79~ Is This Joy?

"You said I could... awaken a Bloody Eye?"

Wail asked Amin in disbelief.

"Yes... You've suffered so much during all this time. You've felt overwhelming despair and hatred, haven't you?"

Memories began flooding Wail's mind as he recalled every moment in which he had felt hatred and despair...

Amin continued,

"I'm certain you've already awakened it. But you obviously can't use something you don't even know exists. That's why you were never able to bring it out."

---

In the present...

Wail stood in his Elemental Transformation, his sky-blue aura surrounding him. Inside his Bloody Eye, a red spiral had appeared.

He looked at Vale and muttered under his breath,

"I can't believe I never noticed this all along..."

Then he wiped away the tear running down his right eye.

"I've never felt my left eye crying before.it was only the right all this time... But this is strange. Is that why I could only sense the energy of the Bloody Eye in my right eye? That makes no sense at all."

On the other side, Vale looked incredibly excited.

"Finally! After drowning you in despair, you've finally awakened your Bloody Eye! But... this is only the beginning."

He then shouted enthusiastically,

"Come on, little brother! Let's find out together what your eye can do!"

Vale's eyes glowed. In the next instant, he saw Wail disappear from his position and reappear directly in front of him, throwing a powerful punch toward his stomach.

But Wail was so fast that Vale, despite seeing the attack with his ability, couldn't evade it.

The punch struck him directly, sending him flying into the sky.

Vale stopped in midair and tried to activate his eyes again, but a sharp pain shot through them, preventing him from using his ability.

"Damn it... I've overused them during my fight against Bahaa!"

He remembered the moment when he had been forced to change the future in which Bahaa would kill him. Yet he hadn't found a single future in which he could escape unharmed, so he had chosen the one in which he lost his foot.

I couldn't find a single future in which I came out of his attack unharmed... I can't take that risk now. I wouldn't be surprised if the same thing happened in this fight.

Below him, Wail launched several explosive electrical spheres.

Vale extended his fingers and fired void bullets from them, destroying the spheres before they could reach him.

Wail used the smoke from the explosions as cover and charged through it at tremendous speed.

In an instant, he reached his opponent, concentrating electricity in his fingers before striking directly toward his heart.

But Vale extended his hand, a void aura surrounding his body.

My energy... or my body? Which one will his aura target?

Wail's eyes were wide open, and his tongue hung slightly out of his mouth.

Watching him from a distance, Bahaa remarked,

"What incredible concentration..."

This chapter originated on the author's publication page, and the copy here was made without approval.

Everything seemed to slow down inside Wail's mind as he threw his punch. The moment his hand touched Vale, he noticed the electricity beginning to disappear.

Within a fraction of a second, Wail threw a bare-fisted punch with his other hand, striking Vale in the face and sending him flying backward.

Vale didn't fall, but the force of the blow compelled him to release his transparent aura and increase his energy output.

Wail gave him no chance to prepare. He lunged forward at tremendous speed.

"Playtime is over."

Spikes erupted from the void surrounding Vale, shooting toward Wail.

Wail narrowly dodged them, then threw an electrically charged punch toward his opponent's face.

But Vale didn't move. He condensed his void barrier around his head and countered with a punch covered in void energy, aiming straight for Wail's chest.

Damn it... By the time I figure out whether his aura targets my body or my energy, it'll be too late. His fist will pierce my chest before I can do anything...

Wail felt a faint rush of exhilaration.

For a brief moment, a small smile appeared on his face before quickly fading.

What is this? It's the same feeling I've been searching for ever since that time!

Wail remembered the moment he had fought Aetherion, when he had smiled without realizing it.

Is this... joy?

Suddenly, Wail returned to his usual cold expression, as though nothing had happened.

As he watched Vale's face and the incoming fist, his Bloody Eye began to glow.

Vale's eyes widened when something strange happened to Wail's fist. It passed straight through the void aura, even though the electricity surrounding it had vanished. Wail managed to strike him and send him flying backward.

Wail looked at his fist and noticed blood dripping from it as it trembled slightly.

Vale stood a short distance away, visibly astonished.

"Did he cancel my aura? Or did his body simply ignore its existence?"

He then examined the drops of blood falling from Wail's fist.

"It doesn't seem my aura affected him... only the very edges of his fist. Did he create a tiny hole in my aura?"

Vale smiled.

"It could be anything! But if I discover what it is before he does... I'll win!"

The two charged toward each other once more.

They exchanged blows in a rapid clash, their fists colliding repeatedly as each tried to break through the other's defense.

One of the impacts sent Wail backward, but he regained his balance in midair.

At that moment, Vale launched a Void Sphere from a distance. It cut through the air toward him.

Through the sphere, Wail looked directly at Vale, who was smiling, convinced that he had already won.

Suddenly...

The scene began to distort.

The air inside the Void Sphere twisted, its shape warping unnaturally. At the same time, Vale's own chest began to twist.

