Chapter 528: Crowned Sun Arts.

’Did he place those during his attacks?’ Jasmine asked N’ibby, dazed, as the two blasts consumed the throne chamber and rocked the entire building.

’Yes. Ignition marks around the Taxman and void marks around Akira... even some of the attacks they avoided helped him prepare the traps.’ N’ibby’s deadpan gaze remained fixed on Levi.

’And the illusions kept them hidden,’ Jasmine murmured inwardly.

Gamemaster Gamble pointed out the setup to the audience, drawing attention to the places Levi had struck throughout the duet.

Yet, Jasmine found herself watching the two musicians instead.

Mournful Spirit had followed his final stroke without the slightest hesitation, as though she had known exactly how he intended to finish... and Levi had given her the room to do it.

’They’ve never even practiced together...’

She was pleased their cooperation had worked so well.

However, remembering how readily he had softened his violin to accompany that woman made her wish they had needed at least a little practice.

Then Mournful Spirit turned toward him again, looking far too eager for another song.

’The fight is over there...’ Jasmine’s eyes flickered with a tint of jealousy.

Unfortunately, the musicians’ supporters barely had time to celebrate before the Taxman emerged from the golden flames, skidding across the ruined floor with his briefcase held in front of his chest.

He dug his heel into a crack to stop himself, then opened the case toward the haunting energy still clinging to his body, collecting it before it could cause further damage.

His suit had been scorched; one sleeve was almost entirely gone, and blood trickled from burn wounds across his skin... however, his injuries were far less troublesome than the damage to his reserves.

The combined attack had forced him to activate Refund within the explosion, spending part of his collection to reinforce his defenses before blasting through the surrounding ghosts.

Had he hesitated for another moment, his ruined suit would have been the least of his concerns!

’I got greedy... these two ain’t messing about.’

While he had allowed the bombardment to continue to increase his collection, Celestial had been preparing a trap around him.

The Taxman checked his remaining reserves as the flames subsided... he still had enough to work with, but he had no intention of paying for another performance.

Across the chamber, Akira remained near the center of the implosion, her blackened arm raised against the last currents of collapsing darkness.

Stellar energy flashed around her body before bursting outward, scattering the haunting remnants surrounding her!

As the dust cleared, the viewers discovered that her body had been divided into two distinct textures.

Rough, obsidian-black skin covered one half, threaded with glowing golden veins, while the other retained its warm brown complexion... a thin golden line separated them, running down her face before disappearing under her clothes.

Her transformed eye shone entirely gold, and the crown-like halo behind her head burned brighter as she lowered her arm.

The void attack had injured her, but she had protected her vital areas while feeding the implosion with stellar energy to weaken its devouring capability.

Like other Half-Radians, she had been taught from a young age that void abilities didn’t erase, but consumed until nothing was left... the best defense wasn’t to defend alone but to feed them aggressively until their energy could no longer sustain their devouring aspect!

Unfortunately, the ghosts had nearly broken through while she dealt with Levi’s implosion.

Akira examined the cuts along her arm before turning toward the musicians, finding them exchanging words as though their opponents were no longer worth their attention.

"You two have had enough fun."

She had been too concerned about the Taxman taking advantage of her attacks... and the two lovebirds had made full use of that hesitation.

Levi sensed both Rifters preparing to advance.

’All that for a few scratches... what a tough matchup.’

Two dry notes from the biwa followed, making his dissatisfaction sound like part of their performance.

’She is enjoying this a little too much.’

Levi resumed with a sharper phrase. Mournful Spirit answered immediately, and the next wave crossed the chamber before either opponent could approach.

He couldn’t complain... he had been enjoying it too.

The Taxman opened his briefcase into the wave and approached Akira.

"Lady Sol, I suggest an alliance... We separate them, eliminate them, then settle the Throne between ourselves."

"I have no interest in allying with you."

Akira crushed a sound blade with her blackened hand and sent a burst of stellar energy through the ghosts behind it.

"Of course," he replied sarcastically. "Our current approach has been remarkably successful."

Another attack struck between them. He redirected his briefcase toward its spiritual threads, giving her time to decide how much longer she wanted to pretend.

"You handle Mournful Spirit," she ordered. "I’ll handle the other filth."

"That is precisely what I..."

"Stay out of my fight."

"Gladly."

The Taxman had no objection to letting her name the arrangement. With Celestial occupied, he could approach the biwa player without concealed sound blades and aetheric explosions threatening him.

Levi sensed their change of approach as they advanced along separate paths. Their distrust had given the musicians time to establish their rhythm... now, both were committing to a counterattack.

’They finally figured it out.’

He lengthened his next note, warning Mournful Spirit before releasing another wave across their path. She followed with a sweep of her plectrum, sending fresh ghosts through the sound blades.

"Mandatory Tax Arts: Tax Evasion."

The Taxman snapped his briefcase shut. Collected spiritual threads spread across his suit and sank through the scorched fabric as he stepped into the duet’s full force!

Whoosh!

A sound blade passed through his shoulder without cutting it, while a ghost plunged into his chest and emerged behind him, its hands closing on empty air!

"Oh? Our dear Taxman has filed for an exemption!" Gamble announced.

Every portion he taxed retained a connection to its original ability. Tax Evasion used that connection to temporarily exclude him from a high percentage of its harmful effects... at the cost of the corresponding tax in his reserve.

Each attack consumed part of that collection, and once it ran dry, the ability could strike him at full strength again.

His collection from both melodies now bought him a path through their attacks!

