Chapter 43 - Too Strong!
Kai watched as the two attacks struck Ray.
A second passed.
Nothing happened.
Then Ray suddenly spat out a mouthful of blood and dropped to one knee before slowly standing back up. Space rippled around him with terrifying might.
Kai suddenly felt as if a mountain had been placed on his shoulders.
His body refused to move. He crashed to the ground. Even breathing became difficult.
Through his blurred vision, Kai watched Ray slowly walk toward him.
"How..." Ray began.
His voice was cold.
"How did you gain a Soul-Attacking bloodline? A worthless person like you obtaining something so great..."
The condescending tone instantly filled Kai with rage.
Kai couldn't move.
Couldn't fight back.
But mentally, he screamed.
"Absorb!"
Kai released a guttural roar as he poured half his remaining mana into his blades.
The Devouring Shortsword became the eye of a storm.
Mana rushed toward it at an insane speed, dragging in the energy of nearby skills as well.
The pressure weighing down on Kai weakened.
Kai immediately jumped to his feet and slashed forward.
A crimson blade edge tore through the air.
Ray barely dodged.
Then, to his surprise, he suddenly fell to the ground.
His own skill.
[Gravity Fold.]
Somehow, it had been turned against him.
For the first time, Ray was forced to experience the weight he inflicted on others.
But both Kai and Ray knew it would only last a few seconds.
Kai hesitated.
For just a moment, memories surfaced.
The few good memories he still had of his brother.
Then they shattered beneath Ray's cold, mocking gaze.
The hesitation in Kai's mind and hands dissapred under the mocking.
Ten glowing slashes shot through the air with frightening speed.
Ray's expression finally changed.
For the first time, he looked genuinely alarmed.
His bloodline activated with might, its aura rippling even through the veil.
The space between Kai's attacks and Ray suddenly expanded.
The slashes slowed as if they were forced to travel a far greater distance.
Ray used the opportunity to rise to his feet.
Kai raised the Devouring Shortsword.
"Mana Beam."
The five thousand mana points stored inside the blade erupted outward.
Runes lit up along the sword as a massive beam of energy exploded from its tip.
Ray dodged at the last possible moment.
Even so, the attack tore through his shoulder.
His arm vanished.
Ray winced and collapsed to one knee.
Space twisted around the wound, stopping the bleeding almost instantly.
Yet before he could recover, another attack struck.
Something invisible passed through his body.
Straight into his soul Ray coughed up blood.
The first attack had already damaged his soul.
This second strike only made it worse.
A faint crack spread across it.
Kai raised both weapons.
Using [Bladed Mana], he unleashed a relentless storm of invisible attacks.
At the same time, he shaped mana into thin ropes.
They wrapped around Ray's legs and pinned him to the ground.
For a brief moment.
Then Ray chuckled.
A red pill appeared in his hand.
He swallowed it.
A second later, his missing arm regenerated completely.
Not even a scar remained.
Kai stared in disbelief. He was already running low on mana.
Most of his strongest attacks relied on his weapons.
And now Ray looked completely healed.
For the first time during the fight, Kai truly didn't know what to do.
Then he noticed something.
It was still night.
Kai dismissed both weapons back into his Item Box.
Without hesitation, he lunged at Ray.
His fist landed on Ray's face.
Ray was sent crashing into the ground, a small crater forming from the force behind the impact. After all, Kai was empowered at night.
[Strength: 25 x 6]
[Intelligence: 25 x 6]
[Speed: 25 x 6]
[Charm: Locked]
[Soul Strength: 596 x 6]
[Perception: 20 x 6]
[Agility: 20 x 6]
[Defense: 20 x 6]
[Mental Fortitude: 20 x 6]
[Endurance: 30 x 6]
This much power flowing through Kai was insane. After all, his Strength was now a whopping [150].
And his Soul Strength...
[3,576]
Kai felt the overwhelming power coursing through his body.
Though he also felt it rapidly weakening as the sun began to rise.
Kai instinctively felt the six times multiplier drop to five.
Then four.
Then three.
Rapidly, he was losing his power as the sun rose.
Kai jumped, trying to throw an axe kick at Ray.
Before he could land it, his body was suddenly flung like a ragdoll by space itself.
Kai spat out blood as the space around him suddenly contracted before launching him into the ground.
An even larger crater formed this time.
The pressure was deadly.
Kai could barely breathe.
He could barely see.
Everything was blurry.
Ray slowly stood back up.
Ray said, "Little Kai, you're a fool, you know? Lucky this is only a fight and not a deathmatch. Because you truly have wasted your bloodline and powers. You use them like a fool. Your skills are pathetic. Only your instinctive bloodline essence control is truly high, higher than mine even. And your mana skills are superb. But everything else?"
Ray took a few more steps, towering over Kai's body.
Both literally and metaphorically, Ray looked down on him.
Ray said,
"You're pathetic at it."
"Truly a waste."
Ray raised his hand as he created a pure ball of rippling space and purposefully began pushing it slowly toward Kai.
Kai knew that if he didn't dodge, that attack would rip him in half.
He had to dodge.
But what could he even do?
Just the sheer amount of mana within that sphere was enough to overcharge Kai a hundred times.
Kai's mind suddenly went blank.
A stupid idea formed as mentally, he said, "Overcharge."
Mana in the air spun itself into countless threads, shooting toward Kai's body.
Kai focused inward.
As he struggled to control the mana, he felt another energy for only a split second while overcharging.
[10 Year Quest]
[Find the two energies within your body.]
[1/2 (Mana has already been found.)]
Kai couldn't care less about that right now.
He barely managed to push himself to his feet in time as he felt his clothes ripping and pulling apart.
Mentally, Kai spoke, his voice cold.
"Mana?"
[25,000/15,000]
Kai grinned madly.
Ray instinctively took a step back, suddenly worried about what Kai had in mind.
Kai felt his mind go completely blank.
He didn't know what was happening.
He simply allowed his instincts to take over, letting his body move however it wished.
A commanding Devouring Aura blasted out of Kai's body.
This aura was far stronger than a bloodline aura.
It felt more like a skill.
The sphere of spatial magic stopped in place.
It began to bend and stretch before being pulled harmlessly into Kai's body.
Kai watched as his mana rapidly increased.
He felt his body literally bloating from the overwhelming amount of mana.
He couldn't control it.
Before it all suddenly disappeared.
His status changed rapidly.
Randomly.
Chaotically.
Kai felt control returning to him as he looked at his mana.
[30,000/30,000]
[Your Skill (Aura of Sanctity) has randomly affected your body. For each mana point absorbed, a random part of your body has been permanently enhanced.]