Eden’s expression became serious.
’SS-Rank?!’
He hadn’t known.
And he had certainly never seen it in his first life.
He sprinted.
Fire spears chased him.
He jumped.
A spear exploded beneath him.
He rolled.
Another passed over his back.
He ducked beneath a third.
A fourth struck the ground beside him.
The shockwave sent him tumbling.
He caught himself.
His defensive Phase Shift absorbed another attack.
But even so, the heat was becoming unbearable.
[Paralysis]
Eden had almost forgotten about it.
He injected more into his Essence.
Nothing.
Luvian continued moving.
No slowdown.
No hesitation.
Eden watched him carefully.
The paralysis he’d stacked throughout the first half of the battle was completely gone.
The flames were consuming it.
Burning it away.
’So that’s why.’
Eden clenched his teeth.
The skill wasn’t simply overpowering Paralysis.
It was burning the Essence carrying it.
Luvian charged.
His entire body became a streak of fire.
Eden barely raised his arms.
The punch hit.
Eden flew backward.
He crashed through another wall.
His defensive Phase Shift flickered.
He forced himself upright.
Blood dripped from his mouth.
Luvian’s physical attacks had become absurdly powerful.
Every punch carried explosive force.
Every kick left a trail of fire.
Eden tried to counter.
Luvian dodged.
Eden vanished.
[Stealth]
For a moment, Luvian’s eyes searched the flames.
Eden appeared behind him.
His fist slammed into Luvian’s back.
Bang!
Nothing happened.
The Paralysis Essence disappeared instantly, burned away immediately upon contact.
Luvian turned.
Fire erupted from his body.
Eden was forced away.
’Damn it.’
He landed hard.
His breathing was becoming heavier.
Luckily, Luvian’s breathing was getting worse too.
That was Eden’s only advantage.
The SS-Rank skill was destroying its own wielder.
Blood streamed down Luvian’s face.
His arms shook.
One of his knees briefly buckled.
Eden noticed.
He smiled faintly.
’You’re reaching your limit.’
Luvian glared at him.
"You think you’re winning?"
"No."
Eden lowered his stance.
"I’m just waiting."
"For what?"
"For you to collapse because of your useless SS-Rank skill."
Luvian’s expression twisted.
"Then keep waiting."
The flames grew larger.
Eden’s eyes widened.
Luvian was forcing even more Essence through his body.
’Idiot.’
The fire around him was now so intense that the surrounding walls had begun to liquefy.
Eden continued dodging.
One minute.
Then another.
He didn’t attack.
He simply survived.
Every movement was calculated.
Every dodge as efficient as possible.
His defensive Phase Shift absorbed what he couldn’t avoid.
But eventually—
Eden hit the limit.
A massive wave of fire filled the hall.
There was nowhere left to move.
Nowhere to dodge or hide.
His eyes hardened.
"Guess I have no choice..."
The red Essence finally erupted.
[Devour]
It spread from Eden’s body like an ocean.
Crimson Essence filled the hall.
Hundreds of mouths opened across the walls of red energy.
Rows of teeth snapped shut on the flames.
The fire screamed.
Luvian stared.
"What...?"
The flames surrounding Eden began disappearing.
Devour spread farther.
Across the floor.
Across the walls.
Across the ceiling.
Everywhere it touched, the fire vanished into the crimson mass.
Eden poured more Essence into it.
The red wave grew.
Luvian’s expression became furious.
"So that’s your trump card."
Eden said nothing.
He kept pushing.
The Devour Essence swallowed another wave.
Then another.
Luvian unleashed everything he could.
Fire filled the hall.
Devour consumed it.
Fire expanded.
Devour expanded farther.
For the first time since his transformation, Luvian was being pushed backward.
"What the hell is that skill?!"
Eden gritted his teeth.
He could feel the enormous amount of Essence Devour was consuming.
His reserves were dropping rapidly.
But the skill was winning.
The flames were disappearing.
Luvian’s eyes widened.
’No.’
His body shook.
He had already pushed himself far beyond what a D-Rank body should have been capable of handling.
His muscles were tearing.
His Essence pathways were burning.
His vision blurred.
But he refused to stop.
"I won’t lose..."
"Not to a weakling like you!"
Fire began gathering around him.
Eden’s eyes narrowed.
"You’re done."
"No!"
Luvian raised both hands.
"Not yet."
Every flame in the building suddenly moved toward him.
The fires burning on the floor.
The flames crawling along the walls.
The inferno above.
All of it was pulled inward.
Eden’s Devour struggled to keep up.
Luvian screamed.