The Taxman slipped between drifting green motes, avoiding flying debris as another impact shattered the floor ahead.

His exemption covered the abilities he had taxed... a broken tile to the face remained his own problem.

’He’s spending what he collected to get close.’

Levi prepared a different attack to intercept him, only for Akira to accelerate toward his flank!

He redirected it toward her, forcing her to break through its edge with a burst of stellar energy. By the time he prepared another strike, the Taxman had advanced several more meters.

Levi tried to shift closer to Mournful Spirit, but Akira cut across his path again.

’She’s doing it deliberately.’

She waited for him to turn his attention toward the Taxman before rushing him, leaving him no opportunity to assist his partner.

Meanwhile, Mournful Spirit dragged her plectrum across the biwa’s strings, sending several ghosts toward the Taxman’s face.

He passed through them, but the spiritual threads tracing his suit faded with each contact.

She noticed and swiftly increased their numbers, forcing him to spend more of his reserves as the ghosts plunged through his body one after another.

He allowed the final pair to pass through his chest just as he entered striking distance. By then, the reserve assigned to those ghosts was spent... but it had been enough for the approach.

"Excuse me."

He swung his briefcase at her head with enough force to shatter a wall while keeping his free hand low to intercept a dodge.

Mournful Spirit’s body dissolved into pale mist... her features remained visible as a translucent outline, and the case swept through her face without resistance.

"How impatient..."

She drifted sideways, plucking a short sequence that would have fitted neatly into Levi’s next phrase.

His bow was already returning to answer it when the Taxman’s free hand followed her movement and closed around her wrist!

Spiritual energy flared across his fingers, catching her ghostly arm and stopping the next stroke of her plectrum. He had reserved that portion of his collection, concealing it until she committed to slipping past his briefcase.

Mournful Spirit tried to pull free, but he invoked his Dominion before she could break the contact!

Space distorted around them, drawing in his outstretched arm and her misty figure before both vanished into the Rift of Binding Laws!

Whoaaah!! A Dominion battle!

The spectators erupted as two Trees took root in their place, forcing their way through the shattered tiles.

The Taxman’s Tree rose on a straight, charcoal-black trunk, with evenly spaced branches covered in thin white leaves resembling paper receipts. Different energies glimmered among them, illuminating the Tree in shifting colors.

It resembled a mystical Money Tree... except its branches displayed the energy he collected instead of currency.

Meanwhile, Mournful Spirit’s Tree bent toward the ruined floor, its low branches covered in pale leaves shaped like tormented faces. Long strings resembling those of her biwa hung between them, releasing a faint, sorrowful tune whenever the branches moved.

Gray mist seeped from its decaying roots, spreading through the cracks around both Trees.

"Our Taxman has found a very effective way to end the performance!" Gamble announced.

Levi shortened his next phrase and adjusted the attack forming along his bow. The correction took only a moment, but the missing accompaniment bothered him more than he expected.

He had only just begun enjoying their exchange, and now he couldn’t even tell what was happening to her inside the Rift.

’Don’t die in there...’

Whether he wanted to admit it or not, Mournful Spirit was growing on him... he didn’t return her romantic interest, but he appreciated her as a musical companion from whom he had already learned plenty.

Akira gave him no opportunity to examine either Tree, closing the distance while the biwa’s spiritual pressure was gone.

Without the ghosts threatening her from every opening, she could finally focus entirely on him.

Levi sent a concentrated sound blade toward her chest while several green motes drifted around her flanks, threatening to explode whichever direction she chose to evade.

"Crowned Sun Arts: Sovereign Frame."

The golden veins crossing her blackened skin brightened in successive flashes, starting at her chest before spreading through her shoulder, arm, and leg.

Through his senses, Levi caught stellar energy condensing into tiny cores along those channels.

Then the cores began splitting, releasing controlled bursts of energy throughout her body!

’Refined internal fission arts... such impeccable mastery.’

Levi reacted with a hint of envy, but it lasted barely a second before Akira drove her foot into the floor!

BOOOM!

Tiles burst behind her as she crossed the distance, raising her transformed forearm to strike the sound blade aside!

The green motes detonated along her flank, but she angled her blackened shoulder into the explosions and kept moving, emerging from the smoke with her fist drawn back.

Levi released a combustion burst from his foot, shifting sideways as her punch tore through his former position.

Another explosion erupted within Akira’s leg, changing her direction so abruptly that he barely had time to transform Requiem into the Judgement Chainstaff!

He braced the weapon across her approaching fist while several barriers formed between them.

BOOM!

The first release shattered his outer barrier and struck the Chainstaff with enough force to buckle his elbows!

Levi tried to divert her fist, only for another surge to explode through her arm before he could complete the movement!

BOOOM!

His remaining barriers broke apart as the second release forced the Chainstaff aside, leaving his chest exposed.

’Shit...’

"DIIIEE, FILTH!!"

Akira stepped into the opening, driving her blackened fist directly against him as the third core detonated!

BOOOOM!

The impact cracked his ribs and launched him backward, forcing blood from his mouth before he smashed against one of the chamber’s pillars!

Cracks spread through the stone as his body sank into it... Broken chunks crashed around him, burying his legs while dust poured from the damaged pillar.

’Three releases... from one punch?’

Levi tried to draw a breath, only for the pain in his chest to force another cough of blood from him.

Akira lowered her arm and advanced toward the shattered pillar with her murderous intent on full display.

"Oblivar trash calling himself Celestial... I’ll burn that arrogance out of you once and for all!"