< The Manipulator aura began to change. Billy could guess what he was about to do… control his own anger to make him immensely physically stronger. Since he wasn't carrying any weapon or armor, it was clear that he was the type that used his body alone and fought like a beast.
"You can't use the nature of this continent to excuse your behavior and actions… from the very beginning. You have been the worst type of scumbag," Meryl said. "You brought people to this dungeon, and you abandoned them when they were no longer useful like the piece of trash that you are."
"You condemn my actions, but where are your true companions now?" The manipulator asked. "You discarded them to obtain the power of others like us. Better be a realistic person than a coward, one who relies on numbers since you are so pathetic."
"All right, enough," Icarus declared and then disappeared.
The aura of the manipulator changed again, and this time, he didn't have to react to blocking Icarus' attacks. Still, he didn't move a single inch from his spot, even after Icarus showed up, and he was clenching his teeth in anger. It seemed that the enemy could control the emotions of those that could attack him as well…
"I told you not to attack him carelessly…" Meryl said. "He is even worse against males… turning you guys into angry fools isn't the worst thing that he can do."
"Ah, come on… I wouldn't go that far and literally risk my ass here in doing something nasty," The manipulator said.
Billy frowned when he heard that. Could it be that he usually controls the lust of his opponents as well? That certainly was one way of making them become a lot weaker, but… that certainly was more than a little bit nasty in one power that Billy certainly didn't need.
In any case, Lucyna stepped backward and then used her powers to decrease the physical parameters of the Manipulator, and he clicked his tongue and then dashed at her. Even before he could reach her, Lucyna began to tremble slightly, and since she was getting red but not angry, it seemed that he was manipulating her lust. Now Billy could understand why Meryl called him a scumbag… Putting such things aside. Fighting that guy was going to be a pain in the ass since no one in the group had spells to nullify or even weaken negative effects like those. They could only fight them with their willpower.
"Still, to think that his powers would even affect Icarus when he attacked that guy while wearing the gauntlets…" Billy thought.
To stop the charge of the Manipulator, Meryl used a nearby corpse and fired numerous bone spears. Still, he blocked all of them with a single arm, and they didn't leave a single scratch, as expected of someone who hunted in that dungeon for years.
When the Manipulator was about to reach Lucyna, Icarus attacked. This time, his sequence of punches completely stopped the Manipulator and even pushed him backward for several meters. Some smoke began to leave the Manipulator body when the sequence of attacks ended, but again… No damage…
"Billy!" Icarus shouted and then began to breathe roughly. "Can you counter those effects? I can't hold back any longer…"
"Don't say that kind of thing while looking at me, and of course, I can stop it," Billy said and then fired an ice sphere toward Icarus balls. "I won't apologize for this."
Icarus' face turned blue after he got hit, but at least he didn't fall. Nevertheless, he recovered pretty soon, probably because he used Time Skip for that. Icarus almost thanked Billy for the help, but then he realized that it would be way too weird.
"It seems that your friends are quite the comedians…" The manipulator said.
Billy furrowed his eyebrows… that guy was supposed to be buffing his physical parameters with Rage, and yet, he still could talk calmly like that. His head was way too good, considering the situation. It seemed that he had other tricks up his sleeve that Meryl was unaware of, and Billy wasn't much surprised by it.
While ignoring the conversation, Meryl fired some earth arrows toward the manipulator. Her enhanced bows made the enemy be pushed back a few centimeters with each hit. Still, despite the speed of the arrows, he completely blocked them with the back of his hands."
"You have gotten a lot better… and even used the scales of the tyrants to enhance your bow," The manipulator said.
Billy sighed… he was the type that analyzed the skills of his enemies out loud. That was one of the worst types of enemies. Or perhaps he was just doing that to annoy everyone since he was so confident in his skills now. Lucyna wouldn't let someone like that get the better of her, and Meryl already knew how that guy was. So, the real issue was Icarus, who was clenching his teeth this entire time.
In any case, while he had some ideas on how to deal with that guy, Billy couldn't interfere. He was only watching while his magic spears behind him were slicing up the tyrants that were emerging now and then. Thanks to that, he eventually got the interest of the manipulator… he couldn't understand why Billy wasn't helping.
Billy wanted to spook that asshole by doing something since he had been staring at him for a while. Still, it would be risky for the others to disrupt the flow of the battle when they agreed that he wouldn't help.
"Billy, prepare my medicine," Icarus said.
"Screw you, don't give me orders after causing so many problems to me," Billy said. "Also, don't keep counting on me to do this all the time. Find a damn solution by yourselves."
Billy knew that Icarus was being reckless because Meryl and Lucyna were being affected by the Manipulator's power. It was annoying that he could use it against so many people all at once. Still, without touching them, he could only bother him a bit, not completely put them out of commission. Unfortunately, that was hard enough for them…
"I guess I should think of a solution for that just in case," Billy thought.>