"Take it, Eden!"
"ALL OF IT!"
The fire compressed around him.
His remaining Essence began disappearing at an alarming rate.
Not being spent to create flames.
Being burned.
His body trembled violently.
His blood boiled beneath his skin.
The horn of Essence-fueled fire above his head grew larger.
Luvian thrust both hands forward.
A massive dragon emerged.
Its body was formed entirely from burning Essence.
Long.
Serpentine.
Enormous.
Its jaws opened.
Fire poured from its mouth.
Eden stared.
’He’s burning everything he has.’
Luvian’s voice came from behind the dragon.
"You’re not the only one who can go all out."
Eden looked at the dragon.
Then at his own Devour.
A strange thought entered his mind.
If he’s shaping it into a dragon...
Eden’s eyes narrowed.
"...Then so can I."
He poured Essence into Devour and tried to vaguely shape it in his mind.
The crimson mass began changing.
The countless mouths merged.
The eyes disappeared into the crimson surface.
The Essence compressed.
It twisted.
Coiled.
Then began taking shape.
A long crimson serpent emerged from the ocean of Devour.
Its body continued growing.
Larger.
Longer.
Thicker.
Eden poured almost everything he had into it.
The crimson dragon rose above the ruined hall.
It was even larger than Luvian’s.
Its body was covered in countless mouths.
Its eyes glowed with vicious hunger.
Luvian stared.
"What..."
Eden’s face was pale.
His body trembled from Essence depletion.
But he smiled.
"Let’s finish this."
Both dragons moved.
At the same time.
The fire dragon roared.
The Devour dragon opened its jaws.
They collided.
Boom!
Fire and crimson Essence exploded outward.
The blue barrier surrounding the building trembled.
Cracks appeared all across the barrier.
Then, within the fraction of a second, the barrier shattered.
The explosion expanded beyond the building.
Every window in the surrounding area shattered.
The entire main hall collapsed.
Its roof was blown apart.
Walls were ripped from their foundations.
Concrete and steel were thrown into the sky.
A massive cloud of smoke rose above the campus.
Inside the destruction, the fire dragon was being devoured.
Slowly.
Then rapidly.
The crimson dragon swallowed the flames piece by piece.
Luvian’s creation disappeared.
The last thing to vanish was its head.
Devour consumed it.
The remaining force of the collision detonated.
Several seconds later, a strange silence settled in.
Smoke drifted through the ruins.
Pieces of debris continued falling.
The enormous main hall was gone.
Completely.
At the center of the destruction stood Eden.
Barely.
His clothes were torn.
His body was covered in burns and bruises.
Blood ran down his face.
His legs shook.
But he was standing.
A few meters away, Luvian lay motionless.
His body was battered.
Several bones were clearly broken.
His clothes had been almost completely destroyed.
The horn of fire was gone.
The flames had vanished.
Eden stared at him.
Then a System window appeared.
[Skill successfully acquired.]
Eden blinked.
Huh?
Another line appeared.
[Skill: Heir’s Pride]
[Rank: B]
Eden stared at it.
"...That’s not what I wanted."
He had been expecting the fire skill.
Instead, Devour had given him something else.
He didn’t have the energy to complain.
’I’ll check the description later."
He looked around.
The campus was beginning to fill with distant shouting.
People were coming.
Association personnel would arrive soon.
Maybe sooner than he wanted.
Eden exhaled.
"Time to disappear."
He activated Stealth.
His body vanished.
He stumbled through the ruins.
Then through the outer grounds.
Then beyond the campus.
He kept walking.
One minute.
Two.
His Essence reserves were almost completely depleted.
Stealth eventually broke.
Eden reappeared beside a quiet road.
He nearly collapsed.
There was a bench nearby.
He dragged himself toward it and sat down.
His entire body felt like it had been beaten with a hammer.
He leaned backward.
Closed his eyes.
And breathed.
’I made it out.’
He couldn’t hear anyone following him.
No alarms.
No footsteps.
Nothing.
’Perfect.’
He took another deep breath, closing his eyes to rest.
For the first time since the fight began, Eden allowed himself to relax.
"Quite the mess you’ve made."
Eden’s eyes snapped open.
His heart nearly stopped.
Standing directly in front of him was a familiar man.
Messy brown hair.
Tired black eyes.
Hands casually placed in his pockets.
’Assistant Manager Choi?!’
He stared down at Eden with an expression far more serious than usual.
Eden froze.
Choi tilted his head slightly.
"I have some important questions for you, Eden."
Eden stared back.
’...How the hell did he find me?’