Chapter 81: Now We Are Talkin
Above the shattered battlefield, Seraphine's hands moved in a precise, flawless formation. Every motion was deliberate. Every breath measured.
Her voice rang out—calm, absolute, unwavering.
"Supreme Expansion of Space."
A heartbeat passed.
"Erasure of the Abyss."
The world twisted.
A vast, gray abyss unfolded, swallowing the battlefield whole. The air grew heavy, oppressive. Vital force—enemy and ally alike—was torn from bodies, siphoned into nothingness. Power bled away like mist under the sun.
Toura Oni stepped forward without hesitation, her staff glinting under the dim, dying light.
She muttered coldly, "I was born with no vital force at all. This doesn't affect me, Neraxis."
ZzN—Zzn!
She vanished.
Her feet tore across the ground with inhuman speed, raw muscle and instinct driving her forward. Neraxis' four red eyes widened slightly as he tracked her movement.
"Yeah," he muttered, grinning. "You're the pinnacle of raw human potential… just like Shires Drex."
Toura Oni slammed her staff into him—
THUD!
The impact staggered Neraxis back a step.
She muttered, irritated, "Huh… who the hell is that?"
Neraxis twisted away, narrowly avoiding the follow-up strike.
I have to see it… predict it… he thought. Her attacks don't rely on VF.
Toura Oni lashed out again—
SWISH!
Her strike cut through empty air.
Neraxis had already moved.
Toura Oni's eyes widened. "Huh?"
Neraxis surged forward and drove a brutal uppercut straight into her core.
CRACK!
Toura Oni was hurled back, skidding across the fractured ground, pain exploding through her body.
Damn…
His blows hurt like hell—even without vital force.
Neraxis pressed forward—
And then—
CRACK.
The abyss shattered.
The Supreme Expansion collapsed in on itself like broken glass, the gray void dissolving into nothingness.
Vital force rushed back into the world.
Neraxis inhaled deeply.
His vital arts returned. His power surged. The glitching in his four eyes vanished as they burned crimson once more.
He straightened, rolling his shoulders as Reverse Vital Technique flooded his body, sealing wounds, restoring strength.
A wide, feral grin split his face.
"Now…" he said, laughing softly, "…we are talking."