"It’s obviously a beating, so why do I feel so unsatisfied?"
Bologue muttered to himself.
In the past, battles were his outlet for emotions, but the moment he made a move this time, Bologue realized that he had been used by Aimou again. It was an open scheme, yet he couldn’t just stand by and watch Aimou be cut by a blade, could he?
Standing before the disordered ruins, at the edge of Bologue’s vision, Aimou was already nowhere to be seen.
She escaped quickly. From such a decisive decision, it seemed Aimou had become familiar with the route during previous time reversals, like a cunning rabbit.
Aimou wasn’t before... or maybe he never really knew the true Aimou.
Thinking of this gave Bologue a headache. He wanted to continue chasing her, but now another problem was holding him back. However, the problem was still within an acceptable range. Bologue had already located Aimou’s position; he would be faster and more agile in the next time reversal.
Now the issue returned to the present, with the first enemy Bologue encountered in this crazy reversal.
"King’s Shield Guard, huh?"
Bologue’s voice was somewhat suppressed, as if someone was gripping his throat.
Not only was his throat gripped, but Bologue’s entire body was being squeezed by some invisible force, as if he was encased in cement, unable to move.
The rubble was pushed aside, and a battered figure rose from the ruins. Fast looked at the suddenly appearing opponent before him, filled with rage.
Under Bologue’s sudden assault, even though Fast immediately blocked the offensive, he was still wounded by the sharp stone halberd, incurring multiple cuts and extensive abrasions, with blood gushing out.
Fast’s eyes flowed with a burning light, and from this intense Ether reaction, Bologue determined that the opponent was a Prayer Believer.
Intricate green patterns climbed onto Bologue’s arms, the Alchemy Matrix roaring to life, Ether filling every part of Bologue’s body, and at the same time, Ethereal Amplification was bestowed upon Bologue.
Bologue’s muscles tightened, veins bulging, as he tried to break free from the restrained state.
The surging Ether overflowed from his body, colliding mid-air with another stream of Ether. Under Ethereum Mutual Exclusion, blinding flashes flickered continuously.
Fast noticed Bologue’s struggle, holding a cracked blade in one hand, raising the other as he did when he parted the sea of fire.
He clenched his fist forcefully, and Bologue felt an increase in the pressure exerted by the void-like power.
The triple trial could only narrow the gap between Bologue and the Prayer Believer, but couldn’t fully bridge the Tier chasm. For a moment, Bologue found it hard to resist, with the added pressure bringing acute pain.
But... that was not an issue, just a Prayer Believer. Bologue had hunted them before, even giving a heavy strike to a Negative Power User.
Bologue’s eyes turned red, and the next moment, the familiar world vanished, replaced by a madly chaotic Hellscape, where demons howled as they brushed past him. ʀᴇᴀᴅ ʟᴀᴛᴇsᴛ ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀs ᴀᴛ ɴovᴇl(F)ɪre.ɴet
The Face of Horror erupted fully, a rising fog of fear directly covering Bologue’s surroundings, the mental impact indiscriminately crashing around.
Fast’s heart was struck by fear, like a nightmare, with bizarre images switching endlessly before his eyes. Even though Fast quickly recognized this as Bologue’s doing, it was too late.
In the moment Fast’s mind was shaken, there was a slight loosening of the confinement around Bologue, which he easily tore apart.
He smashed his fist into the ground, causing stone walls to rise up, concealing Bologue’s figure.
Fast couldn’t locate Bologue, and within Bologue’s domain, the rocks could all become deadly weapons, stone spikes emerging from all directions, relentlessly pursuing Fast.
No matter how Fast dodged, Bologue pursued him like a ghost, the dense spikes like charging lances, leaving Fast nowhere to escape. If he were hit, he would be skewered into a bloodied mess.
An intense Alchemy Matrix flashed on Fast’s surface, and the next moment, an invisible Shield Guard appeared, securing him within. The charging lances crashed onto the Shield Guard’s shield, shattering into countless fragments, with dust flying.
"Interesting Secret Energy."
Bologue whispered in the shadows. Even with their Tier difference, the initiative in battle was still firmly in Bologue’s hands.
It seemed the opponent was part of the King’s Shield Guard. Bologue was a bit puzzled; if their target was the Immortal Heart, why pursue Aimou so relentlessly?
Does Aimou also have something they desire?
For example... Time Reversal?
Fast cautiously looked at the shrouding walls all around him. Accompanying a roar from him, those invisible Shield Guards surrounding him pushed forward in unison.
