Madness ignited in my eyes as I weaved through the assailants’ attacks, rapidly closing the distance between myself and the illusionist. A moment later, I deactivated the photon absorption field, releasing the light I had absorbed in a blinding, incandescent flare.
The assailants were momentarily blinded by the sudden surge of light — even if, under normal circumstances, it wouldn’t have affected them so severely. But I had never once deactivated the field since the grueling battle began, and they had long since grown accustomed to fighting within its oppressive darkness, unaware that I had only kept it active despite the immense strain it placed on my Soul Core and the rate at which it drained my soul essence, all for this moment.
And so, when I finally deactivated it, they were completely caught off guard.
Crack—!
I gave them no time to adjust to the sudden flood of light before darting towards the illusionist.
A terrifying force reached into my mind, disorienting my thoughts and vision. I bit down on my lip, blood trickling from the corner of my mouth as I forcibly drove the overwhelming presence from my mind.
The next moment, I was upon the illusionist, the pair of swords in my hands cleaving downward. Yet before my blades could reach him, a burst of energy erupted from somewhere behind me, sending shockwaves through the surroundings. The conceptual Awakened was still stunned and bewildered by the strength I had displayed despite being a mere Dormant Awakened when a figure emerged from my blind spot.
The corner of my lips curled upward as I adjusted my footing, drifting to the left before bringing my sword down upon the Awakened.
’A Trap!’
The assailant’s eyes widened in disbelief.
The illusionist desperately tried to force his way through the walls of my mind. But it was already too late.
Gritting my teeth, I activated the photon absorption field. Light vanished from the surroundings, plunging everything into absolute darkness and blinding the Awakened. The next moment, I was behind him.
RIIP!
Driven by a desperate refusal to die, the Awakened reached for his neck. Before he could, however, his movement came to an abrupt end. A torrent of blood sprayed through the air, splattering the wall crimson.
Thud!
His severed head struck the ground and rolled across the floor, his eyes frozen wide in disbelief.
I felt my vision slipping away, my soul-essence now almost depleted. However, instead of catching my breath, I darted towards the illusionist, seizing the moment while he was still caught in disbelief to close the distance between us. He was, however, still a True Awakened. And a skilled one, at that.
He was quick to regain control of himself, battering my mind with relentless waves of attack. I stumbled, my vision darkening.
My face turned ashen as I forced myself forward through the crushing weight pressing down on my mind.
Unlike the other Awakened, the illusionist was much weaker in physical combat. With the physical enhancement granted by an SSS-ranked soul core, I was confident I could end his life before the swordsman could reach him, thereby reducing the pressure I had to face. To some extent, at least.
After all, my soul-essence had almost run out.
However, the illusionist clearly knew my thoughts as he continued battering the walls of my mind, slowing me down and giving the swordsman the opportunity to catch up to me.
I wasn’t going to give him that much of a chance, though.
Clenching my teeth, I gripped one of the swords in my hand and hurled it forward with every ounce of strength I could muster. Almost immediately, I followed behind it.
Step. Step.
The sword easily severed one of the illusionist’s arms, his piercing screams resounding through the sealed space. In the next instant, I was upon him, bringing the gleaming sword down on him. The blade cut through flesh and bone despite his desperate attempts to defend himself.
"Hah... Hah..."
I forced myself to breathe as I collapsed onto my knees. My vision blurred as I struggled to rise. It was at that moment, however, that my eyes widened.
"...!"
A terrifying sense of danger suddenly seized me, followed by an almost physical pressure crushing down on me with absolute force.
Gravitational ability.
My expression darkened as I forced myself to shift to the side, an obsidian sword cutting through my flesh and barely missing my heart. I activated the photon absorption field the next instant, distancing myself from the swordsman even as the crushing weight pressed down on me.
The swordsman increased his pace and closed the distance between us, seeking to claim my life while I was at my weakest. My face paled as I endured the assault of his sword, barely avoiding strikes poised to cut through me with effortless ease. However, even then, I was barely holding on.
Almost every part of my body was now covered in grievous, debilitating wounds. And it was only because of the unique characteristics granted by an SSS-ranked soul core that I was still standing. But even then, in a minute at most, I would run out of soul-essence.
My face paled.
Not only was the assailant extremely terrifying as a True Awakened, he was also a veteran swordsman. Even more terrifying was his dreadful gravitational ability.
No matter how hard I fought, or how hard I racked my brain, I couldn’t think of a way out of this precarious situation.
The seconds ticked by as I endured the barrage of attacks, fighting with every ounce of strength I could still muster.
...However, even that didn’t seem enough to bring down this monstrous Awakened.
***
I only had about thirty seconds left. My expression paled even further, blood draining from my face.
...It was at that moment, when despair began to creep in, that I caught it.
A subtle hint of fatigue and frustration from the Awakened.
A veteran swordsman wouldn’t be this impatient. Swordsmanship, more than anything, demanded an immense amount of patience. Hence, the only thing that could have elicited such a reaction from the swordsman was...
My eyes lit up, an almost maddening glint appearing within them as I dashed towards the Awakened.
If he was also running out of soul-essence.
However, the swordsman had an almost condescending look in his eyes as he easily countered my strikes. After all, even if he was greatly weakened and his soul-essence had been greatly diminished, he was still not someone a weak Awakened like myself could deal with.
...And to some extent, he was right.