Chapter 115: Awakened Tournament Crisis (21)

Dust swallowed the area around Eden’s impact point. Fragments of stone scattered across the battlefield, bouncing against the protective barrier as the restoration systems struggled to repair the damage.

Elio watched the cloud of debris.

A streak of crimson shot out of the dust.

[Burst-Step]

Eden emerged from the cloud in midair.

Elio’s eyes widened slightly.

Eden had used the momentum of his own flight to launch himself back toward his opponent, crossing the distance before the whipblade could fully retract.

His right leg swung forward.

The kick struck Elio directly across the face.

Elio’s head snapped to the side, and his body flew backward. He crossed the arena in an instant, slammed into the protective barrier, and bounced off it hard enough to send a ripple of light across its surface.

He landed on his feet, though he was forced to slide several meters before regaining his balance.

A thin line of blood appeared at the corner of his mouth.

The crowd went wild.

"EDEN COUNTERS!"

"HE HIT HIM WHILE HE WAS RETRACTING THE WEAPON!"

"WHAT KIND OF REACTION SPEED IS THAT?!"

Eden landed lightly, his Aura Blade still in his right hand.

’Ugh...’

He glanced at the crimson Essence surrounding his body.

’That hurt.’

The serpent’s tail had struck harder than he’d anticipated. Even with Corrupted Surge active, the impact had been enough to send him flying through the battlefield.

He rolled his shoulder once, testing the damage.

’Nothing serious.’

But he couldn’t afford to let that attack land repeatedly.

’If the serpent follows every movement of his weapon, dodging the blade alone won’t be enough.’

Eden lowered his Aura Blade slightly.

Then he allowed the crimson Essence surrounding his hand to flow into the purple weapon.

Devour spread across the blade in a thin, vicious coating. Small mouths opened along its surface, their teeth closing around the edges of the Aura Blade as though the weapon itself were being consumed and reforged.

The sword’s appearance changed.

Its purple glow darkened beneath the crimson layer, creating a blade that looked as though it had been forged from two incompatible powers.

Eden flexed his fingers.

’Let’s see how you handle this.’

He vanished again.

Elio’s eyes narrowed as Eden reappeared directly in front of him, his Aura Blade already descending.

Elio raised his weapon to block.

The collision sent sparks flying.

But this time, Eden didn’t simply push against the blade.

He redirected his force.

His wrist turned, guiding Elio’s weapon away from its ideal angle before his body flowed into the next movement. Eden’s sword swept toward Elio’s ribs, forcing him to twist aside. Before Elio could retaliate, Eden shifted his weight and brought the blade back from the opposite direction.

Recoilless Technique.

No wasted motion.

No unnecessary resistance.

Every movement flowed into the next, allowing Eden to redirect Elio’s force and attack through the openings created by his own defenses.

Elio’s whipblade snapped outward, but Eden stepped inside its trajectory.

The purple serpent lunged.

Eden ducked beneath its jaws and slashed upward.

Elio blocked.

Another attack followed immediately.

The sound of their weapons clashing filled the arena, each impact sending shockwaves through the battlefield.

Eden’s attacks became increasingly difficult to predict. He no longer relied on overwhelming Elio’s defenses with brute strength.

Instead, he manipulated the angles of their clashes, turning even a successful block into an opportunity for the next strike.

Elio was forced backward.

He was unmistakably on the defensive.

A slash narrowly missed his shoulder.

Another scraped across his weapon.

A third forced him to twist his entire body to avoid being struck across the chest.

He responded with a sudden burst of purple Essence, attempting to create enough distance for the serpent to attack, but Eden immediately followed with Burst-Step and refused to let him escape.

The two fighters moved across the arena like streaks of light.

Purple and crimson flashed through the dust, accompanied by the constant ringing of colliding blades.

And yet, despite Eden’s growing momentum, none of his attacks managed to land cleanly.

Elio was still keeping up.

His whipblade shifted between a rigid sword and a flexible segmented weapon, allowing him to defend against attacks that should have been impossible to block. The purple serpent coiled around the weapon, snapping at Eden whenever he approached too aggressively.

Eden forced him to retreat.

Elio forced Eden to remain cautious.

Neither could establish a decisive advantage.

The audience was beginning to understand the absurdity of what they were witnessing.

"Weren’t these two supposed to be A-Rank?"

"That’s what the associations displays say!"

"Then how are they fighting like this?!"

Even among high-ranking Awakened, combat at this level was rare. Their speed, destructive power, and precision had reached a point where ordinary observers could barely follow the exchanges.

And neither fighter appeared close to exhaustion.

Eden’s crimson aura continued to churn around him. Elio’s purple Essence remained dense and vibrant, coiling around his body and weapon like a living creature.

’Enough playing around.’

He disengaged from the clash, taking a short step backward.

Elio’s whipblade snapped toward him.

Eden ignored it.

The crimson Essence around his body suddenly darkened.

A pressure unlike anything Elio had ever felt before spread through the arena.

[Malicious Spirit]

The change was immediate.

The atmosphere seemed to collapse.

The audience’s cheers died in their throats as an invisible force descended upon the battlefield. Several spectators felt their breathing catch, while weaker Awakened instinctively leaned away from the arena, their bodies reacting before their minds could understand why.

Inside the protective barrier, the ground cracked.

Elio’s purple serpent shuddered.

His whipblade dipped.

For the first time, his composure visibly broke.

His knees struck the ground.

The impact cratered the reinforced surface beneath him.

Elio’s head lowered as the crushing pressure forced his body downward. His arms trembled, and the purple Essence surrounding him flickered violently, struggling against the overwhelming spiritual force bearing down upon him.

Blood spilled from his mouth.

His fingers dug into the cracked ground as he fought to remain conscious.

Eden stood before him, his expression focused.

He could feel the resistance.

Elio’s will was extraordinary, but Malicious Spirit didn’t simply attack the body. It overwhelmed the enemy through sheer spiritual force, using the user’s Essence, Will, and killing intent to crush their ability to resist.

Against most opponents, the skill’s effect would have been decisive.

And it seems that Elio was one of those opponents.

The young man could barely lift his head.

’Sort of anticlimactic.’

Eden’s eyes narrowed.

’But seems like that’s it.’