Chapter 127: Awakened Tournament Crisis (33)

Eden landed hard enough to fracture the pavement beneath his feet, his crimson aura burning around him. His black hair whipped in the wind, and his silver eyes immediately swept across the area.

"Elio!"

He turned toward the silver-haired Awakened.

"Snap out of it!"

Elio stared at him.

For a moment, he didn’t seem to understand what he was looking at.

’Eden?’

’Why is he here?’

’Hadn’t he been fighting the tentacles inside the stadium?’

Eden took a step toward him.

"Hey! I’m talking to you!"

Elio’s gazed behind him, only to see Null already dissolve into the shadows.

The purple-haired man hadn’t lost his smile, although the amusement in his green eyes had dimmed slightly. His gaze moved from Eden to Elio, and then back again.

"How unfortunate."

He clicked his tongue.

"Do think carefully about what we discussed, Elio. You know where to find us."

Darkness seeped from his feet, spreading upward until his legs vanished into a pool of shadow. His torso followed, his dark clothing merging with the blackness beneath him.

Elio’s eyes widened.

"W-Wait..."

Null raised one hand in a casual farewell.

"We’ll speak again soon."

Then he disappeared.

The shadow beneath him collapsed inward, leaving nothing behind but a broken slab of concrete and the distant thunder of the battlefield.

Eden glanced toward the spot where the man had been.

"...What the hell?"

He had seen something moving.

A person, perhaps.

But between the destruction, the dust, and the tentacles attacking from every direction, he hadn’t gotten a proper look.

More importantly, Elio was standing in front of him like a statue.

"Hey."

Eden stepped closer and grabbed his shoulder.

"Elio."

No response.

Elio’s eyes were unfocused, his breathing rapid and shallow. His hand remained half-raised, fingers curled as though he were still reaching for something that was no longer there.

Sweat trickled down his face.

His chest rose and fell in increasingly frantic movements, and his body trembled so violently that Eden could feel it through his grip.

"Oi. Look at me."

Nothing.

Elio didn’t seem to hear him at all.

Eden’s brows drew together.

Elio wasn’t looking at the battlefield.

He wasn’t looking at the tentacles.

It almost looked like he was looking at something Eden couldn’t see.

Something that had frightened him so badly that he appeared to have forgotten where he was.

"What happened to him...?"

Eden tightened his grip on Elio’s shoulder and shook him.

"Elio! Snap out of it!"

The silver-haired young man remained unresponsive.

A low rumble shook the street.

Eden glanced upward.

Several tentacles were tearing through the nearby buildings, their massive forms twisting between the ruined structures. One slammed into the street two blocks away, sending a shock wave through the ground. Another wrapped around a tower and began dragging it toward the earth.

They were running out of time.

Eden looked back at Elio.

"Seriously?"

He shook him harder.

"Hey! I don’t know what the hell is going on inside that head of yours, but I need you to wake up!"

Nothing yet again.

Eden’s expression darkened.

He could waste precious seconds trying to coax Elio back to reality, or he could do something that would actually get through to him.

He made his decision.

’Sorry, buddy.’

Eden pulled back his fist.

And punched Elio square across the face.

Elio’s head snapped to the side.

His body staggered, and he nearly fell over before catching himself with one foot. A thin line of blood appeared at the corner of his mouth.

For a brief moment, the world seemed to stop.

Then Eden grabbed the front of his torn clothes and dragged his face closer.

"Listen to me!"

His voice cut through the chaos.

"I don’t know what the hell is going on, and I have no fucking idea what has gotten into you, but we’re in the middle of a fucking disaster!"

Eden’s silver eyes burned with frustration.

"We’re going to die if you dont get your head out of your ass!"

Elio blinked slowly as the fog in his eyes began to clear.

He looked at Eden’s clenched fist, then at the blood on his own lips.

"...Eden."

"Gods, finally."

"I’m sorry, I just—"

"I’ll punch you again if you keep talking."

Elio stared at him.

Then his eyes slowly moved past Eden, toward the surrounding ruins.

The collapsing buildings.

The writhing tentacles.

The destruction stretching as far as he could see.

His breathing remained uneven, but the terrible emptiness in his expression began to crack.

"...Right."

He swallowed.

"Right. The stadium..."

"Forget the stadium. That’s the least of our problems."

Eden released his clothes and turned, scanning the area.

"Whatever this thing is, if we don’t deal with it now, it might eventually spread to the rest of the city."

"And unless you’ve got some miraculous skill that can erase all of the tentacles at once, we’re going to need a better plan than standing around and doing fuck all."

Elio slowly straightened.

His cheek throbbed.

His heart still raced, and the words Null had spoken continued to echo in the back of his mind.

He clenched his jaw.

’Not now.’

He couldn’t think about that now.

Eden was right.

Whatever had happened, whatever Null had said, the battlefield hadn’t stopped moving just because Elio had lost himself in the past.

He forced himself to take a deep breath.

"...You’re right."

Eden shot him a sidelong glance.

"Did you hit your head harder than I thought? That was suspiciously reasonable."

"Forget it."

"There’s more like it."

A faint, humorless smile tugged at Elio’s lips.

It didn’t last.

Because the ground beneath them suddenly trembled.

Eden’s expression changed.

"Move!"

Both young men reacted instantly.

