Chapter 125: Battle for the Abyss Fragment

Craaack—!

A crackle of red lightning tore through the air, Eiros's silhouette blurring, leaving faint afterimages trailing along his path. His gaze locked onto the bat-masked man, sprinting away, trying to escape with the Abyss Fragment.

There was a real gap in speed between Luminous and Awakened, so under normal circumstances, Eiros should never have been able to catch up to him at all. But with Swan Without a Shore, Eiros managed to close the distance bit by bit, though it cost him a hefty price in Soul Essence.

He raised his sword, and the moment he closed in on the man, Eiros didn't hesitate, swinging his blade with a single intent — to cut straight through his neck.

Slash—!

Woosh!

The bat-masked man spun around instantly, his extraordinary reflexes letting him dodge the strike with ease. He ducked his head and manifested. A short, dark dagger appeared in his palm, and along with it, shards of glass materialized behind his back, hovering wildly, all pointed straight at Eiros.

The next instant, the bat-masked man shot forward. Eiros saw him appear right in front of him, swinging that dark dagger.

'Oh, he's right in front of me, yeah, he's—'

His body jolted. Eiros's eyes went wide, sensing something was terribly wrong. He tried to react immediately, but his delayed response left him sliced open in a wide, curving gash from chest to waist.

Spurt—!

A burst of red blood sprayed out. Eiros squinted one eye shut, biting down on his lip, and landed hard on the cold floor with great difficulty.

The bat-masked man scoffed, glaring at him with irritation, then shot forward again without a single word.

Whistle!

Baam! Baam!

'What is this?'

Eiros felt his mind clouding over. Every time he saw the man attacking him, his thoughts would simply stall, as if he were somehow overlooking the man's presence entirely, leaving him too slow to react. Even when Eiros knew exactly what he needed to do, he'd always end up delaying it until the moment his awareness snapped back — but by then, he was already in danger.

Spurt!

"...Kegh!"

Eiros coughed up red blood from his mouth, the dagger punching through his shoulder and several other spots. The gap between Awakened and Luminous was still so vast that Eiros genuinely started to worry he might not be able to win this fight at all.

The man raised his leg and kicked Eiros away into the air. Then he shot forward again, closing in on Eiros, ready to finish him off.

Seeing the strike coming for his neck, Eiros lifted his foot, stepping onto the empty air and changing the direction of his movement mid-flight, twisting his body sideways to dodge the attack.

Woosh!

The strike sent a sharp gust of wind rushing past Eiros's head. He ignored it, staring at the bat-masked man, whose eyes had widened in shock at Eiros's sudden shift in movement. Eiros then raised his sword and swung.

Kwaang—!!

The man reacted fast, adjusting his stance and blocking Eiros's strike with his dagger while still keeping the Abyss Fragment secured in his other hand.

It was obvious the man wasn't fighting with everything he had — he was being held back by the very thing he needed to protect. Eiros knew that, which was exactly why he dared to engage him head-on.

Sparks scattered as sword met dagger. Eiros drew in a breath, pouring in as much Soul Essence as he could, but he'd never win a straight clash like this.

He planted his foot on the air, spun his body backward, and kicked at the man's left hand.

Baam!

"....!"

A smile crossed Eiros's face. The Abyss Fragment, along with its protective glass case, went flying up into the air.

"Damn it!" the man shouted, his gaze snapping toward the Abyss Fragment. But that alone wasn't enough to fully pull his focus away — Luminous-tier fighters didn't earn that rank for nothing.

Eiros pulled his sword back and put some distance between them, and before the man could reclaim the Abyss Fragment, Eiros had already moved first, raising his sword and hurling it like a spear.

Woosh—!!

A sharp whistling sound, crackling red lightning, and a fierce gust of wind cut ahead of the bat-masked man.

Baam!!

A crash rang out as it struck the glass case. A cracking sound followed, and the Abyss Fragment inside broke free of its casing, the bat-masked man's face twitching with fury.

Then, as the bat-masked man's gaze locked onto the Abyss Fragment flying off in the distance, his back turned to Eiros, and Eiros appeared right behind him, manifesting once more.

He swung his sword.

Craaack—!!

Clang!

"Ha...." Eiros let out an irritated breath, though a bitter, nervous smile crossed his face. Because the man hadn't even turned around — he'd simply blocked the strike with a single glance over his shoulder, catching it with his hand and the dagger held behind his back.

