The rain shelter collapsed, the station was in disarray, debris scattered, piling up on the tracks below. Heavy rain washed over everything, and blood mixed with muddy water flowed, spreading to where the light couldn’t reach.
The rain intensified, pouring down with a whoosh, raising a faint mist. Bologue and Kedening stared at each other through the haze.
Kedening’s face lost all emotion, blocking out even the sensation of pain, leaving his eyes filled only with Bologue, his enemy.
Inhaling the cold, damp air, Bologue’s chain glowed with a blue trajectory, as if it had come alive, twisting together like a serpent to form a round shield that covered most of Bologue’s body.
Discarding the broken fist blade, Bologue drew a folding knife again, the blade resting on the edge of the round shield, his body tense.
On the other side, Kedening was also ready. He gripped the short sword tightly, prepared to infuse it with Ether at any moment, turning it into an Ethereal Sword that could cut anything.
As long as they survived the night, Kedening and Jini would have an unlimited future, but the premise of it all was to kill Bologue.
Eyes burning with intensity, he fixated on Bologue, wary of any possible movement from Bologue, and using Secret Energy to influence Bologue’s actions before he could make a move.
"Kedening, I, like her, believe in that power, that power which transcends life and death, and transcends Hell and the Celestial Kingdom."
Bologue suddenly said, his emotionless voice piercing through the curtain of rain.
"Someone has to do this, and if that power doesn’t exist, then let me become it!"
He shouted loudly, as if speaking to a crowd.
Once he stopped speaking, Bologue’s body was ablaze with roaring flames, the ground beneath him collapsing under his steps, his silhouette instantly twisting into an invisible phantom. The scattered raindrops around him froze momentarily, only to be tugged by the fierce wind into countless luminous lines.
The words pierced Kedening’s heart, evoking in his mind the image of that maniac, overlapping with the Evil Spirit before him.
Kedening didn’t have time to call out Bologue’s name. The deadly folding knife was drawn into a white flash, like a thunderbolt, cutting through the rain curtain.
Ether infused into the short sword, the Bright Light Blade transformed into a deadly Ethereal Sword, the rolling strong light gripped in Kedening’s hand.
A dense burst of bubble sounds emitted from the Ethereal Sword, echoing as if strong acid was corroding matter. In reality, the savage Ether was crushing all raindrops it touched with its Blade.
Bologue’s speed was too fast, far exceeding before, his muscles pulling strenuously, his wounds squeezing out blood. Yet this guy did not stop, the deadly folding knife slashed down on the head.
In the fiery eyes, Bologue’s form was reflected, Secret Energy·Wandering already acting on him, disorienting Bologue’s sense of direction.
But the folding knife had already been swung, and even disorienting his sense of direction couldn’t misalign the blade by much.
This was another flaw in Secret Energy·Wandering that Bologue noticed. As long as Bologue’s actions were fast enough, when the blade came down on Kedening’s neck, the space for Kedening to dodge was next to none.
He was fated to be wounded by the blade, it was just a matter of where.
"Faster! More ruthless! More deadly!"
Bologue shouted out, swinging the folding knife madly, a tempest of blade light erupting like a rainstorm.
Kedening retreated, the Alchemy Matrix on his body burning, consuming the remaining Ether, his speed increasing significantly.
Ethereal Amplification is the easiest and often used Ethereal Skill mastered by Condensers, driving it is simple: infuse a large amount of Ether into the Alchemy Matrix, enhancing the body’s strength and speed.
Unlike many Ethereal Skills that require skill and some insight, Ethereal Amplification just needs a lot of training to master.
Before the battle, Bologue had a level of mastery, but after the battle, he was at another level. Bologue considered himself someone who learned through battle, only growing stronger.
Kedening retreated quickly, Bologue shadowed him closely, bringing with him a flurry of blade lights and roars, like a walking Blade storm.
The folding knife and the Ethereal Sword crossed, in the chaos of confusion, even the direction of the swinging blade was obscured. Yet with amplified speed, blood marks continued to erupt on Kedening’s body. In response, the sharp folding knife shattered into several segments in an instant, the broken edges glowing with a red hot tinge.
Shards of the folding knife pierced into Bologue’s body, but the clear pain brought him a burst of joy.
A retreating step halted, Kedening stomped the ground fiercely, his hands gripping the Ethereal Sword tightly, changing the retreat into a straightforward counter-attack.
The blazing Ethereal Sword came straight at him, Bologue barely turned his head aside, losing a strand of hair, with the burning sensation from the Ethereal Sword remaining on his cheek.
Holding the broken knife handle like a long spike, he thrust it towards Kedening’s abdomen, only to miss because of Secret Energy·Wandering.
The two were locked in close combat like dancing on a knife’s edge, every move perilous enough to drag the other into a dire situation, yet after several bouts, they only brushed the edges of danger, while metal was covered with cracks, sparking.
Kedening’s expression turned monstrous and deranged, he was no longer Kedening. He had found his true self, the rat lurking in the shadows.