Chapter 296: Lock of Ascension [2]

Chapter 295

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Episode 78 – Lock of Ascension [2]

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Boom!

The figure of an Abyssal creature more than three hundred meters tall was reduced to microscopic pieces when Sword Intent tore it apart.

Adel appeared floating in the sky through Gravity. Otherwise, he would have had to create wings using Mana, but maintaining them would consume an unnecessary amount of Mana.

Only Nine-Star Awakened possessed the natural ability to fly without using Mana or any other means.

The gravity around him distorted slightly as his senses focused on a specific location.

The Gate of Ascension.

The rift in the sky from which hundreds of monsters continued to fall every second.

Even such an enormous creature had managed to reach its tentacles toward the rift. The rift stretched thirty kilometers in length and ten kilometers in width.

However, the owner of the tentacles could not pass through the rift. For that reason, roughly four tentacles moved back and forth, lashing through the air like enormous whips.

‘Thirty minutes have already passed.’

Alice’s voice echoed in his mind as Adel kept his senses focused on the rift and silently “looked” at it.

He slowly nodded before replying:

‘Yes. Dealing with a trio of Class 8 villains was difficult. I’ve already wasted too much time.’

With a thought, an object appeared in the palm of his hand.

It was shaped like a lock and covered in intricate Magic Threads and Ten-Star Magic Circles.

What he held in his hand was the solution to closing the Gate of Ascension.

A Lock of Ascension.

Adel had obtained it when he went to retrieve the Ancient Spirit’s body, shortly after entering the World of Dreams.

Back then, to Adel, the Lock of Ascension was known as a “Hidden Piece,” as he believed it was part of the world of a game called Holy Land.

However, that was no longer the case.

Now, that “Hidden Piece” had become the solution to completing the Main Mission of Chapter Four.

‘Very well, it’s time to finish the Main Mission.’

Whoosh!

Adel’s figure disappeared, and in the next second, he crossed the distance to the rift.

He appeared directly in front of it.

At that moment, countless eyes on the other side of the rift turned toward him.

The power of its owner caused Adel’s body to tremble.

A Class 10 creature was watching him from the other side of the rift, while overwhelming Power of Chaos surged from its body and pierced through the rift.

‘Damn it. If this Gate of Ascension could let monsters above Class 6 through, we’d be finished.’

Although the maximum power of the Abyssal creatures capable of passing through the Gate of Ascension was Class 6, their numbers remained the greatest problem.

And right in front of him, hundreds of monsters continued pouring out of the rift every second.

‘Let’s finish this.’

Dark Mana surged from his heart and coursed through his body until it reached the palm of his hand.

He was ready to activate the Lock of Ascension and throw it toward the rift.

However, as if fate itself refused to let Adel complete the Main Mission so easily…

“….!?”

Whoosh!

An arrow formed from the Power of Chaos pierced through the sky toward Adel and exploded.

Boom!

An explosion, resembling the detonation of a nuclear bomb, erupted where Adel had been.

The hundreds of monsters emerging from the rift were reduced to pieces in an instant, leaving nothing behind.

A shockwave spread several kilometers across the sky following the explosion.

A veil of smoke covered the area before slowly dispersing.

However, the attacker, the owner of the arrow, frowned.

“…?”

Then, his senses suddenly detected movement behind him.

The next second…

Whoosh! Boom!

Tens of thousands of invisible slashes tore through space and air within a ten-kilometer radius.

However, they found nothing but empty air and space.

The next instant, his senses warned him of a new danger, and he teleported a considerable distance away using Spatial Movement.

Boom!

Five arrows exploded where he had been a moment earlier.

Adel extended his senses and quickly directed his “gaze” toward the archer.

‘A Class 9 villain…’

His expression became completely serious as he sensed the power of his enemy.

‘Master, I need your help.’

Adel could kill the Class 9 villain using the Eyes of the End.

However, he planned to leave the Academy first thing the following morning to complete the Mission meant to recover his memories.

Therefore, he could not afford to endure the side effects of the Eyes of the End until the next day.

He could not wait two days either.

The Mission to recover his memories had a time limit, and he only had two days left.

‘Master, I need your help.’

‘We’ll finally fight side by side.’

Alice’s cheerful voice echoed in his mind.

The next second, the figure of a Spirit shot out from Adel’s chest.

Then, the Spirit changed its form and, within a single second, assumed her human form.

The figure of a tall woman, with hair and eyes as black as the deepest darkness in the universe, appeared in front of him.

A Mana Sword materialized in her hand.

Then, while floating beside Adel, she directed her gaze toward the Class 9 villain.

“Mhm, the strength of this body is comparable to that of a Nine-Star Awakened, but my Star level is Eight. It might take us a few minutes to kill him.”

“That’s enough. What concerns me is if he uses his Domain. An Archer’s Domain is known to be one of the most dangerous.”

Alice nodded slightly.

“Alright, then let’s go.”

Whoosh!

The figures of master and disciple disappeared.

“…!”

The Archer’s expression turned serious when he saw an exceptionally powerful Spirit appear.

He immediately drew his bowstring, and an arrow of the Power of Chaos materialized.

