Ashan took one step forward.
And vanished.
Unlike before, it wasn't stealth.
It wasn't space bending.
It wasn't an illusion.
It was speed; pure, merciless speed that shredded perception itself.
Ashan moved.
The air detonated a heartbeat too late.
A violent concussion rippled outward from the spot where he had stood, shockwaves chasing the ghost of his motion like reality trying and failing to catch up. The stone beneath his feet cratered from delayed pressure alone. Dust lifted in a circular blast, and the dungeon torches flickered violently as if slapped by an invisible storm.
Arakwaru froze.
Not out of hesitation.
Out of instinct.
Its Abyssal Sword Sense flared automatically, luminous threads bursting into existence across a fifty-meter radius. Every movement, every mana fluctuation, every breath and muscle contraction normally appeared to it as glowing strands woven into the fabric of space. It was a perception beyond sight, an awareness that allowed it to slice attacks before they formed, sever spells mid-cast, and cut through intention itself.
Within that web, nothing escaped.
Not even thoughts.
But now, the threads trembled.
For a fraction of a second, they tightened, trying to register Ashan's movement.
Then they snapped.
No.
They didn't snap.
They were shredded.
Not cut cleanly, not severed with precision.
Shredded!
As if something had ripped violently through the web of perception, tearing apart the luminous strands before they could even transmit information back to the demon's mind.
Ashan didn't vanish from sight.
He tore through the concept of being seen.
Shockwaves burst outward in delayed succession, chasing the afterimage of a movement too fast to follow. The dungeon walls buckled from the pressure lag alone.
A crack resounded.
Arakwaru's jaw exploded sideways.
Before the sound finished echoing,
Another crack.
Its ribs caved inward, armor splintering, bone fragmenting beneath overwhelming impact.
Then its left arm twisted violently in the wrong direction, shoulder joint rupturing as the limb was torn from its socket in a blur the demon never saw.
Each blow came from nowhere.
No wind-up.
No visible strike.
Just destruction.
Every impact folded the world around it, compressing air into concussive bursts that shattered stone and erased mist. The Abyssal Domain's black fog wall fractured like glass under repeated shockwaves.
Arakwaru was driven backward through pillars, masonry, and the scorched remains of earlier explosions. Each hit carved trenches into the chamber floor. Chunks of obsidian rock disintegrated into powder midair.
From behind the protective line, Draven reacted instantly.
"Barrier.. now!"
He and Sisiliya slammed their palms forward, mana surging outward in synchronized flow. A thick, multi-layered mana barrier formed over the raiders, shimmering with layered sigils and reinforcement nodes.
The next shockwave slammed into it.
The barrier screamed.
Cracks of blue light spidered across its surface.
Sisiliya gritted her teeth. "Reinforce the outer shell! Don't let it collapse!"
Magnar stared at the battlefield in horror. "This is insane… whenever he moves, the chamber starts to collapse!"
The dungeon ceiling rumbled ominously.
Arakwaru, battered beyond recognition, forced itself upward. Its regeneration struggled, flesh knitting grotesquely even as new injuries tore it apart.
With a roar layered in fury and calculation, it kicked off the ground and launched into the air, both swords spinning in defensive arcs.
It tried to escape the storm.
Ashan was already there.
Midair, he caught the demon by the throat.
For a fraction of a second, the entire battlefield paused.
Then he spun.
The rotation created a spiral vacuum around them, mist sucked inward violently.
Ashan drove Arakwaru downward with a heel drop.
The impact fractured the chamber floor like glass under a hammer. A crater erupted, stone blasting upward in a violent ring.
Arakwaru lay embedded in the center, body mangled beyond recognition. Its regeneration flickered erratically.
"You… dare…" it rasped, voice broken.
Ashan landed lightly beside it.
His tone remained calm.
"I'm not finished yet."
He extended his hand.
Chakra gathered instantly, condensing into a sphere of brilliant blue. The air around it spiraled violently as rotational force intensified. The sound alone vibrated the chest cavity.
In the blink of an eye, Ashan vanished again, reappearing behind the demon.
[Rasengan]
He drove the sphere into Arakwaru's back.
The explosion tore through the demon's torso, vaporizing nearly a third of its body. Flesh and armor fragments scattered across the crater floor in burning chunks.
The barrier trembled violently from the aftershock.
Silas whispered, almost reverent, "That… that wasn't even his strongest move."
Ashan stepped back, watching.
Regeneration activated again.
Slower now.
Jagged flesh struggled to reconnect.
His Byakugan flared, veins bulging around his eyes as he tracked the mana flow inside the creature's ruined chest.
The core pulsed faintly.
"There."
He raised his other hand.
Wind chakra gathered this time.
Unlike the Rasengan, this sphere screamed as it formed. The edges sharpened, slicing at the air itself. The rotation increased until the surrounding mist shredded into spirals.
The chakra-hungry sphere began expanding.
