Chapter 158: Invincible

The abandoned hall was quiet.

Its once-white walls had deteriorated into a patchwork of gray concrete and peeling paint. Broken windows allowed narrow beams of daylight to illuminate the dust floating through the air.

A young man stood in the middle of the room.

He wore ordinary black clothes: a loose shirt, dark trousers, and a pair of worn sneakers. His long black hair was messy, falling over his forehead and partially obscuring one of his eyes.

His eyes, however, were anything but ordinary.

They were Pitch-black.

He looked down at his hands, flexing his fingers with a faint smile.

A thin layer of black substance crawled across his skin, disappearing beneath his sleeves before emerging again around his wrists.

It moved like liquid.

But it wasn’t liquid.

It was Dark Matter.

The young man chuckled.

"Well, I’ll be damned."

He clenched his fist.

The black substance hardened, covering his knuckles like a second layer of skin. A moment later, it spread across his forearm, forming a jagged armor-like structure.

Then it disappeared again.

"Null wasn’t fucking around."

He tilted his head, admiring his reflection in a broken piece of glass.

"This Dark Matter stuff really is the shit."

Behind him, someone shifted.

A young woman was sitting against one of the walls, her hands tied behind her back. Her brown hair was disheveled, and blood trickled from the corner of her mouth.

Lucy.

She glared at the man.

"What the hell are you?"

The man turned around.

"Hm?"

"Who are you working for?"

He smiled.

"You’re asking a lot of questions."

Lucy spat a small amount of blood onto the floor.

She had already tried fighting him.

Her Essence-enhanced strikes had landed cleanly. She had managed to break his ribs, dislocate his shoulder, and even crush part of his jaw.

But none of it mattered.

The black substance covering his body simply regenerated whatever damage she inflicted. Even when she managed to create an opening, he recovered before she could capitalize on it.

It was as if she were fighting something that didn’t understand the concept of injury or exhaustion.

And that wasn’t even the strangest part.

His Essence felt wrong.

It was difficult to describe, but there was something unnatural about the energy flowing through his body. It didn’t behave like the Essence of any Awakened she had encountered before.

Not even Eden’s.

The man crouched in front of her.

"Tell me something."

He tilted his head.

"What’s your relationship with Eden?"

Lucy frowned.

"None of your business."

"Really?"

He smiled wider.

"That’s unfortunate. Because I’m very interested in him."

"What do you want from him?"

"His Dark Matter, obviously."

Lucy blinked.

"...His what?"

The man stared at her for a moment.

Then he laughed.

"Oh. He hasn’t told you?"

"Told me what?"

He stood up.

"I suppose you’re useless then."

Lucy narrowed her eyes.

"What the hell is Dark Matter?"

The man’s expression changed.

His smile simply disappeared.

"You’re starting to annoy me."

Before Lucy could respond, his foot slammed against her face.

Her head struck the concrete wall behind her.

She groaned, struggling to remain conscious.

"Shut up for a while."

The man turned away.

And stopped.

A faint purple light reflected in his black eyes.

He barely had time to glance over his shoulder.

A blade swept through the air.

Both of his arms fell to the floor.

For a fraction of a second, the man simply stared at the empty spaces where his limbs had been.

Then a thin smile returned to his face.

"...Oh?"

Eden stood several meters behind him, holding a purple Essence Blade.

His expression was terrifyingly calm.

"Lucy."

He ignored the man and immediately rushed toward her.

"Are you alright?"

He crouched beside her, cutting through the restraints with his blade before helping her sit upright.

Lucy coughed.

"E-Eden...?"

"Yeah. I’m here."

His eyes briefly scanned her injuries.

Bloodied face. Bruised arms. Several cuts across her body.

His jaw tightened.

"Can you stand?"

"I... think so."

"Don’t force yourself."

He moved to help her up.

"Just stay behind me."

"Eden!"

Lucy’s sudden scream made him turn.

A fist was already approaching his face.

He barely had time to raise his arms.

The impact struck like a wrecking ball.

Eden was launched backward, crashing through the concrete wall behind him. The force carried him through another partition before he finally struck a reinforced support column.

Dust exploded through the corridor.

For a moment, everything was silent.

Then the man’s voice echoed through the ruined hall.

"That was close."

Two new arms had already grown from his shoulders.

The severed limbs on the floor dissolved into black liquid, flowing back toward his body.

He flexed his fingers.

"Now that’s more like it."

Eden pushed himself out of the rubble.

A thin line of blood ran from his forehead.

He wiped it away with the back of his hand.

"...Regeneration?"

The man grinned.

"Something like that."

Eden’s eyes narrowed.

Before he could move, the man’s body blurred.

A second impact struck the ground where Eden had been standing.

Concrete shattered.

But this time, Eden had already moved aside.

"Obsidian!"

Dark Matter erupted beside him.

The Black Knight manifested with his greatsword already in hand. His imposing silhouette filled the corridor, and the blade descended toward the approaching Awakened.

The man raised his arm.

The greatsword connected.

Or rather, it should have.

The instant the Dark Matter blade touched his body, its surface began to melt.

Obsidian’s weapon dissolved into black liquid, spreading across the man’s arm before flowing beneath his skin.

Eden’s eyes widened.

"...What?"

The stranger looked down at his arm.

Then he laughed.

"Oh, that’s New!"

More black substance crawled across his body.