Iron feet mercilessly tread over the ruins like a storm passing through, crumbling the walls Bologue had raised; all shelters were flattened, and amidst the billowing dust, Bologue’s figure flickered in and out of sight.
Fast angrily stared at Bologue, raising his hand to grasp at Bologue, attempting once again to imprison Bologue with that invisible force.
But he still underestimated Bologue.
The ground beneath Fast began to collapse, his legs plunging directly into the earth below, while all the surrounding soil lifted up like enclosing petals, aiming to imprison Fast within.
Once the enclosure formed, Fast would be crushed into a bloody pulp in an instant. At this critical moment, those invisible Shield Guards reappeared, forming a vacuum area around Fast where no substance could penetrate.
Bologue attempted to shatter the ground beneath Fast’s feet, but even if the earth was breached, an invisible force constantly blocked him from approaching Fast.
The thunderous sound of gunfire rang out, shattered pellets striking straight at Fast, but like the stone spikes before, they were repelled by an invisible wall before they got close to Fast.
Fast stood steadily within it, looking gloomily at Bologue, while Bologue felt somewhat displeased.
He remembered his own shortcomings, lacking direct offensive capabilities. When encountering Defensive experts like Hart, he would have a tough and draining battle.
From this perspective, after completing the triple trials, he had fought against two Condensers, but both were defense-oriented Condensers.
No, it wasn’t entirely absolute. Hart was a Condenser from the Origin School; his formidable defense came from pure Ether, whereas the current Fast was different, his defense stemming from his own Secret Energy.
Just as Secret Energy had its inherent weaknesses.
Bologue stepped forward, a simple movement that erupted with unimaginable power. With Ethereal Amplification, his speed was incredibly fast, charging straight at Fast like a howling wind.
Fast also raised his hand at this time, prepared to employ the same trick, using the invisible force to imprison Bologue.
As Fast clenched his fist, Bologue’s clothes began to writhe, as if something was crawling beneath his collar, soon screaming and tearing through the constraints.
Thousands of slender Silver Snakes, originating from Bologue, spread out in a circular shape in all directions like sensing tendrils, touching the ground, reaching the ruins... and encountering the invisible force.
Through the extension of the Silver Snakes, Bologue saw the invisible force appear out of thin air, drawing close to him continuously. With a grasp from the Silver Hand on the ground, Bologue accelerated forward, effortlessly evading the encirclement.
The Silver Snakes attached themselves to the invisible force, constantly crawling along its surface, shifting between solid and liquid states, like silver paint, constantly covering, outlining the shape of the invisible force.
Bologue saw it, a cluster of strange shapes filled with curves. The shape suddenly vanished, and the Deceitful Snake Scale Liquid lost support, retreating back to Bologue.
As for Fast, the heavy Deceitful Snake Scale Liquid had completely enveloped him. By his side, an invisible, sphere-like entity surrounded him. Now the Deceitful Snake Scale Liquid completely blocked his vision, plunging him into darkness.
The snakes were restless, the Deceitful Snake Scale Liquid covering them switched from liquid to solid state, sharp spikes gnawing at Fast’s invisible wall; yet no matter how Bologue attacked, it was difficult to break through Fast’s defenses.
In darkness, Fast’s pupils were filled with the glow of Ether; under this fully defensive state, few could breach his Secret Energy.
Secret Energy - Shadowless Barrier.
The Commanding School’s Secret Energy, enabled by Ether’s attachment, controls the air within a certain range, solidifying it into an invisible gaseous stone.
Used for defense and as a unique air cannon to smash opponents. More importantly, when this air solidifies on an opponent, much like what Bologue encountered back then, the surrounding air solidifies and compresses, inhibiting the opponent, gradually suffocating them.
Invisible and intangible, it’s a Secret Energy capable of both offense and defense. Many enemies don’t understand its nature and are suffocated to death by Fast.
But today’s actions were somewhat different. First there was the girl carrying the Fantasy Species; he had clearly fully restrained and suffocated her. Yet, she seemed not to need to breathe and didn’t die.
Then there was this guy who suddenly appeared—Bologue’s swift reaction shattered the Shadowless Barrier’s killing blow.
The snakes flailed wildly beside Bologue. Before the air solidified, they could detect its presence in advance. In this, Sandbox was to thank; it wasn’t Bologue’s first time facing an invisible enemy.
Bologue, rich in experience, was the true expert!