Arakwaru staggered upright, both swords trembling. Its domain remnants flared weakly in defense. Black mist condensed into a shield before it.
The dungeon groaned under the clashing pressures.
Ashan lifted the glowing sphere over his shoulder.
[Wind Style: Rasenshuriken]
The demon charged desperately, blades crossing, mana flaring to maximum output.
Ashan threw.
The spinning storm crossed the battlefield in a heartbeat.
It cleaved through the black mist shield like paper.
The floor shattered beneath its passage.
Upon impact, it expanded.
A vortex of white-blue wind erupted outward, swallowing the crater entirely. Thousands of microscopic wind blades detonated in every direction, shredding everything caught inside.
"Aaargh…!"
Arakwaru's scream was drowned in the storm.
Wind blades ripped flesh at the cellular level, severing mana channels, tearing regeneration apart. Escape was impossible. The vortex held it in place, carving, shredding, annihilating.
The dungeon turned white-blue.
Ashan appeared near the barrier instantly.
His eyes widened slightly. 'It expanded more than expected.'
The vortex continued growing.
'Will it breach the barrier?'
He placed his palm against the mana barrier.
The raiders stiffened.
"What is he doing?" Eirena panicked. "Is he going to break it?!"
Ashan analyzed instantly.
'Open-source absorption barrier. It accepts external mana for reinforcement.'
He clicked his tongue internally. 'Why design it like that? Whatever.'
He poured chakra into it.
Not recklessly. Precisely.
The barrier thickened, layers stacking upon each other as Ashan's energy reinforced its core structure. Its glow deepened from pale blue to dense azure.
Draven felt it. His eyes widened.
'He's feeding it…'
The barrier stabilized.
Sisiliya stared at Ashan's back in disbelief.
'After everything he just did… he still has reserves like this?'
Minutes passed like seconds.
Finally,
The Rasenshuriken dissipated.
Silence fell.
When the light faded, half of Arakwaru's body lay on the carved floor. The mana core had been obliterated entirely. The surrounding walls were smoothed into crescent arcs by wind blades.
The ceiling groaned, but held.
Ashan stood in the center of ruin, breathing slow and controlled. The green aura of the Third Gate dimmed gradually. Steam faded from his skin.
Nullfang rested across his shoulder.
From the edge of devastation, Draven exhaled shakily.
"He doesn't even look strained…"
Ashan stared at the corpse.
'It's over. The Rasenshuriken exceeded projections.'
Eirena's voice trembled. "Did it… die?"
Ashan turned slightly and nodded.
"Yes. It died. The raid is over."
Relief swept across the raiders like a wave. Shoulders dropped. Some collapsed to their knees.
But Ashan's gaze sharpened.
'Where is the key?'
He approached the remains, scanning carefully.
'I saw no orb fragment inside the core.'
He touched the demon's remains.
Suddenly, a golden light erupted from the corrupted flesh.
Ashan's eyes narrowed. He stepped back immediately.
"Everyone step back. Something's happening."
The raiders retreated.
Shattered flesh fragments began vibrating.
They floated.
Then gathered.
Slowly, deliberately, the pieces converged at a single point, golden light intensifying as corrupted mana burned away.
Minutes passed in tense silence.
When the light faded, a golden metal shard floated gently before them.
Ashan smiled faintly.
There it is.
—-----------------------------------
Gold Shard (Pulse of Dominion) – First Piece
<> Domain – Energy / Control
<> Power – Stabilizes mana flow, increasing efficiency of spellcasting and weapon enhancement.
<> Limit – Does not create power; reduces waste only.
<> Risk – Addiction to efficiency; dependency erodes natural mana control.
—-----------------------------------
Ashan stepped forward, coating his hand in cursed energy before taking the shard carefully.
Even through the protective layer, he felt it.
A subtle pull.
An invitation.
'Insane design,' he thought.
'If someone else touched this directly, their mana flow would slowly become dependent on it. Eventually, it would override natural circulation. They'd become a vessel.'
Sisiliya approached cautiously.
"So this… is the key you mentioned?"
Ashan nodded. "Yes. The first piece."
She studied it closely. "It doesn't look dangerous."
"It's extremely dangerous."
Her eyes sharpened. "What does it do?"
Ashan held it up.
"It stabilizes mana flow. Boosts efficiency dramatically. Users feel stronger, more precise. Less waste."
"That sounds beneficial."
"It is. At first."
He glanced at her.
"Long-term use erodes natural control. The wielder becomes dependent. Eventually, without it, they can't regulate their own mana. Withdrawal could cripple them."
Her expression shifted to alarm.
"That's…"
"Addiction disguised as enhancement."
Silence fell.
Draven stepped closer. "And there are nine more like this?"
"Yes. Each fragment hides its true purpose behind a different 'benefit.'"
Sisiliya's voice lowered.
"What are you going to do with it?"
Ashan's grip tightened slightly.
"What else?"
He looked at the golden shard coldly.
"I'm going to destroy it."