Chapter 176: East Anekta Crisis (15)

Luka’s gaze remained fixed on the young man standing beside Ember.

The crimson energy surrounding his fingers had already faded, but the sensation it had left behind was difficult to ignore. It was unlike anything Luka had encountered before. Even after countless experiments and the fusion of Dark Matter into his body, he had never felt anything quite like it.

It wasn’t simply powerful Essence.

It was something that could burn through Dark Matter itself.

Luka flexed his newly regenerated hand. The fingers moved, but the process had taken noticeably longer than usual. More importantly, the Dark Matter that had reconstructed them seemed less concentrated than before.

He narrowed his eyes.

’What exactly was that?’

The young man, meanwhile, seemed entirely uninterested in explaining himself.

He glanced toward Ember.

"I’ll have your back."

Ember looked at him, still catching her breath.

He gestured toward Luka with his chin.

"Go all out. You don’t have to worry about getting hit by anything coming from my direction."

Ember studied him for a moment.

She didn’t know who he was. But she understood one thing: he had just saved her life, and he was offering to support her against an opponent who had been giving her considerable trouble.

"You’re confident."

"Should I not be?"

A faint smile crossed Ember’s face.

"No. I suppose not."

Her purple flames began to gather around her body once more. The fire spread from her shoulders down her arms, enveloping her weapon in a brilliant violet glow.

She straightened her posture.

"Then I’ll leave the support to you."

Luvian nodded.

"Good."

Luka watched the exchange with growing irritation.

"Are you two finished?"

Neither answered.

Ember took the first step.

The ground beneath her shattered.

She accelerated toward Luka, her sword sweeping forward with enough force to split the remaining concrete pillars in half. Luka raised his Dark Matter blade to block, but the impact forced him several meters backward.

Before he could regain his footing, a second attack came from above.

A massive crimson beam descended from the sky.

Luka’s eyes widened.

He immediately twisted aside, allowing the beam to strike the ground behind him. The explosion swallowed the surrounding ruins in a violent burst of fire, sending debris scattering across the plaza.

Luka landed on one knee.

He barely had time to look up before Ember was already upon him again.

Her blade descended toward his shoulder.

He raised his weapon, but the force of the strike drove him into the ground. Purple flames erupted around the point of impact, spreading across his body.

Then another crimson beam struck nearby.

The resulting explosion sent Luka flying through the remains of a building.

He crashed through several concrete walls before finally coming to a stop.

For a brief moment, the battlefield fell silent.

Then Dark Matter began to move.

Luka emerged from the rubble, his body already regenerating.

He looked toward Luvian.

The young man stood at a considerable distance, one hand raised toward the battlefield. A small sphere of crimson Essence revolved above his palm, growing brighter by the second.

Luka’s expression darkened.

’So that’s how it is!’

Ember was the one pressuring him at close range, but the newcomer was the real problem.

Every time Luka attempted to recover, another attack came from an unexpected angle. The beams were powerful enough to threaten his body, and unlike Ember’s flames, they didn’t simply dissipate against his Dark Matter.

They burned through it.

And the damage wasn’t disappearing.

Luka could feel it.

His regeneration was becoming slower with every exchange.

"Annoying little fucker..."

He raised his blade just in time to block another slash from Ember.

She twisted her wrist, redirecting his weapon before striking his chest with the pommel. The impact sent him stumbling backward.

"Your attention is elsewhere," she remarked.

Luka wiped the blood from his mouth.

"Can you blame me?"

Ember’s expression hardened.

Her sword ignited.

She swung horizontally, releasing a crescent of purple fire that tore through the surrounding rubble. Luka attempted to evade, but the attack caught his side and threw him into the remains of a nearby structure.

He regenerated almost immediately.

Yet the damage inflicted by Luvian’s previous attacks remained.

Luka clicked his tongue.

’I need to change the pace.’

He lowered his weapon and placed his palm against the ground.

Dark Matter spread outward.

The pavement trembled.

Ember immediately sensed the change and jumped backward.

A series of enormous black spikes erupted from the ground, rising several meters into the air. They emerged in irregular patterns, tearing through the remains of buildings and forming a forest of jagged pillars around the battlefield.

Some were aimed directly at Ember.

Others rose beneath Luvian.

The latter reacted immediately, leaping away as a spike erupted from the ground where he had been standing.

"That was close."

Luka smiled.

The spikes began moving.

Several detached themselves from the ground, twisting in midair before shooting toward the two opponents.

Ember deflected the first with her blade, slicing through it with a burst of purple flames. The second came from behind, forcing her to turn and cut it apart before it could pierce her back.

Luvian, meanwhile, raised his hand.

A crimson beam shot forward.

It struck the incoming spikes and detonated, engulfing several of them in a massive explosion.

The Dark Matter disintegrated into black particles.

Luka’s smile faded slightly.

’There it is again!’

He could feel the loss.

Even attacks that didn’t directly strike his body were consuming the Dark Matter he had manifested. The crimson flames didn’t merely push it aside or break its shape.

They destroyed it.

’Is that guy really human?’

Luka raised his other hand.

The Dark Matter surrounding his arm expanded, splitting into several thick tendrils. They slithered across the ground before rising into the air, each one moving independently.

The first lashed toward Ember.

She sidestepped and cut through it.

The second came from above.

She raised her sword, but the tendril abruptly split into several smaller strands, wrapping around her weapon and pulling it sideways.

Ember’s eyes narrowed.

A third tendril struck her from the side.

She barely managed to raise her arm in time. The impact sent her sliding across the pavement, her purple flames flickering as she regained her balance.

Luka advanced.

His weapon changed shape.

The long blade expanded, its edge curving outward until it resembled a massive scythe. Dark Matter gathered around the shaft, forming a jagged handle that extended several meters.

He swung it.

The blade swept through the air, forcing Ember to duck beneath its path. The weapon continued forward, cutting through several buildings before returning toward Luka’s hand.

Ember retreated, narrowly avoiding the returning edge.

"That’s more like it," Luka muttered.

He pulled the scythe back and swung again.

This time, the weapon’s blade split into three separate edges, each following a different trajectory.

Ember blocked the first, evaded the second, and used her purple flames to propel herself over the third.

She landed behind Luka.

Her sword descended.

A violent burst of violet fire erupted from his back, tearing through the Dark Matter covering his torso and sending him crashing forward.

But before she could follow up, one of the tendrils caught her ankle.

It yanked her backward.

Ember twisted in midair, cutting through the tendril before it could slam her into the ground.

Luvian watched from a distance.

He had already realized that Luka’s ability was more versatile than simple regeneration. The man could manipulate his Dark Matter into almost any shape, creating weapons, defensive structures, and independent extensions of his body.

It made him difficult to approach.

But it also meant that Luka was constantly distributing his Dark Matter across the battlefield.

And that gave Luvian more opportunities to destroy it.

He raised both hands.

Two spheres of crimson Essence formed above his palms.

They rapidly expanded, their surfaces flickering with intense heat.

Luka noticed them.

His expression changed.

"Not again..."