The darkness tightened around Jade's body.
Black tendrils wrapped around his legs.
Then his waist.
Then his arms.
They constricted like living chains.
Jade gritted his teeth.
His healing flames continued burning across his body, repairing the wounds he had suffered during the battle.
But the flames couldn't stop the tendrils.
They kept multiplying.
Kelvin slowly approached.
His dark sword dragged across the stone floor.
SCRAAAAAPE.
The sound echoed throughout the chamber.
Jade's eyes narrowed.
He knew what was coming.
Kelvin raised his sword.
Jade immediately changed his flames.
The warm crimson fire surrounding his body disappeared.
Then—
A violent crimson blaze erupted.
The destructive flame.
The moment it appeared, Jade's entire body trembled.
Pain exploded through his nerves.
The destructive flame didn't simply burn his enemies.
It burned him too.
His skin felt as though it were being peeled apart from the inside.
His muscles screamed.
His essence pathways felt like they were filled with molten metal.
Jade clenched his teeth.
"Argh..."
But he didn't stop.
The destructive flame spread through the Obsidian Vine Shadow.
The black tendrils wrapped around his body immediately began burning.
Smoke rose from them.
The darkness twisted violently.
One tendril snapped.
Then another.
Then dozens.
BOOM!
The flames exploded outward.
The dark chains were burned apart.
Jade immediately moved.
His legs exploded with power.
He jumped.
Higher.
Higher.
The ceiling rushed toward him.
Then Jade twisted his body in midair.
His crimson greatsword ignited.
He descended like a falling star.
"Kelvin!"
His sword came down.
Kelvin looked upward.
His expression remained calm.
Then—
His body bent.
Not normally.
Not naturally.
His spine curved at an impossible angle.
His upper body twisted backward so far that Jade's blade passed directly over his face.
SHING!
The sword missed by a fraction of an inch.
Jade's eyes widened.
"What—"
Kelvin's dark sword disappeared from his hand.
A black orb materialized instead.
He flicked it upward.
"Too slow."
The orb shot toward Jade.
BOOM!
It struck him directly.
A violent explosion erupted in midair.
Jade's body was thrown across the chamber.
He crashed onto the stone floor.
CRASH!
He rolled several times before finally stopping.
For a moment...
He couldn't move.
His ears rang.
His vision blurred.
His entire body felt numb.
Then—
Pain.
A terrible pain spread through his chest.
Jade coughed.
Blood spilled from his mouth.
He tried to breathe.
Another wave of pain struck.
His essence pathways.
Something was wrong.
The dark orb hadn't merely damaged his body.
It had damaged his essence pathways.
Jade could feel his essence leaking through the damaged channels.
His reserves were dropping.
Fast.
He clenched his fist.
"No..."
Another cough.
Blood splashed across the floor.
Kelvin slowly approached.
SCRAAAAAPE.
His dark sword dragged behind him.
He didn't hurry.
He didn't need to.
Jade was already struggling to stand.
Kelvin stopped directly in front of him.
The dark blade slowly rose.
Then—
It touched Jade's throat.
Cold.
Jade froze.
One slight movement...
And the sword would cut through his neck.
Kelvin looked down at him.
"Any last words?"
Jade's healing flame flickered.
The destructive flame had already vanished.
His body was exhausted.
His essence was leaking.
His pathways were damaged.
Even his breathing was becoming difficult.
Yet Jade somehow smiled.
"Can I get some knowledge before I die?"
Kelvin stared at him.
Then laughed.
A deep, mocking laugh.
"What does a dying man want to know?"
Jade looked directly into his eyes.
"Why are you referred to as a Jadeborn?"
Kelvin's smile disappeared.
For several seconds...
He simply stared.
Then his grip tightened.
The dark sword pressed slightly deeper against Jade's throat.
A thin line of blood appeared.
One drop.
Then another.
Jade didn't move.
Kelvin finally spoke.
"Being a Jadeborn..."
His voice was quiet.
"...means you belong to another race."
Jade's pupils contracted.
"Another race?"
"Separate from humanity."
Kelvin leaned closer.
"And the fact that you are a Jadeborn..."
"...yet you're completely ignorant of it..."
A strange smile appeared on his face.
"...makes me want to laugh."
Jade's mind raced.
Another race.
Jadeborn.
Then why did he have no memory of it?
Why had nobody ever told him?
What exactly was he?
Jade swallowed carefully against the blade.
"Can you put it in more detail?"
Kelvin stared at him.
Then shook his head.
"I think your time has come."
The sword lifted.
Kelvin prepared to strike.
Jade's eyes narrowed.
