Chapter 129: Awakened Tournament Crisis (35)

The area was packed with scattered groups of Awakened, several of whom were desperately trying to keep the tentacles away from injured civilians. Others were clearing rubble, searching for survivors, or escorting people toward the evacuation routes.

The Association’s remaining forces were stretched thin.

Eden’s gaze swept across the battlefield, searching for familiar faces.

Then he spotted a gray-haired man wielding two golden blades.

Kael.

The Peak A-Rank was standing near a broken section of the outer wall, cutting through an incoming tentacle with a pair of precise slashes. His expression was far more serious than Eden remembered, and the golden blades in his hands glowed brightly as he shifted to intercept another attack.

Nearby stood Sophia, her black-and-white hair dusted with debris. She held her Amethyst Spear in both hands, her breathing heavy as she prepared to attack another tentacle.

And beside them were two people Eden hadn’t expected to see together.

Sonne.

And Luvian.

Eden’s eyes lingered on the latter for a moment.

Luvian looked absolutely furious.

His dark red hair was disheveled, his clothes were torn, and crimson Essence burned around him with an intensity that suggested he was only barely restraining himself from setting the entire battlefield ablaze.

Eden raised an eyebrow.

’Well, someone clearly isn’t enjoying the apocalypse.’

Luvian noticed them approaching.

His gaze briefly met Eden’s.

For a moment, neither spoke.

Then Luvian looked away, his jaw tightening.

Eden shrugged.

’I swear there’s always something going on with that guy.’

Eden was genuinely curious about how Luvian had ended up with Kael’s group fighting alongside Sonne, especially considering their previous hostility isnide the Campus, but the battlefield was hardly the place to ask for an explanation.

Besides, the answer was probably something along the lines of "we’re all going to die if we don’t cooperate."

It wasn’t as though they had much of a choice.

"Over here!" Kael shouted when he spotted them.

He sliced through another tentacle before motioning them toward the group.

"Good to see you in one piece!"

"Likewise," Eden replied. "Although I have to say, your welcome party could use some improvement."

Kael glanced at the countless tentacles surrounding them.

"I’ll make a note of that for next time."

"Please do."

Lucy hurried over to Sonne and Sophia, checking them for injuries while Jax exchanged a few words with Kael. Elio remained near Eden, his whipblade coiled at his side as he watched the surrounding creatures with narrowed eyes.

For the first time since the attack began, Eden felt as though they might actually have enough people to hold their ground.

They had a Peak A-Rank fighter, several exceptional young Awakened, and enough offensive power to destroy the tentacles faster than most ordinary fighters could manage.

If they coordinated their efforts, they might be able to clear the immediate area and establish a safe zone for the civilians.

Then the atmosphere changed.

Eden felt it first.

A sudden pressure rolled across the battlefield, so subtle at first that it could almost have been mistaken for a change in the wind.

The tentacles stopped moving.

Every single one of them.

For a fraction of a second, the enormous appendages hung motionless above the ruined arena.

Then their surfaces began to darken.

The change spread from their bases toward their sharpened tips, turning their already black flesh into something resembling polished obsidian. Their spikes grew longer, their bodies thickened, and the muscles beneath their surfaces began to writhe with newfound strength.

A low, wet grinding sound echoed across the battlefield.

The tentacles grew.

And grew.

One that had previously been barely wider than a car expanded until its diameter rivaled a building. Another stretched upward, its tip disappearing into the dark canopy above the stadium.

Their Essence surged.

The pressure became suffocating.

Kael’s expression changed immediately.

"...What?"

A tentacle struck the ground.

The impact sent a shock wave through the stadium grounds, throwing several Awakened off their feet and cracking the remaining pavement in every direction.

Before anyone could recover, the tentacle moved again.

It was faster.

Far faster than before.

"LOOK OUT!"

Sophia reacted instinctively, thrusting her Amethyst Spear toward the incoming appendage. Violet Essence gathered around its tip, forming a concentrated point of energy that struck the tentacle with a sharp, resonant impact.

Clang!

The sound resembled a spear striking solid steel.

Sophia’s eyes widened.

Her attack had barely scratched the surface.

"What?!"

The tentacle swept sideways.

Sophia barely managed to retreat before it smashed into the ground where she had been standing, pulverizing a large section of concrete.

She stared at the shallow mark her spear had left behind.

"...I couldn’t even pierce it."

Kael’s expression darkened.

"Everyone, spread out! Don’t let them catch you in one place!"

He launched forward, both golden blades flashing as he activated his strongest technique. The twin weapons carved through the incoming appendage, forcing their way through the hardened surface with a tremendous burst of golden Essence.

The tentacle split.

But only barely.

And even as it fell apart, the severed flesh began to regenerate.

Kael landed beside Sophia, his breathing slightly heavier than before.

"These things have gotten stronger."

"No kidding!" Jax shouted.

He launched himself at another tentacle.

[50-Hit Combo!]

Fifty instantaneous impacts detonated against the creature’s surface.

The tentacles buckled, its flesh rupturing beneath the force of Jax’s technique. A second later, Lucy’s explosive Aura Blade carved through the damaged section, blasting the appendage apart in a shower of black fragments.

But the effort left both of them exposed.

Two more tentacles immediately lashed toward them.

Lucy ducked beneath one, while Jax used Burst-Step to escape the other by a hair’s breadth.

Sonne joined the fight, ice spreading across her arms as the crown of Ice Lord’s Soul materialized above her head. Her Essence surged, and a wave of freezing energy swept across the ground, coating an approaching tentacle in thick layers of ice.

Luvian followed with a burst of crimson flame.

His fire struck the frozen appendage, detonating in a violent explosion that sent burning fragments scattering across the battlefield.

For a moment, it looked as though the combination had worked.

Then the remaining tentacle tore through the ice.