Death was knocking.
CRACK!
Cracks spread across the study door as the entire alloy frame groaned under the strain.
In that instant, the muscles in Su Chen’s arms tensed. His Steel Bones and Iron Flesh ability activated, his muscle fibers overclocking to unleash several times his normal brute strength.
The tip of his sword finally punched all the way through the door. Without pausing, he dropped his wrist and ripped it sideways with a vicious tug.
BOOM!
A quadruple shockwave erupted from the blade, tearing a massive gash in the door as if it were made of paper.
A glow of Spiritual Energy instinctively rushed to mend the barrier, but Su Chen had already stepped through, entering the study with ease.
But what lay before him was no ordinary library.
It was more like a living demon’s lair.
A dozen eerie, blue Soul Lamps hung from the dome. The bookshelves lining the walls were pieced together from ghastly white bone, and the Obsidian Plate floor slowly seeped a dark red, bloody mist.
Deep in the shadows, a crystal skull floated slowly. A murky light swirled within it, sealing away thousands of struggling souls.
In less than a second, a demonic right hand shot out from behind a curtain, lifting the crystal skull. The skull trembled and unleashed a torrent of deathly shrieks.
Wails, curses, and whispers instantly merged into a tangible psychic storm.
The corrupting wails of a thousand souls were potent enough to strike one’s very Soul Origin. Surging sonic booms mixed within the assault, creating the illusion that the very air and light were being torn apart.
However, clad in his silver-white Mechanical Armor, Su Chen advanced, completely unaffected. The highly penetrating psychic corruption washed over the barrier of his Sea of Consciousness like a tide against a cliff, failing to stir even the slightest ripple.
His Immortal Heart Core trait rendered him immune to all psychic intrusions.
As for the reality-tearing sonic booms, they dissipated abruptly upon coming within three inches of his body.
Water Mirror Screen, Lv. 10!
A nearly transparent, liquid-like membrane of light flowed across his body. Beneath it, a composite Telekinesis Barrier resonated in harmony, the two layers nested and reinforcing one another.
‘I have to admit, this Soul Artifact, fueled by the blood sacrifice of living beings, is quite formidable.’
Even with two Lv. 10 Runes working in tandem, the defense wavered and flickered, but it ultimately held. After absorbing the final shriek, it successfully focused the sound into a beam, infused it with a wisp of Flame Burst’s power, and fired it back as a Directional Sonic Cannon toward the enemy.
An embarrassed, angry curse echoed from the gloom. The figure in the fine, dark gray suit hastily rolled backward and to the side, but was still clipped by the edge of the blast.
BOOM!
Nearly half the study collapsed. Bookshelves shattered, and a scorched black trench was carved into the floor.
Amidst the dust, a man with the face of a youth but eyes as ancient as a dried-up well staggered to his feet.
“You damned youngster...”
A vicious light flared in his eyes as the crystal skull completely merged into his body.
As his Demon Transformation began, bones cracked and muscles bulged. His fine suit burst at the seams, revealing pitch-black Scale Armor covering his body.
But before he could even finish materializing a Blade of Judgment, space itself froze. A gravity anchor had locked onto him.
「At the same time.」
The tall, imposing figure was already upon him. The Holy Sword he wielded flared with Plasma Holy Flame as it slashed down at his foe.
“You...”
Matel Lorenz never expected his enemy’s assault to be so swift. He hastily raised an arm to block, his forearm wreathed in a hundred Ghostly Illusions and purplish-black Hellfire.
CLANG!!
The clash of metal on flesh resounded throughout the study.
The arm of mere flesh and blood had actually withstood the blow. The Dark Scale covering it seemed indestructible, showing not even a hint of a crack.
The only reason he could still move was due to his class-specific trait, ‘Arbitrator’s Resolution.’ Matel had preemptively established a pact favorable to himself, granting immunity to all immobilizing, binding, and slowing effects.
But Su Chen’s eyes remained cold, his emotions unswayed. His Perception was sharp enough to see that the Ghostly Illusions coiling around his opponent’s arm had dimmed considerably.
Although his last strike hadn’t broken through the defense, it had dispersed some of the Soul Energy his opponent had absorbed.
More importantly, in a pure contest of strength, his self-forged Rune Demon Body still held the upper hand against the enemy’s demonic form.
Without hesitation, Su Chen flicked his wrist.
A second slash!
A third!
The flurry of sword strikes became a silver waterfall, so fast it tore through the air. Each blow landed precisely on the weakest point of his opponent’s defensive arc.
Matel was forced back again and again, crossing his arms to block the onslaught. Sparks flew from his Scale Armor.
He tried to form another Blade of Judgment, but the instant it materialized, before he could apply an Enchantment, the Holy Sword cleaved it in two.
Matel had lost all of his previous composure. He was now a cornered, desperate animal.
His eyes turned blood-red. With his Frenzy Skill and a ‘Demon’s Rage’ ability activated in tandem, the blood in his veins boiled like lava, and purplish-black steam erupted from his pores.
As his aura surged and a majestic Spiritual Pressure poured out of him, Su Chen’s gaze sharpened. Instead of retreating, he advanced.
Activating ‘Awakening,’ a powerful bio-electric current surged through his limbs, instantly unleashing his latent potential.
Not only that, but under this new power, mysterious and complex Demon Patterns began to glow beneath the skin of Su Chen’s Rune Demon Body. A brilliant radiance emanated from him, so bright that even his pupils shone with light.
The arrogant momentum his opponent was so proud of was instantly crushed and diminished by Su Chen’s terrifying, transcendent aura.

Comments

Loading...