Chapter 385: Falling Apart

Kaela and Mark’s insane clash continued beneath the distorted sky of the Gate.

From several dozen metres above them, Elara watched the two monsters tear through the battlefield with every exchange. Their movements had become so fast that even her enhanced vision was beginning to struggle to keep up with them.

They showed no signs of slowing down, and each collision only heightened their abilities. But it also sent another shockwave through the already unstable environment, while fragments of shattered terrain drifted through the air before disappearing into the darkness below.

As impressive as the battle was, Elara was finding it increasingly difficult to ignore the state of the Gate itself.

It was falling apart.

The unstable B+ Rank Gate had never been a normal environment to begin with.

Floating islands and enormous chunks of rock had been scattered throughout the distorted landscape, with rivers of glowing red mana flowing through the gaps between them. The sky remained a swirling mixture of crimson and black, occasionally flashing with veins of red lightning-like energy.

It was a warped, hell-like dimension.

And now it was somehow even worse, with fewer and fewer platforms.

Some had simply collapsed.

Others had been destroyed during the battles.

Several had cracked apart and fallen into the endless darkness beneath them.

The landscape that had once seemed enormous was rapidly becoming an empty void filled with fragments of rock.

Elara’s expression grew serious.

The Gate had already been unstable from the moment they entered, and the fighting between Kaela and Elara had only made it worse. Then Mark had gone berserk and fought an A Rank Monster with enough force to devastate the surrounding terrain.

And now Kaela and Mark were continuing their ridiculous clash.

That was the cherry on top of their cake of chaos and self-destruction.

Unlike the two monsters who seemed as though they could fight forever, the Gate couldn’t withstand it. Especially without a Gate Core, which had been destroyed with the A Rank Monster.

Normally, they would have had some time to exit the Gate.

A couple of hours, perhaps.

But that estimate was becoming increasingly meaningless.

’At this rate...’

Elara looked toward the distant entrance they had originally used.

The distorted space surrounding it was already beginning to fluctuate, and she could feel the Gate’s mana becoming increasingly chaotic.

It was collapsing in on itself in real time.

’We need to get out of here.’

Elara looked down again.

Kaela was still fighting, and she seemed to be winning.

At first, things were relatively even, with Mark relying on the lingering power from adapting to and absorbing the A Rank Monster.

Then he had begun adapting and gaining the upper hand.

His dark green aura had continued pulsing around his body, and every exchange had allowed his unnatural body to learn more about Kaela’s movements, strength, and speed.

But Kaela had been changing too.

Her violet aura remained close to her skin, almost perfectly controlled, and she was beginning to overwhelm Mark with her physical abilities. The warrior’s instincts she was honing certainly helped and made her even more dangerous.

A measured chaos.

Kaela slipped beneath a punch and drove her fist into Mark’s ribs.

CRAAACK!

His body twisted violently.

Before he could recover, she struck his chest.

WHAM!

Then his jaw.

KRAK!

Mark was driven backwards through the air.

He recovered almost instantly and lunged forward again.

Kaela met him head-on.

Their fists collided, and Mark was launched backwards.

THOOM!

The resulting shockwave shattered another floating platform beneath them, splitting apart the giant chunk of rock and sending it tumbling into the void.

Elara’s eyes widened.

"Enough!"

Neither listened.

Kaela continued chasing Mark through the air.

Except she couldn’t actually fly, which was becoming a problem.

Kaela had to leap from one floating platform to another, using the remaining chunks of terrain as stepping stones.

Unfortunately, there weren’t many left.

"A little help down here!"

Elara clicked her tongue, hesitant to oblige.

She sighed and raised a hand.

"Ugh, fine."

Mana gathered beneath Kaela’s feet.

A crimson platform suddenly materialised in midair.

Kaela landed on it for barely an instant before launching herself toward Mark again.

Elara immediately created another.

Then another.

Kaela bounced between them at incredible speed, using each platform as a foothold, just like Liora and Darius had fought against the Void Hornet.

"Thanks!" she called out as she jumped from one to the next.

"But it still sucks that I still can’t fly."

Elara stared at her.

’She’s basically immortal now and fighting this mutated monster thing with ease, and is complaining about not being able to fly.’

Though she didn’t actually seem to care.

Kaela was having the time of her life, though the same couldn’t be said about Mark, who was beginning to fall. He had been thrown through the air by another devastating strike, and for a brief moment, there was nothing beneath him.

Elara went to form a construct beneath him, but he smashed through it as if refusing her help.

That’s when his body changed.

Dark green mana gathered around his back, the flesh shifted, and something pushed outward.

Two thin wings suddenly sprouted from his back.

They were dark green and skeletal in appearance, resembling the wings of a massive bat.

Once they spread, Mark stopped falling.

He hovered in the air and had an instant mastery of the new appendages as if he was born with them.

Elara’s eyebrows rose.

’Um....’

It was definitely impressive, but it was equally disturbing, a theme becoming common in her odd friend group. And speaking of friends, if Ethan had been there, he would have been extremely jealous.

Ever since acquiring Talon as a Skyrend Hawk and receiving the tattoo on his back, he had been waiting for the day he would have wings. Flame Flight was amazing and all, but it didn’t hit the same.

Complete Assimilation was his best bet, but Mark had beaten him to it.

And the worst part was that he hadn’t even seemed to try.

His body had simply decided that wings were needed, and thus they were formed.

Mark’s wings beat once.

He shot forward.

Kaela’s grin widened.

"Now that’s more like it."

The two collided in midair again.

BOOOOOOM!

The entire Gate shook.

More and more platforms were broken apart, as cracks appeared in the very fabric of space.

Elara’s expression hardened.

"Guys! We really need to get out of here!"

Her words fell on deaf ears.

Mark attacked, and Kaela countered.

Their bodies blurred through the remaining platforms as they exchanged punch after punch. Elara kept producing crimson constructs beneath Kaela whenever necessary, allowing her to continue fighting despite the gate falling apart.

That was all while trying to get them to snap out of their battle frenzy.

"Kaela!"

Nothing.

"Mark!"

Nothing.

Elara gritted her teeth.

She couldn’t simply leave them.

And aside from the obvious, Mark was reaching his limit.

She could see it.

His movements were becoming less precise, and while his dark green aura was still present, it wasn’t growing anymore. His body had adapted to an incredible amount of punishment, but there was only so much it could continue to handle.

’I guess he still is kinda a human.’

But the issue was that Kaela was still accelerating.

She was getting faster, stronger, and more efficient, reaching a point where Mark’s adaptations could no longer keep up.

’It’s just like the demon said...’

Elara watched in amazement as the violet and green blurs continued their exchange.

Kaela ducked under a punch.

Her fist simultaneously struck Mark’s stomach.

THUD!

Mark’s body folded.

She grabbed him by the shoulder and slammed him downwards.

KRAAAM!

He smashed through a floating platform.

Elara’s eyes widened.

’She’s actually overpowering him.’

Kaela landed on another platform.

Her chest rose and fell, but her violet aura remained calm, or more correctly, restrained.

But something was happening; Elara could feel it.

Kaela stopped moving.

And for the first time since the battle began, she wasn’t simply reacting.

She was focusing deeply.

Her eyes seemed to lose their usual wildness, and her body became completely still.

"Time to finish this."