However, just as the master-and-disciple duo appeared in front of him…

Whoosh!

The Archer’s figure moved at an utterly absurd speed and appeared a dozen meters away from the duo.

Then, he released the bowstring.

Boom!

The arrow shot forward, but halfway there, it split into a dozen projectiles, forming a veritable rain of arrows.

As if teleporting, the arrows crossed the distance between the Archer and the duo in an instant.

With a faint smile on her face, Alice did not even need to swing her Mana Sword.

She simply willed it, and the next second…

Clank! Clank! Clank! Clank!

The rain of arrows shattered as Sword Intent completely tore the Archer’s attack apart.

Meanwhile, Adel seized the opportunity.

Instead of simply flying at high speed, he used Spatial Movement to appear behind the Archer and swung his sword.

An overwhelming amount of Dark Mana surged from his body and enveloped the blade.

Then…

Boom!

The moon-shaped slash shot toward the Archer.

However, his exceptional senses warned him of the danger, and before the attack could hit him, his figure blurred as he retreated.

Adel’s attack tore through space before finally disappearing a dozen kilometers away.

‘Tsk, damn it. His Agility must be comparable to Ten Stars.’

Archers were known for two things: their Agility and their senses.

In contrast, their other physical attributes, such as Endurance and Strength, were considerably weaker.

However, their Agility and senses were overwhelming. A villain, on the other hand, could possess physical stats far superior to those of an Awakened.

For example, the Class 9 Archer possessed Agility comparable to that of a Class 10 villain.

Adel was well aware of this characteristic.

Therefore, instead of trying to catch him through sheer speed, he immediately changed his strategy.

With an overwhelming amount of Willpower, so much that even his mind began to collapse under the strain, he manipulated the Gravity of an entire fifty-kilometer region.

In an instant, the Gravity throughout the entire region increased by at least five hundred times.

Then, with a mere thought, he made the gravitational pressure so intense that anyone within the region would have tremendous difficulty moving.

“…..!?”

The Archer’s senses warned him of the danger.

When he tried to move, an extremely powerful gravitational force drastically reduced his Agility.

Because his Endurance was not particularly high, the bones throughout his body began to creak faintly.

The Gravity was so intense that, unless he were a Dark Knight, enduring such pressure on his body would be extremely difficult.

Whoosh!

Adel’s figure teleported in front of the Archer.

And just as he was about to swing his sword…

“Damn it…”

The Archer cursed.

Then, something surged from the depths of his being as he muttered:

“Domain Creation.”

Forced to use his Domain, he deployed it with all his strength the instant Adel appeared in front of him.

The space around his body distorted, creating an invisible veil that began pulling Adel’s body toward him.

But…

“Domain Creation.”

“…!?”

The Archer’s eyes twitched.

The next second, Alice’s Domain unfolded and collided directly with the Archer’s Domain.

An immense pressure erupted between the two Domains as their powers struggled to devour the enemy Domain and expand completely.

However, neither of them managed to gain the upper hand.

Both Domains remained partially deployed, unable to completely devour the other.

Adel seized that instant.

An overwhelming amount of Dark Mana surged from his body and enveloped his sword.

Then, he swung the sword at the Archer.

“…!?”

The Archer’s mind went blank as he tried to focus on devouring Alice’s Domain.

But he could not do so immediately.

Adel’s sword pierced through his body and split him in half.

Even in his final moments, the Archer tried to move.

However, the pressure of the Gravity remained far too overwhelming.

His body, divided in two, began falling toward the ground.

Adel briefly “looked” at him before his figure teleported away.

The next instant, he appeared in front of the rift.

He took out the Lock of Ascension and poured Mana into it.

The Relic vibrated violently.

Then, Adel threw it directly toward the Gate of Ascension.

Boom!

The rift began glowing from its center with an intense white light.

The next second, it began to close.

Its size rapidly shrank, going from thirty kilometers in length to barely a few meters.

Finally, the Gate of Ascension closed completely.

The black sky and the rain disappeared within seconds.

At the same time, the tentacles protruding from the rift were severed and fell onto the Academy grounds.

“Ahh!”

Adel let out a long sigh as several notifications echoed in his mind.

“Your adoptive mother should be returning soon.”

Upon hearing Alice’s voice, Adel’s expression changed slightly at the word “mother.”

Even after three weeks, he still couldn’t get used to the idea of having a mother, even if she was an adoptive one.

“Let’s kill the remaining monsters that came out of the rift while we were fighting the Archer.”

With an expressionless face, Adel descended toward the ground.

Seeing him try to leave so calmly, Alice spoke in a teasing tone:

“Ha-ha, tell her, ‘Mom, I’ve taken care of the Gate of Ascension’ when she gets back.”

“…”

“So you’re just going to ignore me. Well, I didn’t know you were shy, dear disciple.”

However, as he descended toward the ground and ignored his master’s words, Adel thought:

‘I’m not shy. It’s just that this is the first time I’ve ever called someone mother or Mom.’

He had never had a mother.

Therefore, for someone whose mental age was impossible to determine due to his countless lives, the idea of calling another person “mother” after such a short time was simply too difficult to put into words.