Chapter 175: East Anekta Crisis (14)

Ember had inflicted considerably more damage than she had received, yet the situation was gradually shifting against her.

Every wound she sustained required Essence to repair. Every movement demanded concentration and physical strength. Luka, on the other hand, could afford to exchange injuries without hesitation.

It was an exhausting way to fight.

And he seemed perfectly content to continue.

Luka approached slowly.

"Where did all that confidence go?"

Ember raised her head.

He stopped a few meters away, looking down at her.

"You’re an S-Rank, aren’t you? One of the strongest Awakened in Norway, if I remember correctly."

He glanced at the wound across her chest.

"So why are you struggling so much against an A-Rank like me?"

Ember’s expression hardened.

"Don’t flatter yourself."

"Am I wrong?"

He spread his arms.

"Look at us. You’ve been attacking me this entire time, and I’m still standing. Meanwhile..."

His gaze drifted toward her injured shoulder.

"Well, you know."

Ember slowly pushed herself upright.

Her purple flames continued to burn, but their intensity had diminished. She could still fight, and she wasn’t about to surrender simply because her opponent possessed an irritating regenerative ability.

But she needed a way to end the fight.

Simply overwhelming Luka wasn’t enough.

She had to destroy him faster than he could recover.

Luka raised his blade.

"Don’t worry. I’ll make this quick."

He disappeared.

Ember’s eyes widened.

She attempted to move, but her injured body responded a fraction too slowly.

Luka reappeared directly in front of her, his Dark Matter blade already descending toward her neck.

And then—

A crimson beam tore through the air.

The attack struck Luka’s weapon before it could reach Ember.

For a brief instant, the Dark Matter blade seemed to resist.

Then it vanished.

It was simply consumed by an intense crimson fire that swept across its surface and continued through Luka’s hand.

His fingers disappeared first.

Then his palm.

Then the lower part of his wrist.

Luka immediately abandoned his attack and leapt backward, landing several meters away.

He stared at the remains of his arm.

The crimson flames gradually faded.

A moment of silence followed.

Ember slowly turned her head.

Someone was standing several meters behind her.

A young man with dark red hair. His expression was indifferent, almost bored, as he looked at Luka.

His clothing looked remarkably expensive. From his Essence alone, he was without a doubt an A-Rank.

Yet the faint traces of crimson Essence surrounding him carried an unmistakably dangerous presence that completely betrayed his Rank.

He glanced down at Ember.

"You’re an S-Rank, right?"

Ember stared at him.

"...Yes."

The young man raised an eyebrow.

"Then what the fuck are you doing?"

"Get up."

Ember’s expression changed slightly.

She looked toward Luka, then back at the newcomer.

She had no idea who he was.

But whoever he might be, he had just destroyed Luka’s Dark Matter weapon with a single attack.

Luka, meanwhile, was examining his regenerated hand.

Dark Matter spread across the stump, reconstructing the missing flesh and bone. The process was slower than before, and the newly formed fingers seemed slightly unstable.

His smile had disappeared.

’What the hell...’

He flexed his hand.

It worked.

More or less.

But something felt wrong.

His regeneration had never been particularly difficult to maintain. Even when Eden had torn through his body, the Dark Matter within him had continued reconstructing damaged tissue at an extraordinary rate.

It had taken Devour to interfere with that process.

Ordinary Essence couldn’t do it.

That was the fundamental difference between the two.

Dark Matter was inherently superior to Essence. It could overwhelm ordinary Essence-based attacks, resist conventional interference, and dominate most abilities that relied on manipulating the substance.

Even Ember’s purple flames had failed to burn through it.

And Eden...

Luka’s eyes narrowed.

Even Eden hadn’t been able to destroy it through ordinary means. He had needed to use Devour, consuming the Dark Matter directly and stripping it away from Luka’s body.

But this man had just burned through it.

And not only the weapon.

His hand, too.

Luka slowly looked up.

The young man was standing beside Ember now, seemingly unconcerned with the fact that he had just attacked an opponent capable of regenerating from almost any injury.

A thin trail of crimson Essence still drifted around his fingers.

Luka swallowed.

That wasn’t normal Essence.

He could feel it.

There was something fundamentally different about the energy surrounding the newcomer. It wasn’t merely powerful or concentrated. It carried a destructive quality that seemed to interfere with the very structure of Dark Matter.

Luvian looked toward Ember.

"Can you stand up already?"

Ember nodded slowly, pushing herself upright.

"Yes. Thank you."

He gave a small nod before turning back toward Luka.

"Good."

His expression remained indifferent.

"I got your back, you take the lead."

Luka’s gaze hardened.

"You’re awfully confident."

The young man finally looked directly at him.

"Odds are in my favor."

Ember glanced between them.

She had no idea what was happening, but she could tell that something had changed.

Until now, Luka had fought without any apparent concern for his own safety. Even when Ember overwhelmed him, he had continued advancing, confident that his regeneration would eventually give him the advantage.

But now...

He was hesitating.

The difference was subtle, yet unmistakable.

His eyes kept drifting toward the newcomer’s hands.

The man noticed.

A faint crimson glow gathered around his fingertips.

Luka instinctively shifted his stance.

Ember took a slow breath.

’Who the hell is this guy?’

She had encountered countless powerful Awakened throughout her career. She had fought alongside S-Ranks, competed against them, and even challenged some of the strongest individuals in Europe.

But she couldn’t recall ever seeing this man before.

And judging by Luka’s reaction, he wasn’t someone she should underestimate.

The newcomer stepped forward.

Luka’s eyes followed him.

A bead of sweat ran down his forehead.

He stared at the crimson Essence gathering around the young man’s hand, trying to understand what kind of ability could burn through Dark Matter.

’Who the fuck is this guy?’