Chapter 84: Scarlet Dominion

“FIND THAT BASTARD RIGHT NOW! WE CAN’T LET HIM ESCAPE!”

“WE WILL BE DOOMED IF HE GETS HIS HANDS ON THE RIFT CORE!!” Rosy shouted at the five assassins, who immediately vanished to search for Neolan. She continued staring at the spot where he had disappeared, gritting her beastmen-like teeth as she pressed her fingernails so deeply into her palm that blood began to trickle from her wounds.

Her expression twisted with frustration, and she struggled to suppress the anger building inside her.

‘I should have accounted for that and sent them to search for the core ahead of time. Who knew this bastard could not only teleport but also conceal everyone’s presence?!’ She couldn’t help cursing inwardly, but she soon forced herself to calm down. ‘No, what’s done is done. I shouldn’t think like this… I am an Assassin meant to kill!’

Just as she finished that thought, a strange sound suddenly reached her ears from above.

CRACK!

Rosy’s head immediately snapped upward, and her eyes widened as she saw the sky itself beginning to break apart like glass. “N-No, th-this cannot be!!” she exclaimed, unable to believe what she was witnessing.

The crack continued spreading across the sky, growing wider with every passing second until a massive chasm tore open above her, revealing nothing but complete darkness on the other side.

Rosy gulped as an unfamiliar sense of dread crept into her entire being, causing her expression to turn grim. “H-How did he get the core?!!!!!!” she shouted, immediately realizing what the sudden phenomenon meant. Her mind raced as she desperately tried to think of a way to escape, but the implications of the situation were already becoming clear to her.

‘N-No! I-If this rift closes… there is no way in hell we will be able to make it-‘ Before she could finish that thought, Rosy suddenly noticed something moving beyond the massive crack in the sky. At first, she couldn’t make out what it was, as the other side remained shrouded in complete darkness, but a faint red color gradually appeared within that endless blackness.

Her eyes narrowed as she tried to identify the approaching object, only for her body to stiffen when the surrounding cracks began spreading even further.

Something was approaching the opening, and whatever it was seemed large enough to make the already enormous chasm appear insufficient. Rosy stood frozen as the faint red shape gradually became clearer, revealing something enormous pushing its way through the darkness.

One massive finger slowly emerged from the crack, followed by another, and her breath caught in her throat as she began to understand what she was seeing.

“W-What is that?!!!!!” she shouted yet again, feeling chills run down her spine as the enormous fingers continued descending toward her. She, a ninth-evolution Astrine Blade user, someone whose strength surpassed even SSS-rank Awakeners, yet the sight before her had filled her with genuine terror.

Without waiting to understand what she was facing, Rosy immediately raised her scythe and swung it toward the descending finger, acting purely on instinct as she attempted to defend herself.

‘Scarlet Dominion! That’s my last hope! Whatever that hand may be, it will be destroyed!’ Rosy immediately activated her strongest Aspect Ability, an SS-rank ability she had possessed since awakening.

As mentioned before, when someone awakened an Astrine Blade, they would obtain an Aspect Ability whose rank corresponded to their talent grade. Since Rosy possessed an SS-grade talent, she had naturally received an ability of the same rank, and now she was prepared to unleash its full power against the terrifying existence descending from the sky.

The moment she activated it, an overwhelming amount of Astrine Energy burst out of Rosy’s body in successive waves, spreading in every direction as the surrounding air began to tremble violently.

The ground beneath her feet shattered under the pressure, while the energy spiraled around her scythe, forming a massive crimson vortex that continued growing with every passing second. Rather than spreading aimlessly, however, the Astrine Energy began converging around her, expanding into a vast scarlet domain that covered the surrounding ten kilometers.

Within that domain, the sky darkened beneath a blood-red hue, while countless crimson lines spread through the air like cracks in reality. The entire area was engulfed by Rosy’s Astrine Energy, and an oppressive force descended upon the surroundings as the domain reached its full extent.

The moment she completed the activation, she tightened her grip on her scythe and prepared to unleash the full might of her strongest ability.

“Scarlet Dominion: Domain of Destruction.”

The instant the name escaped her lips, the entire domain erupted with devastating force. Astrine Energy surged outward in enormous waves, sweeping across the terrain and reducing everything in their path to ruin.

Trees were ripped from the ground and hurled through the air, their roots tearing free from the earth, while hillsides crumbled and the terrain itself was pulverized beneath the relentless pressure.

Even the enormous corpses of the monsters scattered throughout the area were lifted from the ground and flung several kilometers away, disappearing into the distance as the crimson waves continued to expand.

The land within ten kilometers was transformed into a scene of complete devastation, with the terrain torn apart and everything that had once stood across the area reduced to ruins. Yet Rosy paid no attention to the destruction surrounding her, as her gaze remained fixed on the enormous hand descending from the crack in the sky.

The moment she unleashed Scarlet Dominion, Rosy swung her scythe vertically downward, causing the entire domain to converge around its blade. The countless waves of Astrine Energy that had been ravaging the surroundings suddenly gathered toward her weapon, compressing into an enormous crimson slash as she directed it toward the approaching hand.

The surrounding space trembled under the concentrated force, and the attack tore through space itself as it rushed toward its target with unbelievable ferocity.

“HIYYAAAAHH!!!” Rosy roared as she brought her scythe down with all her strength, releasing the accumulated power of her domain in a single devastating strike. The enormous vertical slash tore through the air, leaving destruction in its wake as it rushed toward the massive red hand.

For a brief moment, the crimson attack seemed capable of challenging the terrifying object descending from the sky, before it finally collided with the enormous finger.

BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!!!

An enormous explosion erupted from the point of contact, its force far surpassing the previous destruction caused by the rift. The resulting shockwaves spread across the devastated terrain, threatening to crush everything in their path as the remaining Astrine Energy dispersed in every direction.

Rosy’s own body was thrown away by the impact, and she could do nothing to stop herself from being swept along by the violent force unleashed before her.

“Khuk!”

Rosy coughed up blood as she crashed onto the destroyed ground, her already exhausted body suffering even greater injuries from the impact. For a long moment, she remained motionless, struggling to gather enough strength to move again.

Eventually, she managed to lift herself from the ground, her battered eyes turning toward the smoky area several meters away, where the enormous hand had been descending. The smoke slowly began to fade from her sight, and Rosy used whatever Astrine Energy remained within her body to enhance her perception.

Her heart pounded as she strained to see through the lingering haze, desperately hoping that her strongest attack had managed to inflict serious damage on the terrifying existence. However, the moment her eyes finally landed on the hand, her entire body froze.

There was nothing more than a small scratch on its surface.

Rosy’s eyes widened in horror as she stared at the insignificant mark left behind by her strongest Aspect Ability. Her battered body began trembling uncontrollably, and whatever hope she had clung to vanished in an instant. Unable to maintain her balance any longer, she fell to her knees, her expression turning grim as she struggled to comprehend the difference between their strengths.

“Aha… haha… Hahahaha!! I must be hallucinating, y-yes, that’s the reason.”

Her broken laughter echoed through the devastated surroundings as her mind struggled to accept what she had witnessed. Her disbelief reached its extreme, and she seemed on the verge of losing her sanity as she desperately tried to convince herself that none of this could be real.

However, before she could utter another word, her head suddenly separated from her body.

“A maniac human? Hah! Such weaklings coming in this kind of World?”

That was the only voice left behind as Rosy’s headless body collapsed onto the ruined ground. The enormous red hand then slowly withdrew into the massive crack in the sky, disappearing into the darkness beyond it.