Chapter 131: Awakened Tournament Crisis (37)

Only moments ago, the Awakened surrounding the ruined stadium had been struggling to survive against an endless tide of monstrous tentacles. Every attack had demanded their full concentration, and even their strongest skills had barely managed to inflict meaningful damage. The creatures regenerated faster than most could destroy them, growing larger and more durable with every passing moment.

It had been a hopeless battle of attrition.

But now, something had changed.

A black-armored knight strode through the destruction, his enormous sword sweeping through the air with effortless precision. Crimson Essence blazed across his armor, illuminating the gaps between its dark plates, while the Dark Matter surrounding his body distorted the very air around him.

Obsidian.

The Black Knight moved like a ruler surveying his domain.

He didn’t rush. He didn’t hesitate. And he certainly didn’t waste movement.

Whenever a tentacle descended toward him, he met it with a single swing of his blade. The sharpened edge of his Dark Matter weapon sliced through the hardened flesh as though it were nothing more than paper, severing entire sections of the enormous appendages before they could reach the ground.

A tentacle the size of a building lunged toward him from the side.

Obsidian turned his head.

His sword flashed once.

The appendage split apart, its upper half crashing into the ruins while its lower portion recoiled violently. Before the severed flesh could regenerate, Obsidian stepped forward and brought his blade down again, cleaving through the remaining stump and scattering black fragments across the street.

He continued walking.

As though the entire battlefield existed solely for him to cross.

Several Awakened stared at him in disbelief.

"...What the hell is that thing?" someone whispered.

Nobody answered.

They were too busy watching the Black Knight cut through monsters that had previously resisted their strongest attacks.

And he wasn’t even fighting alone.

A short distance away, Eden stood with his Dark Matter blade in hand, crimson Essence surging around his body. The combined power of Dark Matter and Corrupted Surge had transformed his fighting capabilities.

An enormous appendage came crashing down.

Eden stepped forward instead of retreating.

His blade rose in a smooth diagonal slash, black energy trailing behind it like a streak of darkness.

The tentacle split from tip to base.

For a brief moment, the creature seemed unable to comprehend what had happened. Its two severed halves continued moving under their own momentum before crashing into the street on either side of Eden.

He landed lightly, his crimson aura flickering around his shoulders.

"...Much better."

He rolled his wrist, examining the dark blade.

His previous Aura Blade had been unable to penetrate the tentacles’ increasingly durable surfaces. Even Devour had begun consuming them more slowly, forcing him to spend greater amounts of Essence to achieve the same results.

But Dark Matter was different.

The sword cut through the creatures with an ease that bordered on absurdity, and the additional power supplied by Sylvia made every movement feel more natural.

It was as though his body had finally been given a weapon suited to the battlefield.

’I should have done this sooner.’

Sylvia’s voice immediately entered his mind.

[You mean you should have stopped being stubborn sooner.]

’I was being cautious.’

[You were being stubborn.]

’Look who’s talking.’

Eden ignored her bickering and moved toward the next target.

His blade swept through a tentacle that had been attempting to flank Obsidian, severing it before it could strike. The Black Knight didn’t even turn around. He simply continued advancing, trusting his master to handle whatever approached from behind.

That trust was not misplaced.

Eden’s crimson Essence erupted, spreading across the severed appendage and consuming the remaining flesh before it could regenerate.

He grinned.

’Don’t let go too far ahead. We’re heading toward the skull.’

Obsidian inclined his helmet slightly.

The Black Knight changed direction, cutting a path through the surrounding tentacles as he moved toward the center of the battlefield.

And Eden followed.

Together, master and Retainer began carving their way toward the enormous black skull that had emerged from the ground.

The skull towered above the ruined stadium, its surface riddled with cracks and strange markings. Its crimson eyes burned with an eerie light, while the countless tentacles spreading from its base writhed across the surrounding streets.

It was the source.

Eden had no proof that destroying the skull would end the attack, but everything about the creature’s behavior suggested that the skull was more than a simple platform for the summoner standing atop it.

It was the heart of the entire disaster.

And if they wanted to stop the destruction, that was where they needed to go.

"Keep moving!" Eden shouted. "Don’t let them surround us!"

