Genetic Ascension

Sylas exhaled a steaming breath, his eye splitting into an illusion of twelve over his helm. Auras of violet and emerald twisted and spun into one another, the world trembling as his output increased from +10,000 to over +20,000.

There was a dense flicker in his eyes and the world was culled.

In a blink, Zolte had appeared before him, his halberd striking out, but Sylas’ tail arched through the air in an almost elegant swing. It felt like it was following the natural motion of the world, Runes bending and forging around it as his telekinesis made the limb—one which carried no weight at all—carry the momentum of a falling meteor.

BANG.

Tail and halberd met, the former slapping the latter away in a torrent of sparks while Sylas’ palm slammed into Zolte’s chest.

Zolte took a single step back, his halberd careening backward under the momentum of Sylas’ strike and sparking more as it tried and failed to cut into the hard marble floors.

Sylas’ eyes flashed as he seemed to see an opening to attack, but Zolte flowed smoothly into another strike. The tip of his halberd balanced on the ground, his body arching backward and his foot angling up in a kick that crackled against the air.

The kick swung with a momentum that compressed and shuddered space, appearing at the side of Sylas’ head in a blink.

Sylas’ gaze only flickered as he used [Glassvolt Prism Arts] again, his Glassvolt Comprehension still active to boost its defenses hugely.

The moment the kick landed, he swapped out his Glassvolt Comprehension for Mixed Demonic Arts once more, his tail swinging back along with an arm to catch Zolte’s leg the instant its momentum slowed.

BANG.

The leg crashed through the defensive shield but lost a large majority of its power. Not having been powered by a Skill in the first place, and being far too improvised, its effectiveness was lacking.

Caught by a heavy tail and a strong arm, Zolte found his leg pinned to Sylas’ hip.

Rather than taking a step back, Sylas stepped forward, a leg kicking out against Zolte’s knee.

Any other person would have snapped every ligament in their leg in that instant, but Zolte only groaned. Even so, his knee collapsed in one direction, his balance being thrown off entirely.

Sylas’ eyes flashed once again. The instant Zolte lost his balance, it was over. It only took a single intent, a single usage of the Scorned Wraps to end his life.

But as though he had felt the danger pulling at the very depths of his soul, Zolte’s Skai Eye pulsed with life, a concentrated beam of Will moving so fast it slammed against Sylas’ forehead before he could complete his grappling maneuver.

The momentum of the illusory beam was somehow so great that Sylas’ head snapped back, a second foot lashing out and smashing against his chest.

Sylas grunted, his body being sent flying backward.

Zolte’s intent sharpened as he flipped, landing on the tips of his toes deftly. Using his halberd to gather up momentum, his body flared with life.

With a thought, his crimson Will took another shape, wide wings forming along his back. He stomped a foot and practically teleported forward, his body appearing high above Sylas’ soaring form as he slammed down with all his might.

BOOM.

The halberd slammed down with the momentum of a falling meteor, but it hardly landed before Sylas’ body flickered into a stroke of lightning across the wind and clouds, his body appearing dozens of meters away.

A line of blood trickled down the length of his jaw, his body feeling quite rattled. He had managed to wake up in time, but he had still taken some of that hit.

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Not only had Zolte used a movement Skill just now, but it seemed layered with a charging Skill as well. He combined the momentums into one to create a more powerful effect from two weaker Skills.

Sylas wouldn’t even have been able to see through such a thing if not for his sharp senses and his Temporal Delay Progenitor Flame Ability. Otherwise, the subtleties would be too complex for him.

There were still so many things about this world that he didn’t even know were possible because of how little time he had spent in it. But that didn’t mean he had any intention of stopping here.

It seemed he was going to have to kick it up another notch.

Spatial and Time Runes began to dance around Sylas once again. But this time, he was serious.

Space and Time seemed to whimper and bow at Sylas’ feet. He brandished his palms, raising them up in a relaxed position as though he was prepared to strike with his fist, palm, or finger with a single thought.

Zolte had long clenched his jaw. He thought that this would be over with that strike, but somehow Sylas had managed to shake awake from such a direct Will attack so easily. He didn’t even understand how it was possible.

He could sense that Sylas hadn’t practiced any Will defensive methods, or any Will attack methods for that matter. How could an F-tier’s Will be so strong that its raw existence could withstand such a powerful Skill?

A monster. That was the only explanation. Sylas was a monster.

He needed to die. He definitely needed to die.

Zolte’s hand gripped his halberd and resolution radiated from his eyes. The depth of red coming from his Skai Eye multiplied, and the crimson figure behind him grew several times larger—doubling in size, then tripling until it was over a dozen meters tall.

Suddenly, it began to mimic Zolte’s actions rather than just standing there, a halberd forming in its palms as well as it pointed it forward.

‘+25,000…’ Sylas saw through instantly.

Truly powerful, indeed. It seemed that his Runes alone likely wouldn’t be enough—not like this. But should he go so far for this…?

Sylas’ gaze flickered.

It seemed he might have to.

He took a step forward.