"...You're really starting to piss me off."

The bat-masked man's patience finally snapped, and with his face twitching in rage, the glass shards floating behind him exploded outward.

Eiros flinched, sent flying, his face contorting in pain. His body was covered in blood and wounds, but thanks to his ability, he shrugged it off with ease. He wiped the blood from his face and stared down the bat-masked man.

Seeing him occupied with something, Eiros shot upward through the air and reached the ceiling of the tunnel.

Then, watching the shards of glass dancing wildly, forming a tornado around the man's body, Eiros curled his lips into a smile.

"Nice show, but unfortunately, I don't have time to watch."

He raised his sword, and the next instant, he shattered an energy conduit running along the ceiling.

'There's not much energy left in there, but let's just say, what's left should be more than enough.'

"Damn it!" The man, realizing what Eiros had just done, jolted in shock. His eyes trembled violently as he spun his gaze around the room.

The entire laboratory began to shake. With the energy no longer properly channeled, it all leaked out at once, overwhelming the laboratory itself.

Why wouldn't it?

This was True Energy, belonging to the dragon race. Energy drawn from an ancient, primordial species.

Tremor! Tremor! Tremor!

Bit by bit, the laboratory began to collapse, debris crashing down, every carefully-built foundation crumbling apart in an instant.

Caught in the middle of it all were Eiros and the bat-masked man. But unlike the man, Eiros had already braced himself for this. He stepped onto the air and shot forward.

Even a Luminous could die if buried under something heavy enough. Especially if the material was hard and dense enough. They were still living beings — if buried under an overwhelming mass, pinned down, drained of Soul Essence, or struck by repeated collapses, they remained in genuine danger.

So, while the man scrambled to figure out what to do, Eiros calmly shot forward instead, reminding him that their fight was far from over.

Slash!

Clang! Kwaang!

"Ugh...!"

The man groaned in frustration, absorbing Eiros's relentless string of attacks. Taking them and holding his ground was manageable enough on its own, but doing that while also splitting his focus to keep himself safe from the collapsing structure gave Eiros a clear advantage.

"Tsk."

But that didn't mean the man was completely helpless. He created some distance, while Eiros kept closing it without hesitation. The man's hand reached back into his storage space. In his gloved hand, an object suddenly appeared.

It was a simple-looking chain, but the moment he hurled it at Eiros, it stretched out, spinning rapidly, and wrapped itself around Eiros's entire body. At the same time, a large piece of debris crashed down onto him, nearly dragging him down to the ground below.

Eiros's skull cracked open, blood spraying out, drenching his entire face. He gasped for breath, and the man seized the moment, closing the distance fast and driving his dagger straight into Eiros's heart.

Stab—!!

Spurt!

Eiros coughed up even more blood, his entire field of vision drowning in a world of red. He quickly realized his eyes were coated in blood, but thankfully, the Seed of Corruption was still being suppressed by the medication, keeping its growth slow and steady rather than sudden.

Eiros let out a slow breath, and then his breathing stopped entirely.

The bat-masked man let out a breath of his own, though his was one of pure relief. He stared down at the lifeless body of the White Swan, clicking his tongue.

"Damn monster, how can there be two people this alike in the same era?"

The man remembered clearly — there had only ever been one other person capable of toying with a Luminous like this, back when he himself was still at the Awakened tier.

And seeing the talent standing before him, the bat-masked man genuinely felt that this person bore an uncanny resemblance to that madman, Crimson.

He clicked his tongue once more and turned to leave, but right then, he felt a faint tremor and immediately spun back around. What greeted him was the flat side of a massive sword filling his entire field of vision.

"Huh!?"

The man moved fast, raising both arms to soften the impact of the incoming strike. But he quickly realized he'd misjudged it — the attack wasn't meant to wound him. It was meant to send him flying.

Baam!!

Impact!

"Kgah!" The man slammed into a crumbling wall, and with that, the debris began raining down even harder.

Eiros opened his eyes, his breathing ragged, but he didn't bother sparing the man another glance, shooting off down the distant corridor instead. He'd retrieved the Abyss Fragment, which had landed on the cold floor amid the falling debris.

Then he stepped onto the air and—

Craaack!

Cut!!

He severed another conduit. The tremors grew even stronger, and by then, the laboratory was collapsing under a series of light but continuous explosions.

Without looking back, Eiros shot off into the distance. Nothing was over yet — he still had to escape first.