Chapter 31: Stay down

The mercenary vanished.

Eden’s instincts screamed.

He activated Burst Step.

The world blurred.

A fist passed through the space where his head had been.

Eden reappeared several meters away.

Then the shockwave hit.

Boom!

Eden looked over his shoulder.

The punch hadn’t even connected with anything.

It didn’t matter.

The sheer force behind it had torn through a row of abandoned shipping containers.

One container was punched clean through.

Then another.

Then another.

Metal folded inward as if it were paper.

The last container was launched several dozen meters through the air before crashing into a distant warehouse wall.

Eden’s expression tightened.

’Is he going all out now?’

The mercenary turned toward him.

His expression was completely different now.

Eden looked toward Lucy.

"Stay back."

She blinked.

"What?"

"Your skill. Charge it as much as you possibly can."

Lucy understood immediately.

She hesitated.

Eden raised his sword.

"I’ll buy you time."

Lucy nodded.

"Alright."

She immediately backed away.

Pink Essence began gathering around her right arm.

At first, it was only a thin glow.

Then more.

And more.

She planted her feet and closed her eyes.

Eden turned back.

The mercenary was already coming.

He swung.

Eden dodged.

The fist missed his face.

The shockwave demolished another line of containers.

Eden rushed forward.

His sword slashed toward the mercenary’s ribs.

The man blocked with his forearm.

Eden immediately summoned Devour.

Red Essence erupted beside him.

The crimson mass twisted through the air, malformed teeth briefly emerging throughout it.

The Devour struck the mercenary’s side.

The man grunted from annoyance.

The red Essence clung to him for a moment, teeth snapping against his body.

The mercenary’s movement slowed.

Only slightly.

A fraction.

That was enough.

Kael appeared from the opposite side.

Two golden blades flashed.

One struck the mercenary’s shoulder.

The second carved across his thigh.

Blood sprayed.

The mercenary staggered.

Kael grinned.

"Got you!"

The mercenary looked at him.

Then punched.

Kael crossed both blades.

Boom!

He was sent flying.

"Eden!"

Eden didn’t waste the opening.

His red-coated blade struck the mercenary’s chest.

The mercenary stepped backward.

Another Devour attack wrapped around his body.

His movement slowed again.

Kael recovered and charged.

Sonne’s ice flew from the distance.

Ice lances rained down.

The mercenary was forced to dodge, block, and weave through them while Eden and Kael continued attacking.

For the first time, the fight began to resemble something Eden could control.

Barely.

The mercenary was still overwhelmingly strong.

But every time Devour slowed him, Kael landed a hit.

Every time Kael forced him to guard, Eden attacked from another angle.

Whenever either of them overextended, Sonne covered the retreat.

It was working.

Then Kael’s golden blade struck the mercenary’s chest again.

The cut was shallow.

Much shallower than before.

Kael’s expression changed.

"Again?!"

Eden noticed it too.

The mercenary’s skin had become harder.

Again.

’His durability is increasing again!’

Another slash.

Even less damage.

Kael gritted his teeth.

"He got tougher again!"

Sonne’s voice came from behind them.

"Keep going!"

An ice lance struck the mercenary’s back.

He turned.

Eden attacked.

Kael followed.

The mercenary blocked both.

The battle continued.

Minutes seemed to disappear.

The port around them was no longer recognizable.

The warehouse was on it’s last legs.

Shipping containers were scattered across the docks.

Concrete had been shattered.

Steel beams were twisted.

The ground was cracked for hundreds of meters in every direction.

And the mercenary was still standing.

"Eden!"

Lucy shouted.

He looked over.

Her right arm was glowing.

Pink Essence was overflowing from her body.

She was ready.

Eden smiled.

"Good."

Kael understood immediately.

"Everyone back!"

Sonne didn’t question him.

She immediately retreated.

Kael followed.

The mercenary looked around.

"What are you—"

Eden thrust his sword into the ground.

Red Essence erupted.

It wasn’t the small, controlled Devour he’d been using.

This was different.

Much more.

