Chapter 160: Null’s Influence

’Let’s see how you handle this.’

He raised his right hand.

Crimson Essence began pouring from his palm.

Luka’s half-regenerated body suddenly stopped moving.

His black eyes fixed on the crimson mass.

"...What is that?"

Eden smiled faintly.

"You’ll find out soon enough."

The crimson Essence surged forward.

[Devour]

Something inside Luka screamed at him to move.

He threw himself backward, trying to create as much distance as possible.

But Devour was faster.

Crimson tendrils shot forward, spreading across the courtyard and catching Luka’s black matter before he could retreat.

The moment they made contact, Luka felt something he hadn’t experienced before.

Pain.

A deep, ruthless world of unimaginable pain.

Something was eating away at the very foundation of his body.

His Dark Matter writhed violently, attempting to resist the crimson Essence. Black tendrils rose from the ground, striking at the crimson Essence and attempting to tear it apart.

But the crimson substance simply swallowed it whole.

One after another.

Luka’s eyes widened.

"...Wait."

He tried pulling away.

The black liquid beneath him began retreating, but Devour clung to it, consuming more with every passing second.

"What the hell is this?!"

Eden stepped forward.

The skill expanded.

A monstrous crimson mouth emerged from the ground, opening wide before swallowing a large portion of Luka’s Dark Matter.

The black substance struggled.

It twisted, hardened, and formed countless spikes in an attempt to pierce the crimson mass.

None of it worked.

Devour continued eating.

And as it did, Eden felt something familiar returning to him.

The Dark Matter Luka had stolen from Obsidian.

He could recognize it.

Even after being absorbed and integrated into Luka’s body, it still carried traces of Obsidian’s energy.

A faint smile appeared on Eden’s face.

He watched the color leave Luka’s face. Something about the way Luka panicked and struggled was deeply satisfying to watch.

’Ah... Here comes the dopamine.’

The crimson mass swallowed another portion of Dark Matter.

A notification appeared.

[Dark Matter absorbed.]

Eden’s eyes narrowed.

’Oh?’

’Seems like I can make that Bastard’s Dark Matter my own.’

Luka began struggling more violently.

"STOP!"

His body expanded, black liquid erupting from his shoulders and back in the form of enormous tendrils. They slammed into the ground, tearing through concrete and attempting to push Devour away.

Eden barely moved.

A crimson serpent rose behind him and swallowed the tendrils whole.

Luka’s regeneration began slowing.

His body was losing its shape.

The black substance that had once covered every inch of his flesh was gradually disappearing, consumed by the vicious crimson Essence.

For the first time, Luka looked frightened.

"Ugh wait! I said wait!"

Eden approached with a smile.

"What’s wrong?"

Luka tried to crawl backward.

His legs were already getting devoured.

"Stop that thing!"

Eden kicked Luka across the face, sending several teeth flying out Luka’s mouth.

"You don’t get it, do you?"

Luka’s mouth opened.

No words came out.

"Nobody messes with what’s mine."

Eden crouched down to eye level with Luka.

"Those who attempt it will meet an painful end."

Genuine fear overcome Luka, who now tried to crawl away.

He had never imagined something could consume his Dark Matter.

He had believed it was the one thing that made him practically immortal.

The one thing that separated him from ordinary Awakened.

Yet this man was devouring it as though it were nothing more than food.

And worse...

He was enjoying it.

Eden watched as another portion disappeared.

[Dark Matter absorbed.]

The sensation was strange.

The amount he had reclaimed from Obsidian was substantial.

The amount he was taking from Luka was even greater.

Eden got back up onto his feet, staring down at Luka with the eyes of a predator looking at cornered prey.

’So this is what happens when I devour someone whose body has been fused with Dark Matter.’

Luka’s expression twisted.

"YOU BASTARD!"

He threw his remaining arm forward.

A massive black spike formed, aimed directly at Eden’s chest.

Eden didn’t even bother dodging.

A crimson mouth opened between them and swallowed the attack.

The spike vanished.

Luka stared.

"...No."

His voice trembled.

"No, no, no..."

His body was becoming smaller.

The black substance that had once flowed through every part of him was disappearing rapidly, and with it, the strength that allowed him to regenerate.

He tried to move.

His legs barely responded.

Eden

"Now."

He looked down at Luka.

"Let’s talk about Lucy."

Luka coughed.

Blood spilled from his mouth.

Eden crouched.

"Who sent you?"

Luka tried to laugh, but the sound came out as a strained wheeze.

"...You really think..."

He swallowed.

"...you can just..."

His body convulsed as another portion of Dark Matter disappeared.

Eden’s expression remained cold.

"Wrong answer."

He looked down at Luka.

There was very little left of him now.

The black substance that had once covered his body had almost entirely disappeared. His limbs were barely recognizable, and the remaining patches of Dark Matter were being devoured one after another.

Luka’s breathing grew shallow.

His eyes widened as he watched the crimson mass approach his face.

"Wait...!"

Eden didn’t stop.

"Please!"

That made him pause for half a second.

Luka’s expression had changed completely.

"Listen... I can tell you..."

Eden stared at him.

"Then talk."

Luka’s mouth opened.

But before a single word could leave it, the ground beneath them changed.

A shadow appeared.

’...!’

It stretched across the cracked concrete, moving in a direction that made no sense. There was no object casting it, no person standing nearby, and no source of light that could have produced such a shape.

Eden’s eyes narrowed.

"...What?"

The shadow expanded.

A strange distortion spread through the air, almost like the surface of water being disturbed by an invisible force.

Devour reacted immediately.

The crimson mass surged toward Luka.

But it was too late.

The shadow swallowed him.

Eden lunged forward, his hand extending toward the retreating figure.

"Don’t you dare!"

His fingers brushed against empty air.

Luka disappeared.

The shadow collapsed in on itself, leaving nothing behind but a faint distortion that vanished a moment later.

Silence returned to the courtyard.

Eden remained frozen for several seconds.

Then he slowly lowered his hand.

"...What the fuck was that?"

He scanned the surrounding area.

To no avail. There nothing in sight. Not a single person. No Essence signature.

No Dark Matter residue beyond the remnants of what Devour had already consumed.

Whoever had appeared had managed to extract Luka from the battlefield without giving Eden a chance to react.

And they had done so using an ability he had never seen before.

Eden’s expression darkened.

He glanced at the place where Luka had disappeared.

’So he wasn’t alone.’

’It would be troublesome if this was a planned attack. Even more so if someone had observed the entire fight without being present.’

Eden eventually released his Ferocious Evolution skill.

The transformation faded gradually, leaving his body exhausted but otherwise unharmed.

Eden exhaled.

He had failed to capture Luka.

But he had recovered Obsidian’s stolen Dark Matter, absorbed a considerable amount of Luka’s own, and confirmed something important.

Someone was experimenting with Dark Matter.

And judging by Eden’s gut feeling, Crimson-Crow was probably involved.