Genetic Ascension

Chapter 1644 Unbridled [Bonus]

[Bonus chapter thanks to reading_aniac 🙂 <3]

Sylas couldn’t move before the air around him compressed. He fell heavily to a knee as Amende smashed down with both fists again. He knew a Skill when he saw one, but that didn’t stop his bones from feeling as though every one of them was about to fragment to pieces.

As expected, exploding the crystal hearts of the mud Demons wasn’t going to help in the slightest. Whatever humanoid-beast hybrid Amende was, his vitality was off the charts, and that translated right to his Constitution.

He could probably fight at this high-octane clip for weeks if need be, and that was only because he was an E-tier. If he were any stronger, even months would be a short estimate.

Sylas coughed up another mouthful of blood.

The good news? With Nosphaleen’s abilities active, he could hardly feel this new pain. The abilities of [Fleeting Caress] were far too oppressive. It felt like needles were constantly picking at his inner organs, like his heart was being scraped clean by a blade, skinned down layer by layer so carefully.

The bad news? This made it hard to assess exactly how much his body was enduring.

There was no other way to fight this battle other than head-on.

It was a thought that was maddening to an extreme, but the moment Sylas made a decision, he never second- guessed it. Never. Not once.

Raising a palm, Sylas slammed it against the ground.

[Unbridled Domain].

The tail of Sylas’ Scorpion Warlord Armor flickered, and Glassvolt Poison danced. But this time it had an odd silver character to it.

Runes began to be drawn in the air in rapid succession beneath its might, a complex Domain taking shape in the blink of an eye.

Ekear’s pupils constricted into pinholes. It wasn’t just him, but every Rune Master present.

Sylas was drawing 100 Foundation Runes so fast. Not only were they 100 Foundation, but they were drawn to 100% Mastery, the very pinnacle of Spark Mastery, without even the slightest deviation.

Spark Mastery started at a “mere” 85%. It was widely accepted that only the system could draw Runes to 100% Mastery… at least to most laymen.

But, logically… if the system was created by somebody, didn’t that mean that there were at least some Rune Masters capable of it?

While these people limited themselves by the impossible, Sylas only saw new mountains to climb.

Elbrum wanted to see the rampage of a Scorpion? He would show him, then.

[Unbridled Domain] snap into place, digging into the very Mesh of of the simulation. Sylas’ Glassvolt Aether and his Chaotic Space Aether melded into one, his poison leeching into the simulation of the world itself.

If he didn’t want Amende to cast Runes, then he wouldn’t.

If he didn’t want Amende to cast Skills, then he wouldn’t.

Amende’s control over the gravity above Sylas faltered, and he fell from above. Taken off guard, he couldn’t react as Sylas appeared above him in a flash of spatial Runes, spinning in the air and unleashing an axe kick right into the center of his skull.

BANG.

Amende was driven headfirst into the ground, but the damage Sylas did this time was even weaker than last.

Landing on the ground, Sylas was already prepared as Amende pulled himself out, ripping out large chunks of ground as large as small hills in the process.

Grabbing them as though rag dolls, Amende smashed down with these pieces of land toward Sylas.

BOOM. BOOM.

Sylas’ eyes blurred and he unleashed [Primal Step] and [Glassvolt Shift]. Under the prowess of Mixed Demonic Arts, both were taken to Legendary Mastery in a single instant of time.

Sometimes Sylas weaved out of the way of attacks with an unpredictable gait and a chaotic shift in his step. Other times he became a streak of lightning, his body becoming amorphous and undetectable.

He danced around Amende like a pesky fly with a fist and kick as heavy as a mountain.

A savage, wild grin had appeared on Sylas’ face at some unknown time. His aura was wilder even than Amende’s, his hair dancing in the violence of the air. But it hardly seemed like it was because of the wind at all. It was almost like emerald, silver, and black auras were wrapping around them, causing each strand to display a chaos deserving of their presence.

Nosphaleen had simply never seen such an expression on Sylas’ face. It was so out of place she hesitated several times about whether she should defy Sylas or not. But in the end, she chose to hold on.

Sylas knew what he was doing. He always knew.

Right now, this was exactly what he needed.

That basal, chaotic, almost primal side of himself was a part he was never truly able to touch. His mind worked too quickly, his self-control too great.

He didn’t waste words when he didn’t have to, he ate only what he needed to grow, he found structure in the bland and predictable.

But this version of him wasn’t like that at all.

As he drove an elbow across Amende’s chin, unleashed a kick at the inside of his knee, only to drive a knee right up into the very same location his elbow had just hit… He entered a flow of battle, dancing in flowing streaks of lightning and swaying clones of primal fury.

His attacks didn’t seem to do much damage at all, but one chess move seemed to set up ten others.

And the moment he trapped Amende into his own rhythm, restricting his Skills and his Runes, Sylas tapped into an even deeper level.

He began to shift between Mixed Demonic Arts and Madness Comprehensions. Every use of the former set up the path for the next dozen attacks, and every use of the latter bolstered his telekinesis to such ridiculous levels that even Amende began to feel his bones creak and his flesh rend.

Stupid ape.

The words echoed in Amende’s ears again and again with every blow he suffered, his head snapping in one direction as a tooth flew out in a sharp arc of blood.

Every pulsing, fleeting use of Madness tugged on his vulnerabilities just a little bit more every time.

Elbrum and the Emperors watched with a solemn look in their eyes. This… shouldn’t be possible.

Elbrum suddenly shook awake as he felt some sort of connection establish with him.

“The Sanctum. They’re coming.”