Eden poured Essence into the skill.

The crimson energy expanded across the ruined battlefield.

It twisted upward.

A monstrous head formed.

Then a neck.

Then a massive serpentine body.

A dragon made entirely from violent red Essence.

Malformed teeth emerged along its jaws.

Dozens of strange eyes opened within the crimson mass.

The creature roared without making a sound.

The same move he mimicked during bis fight again Luvian.

The mercenary’s eyes widened.

"What the hell..."

The dragon lunged.

At the exact same moment—

Lucy charged.

She screamed and drove her fist forward.

Pink Essence detonated.

The dragon and Lucy’s attack struck simultaneously.

The port disappeared.

The explosion expanded outward like a second sun.

Every remaining structure within the immediate area was obliterated.

The ground itself was torn apart.

The shockwave raced across the harbor, sending waves surging away from the shoreline.

Distant windows shattered.

Vehicles were thrown aside.

Dust and debris rose hundreds of meters into the night sky.

For several seconds, there was nothing.

No warehouse.

No battlefield.

No floor.

No walls.

No roof.

Nothing.

Only a massive crater where the buildings had once stood.

Lucy landed several dozen meters away.

She immediately collapsed to one knee.

"That..."

She gasped.

"...took everything."

Kael stared at the destruction.

"That’s..."

Sonne finished for him.

"Ridiculous."

Eden slowly lowered his hand.

His Essence reserves were running dry.

He looked toward the center of the crater.

The dust began to settle.

A figure stood there.

The mercenary.

His body was covered in blood.

A massive wound stretched across his chest.

Part of his clothing had been completely destroyed.

Blood poured from the injury.

For a moment, he simply stood.

Then he moved.

No words.

No laughter.

He rushed Eden.

’Already?!’

Eden’s eyes widened.

He summoned Devour.

Red Essence exploded outward.

He poured almost everything he had left into it.

The crimson energy formed a barrier around him.

The mercenary’s fist collided with it.

Boom!

Devour buckled.

Eden’s arms shook.

"Ngh—!"

The impact pushed him backward.

The red Essence swallowed the attack, teeth snapping around the mercenary’s fist.

But the force still reached Eden.

Pain shot through his entire body.

He was launched dozens of meters.

Eden flew into the air.

Nearly a hundred meters.

The ground disappeared beneath him.

’Damn it!’

Below, Kael charged.

The mercenary turned.

Kael’s dual Judgement Blades flashed.

The mercenary blocked.

Kael’s strikes landed.

But they barely cut him.

His durability had increased again.

"Come on!"

Kael gritted his teeth.

The mercenary punched.

Kael blocked.

The impact sent him flying backward.

Above them, Eden began falling.

He looked down.

’I don’t have enough Essence for another big attack.’

Then he smiled.

’Maybe I don’t need to.’

He gathered the remaining red Essence around his body.

It twisted.

A long dragon began forming again.

Not as large as before.

But still enormous.

The mercenary looked up.

"What?"

Eden activated Burst Step.

He disappeared.

Then reappeared behind the mercenary.

His feet touched the ground.

No fall damage.

No broken bones.

The mercenary spun immediately.

His backhand came toward Eden’s face.

Eden ducked.

"Too slow."

He jumped sideways.

The crimson dragon descended.

The mercenary looked up.

"Oh, you little—"

The dragon slammed into him.

Boom!

Crimson Essence exploded outward.

The mercenary disappeared beneath the blast.

Eden stumbled backward.

He barely had enough Essence to keep Phase Shift and Heir’s Pride active.

The smoke cleared.

The mercenary rose.

He opened his mouth.

"You—"

Boom!

Lucy hit him.

Her fist slammed into his face.

Pink Essence exploded.

The mercenary was driven backward.

Before he could recover—

Kael attacked.

Golden blades flashed.

The mercenary blocked one.

The second cut his shoulder.

Kael followed.

The mercenary staggered.

"Stay down!"

He didn’t.

Instead, he crouched.

His hands slammed into the ground.

Eden’s eyes widened.

"What?"