Chapter 174: East Anekta Crisis (13)

Eden didn’t look back.

The moment Ember stepped between him and Luka, he had already made his decision. There was no reason to waste time watching their fight. Aphelios was still at the top of the hotel skyscraper, and the enormous concentration of Essence gathering above it was growing stronger by the minute.

If the summoning ritual reached completion, everything on the island would become considerably more difficult.

He accelerated, weaving through the ruined streets as he made his way toward the hotel. Smoke rose from burning buildings, and distant explosions continued to shake the island. The occasional scream echoed between the skyscrapers, followed by the unmistakable sounds of combat.

East Anekta had become a battlefield.

Eden tightened his grip.

’Just hold on a little longer.’

He had no intention of letting Aphelios finish his ritual.

---

Back at the ruins of the second storage skyscraper, Ember faced her opponent.

Luka rolled his shoulders, the Dark Matter covering his body shifting like a living substance. His black blade had already reformed after the previous exchange, and the faint smile on his face suggested that he was enjoying himself.

"So, it’s just the two of us now?"

Ember didn’t answer.

Purple flames gathered around her arms and spread across her weapon. They weren’t ordinary flames. Rather than consuming everything they touched, they flowed over her body like an extension of her own Essence, reinforcing her muscles, accelerating her movements, and helping repair the damage she had sustained.

Her skill was exceptionally versatile.

It allowed her to maintain a level of physical performance that most Awakened couldn’t hope to match, even among S-Ranks.

And against an opponent who relied primarily on physical combat, it was particularly effective.

Luka tilted his head.

"Well? Are you going to attack?"

Ember moved.

The ground beneath her feet cracked as she accelerated, her blade sweeping toward Luka’s neck. He raised his weapon to block, but the impact forced him backward. Before he could recover, Ember followed with a second strike, then a third.

Her attacks were precise and relentless.

A slash across his chest.

A thrust toward his abdomen.

A horizontal strike that nearly separated his head from his shoulders.

Luka was driven backward through the rubble, his body repeatedly torn apart by the force of her attacks.

Yet he continued smiling.

Even when Ember’s blade pierced his stomach, he made no effort to retreat. Even when her purple flames engulfed his upper body, he simply pushed forward, allowing the damage to accumulate.

Then his wounds began to close.

’...!’

The gaping hole in his abdomen filled with Dark Matter, which rapidly reconstructed the damaged tissue. His severed shoulder reformed, followed by the torn muscles and fractured bones.

Within seconds, he was standing almost exactly as he had before.

Ember’s expression tightened.

’His regeneration...’

She had already witnessed extraordinary regenerative abilities among Awakened and Abyss Creatures, but Luka’s was different.

’It’s just as Eden said.’

There was no apparent limit to how much damage he could recover from, provided enough Dark Matter remained within his body.

Worse still, her flames were doing almost nothing to it.

The purple fire spread across Luka’s body, but instead of burning through the Dark Matter, it simply flickered against its surface before dissipating.

That was unusual.

Her flames weren’t intended to function as a conventional destructive ability. Their primary purpose was to enhance her physical capabilities and sustain her body during battle. Nevertheless, their offensive output was more than sufficient to threaten most high-ranking opponents.

Luka, however, seemed almost entirely unaffected.

Ember stepped back as he swung his blade.

She avoided the strike by a narrow margin, allowing it to pass beside her before driving her elbow into his face.

The impact sent him crashing through a concrete wall.

She followed immediately, her blade descending toward his chest.

Luka raised his right arm to intercept it.

The weapon cut through his right forearm.

He didn’t even flinch.

Instead, he pushed forward, allowing the blade to sink deeper into his body while the severed flesh began regenerating around it.

Ember’s eyes narrowed.

’Does that guy not feel pain at all?!’

It wasn’t merely that he possessed a high pain tolerance. His movements suggested that he didn’t consider bodily damage a meaningful concern at all.

He fought as though his body were disposable.

And that made him considerably more dangerous than his appearance suggested.

Luka emerged from the shattered wall, rolling his neck as his arms finished regenerating.

"You’re pretty strong."

Ember tightened her grip on her sword.

"Spare me the flatter."

Luka laughed.

"Gosh, why are you so tense?"

He rushed forward again.

This time, Ember didn’t retreat.

Her purple flames intensified, gathering around her legs as she accelerated. She slipped beneath his swing and struck his ribs with the flat of her blade, redirecting his momentum before driving her knee into his abdomen.

The impact lifted him from the ground.

Before he could recover, she struck him again.

And again.

Each attack sent him farther backward until he crashed into the remains of a nearby building.

A moment later, Ember appeared above him.

Her sword descended.

Luka twisted his body, barely avoiding the strike. The blade pierced his shoulder instead, passing through the joint and emerging from the other side.

Ember attempted to pull it free.

But Luka smiled.

His muscles contracted.

The flesh surrounding the weapon tightened, trapping the blade inside his shoulder.

Ember’s eyes widened.

"What—"

Luka moved before she could react.

His other hand formed a blade of Dark Matter, which he swung across her upper body.

The strike connected.

A deep gash opened from Ember’s right shoulder down across her chest. Blood sprayed through the air as she was forced backward, her weapon finally slipping free from Luka’s body.

She landed several meters away, one knee striking the ground.

For the first time, her breathing became noticeably heavier.

Luka finally allowed the wound to regenerate.

"That was close."

Ember looked down at the damage.

Her purple flames immediately surged across the wound, attempting to close it. The flesh slowly knitted together, but the process was far from instantaneous.

Her breathing grew heavier.

Sweat ran down the side of her face.

’This is troublesome.’