Jax responded by smashing a tentacle into the ground with a devastating punch.

"Easy for you to say! You’re the one with the giant armored bodyguard!"

Obsidian severed another tentacle with a single swing.

Jax stared at the clean cut.

"...Actually, never mind. I don’t wanna piss it off."

Lucy turned to intercept another attack. Her Aura Blade glowed with pink Essence, and the moment she slashed through the incoming appendage, the explosive energy fused with the blade detonated along its cut.

The tentacle ruptured.

Lucy immediately retreated before its severed body could crash down on her.

"That should hold it for a few seconds!"

"Make those seconds count!" Kael called.

He and Jax moved together, using their strongest techniques to keep the smaller tentacles away from the advancing group. Kael’s twin golden blades carved through the weakened sections of the appendages, while Jax used Burst-Step to evade their attacks and strike vulnerable points with his brass knuckle.

Neither could match Eden or Obsidian’s destructive efficiency, but their contribution was still invaluable.

Every tentacle they destroyed was one less threat that could reach the others.

And that gave the weaker Awakened something they hadn’t possessed since the attack began.

Room to breathe.

Sophia was the first to take advantage of it.

She had spent the past several minutes desperately trying to keep the tentacles away from herself and the people around her. Her Amethyst Spear was powerful for a C-Rank, but the creatures’ hardened surfaces had rendered her attacks nearly useless.

Now, with Obsidian and Eden drawing the attention of the larger tentacles, she could finally focus on precision rather than survival.

She watched one of the smaller appendages swing toward a group of injured Awakened.

"Not this time!"

Sophia dashed forward, her spear glowing violet.

Instead of striking the tentacle’s thickest section, she aimed for a joint where the flesh folded as it moved. Her spear pierced the softer area, and she twisted the weapon before withdrawing it.

The tentacle spasmed.

A second strike landed in the same spot.

Then a third.

The appendage recoiled, its movement becoming increasingly erratic as Sophia continued targeting the same weak point.

"Now!" she shouted.

Kael appeared at her side and delivered a sweeping slash, severing the damaged section.

The tentacle crashed to the ground.

Sophia exhaled sharply.

"...So they do have weak points."

"Everything has a weak point," Kael replied. "The problem is finding it before it finds you."

A sudden burst of lightning illuminated the street.

Alexis shot forward, cyan electricity dancing across his arms as he unleashed a concentrated attack against another tentacle. The lightning drilled into its surface, forcing its muscles to seize before the creature could strike.

Sonne followed with a wave of freezing Essence, encasing the damaged section in ice.

Luvian’s crimson flames crashed into it a moment later.

The combined attack detonated.

The tentacle broke apart, scattering fragments across the street.

Alexis landed with a satisfied grin.

"Now that’s what I’m talking about!"

Sonne lowered her hands, breathing heavily.

"Don’t celebrate yet. It’s still regenerating."

"Then we’ll destroy it again."

Luvian clicked his tongue.

"Could you two stop talking and keep moving? I’d rather not be here when another one of those things decides to flatten us."

Alexis glanced at him.

"You’re welcome for the assist, by the way."

"I didn’t ask for your help."

"And yet you took it."

Luvian’s expression darkened.

Alexis grinned.

"Oh, don’t look at me like that. I’m sure you’d have done fine on your own."

"Keep talking, and I’ll burn you instead of the tentacles."

"See? That’s the spirit."

Sonne sighed.

Of all the things she had expected to deal with during the end of the world, babysitting two overgrown children hadn’t been one of them.

Still, their combined attacks were working.

And that was what mattered.

Even Luvian, despite his obvious irritation, had stopped wasting energy complaining and begun coordinating his flames with Sonne’s ice. The three C-Ranks weren’t capable of overpowering the strongest tentacles individually, but by combining their skills and getting a B-Ranks — Luvians assistance, even they could contribute.

Unfortunately for Luvian, that only served to fuel his inferiority complex.

He looked at Sonne.

’A righteous Freak.’

Then at Sophia.

’Bottomfeeder C-Rank with crazy Hairdo.’

And lastly at Alexis.

’Why the fuck do the others get to take the lead, while I have to babysit these Idiots?!’

Irritated as he was, he kept his struggles to himself.