Chapter 667: Kido's Struggle

Kido desperately lunged at Kuzon, with his body shrouded in dense energy—almost the same kind as that latter.

>WHOOOOOSSSSHHHH<

His trail left distortions in its wake as he swiftly made to end the single anomaly in his world.

The younger Midas, in contrast to his speeding opponent, was stationary.

In a flash, Kido had closed their distance, determined to kill him in one hit. However—

"I don't think so."

Kuzon easily evaded his sharp attempt to cut off his head. Then—

>FWUUUSHHH<

The several shards around Kuzon instantly flew in his direction, sending destructive blasts radiating around.

However, judging from the golden sparks and the blur that signalled the disappearance of Kido from the area, it was safe to surmise that he had escaped.

Kuzon grinned.

"Using Mage Mode and your other tools already? Haha... why don't you resort to your trump card in this situation? Use your Familiar!"

The young boy's taunt echoed throughout the world, but there was no response.

'Well, if you won't come to me...'

Kuzon's eyes glowed as he searched the entire world for his prey's signature. He didn't need to search very long.

'Found you!'

As quickly as teleporting, the golden boy immediately manifested in his determined location, stretching his hand to grab an incorporeal existence—Kido.

"Gurgh!" The choking Kido manifested, obviously struggling against Kuzon's superior strength.

"Why does this avatar feel so—?"

"You fell for it!"

As soon as he made this statement, the avatar's body glowed brightly, and just like a brilliant detonation, it blew up the area.

However—

"You must be grasping at straws here... I'm not going to take any damage." Kuzon sighed, appearing out of the huge explosion like it was nothing.

At this point, he was practically untouchable.

"Yeah? Well, the more you use that power of yours, the faster the side effect will happen!"

Several more Kido avatars lunged at Kuzon, all glowing like they were about to explode.

In a battle of attrition, it was clear who would win. In order to gain the upper hand, Kido simply had to shorten the span of his annoying nephew's life.

That was the surest way to ensure victory!

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'Why won't you help me now? Of all times, did it have to be now?!'

Kuzon was currently occupied with several of Kido's duplicates, but there was someone talking to his familiar in a harsh, nearly desperate tone.

It was Kido.

~You know our agreement, Kido. I won't attack another of my kind.~

'They're attacking us! They're attacking your home!'

Familiars lived in Mana Cores. That meant whatever Kido's familiar was, it was currently in this space. Yet... it was doing nothing!

It wasn't attacking Kuzon, even though the likelihood of stopping the young Midas with its power was high.

'Listen to me. You're my Bond Soul. Mine! We had an agreement, but if I suffer any more damage, it'll affect you too!' He gritted his teeth, impatient and flustered

The confident and prideful Kido had long vanished. He hadn't broken character in years, but this time the situation made him a little anxious.

Anxious enough to resort to pleading with his Familiar.

~Then so be it. However, at this current pace, it's more probable to say that you'll lose to—~

'I never lose! I always get what I want!' Kido sharply cut his Familiar off, his glare showing deep animosity.

~Really? Then you don't need my help... not that I was going to give it to you anyway.~

If a Host died, their Bond Soul would also die if they chose to remain inside. Most times, Bond Souls ditched their hosts right before death, trying their hardest to find another home.

In certain cases, Familiars chose to die with their Hosts in situations whereby their bond was strong.

"If I die, you die. You know that, right?" Kido growled, now getting more aggressive in his approach.

Bond Souls always had the choice to leave whenever they wanted... unless they were bound to a Midas using the 'Golden Rule' method.

Just like Kuzon's Familiar, Xenia, Kido's couldn't leave even if it wanted to. The Host had to release them.

Thus... the older Midas was practically holding the life of his Bond Soul ransom.

~What happened to not being able to lose? Just how much has been corroded? From my estimate, I'd say over seventy percent, right? That's fast. If you don't do something fast... he'll win. That would be such a shame...~

Kido could sense the sarcasm dripping from the tone of his Familiar, and it infuriated him.

'I've come too far to lose now. I waited till he was ripe enough to harvest. We're so close to the recovery of every Arcana. Everything is perfect right now. I just have to deal with this pest.'

He hadn't counted on his Familiar being uncooperative, or Kuzon possessing this much power.

If he could, Kido would throw the golden boy out of his realm, but even that was impossible.

The only thing he could do... was to quicken his petrification.

'Just how long does he have left?'

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"Guark!" Kuzon coughed violently, spitting out golden blood.

His whole body was stiff, and he knew he had reached the limit of his life.

Still, he had many avatars of Kido to deal with, as well as almost twenty percent of the territory to cover.

~The damage is irreparable. Even if you stop now, almost ninety percent of your body has been petrified. You'll die anyway...~

Perhaps it would have been better if Ana was here to transfer his Soul somewhere else, but it was just him and Kido.

After petrification, he would die—his soul would also probably leave his body long before help arrived.

'Do you think we can make it? Can we reach everything?'

~Not at this rate. You'll have to use everything at once. No more morsels or leakages.~

Kuzon understood things perfectly. He nodded in response to Xenia's statement and closed his eyes.

He wasn't looking for a trickle, but a single masterful stroke that would end everything. What he sought was...

"... Full Burst."