His eyes widened, and he immediately jumped away.

He bit into his finger until blood began to flow, then a small smile appeared on his face, as though he had discovered something fascinating.

"He just destroyed my Void Sphere... He was looking at me through it, and my chest began twisting as well. If I'd stayed in place for a few more seconds, my chest would've been torn apart!"

Vale continued retreating while Wail tracked him with his glowing eye.

Vale moved at tremendous speed, but for a brief moment, Wail managed to direct his gaze toward his leg.

His pants began twisting strangely until part of it tore apart.

Vale's eyes widened as he finally seemed to reach an answer.

"Haha! He isn't just affecting the air... He's distorting space itself! That's how he managed to bypass my aura!"

Then Vale disappeared from in front of him.

Wail stopped and turned, searching for him. Suddenly, an enormous pit opened beneath his feet.

Wail fell downward, but quickly regained his balance and flew back toward the surface.

There, Vale appeared above him, directing his void-covered arm toward Wail's face, attempting to pierce through it.

But Wail grabbed his wrist.

The void aura came dangerously close to his face without affecting him, and confusion spread across Vale's expression.

Wail was directing his eye toward Vale's hand, distorting the space around it. As the distortion spread into his aura, Vale's fingers began twisting violently until they started tearing apart.

Before Vale could react, Wail delivered a powerful kick to his stomach.

Vale coughed up blood and was sent flying away.

Despite the pain, he smiled again.

"So... it seems the condition for your ability is that you have to look at the space you want to distort. A very simple condition, but your ability is truly dangerous."

Wail smiled faintly, then placed his hand over his face for a moment.

His smile disappeared, and his expression returned to its usual coldness.

"I'd already figured that out... but thanks for telling me."

Vale replied,

"I see you've gotten better at dealing with people..."

But Wail ignored him and spoke loudly.

"I've succeeded... Now let's begin!"

Vale's eyes widened.

Suddenly, two dark portals appeared, and Bahaa and Amin emerged from them, while dozens of other portals spread throughout the area.

Vale tried to defend himself with his void aura, but his face began twisting, and the surrounding void itself started to distort.

Wail was looking directly at him, another faint smile on his face.

"Damn you!"

Vale couldn't do anything before Bahaa struck him with a brutal punch. Amin followed up by grabbing his face and unleashing streams of fire, concentrating them all around his opponent's head.

Meanwhile, Wail deactivated his Bloody Eye, but immediately felt pain after using it several times in succession.

The three looked at Vale, whose body was still burning.

"Did we do it?"

They stood watching him, but the flames soon faded.

A black aura suddenly erupted, rising toward the sky.

Vale's furious voice rang out.

"No... You failed to kill me in another future, you fools!"

Vale appeared within the black aura, completely unharmed. His hair had turned darker, and his Bloody Eyes were glowing.

After activating his ability again, he spoke.

"I haven't used my Elemental Transformation in a long time... I didn't expect you to force me into using it."

Bahaa provoked him.

"What? Planning to come down to our level now?"

Amin, meanwhile, wondered aloud,

"Wait... Were we unable to kill him even in his normal form?"

Suddenly, Vale appeared in front of the three without any of them sensing his approach.

"Perhaps I've lowered myself to your level of thinking... but my energy has reached an entirely different level. You no longer stand a chance."

A tremendous shockwave of void energy erupted, sweeping across the area and causing the energy of all three fighters to vanish completely.

In the next instant, Bahaa received a devastating blow that made him cough up blood before sending him flying hundreds of meters toward the mountain.

As for Amin, Vale fired several void projectiles that struck different parts of his body, leaving deep wounds and gaping holes. Amin fell to the ground, unable to move.

Wail tried to activate his eye again, but Vale grabbed his face and pressed against his eye, preventing him from opening it and using its ability.

With his other arm, Vale delivered a brutal punch to Wail's stomach, leaving him unable to move and struggling to breathe.

Vale spoke coldly.

"You fought well... but your opponent was simply too powerful for you to stand a chance against."

He pulled Wail closer, a faint smile appearing on his face.

"I hope this power is enough to make you submit to me... But first, let me make you taste even more despair by killing your friend ,again."

He extended his void-covered arm toward Bahaa, who was staring directly into his eyes.

Vale's eyes widened.

Half of his arm had been severed!

He looked at Bahaa, whose face bore a faint, provoking smile. Bahaa continued staring directly at him, his eyes glowing.

Vale slowly turned toward Wail, only to be surprised by the smile on his face and the white energy radiating from the scar above his left eye.

Then he heard him speak.

"I think you should step back."

Vale smiled tensely.

"What else are you hiding, little brother?!"

Wail's smile widened slightly.

"I don't know what this feeling is... but it's incredible!!"

Suddenly, he opened his left eye.

It glowed with white energy, forming the shape of an X.

In the next instant, an enormous white explosion engulfed the entire area...