His heart remained strangely calm.
Then—
Something changed.
His hair moved.
The black strands slowly became crimson.
The change happened instantly.
Kelvin paused.
Jade slowly raised his head.
His crimson eyes burned with terrifying intensity.
A faint smile appeared on his face.
"I think..."
"...it's the other way around."
BOOM!
An enormous wave of power erupted from Jade's body.
The entire chamber shook.
The five Awakened Mythics stopped fighting.
Ant Demon froze.
Titan Devourer turned.
Even Little Black looked toward Jade.
Kelvin's eyes widened.
Jade stood.
Slowly.
His damaged body should have collapsed.
His essence pathways were leaking.
His reserves were falling.
Yet something deeper had awakened.
Jade clenched his fist.
He couldn't allow the battle to continue like this.
His essence was leaking too quickly.
He didn't understand how.
He didn't understand what was happening inside his body.
But he knew one thing.
If he allowed Kelvin to drag the battle out...
He would lose.
He needed to end it quickly.
Jade closed his eyes.
Then—
He summoned his Crimson God Body.
The transformation began.
His black hair exploded outward.
Every strand became crimson.
His skin gradually became bright.
Almost impossibly bright.
His crimson eyes became brighter.
Then—
BOOM!
Crimson light erupted from his body.
His ordinary armor dissolved.
A completely different form appeared.
White armor covered his body.
Not ordinary white.
It looked as though it had been forged from divine light.
Crimson veins ran across the armor.
Golden patterns appeared around his shoulders and chest.
His aura spread through the chamber.
Pure.
Dominant.
Terrifying.
The destructive flame disappeared.
In its place came an overwhelming divine pressure.
Jade's presence alone forced the surrounding darkness backward.
The five Awakened Mythics instinctively stepped away.
Little Black stared.
Ant Demon stared.
Titan Devourer stared.
Even Kelvin remained silent.
Then—
Kelvin laughed.
At first quietly.
Then louder.
"Hahaha..."
His eyes burned with excitement.
"And I thought..."
"...it was going to be very easy."
He lowered his dark sword.
Then closed his eyes.
Darkness erupted around him.
Jade's expression became serious.
"He's transforming too."
Kelvin's body began changing.
Dark veins spread across his pale skin.
They moved like living creatures.
His muscles tightened.
His aura became heavier.
Two enormous horns slowly protruded from his forehead.
His eyes changed first.
The whites disappeared.
The pupils disappeared.
Everything became pure darkness.
His hair began burning.
Not with ordinary fire.
It looked like dark flames were flowing through every strand.
His skin became pale.
Almost corpse-like.
The darkness surrounding him continued expanding.
Then—
BOOM!
Kelvin's own God Body fully awakened.
The pressure released from him collided directly with Jade's.
Light against darkness.
Crimson against black.
Creation against destruction.
The entire chamber trembled.
Cracks spread across the floor.
The walls shook.
Ancient runes flickered violently.
The five Awakened Mythics stopped attacking.
Ant Demon lowered her sword.
Titan Devourer froze.
Little Black's silver eyes widened.
Even the dead creatures seemed to instinctively recognize the two beings standing before them.
Two God Bodies.
Two terrifying powers.
Two completely different existences.
Jade stood surrounded by divine crimson light.
His white armor reflected the glow like polished silver.
His crimson hair flowed behind him.
His red eyes burned like twin stars.
He looked less like a human...
And more like a god who had descended into the world.
Across from him stood Kelvin.
His body was wrapped in darkness.
Black veins crawled across his pale skin.
Two horns rose from his head.
His eyes were completely dark.
His hair burned like black fire.
He looked like the embodiment of darkness itself.
The two stared at each other.
Neither moved.
Neither spoke.
For several seconds...
The entire citadel became silent.
Then—
BOOM!
Their auras collided again.
The shockwave spread through the chamber.
Stone cracked.
Dust fell from the ceiling.
Ancient formations flickered.
Some began collapsing.
Jade slowly raised his crimson greatsword.
Kelvin raised his dark sword.
The weapons pointed directly at each other.
Little Black quietly stepped backward.
Even the cat understood.
This wasn't an ordinary battle anymore.
Ant Demon tightened her grip.
Titan Devourer lowered its body.
The five Awakened Mythics stood frozen.
Everyone had stopped fighting.
Every eye was fixed on the two God Bodies.
Jade's essence was still leaking.
Kelvin's darkness was still spreading.
Neither cared.
The next clash...
Would be different.
Much different.
Because if the first exchange had shaken the chamber...
The battle between these two God Bodies might shake the very existence of the ancient citadel itself.