritting his teeth, Shinji, riding on his warhorse, presses his attack, stabbing at Alex again and again.

Alex dodges left, then right, and counters with his sword—getting pierced in the process—yet his sword’s momentum still carries through, forcing Shinji to keep moving.

You have received 28 damage

Icewing Durability -3

You have dealt 21 damage to Player Shinji

Gritting his teeth, his icy armor protecting him from the worst, Alex forces his strike through.

Die!

However, before his attack lands, he faintly hears a voice from behind him.

“Reverse Step!”

To his absolute shock, once again, his movements are reversed.

His blade travels back, and Alex dodges twice in reverse, despite no attacks even coming for him, like he’s being manipulated by puppet strings.

With horror, he sees Shinji spin his spear on his left side, then his ride, before his warhorse charges forward with terrifying speed and control, causing the building to shake.

Desperate, Alex tries to defend—only for the attack to land the instant he regains control.

With a fraction of a second to react, Alex desperately erects a biotic Barrier, shielding himself right before he feels a colossal impact slam into him, at least three times stronger than before. His icy armor, even with the barrier’s help, crackles and fractures under the force, a few tiny fragments left on his body.

You have received 61 damage (partially blocked by Barrier)

Icewing Durability -10

You have dealt 22 damage to Player Shinji

What the?! That was… a crit?! His fucking movements remind me of… along with his hyper effective spear... Weapon Triangle! A damn Fire Emblem Cavalier?!

Despite his defensive techniques, Alex gets thrown back with such force that he flies towards the broken window—right where Robin crashed down earlier—following the same path out.

However, his panicked face turns into one of joy as he flies through the air.

Heh… that was a mistake.

As Alex crashes down, he takes more damage, and his Icewing Embrace finally shatters completely.

You have received 11 damage

Icewing Embrace broken

Feeling his body ache with pain, Alex realizes with a relieved grin that he is still fully in control of his movements again.

Immediately, he uses Zetsu and crosses the street to the other side before rushing into a nearby alley, smiling wickedly as he disappears from sight.

I’ll be the one laughing at the end… idiots!

He slowly ascends a nearby building and climbs into an empty apartment with a good view over the large, now partially destroyed building, where he just fought the two players.

Instantly, he smiles as he greedily devours his vast assortment of food: a [Superior Dish (Fried Squid Balls)] to restore his stamina, along with his very last [Superior Dish: (Energizing Shake)], and an [Infused Exceptional Dish (Dragon Skewer)], restoring his HP, MP, and stamina. He even gulps it down with another [Wiggenweld Potion V2].

With glee he hears screams from inside the building, making his meal even tastier, forcing himself to suppress his laughter.

You have recovered Stamina

You have recovered 15 MP

Recovering 25 MP over 10 minutes

You have recovered 50 HP

Recovering 50 HP over 10 minutes

You have recovered 50 HP

Hahahahahahaha, I’ve won! I’ve outsmarted them.

They’ve ambushed me, but next time I’ll ambush them…

Suddenly, he sees both of the players descend, both sitting on the warhorse, which somehow manages to jump out of the window and land on the street without any apparent injuries.

“You idiot! I wasted my second and last use…” Jason screams, punching his comrade Shinji in the back. “How can you not kill him?! I thought your critical attack was unstoppable! You had the weapon advantage, and he couldn’t even dodge! You incompetent fuck.”

“Shut up!” Shinji rages back. “Or I’ll throw you off and quit your fucking team. I should have joined the alpha team—clearly Nikki is the superior leader!” Spit flies out of his mouth as he completely gives in to his frustration. “Look at what happened. A total disaster. Our team is decimated, split up, who knows if anyone is still alive! We used a fortune, the Accompany card, the Frenzon, and now we can’t even approach Crocodile without risking getting killed by him! You fucked up! It’s all your fault! When Samir hears about your failure, you’re finished! You’ll be in debt for your entire life, you’ll live as a slave! You signed the contract, you are liable, not me!”

“Fuck!” Jason yells, clenching his fists. “…I need… some way to… turn this around. There must be a way. HELP ME YOU USELESS FUCK!”

Are they acting… pretending to fight with each other to lure me in? Clowns… should I escape… or risk it? I could use my [Magoroth’s Legacy R2] to snipe them. No… I’ll rejoin with Luffy—the mission takes precedence. Fuck these clowns. Crocodile is the real threat.

I’ll leave… Alex finally decides.

He’s about to turn around and crawl back into the building, trying to escape either through a window or the back entrance leading into the alleys, when he hears a laugh.

“I see it!” Jason yells, laughing. “I got it, I’m a fucking genius!”

Alex looks at the player and sees him jump down from the horse. He then walks toward a crashed market stall, digging into the rubble, and finally pulling out a bleeding woman.

Robin!

“Butcher!” he yells with all of his might. “Fight me like a man, or she dies!”

Huh? Why should I care… fuck you, I’ll never fall for this.

However, as Alex sees the bleeding Robin—fighting to stay awake—being grabbed by her hair, he can’t help but hesitate.

Motherfucker… this is so pathetically cheap. Forget just saving her… I want to kill this bastard so fucking much. I also owe Robin… we made a deal. I’m a liar, but I’ll only betray scumbags and real trash, not someone who has kept her word. I’m not like fucking Roja.

Motivated by rage, along with a desire to protect Robin, Alex immediately draws [Magoroth’s Legacy R2] and conjures a Magorian’s Rage Arrow.

“This is your last chance…” Jason screams, his face a mix of desperation and madness, as he draws his broken combat Knife, holding it close to Robin’s throat.

Alex readies his strongest attack, no doubt left in his eyes as the desire to kill his enemy overwhelms him.

Thundara Arrow, Ko, Spiritual Arrow!

Die!