Chapter 52: Deadly Arsenal

A grin appeared.

The Black Knight charged.

Eden raised his Aura Blade.

This time, he poured Paralysis into it again.

The Essence reacted differently.

The purple blade became denser.

More stable.

A faint blue glow traveled along its edge.

Eden smiled.

"Let’s try that again."

Their blades collided.

Eden twisted.

His Aura Blade slid along the Black Knight’s weapon and struck its shoulder.

A shallow cut appeared.

The knight stepped backward.

Eden saw a reaction for the first time.

The black energy around the wound flickered.

Eden’s eyes widened.

"Gotcha."

The knight attacked.

Eden blocked.

Then struck again.

The blade scraped across its chest.

Another flicker.

Another.

The Paralysis wasn’t overwhelming.

It wasn’t freezing the knight in place.

It wasn’t even slowing it significantly.

But it was working.

Little by little.

The Black Knight’s movements became slightly less precise.

Its attacks came a fraction slower.

Its reactions weren’t quite as immediate.

For anyone else, the difference might have been meaningless, a difference so small it was barely noticeable.

But for Eden?

A fraction of a second was everything.

He ducked beneath a swing.

His Aura Blade carved across the knight’s torso.

The Black Knight staggered.

Eden followed.

One slash.

Two.

Three.

The knight blocked the fourth.

Eden kicked it backward.

Boom!

The Black Knight crashed through a wall.

Eden rushed after it.

"You’re slowing down!"

He swung.

The knight blocked.

Eden grinned.

"Not enough?"

Another slash.

The knight blocked.

"Then I’ll just keep hitting you."

The knight’s movements gradually slowed.

Eden’s attacks began landing more frequently.

A cut across its arm.

Another across its side.

A slash across the chest.

The Black Knight finally staggered.

Eden’s eyes lit up.

"Yes!"

He raised his blade.

"I can actually—"

The black energy suddenly changed.

Eden stopped.

"...What?"

The Black Knight’s sword dissolved.

It melted into the black energy covering its body.

The dark substance flowed down its arm.

Then split.

Two short blades formed in its hands.

Dual daggers.

Eden stared.

"...Were you holding ba—"

The knight moved.

Boom!

Eden barely blocked.

The difference was immediate.

The knight’s speed increased dramatically.

The dual blades were faster.

More agile.

Less committed.

The Black Knight slipped around Eden’s Aura Blade and struck twice.

Eden blocked one.

The second cut across his shoulder.

Blood sprayed.

"Shit!"

Eden jumped backward.

The knight pursued.

Its black daggers flashed.

Eden blocked.

Ducked.

Parried.

The knight attacked again.

Eden’s eyes narrowed.

’So I was right, that sword wasn’t an actual weapon, but a manifestation of that black energy.’

The sword had become inefficient after Paralysis slowed its movements.

So the knight changed its fighting style.

Faster weapons.

Less power.

More mobility.

"Guess I’m not the only one adapting here."

The knight attacked again.

Eden blocked both daggers.

He kicked.

The knight jumped backward.

Its daggers dissolved.

The black energy gathered.

It stretched.

Lengthened.

A massive spear formed in the knight’s hands.

’...!’

Eden’s grin disappeared.

"Oh, come on."

The knight thrust.

Eden dodged.

The spear tore through the wall behind him.

Boom!

A massive hole opened in the dungeon.

Eden retaliated.

His Aura Blade struck the spear.

The impact shattered several meters of stone flooring.

The knight twisted.

The spear disappeared.

Black energy condensed again.

A bow formed.

Eden froze.

"Just how many weapons can this damned thing create?!"

The knight drew the string.

A black arrow appeared.

Eden immediately moved.

The arrow fired.

Boom!

It tore through the dungeon.

Eden dodged sideways.

The projectile continued for hundreds of meters before exploding.

The shockwave rolled through the chamber.

Eden stared.

"Okay."

He wiped blood from his shoulder.

"That’s a problem."

The knight fired again.

Eden moved.

Again.

Again.

The arrows weren’t merely projectiles.

They were devastating.

Every missed shot destroyed enormous sections of the dungeon.

The battlefield was becoming unrecognizable.

Eden sprinted between collapsing walls.

He waited for the right moment.

The knight fired.

Eden jumped.

The arrow passed beneath him.

He landed on the projectile’s black energy for the briefest instant—

Then used it as a platform.

He launched himself forward.

"Got you!"

The bow dissolved.

The knight immediately formed a sword.

Eden’s Aura Blade collided with it.

The shockwave destroyed the remaining wall between them.

Both were thrown backward.

Eden landed hard.

He rolled.

The knight landed on its feet.

They stared at one another through the dust.

Eden’s breathing was heavy.

His shoulder was bleeding.

His ribs hurt.

His Aura Blade had been renewed several times.

His Paralysis was constantly being reapplied.

And Corrupted Surge was consuming Essence at a rate he could feel.

Yet the Black Knight looked just as ready to continue.

Eden laughed weakly.

"You know..."

He slowly stood.

"Every time I start feeling like I’ve grown significantly more powerful..."

"There’s always a bastard like you to remind me of my limits."

The knight raised its weapon.

Eden tightened his grip.

"And it’s starting to piss me the fuck off."

The black energy around the knight shifted once again.

Sword.

Spear.

Daggers.

Bow.

Eden stared.

It wasn’t merely carrying different weapons.

It was the weapon.

The black energy itself was its arsenal.

And that meant there was no telling what it would create next.

Eden’s eyes narrowed.

’I can’t just keep reacting.’

He needed to force the knight into a pattern.

Or create an opening.

Or find a weakness.

Because the longer this went on, the worse his condition became.

The Black Knight suddenly charged.

Eden met it.

Their blades collided once more.

The impact sent another wave of destruction through the dungeon.

And this time, the Black Knight’s blade forced Eden backward.

One step.

Then another.

Eden gritted his teeth.

"You’re..."

The knight pushed harder.

"...really..."

Eden’s boots carved trenches into the floor.

"...pissing me off!"

The Black Knight suddenly twisted its weapon.

Eden barely reacted.

The blade transformed in its hands.

Not into another sword.

Something shorter.

Something heavier.

Eden’s eyes widened.

He immediately raised Aura Blade.

Boom!

The collision obliterated the floor beneath them.

Eden was thrown backward.

He crashed through two pillars before finally stopping.

He coughed violently.

Blood dripped from his mouth.

He looked toward the Black Knight.

The creature stood in the middle of the destruction.

Its dark energy flowed around its body like a living shadow.

Eden slowly rose.

His hands tightened around Aura Blade.

The grin returned.

This wasn’t a battle he could simply overpower.

He was going to have to outfight it.

Eden lowered his stance.

"Alright."

He wiped the blood from his lips.

"Let’s figure you out."

The Black Knight raised its weapon.

Eden raised his.

And the ruined dungeon shook once more as the two monsters charged each other.