A dozen enormous tentacles burst through the surrounding ruins, their spiked bodies whipping toward them from every direction. They came from above, below, and between the shattered buildings, moving with such speed that the air itself seemed to scream.

There was no clear path to escape.

The tentacles converged on their positions, their sharpened tips aimed at the two Awakened as though the creature controlling them had decided to crush them together.

Eden’s crimson Essence erupted.

Elio’s purple Essence flared.

But before either could launch an attack, two dangerous flashes tore through the destruction.

The first came from Elio’s left.

A figure burst through a curtain of dust, moving so quickly that his body seemed to blur between the falling fragments of concrete. His red hair whipped behind him, and a golden brass knuckle gleamed on his right hand.

Jax.

His eyes were sharp, his expression focused, and the instant he reached Elio, he unleashed a familiar technique.

His right fist moved eight times.

The blows landed so quickly that they seemed to occur simultaneously. The eight strikes slammed into the incoming tentacles, tearing through their hardened surfaces and blowing apart their massive bodies in a chain of explosive impacts.

Chunks of black flesh scattered across the street.

The tentacles recoiled, their severed ends writhing violently as they began to regenerate.

Jax landed beside Elio, his golden brass knuckle still glowing.

"Tch. These things are getting more annoying by the second."

Before Eden could make another move, another explosion tore through the air on his right.

A massive tentacle came whipping down from above, its spiked tip aimed straight at his head.

A pink flash intercepted it.

Lucy appeared in a burst of movement, her body surrounded by her vibrant pink Essence.

[Essence Accelerator]

Her Aura Blade glowed in her hand, its surface rippling with explosive energy.

[V4]

She swung once.

The blade carved through the tentacle in a brilliant, explosive slash.

The severed mass detonated in midair, sending fragments scattering across the street. Lucy twisted through the recoil, landed beside Eden, and immediately turned toward him.

"Eden!"

Her bright blue eyes searched his face.

"Are you okay? I saw that skull app—"

"I’m fine." Eden muttered dismissively.

"You’re bleeding."

Eden wiped the blood beneath his nose with the back of his hand.

"It’s a little blood."

"A little blood? Your clothes are practically covered in it!"

"Most of that isn’t mine."

Lucy stared at him.

"That doesn’t make it better!"

"Honestly, I’m starting to regret surviving."

She looked as though she wanted to hit him herself.

Then her expression softened, and she stepped closer, carefully checking him for injuries while keeping her Aura Blade raised toward the surrounding threats.

"Are you sure you’re okay?"

Eden’s irritation faded slightly.

"I’m sure. Worry about yourself."

"You’re unbelievable."

"Thank you."

"That wasn’t a compliment!"

"I’ll take what I can get."

Jax glanced at the rapidly regenerating tentacles, then turned toward Elio and Eden.

His expression shifted into a crooked smile.

"Seriously, though. What are you two doing over here, bickering like a married couple?"

Eden’s eye twitched.

"Who the hell are you calling married?"

"You heard me."

Jax pointed his golden brass knuckle between them.

"I leave you two alone for five minutes, and I find you standing around arguing while the world falls apart. Should I give you some privacy, or are you going to start holding hands next?"

"Keep talking and I’ll let one of those things eat you."

"Aw, you’re embarrassed."

"You—"

Eden froze as a tentacle smashed into a nearby building, and the entire structure began to collapse toward the street.

Jax looked up.

"Well, lovebirds, I’d hate to interrupt this touching climax of yours, but we’ve got company."

"Call me that again," Eden said, "and I’ll use you as bait."

"See? That’s exactly the kind of thing a jealous husband would say."

"Jax!"

Lucy’s shout silenced him.

She was already moving, pink Essence surging around her body as she raised her blade toward the next wave of tentacles.

"Less talking! More fighting!"

Jax laughed.

"Yes, ma’am."

Eden exhaled through his nose, crimson Essence curling around his arms.

’At least someone’s keeping their head on straight.’

He glanced briefly at Elio.

The silver-haired Awakened had finally regained his composure, although his face remained pale. His eyes were fixed on the place where Null had disappeared, and there was a tension in his jaw that hadn’t been there before.

Eden noticed it.

Of course he did.

But he wasn’t about to ask questions while the four of them were surrounded by enough tentacles to flatten an entire city block.

Whatever had happened between Elio and that unseen figure, it would have to wait.

For now, they needed to survive.

"Elio," Eden called.

Elio’s gaze shifted toward him.

"Can you fight?"

For a second, Elio didn’t answer.

Then he tightened his grip on his weapon, and purple Essence began coiling around his body once more.

"...Yes."

The word was quiet, but it was steady.

Eden nodded.

"Good. Cause you don’t have a choice."

Jax rolled his shoulders, golden Essence flaring around his right fist.

Lucy adjusted her stance, the explosive aura of her blade growing brighter.

Around them, the tentacles began to move again.

One rose from the ruined street, its spiked body towering above the buildings. Another emerged from behind a collapsed tower, while three more dragged themselves across the ground, their newly regenerated surfaces thicker and darker than before.

The crimson mass Eden had unleashed continued devouring a handful of them, but the others were already adapting. Their movements were becoming quicker, their attacks more coordinated.

Whatever controlled them was learning.

Or perhaps it had simply decided that the four of them were no longer a group it could allow itself to underestimate.