Chapter 247: Don’t Fucking Mess With Me!!!

’Hey system! You must be joking, right?! How can my damage be a whole zero? Isn’t this depressing?!’ Asher thought, his jaw clenching as he stared up at the colossal palm. The phantom hand blotted out the sun, continuing its apocalyptic descent as if his golden flames had been nothing more than a passing breeze.

?{Master, you don’t have enough information about the owner of that hand.}

?’Not enough information! Are you telling me he is immortal?!!’ Asher retorted, his mind racing to calculate an impossible survival trajectory as the atmospheric pressure threatened to crush his body.

?{No one is truly immortal; it only shows the owner of that hand has a 100% immunity to elemental attacks, or he is completely immune to such attacks.}

?Asher frowned fiercely, the freezing winds whipping his black hair across his face. He shot a glance toward Sumino and Zachary, who stood a safe distance away, completely calm in the face of this localized doomsday.

?He had chased these Ex-Rank across a hundred miles to uncover the identity of their master and the true scale of their forces. Now that he had forced their leader’s hand—literally—he discovered a terrifying reality. He was completely outmatched. The system interface materialized in his vision, flashing a crimson warning:

?{Name: Raze.}

{Rank: Half Apex Rank.}

{Gears: None.}

{Combat Power: 5B.}

?’The hell?!! He’s close to Apex Rank?!! That’s the rank above Ex-Rank, and his combat power... it’s five times mine,’ Asher realized, his heart hammering against his ribs. The mythological tier above the absolute pinnacle wasn’t just a rumor. It was currently trying to swat him out of the sky.

?Refusing to be crushed under the weight of a god-like phantom, he clenched his fists. The Twin daggers materialized instantly in his grip, humming with lethal, sentient intent.

?"All my abilities are good, but they’re still not good enough!! But don’t you fucking mess with me!!"

?Channeling every ounce of his Aether and physical might, Asher threw the two daggers directly toward the descending palm, his body exploding forward into the slipstream right behind them:

?"I won’t back down because you’re stronger!! Almighty Punch, first and second abilities, unlock!!"

?BOOOOM!!

?The twin daggers smashed right into the center of the palm like armor-piercing missiles, the sheer force stunning the colossal hand for a microsecond. In that fraction of a moment, Asher blurred into existence right in front of the paralyzed palm:

?"Get back to whatever hole you came from!!!" He struck his fist forward, unleashing the full, unbridled devastation of his physical prowess.

?BOOOOM!!!!

?The resulting explosion shattered the cloud layer, sending out a blinding shockwave of concussive force in all directions. The blast was so violent it sent Zachary and Sumino tumbling backward through the air, while the recoil violently threw Asher downward like a meteor. He plummeted through the sky, crashing violently into the rushing river thousands of feet below in a massive geyser of white water.

?"What just happened?" Zachary asked in shock, stabilizing himself mid-air as he stared at the dissipating remnants of the phantom hand.

?"That guy, his punch actually destroyed the Leader’s phantom palm; that skill should be a Supreme-Tier skill," Sumino muttered. The glowing stars within her purple eyes spun rapidly as she analyzed the residual energy lingering in the shattered sky.

?"Umm... Those weapons are still there. Should we take them?" Zachary asked, pointing a massive finger at the two twin daggers, which were currently hovering effortlessly in the empty air.

?"Don’t get close to those weapons, they can’t kill us, but they’re dangerous... Those daggers already have weapon spirits," Sumino quickly stopped him, a deep frown forming on her face as she recognized the autonomous sentience radiating from the blades.

?’This girl is smart,’ the weapon spirit muttered telepathically from the right dagger.

?’Come on brother, let’s check up on Master.’ The left dagger replied.

?The two blades vibrated with a sharp, metallic hum before shooting straight downward like bolts of lightning, leaving the two hanging in the empty sky.

?’I can’t believe this guy has so many treasures; luckily, he still hasn’t fully learned how to put them to use... A kid is still a kid,’ Sumino thought, exhaling a tense breath.

?’Both of you, get back here... And Third, I already removed the mark he placed on you... It seems he marked you with your blood.’

?Raze’s deep, ancient voice suddenly resonated within both of their minds, the telepathic command stunning them in place. The absolute authority in his tone left no room for hesitation.

?"Yes, Leader."

?Without another word, they both shot upward into the jagged spatial crack lingering in the sky, vanishing into the dark void. The fractured space folded in on itself and closed shut, returning the heavens to their usual, peaceful blue.

___

?Thousands of feet below, the surface of the rushing river rippled and hissed. Asher stood perfectly balanced on the churning water, a small, frustrated frown carving lines into his face. His clothes were soaked, but the twin daggers hovered dutifully on either side of him, guarding his flanks.

?"I don’t get it, can that guy return damage? 30% of my damage was reflected back to me; if I didn’t have the Golden Blood passive skill, I would have been seriously injured... Also, my two defense abilities, I understand Soul Defense can’t block against magical attacks, but what about Lotus Defense, couldn’t it block the damage?" Asher questioned aloud, wincing slightly as his internal organs knitted themselves back together.

?{Actually... Soul Defense is linked with your soul, which is why it can automatically activate even when it’s an active skill; as for Lotus Defense, you have to activate it on your own.}

?".....?!"

?Asher blinked, thoroughly dumbfounded by his own tactical oversight. He had relied too heavily on automation.

?"This is why training your skills is good," he murmured, chiding his own complacency. He raised his head, his golden eyes narrowing as he stared at the unbroken blue sky where the hand had descended.

?"That guy has the strength to one-shot me, but he didn’t... He only destroyed my mark, and took his people back. I don’t know if this person is my foe, or not. I only know one thing; weakness will get me and my family killed."

?The cold realization washed over him. The ancient families were merely the visible peak of a much larger, darker iceberg. He clenched his fists, the water beneath his boots boiling from the sheer intensity of his renewed resolve:

?"I must keep growing stronger."

__

?[Unknown Location.]

?Deep within a lightless, subterranean realm, shadows clung to the damp stone walls like living entities.

?"Thank you for interfering, Leader," Zachary said respectfully, dropping heavily onto one knee before the dark, imposing figure seated upon a massive stone throne.

?Sumino knelt gracefully right beside him, her head bowed in absolute submission to the darkness.

?"Sumino, you were careless today... Our task is to stay in the shadows and observe." The man cloaked in the abyss scolded, his voice echoing off the cavernous walls with a low, rumbling resonance.

?"I apologize, Leader! When I spotted Aurora, I wanted to get closer and gather some pieces of information; I didn’t know they’d see through me," she quickly yelled, keeping her gaze firmly glued to the cold stone floor, terrified of meeting his gaze.

?"Next time, don’t make that mistake... Go." He dismissed them smoothly, waving a large, shadowed hand.

?"Yes, Leader!"

?The two stood up to take their leave, but instantly froze in their tracks. Their eyes locked onto the hand Raze had just used to dismiss them, widening in absolute shock.

?"Leader, you are bleeding!" Sumino exclaimed in disbelief, her stoic facade shattering entirely.

?There, dripping slowly from the back of the supreme, untouchable Half-Apex entity’s hand, was a single, distinct drop of fresh, crimson blood. Asher’s physical strike hadn’t been a complete zero after all.