"Where’d you find a summon like this? It’s a walking goldmine!"

Eden immediately understood.

"Obsidian! Get away from him!"

But it was too late.

The man lunged forward and grabbed Obsidian by the helmet.

His fingers dug into the Black Knight’s armor.

A strange sucking sound filled the corridor.

Obsidian’s body began to lose its shape.

Dark Matter peeled away from his armor, flowing toward the man’s hand like water being drawn into a drain.

Eden’s expression twisted.

"Let go!"

He activated Burst-Step.

His body vanished.

A purple streak crossed the corridor, and the man’s right arm was severed at the elbow.

Obsidian immediately dissolved into Dark Matter, retreating before the stranger could absorb any more.

The man looked at his missing arm.

Then at Eden.

A moment later, the severed limb regenerated.

He flexed his fingers and gave Eden an amused smile.

"Name’s Luka, by the way."

Eden stared at him.

For several seconds, he said nothing.

Then his voice came out colder than before.

"I don’t give a fuck what your name is."

Luka chuckled.

"Well, aren’t you feisty?"

Eden’s Essence began to rise.

The crimson aura surrounding his body grew denser, spreading through the ruined corridor.

He glanced toward the place where Obsidian had disappeared.

Then toward Lucy.

Luka tilted his head.

"What’s wrong? C’mon, do you seriously think you have the luxury of worrying about that woman right now?"

Eden slowly raised his right hand.

"Shut up."

A crimson glow appeared beneath his skin.

For the first time since acquiring it, he activated his newest skill.

[Ferocious Evolution]

A violent surge of Essence erupted from his body.

Black scales spread across small parts of his arms, climbing over his shoulders and partially covering his neck.

His wounds closed.

His muscles tightened.

A strange sensation coursed through his body as Essence was converted into raw physical reinforcement.

[Blackout: 1%]

The number flickered.

[Blackout: 5%]

Eden’s eyes narrowed.

’Five percent already?’

He hadn’t even pushed the skill particularly hard.

Still, the difference was noticeable.

His body felt lighter, stronger, and more responsive. Every movement carried a weight that hadn’t been there before.

He clenched his fist.

Luka watched with genuine interest.

"...Now that’s something."

Eden disappeared.

The ground beneath his feet exploded.

Luka barely managed to raise his arms before Eden’s fist struck his chest.

His body folded around the impact.

The force sent him flying through the opposite wall, tearing through several layers of concrete before throwing him into the courtyard outside.

Eden followed immediately.

Burst-Step carried him through the opening.

He appeared above Luka and brought his heel down.

The impact cratered the ground.

Concrete fragments shot in every direction.

Luka’s body was buried beneath the rubble.

Eden landed a few meters away, his expression unchanged.

He waited for a few seconds.

Then a hand emerged from the debris.

Luka pulled himself upright.

His chest was caved in, several ribs protruding through his torn shirt. Black liquid crawled over the injuries, pulling the broken pieces back into place.

Within moments, his body was whole again.

He rolled his shoulders.

"...Damn."

His amused smile returned.

"That one actually hurt!"

Eden stared at him.

The black substance covering Luka’s body was moving constantly, flowing through his skin like an additional circulatory system.

It wasn’t simply repairing his injuries.

It was rebuilding him.

Eden’s gaze sharpened.

’It’s fundamentally different than my application of Dark Matter.’

Luka raised his hands.

"Come on. Don’t stop now."

The courtyard became a battlefield.

Eden’s strikes shattered concrete and tore through the surrounding structures. Every time Luka attempted to counterattack, Eden redirected his movements, using Burst-Step to reposition himself and Ferocious Evolution to reinforce his physical strength.

A punch connected with Luka’s jaw.

His head snapped sideways.

Another strike landed against his stomach, sending him crashing through a wall.

Eden followed with a purple blade, cutting through the black substance before it could fully regenerate.

Luka’s body was torn apart.

Yet the Dark Matter continued to flow.

His shoulder reformed. His jaw reconstructed itself. Even the wounds left by Eden’s Essence Blade slowly disappeared.

At one point, Eden drove his fist directly through Luka’s skull.

The man’s head exploded.

Black liquid splattered across the ground.

Eden stepped back, watching the remains twitch.

A moment later, the substance began gathering.

First the neck.

Then the jaw.

Then the eyes.

Luka’s head slowly reconstructed itself.

His pitch-black eyes opened.

"...Hah."

He looked at Eden.

"Rude fucker."

Eden’s expression darkened.

"You’re really getting on my nerves."

Luka laughed.

And Eden realized something.

The man’s regeneration was extraordinary, but it wasn’t limitless.

At least, not in the way it appeared.

Every time Luka reconstructed a significant injury, the amount of Dark Matter circulating through his body seemed to decrease slightly.

It was subtle.

Almost imperceptible.

But Eden could see it.

’He’s consuming his own reserves to regenerate.’

’That explains why he had attempted to absorb Obsidian’s Dark Matter.’

’So he isn’t invincible.’

’He’s just carrying an enormous amount of Dark Matter inside his body.’

Eden decided to pour more Essence into Ferocious Evolution.

He was done testing the waters. Now it was time to pay that Bastard back for what he did to Lucy.

[Blackout: 13%]

Luka’s smile faded as he noticed the pressure in the air growing heavier.

"...What’s that?"