Chapter 239: Chapter 239 : A Haunting realization (2)

Alex stood perfectly still, the fractured air around him humming with unseen energy. His expression was calm, eyes half-lidded, his sword glowing faintly as space itself began to distort around him.

Under his breath, so low that not even Alden or Ethan could hear, Alex whispered,

“Astral Void Rend, Fifth Form: Dimensional Sever.”

The world stilled.

Then—space screamed.

All four of Alex’s echoes moved at once, perfectly synchronized with him, as they swung their blades in unison. Their slashes cut through reality itself, creating jagged rifts that tore across the battlefield.

Each tear glimmered like a mirror of the void, devouring light, sound, and even the raging hurricanes of black fire that hurtled toward them. The torn space expanded, twisting inward—collapsing into miniature black holes that began swallowing everything in their path.

The eleven infernal hurricanes, the flames, even the distorted air itself—all were consumed into nothingness. The coliseum floor cracked and buckled under the weight of collapsing space.

The storm of destruction ended in eerie silence. Only the echo of space knitting itself back together remained.

Alden stood frozen, his sword trembling in his hand. His mind refused to believe what his eyes had seen.

’He… he tore space apart,’ he thought, his heart pounding. ’Did he just… create black holes with his sword technique ? Even a master(peak) rank couldn’t control a force like that.’

Then something else struck him. His memories flickered back to an image, a faint recollection of a duel of a silver haired boy with his sister.

’That technique… I’ve seen it before. Then suddely a hunting realization dawned on him

No… no, it can’t be.’

His disbelief turned into manic laughter, echoing through the coliseum.

“Hahaha! No way… this can’t be real that guy died.”

Even his echoes began to laugh with him, their voices distorting with madness.

The echoes of Alex flickered and disappeared like fading shadows, their purpose complete.

Alex lowered his sword, looking toward Alden’s wild expression with mild amusement.

“Did you like that technique?” he asked with a teasing grin. “My annoying master taught it to me herself. Cool, right? Creating temporary black holes with a swing? Makes training rather… interesting and horrible i wouldn’t recommend trying it.”

Alden’s eyes narrowed. His voice came out sharp and commanding. “Remove your mask.”

Alex’s smile vanished. For a moment, the arena was silent.

Then he replied coldly, “Sorry, but I don’t like being ordered around.”

Alden’s pupils shrank. That voice is different but that tone. The way he spoke—it was too familiar.

’That manner of talking… it’s way similar to him…He’s also wielding my sister’s sword which she never let’s someone borrow.’

Before alden could finish the thought, Alex vanished.

A blur of motion. A flicker of black lightning.

In the next instant, ten of Alden’s remaining echoes were decapitated—clean, precise cuts that left them no time to react. Their bodies disintegrated into sparks, fading into the air.

Alden barely had time to raise his sword before Alex’s blade was at his neck.

When suddely—Ethan appeared.

With a roar, Ethan tackled Alden aside and took the slash directly to his chest as blood sprayed out.

But just as suddely flames erupted from the wound, healing him instantly.

Ethan stood upright, glaring at Alden and shouting, “What are you doing just standing there? Snap out of it! That guy’s beyond both of us—we’ll need to work together if we want to survive this!”

A sword materialized in Ethan’s hand—the Celestial Sunblade, his divine weapon.

But Alex noticed something. The once radiant golden sword was still stained—its edges blackened, pulsing faintly with corruption.

A smirk formed beneath Alex’s mask.

’Looks like you’re still struggling to make that weapon accept you, hero.’

Ethan clenched the sword tighter, muttering under his breath,

“Dawnbreaker Judgement, Fourth Form: Severing Ray.”

A beam of concentrated light-energy burst from his blade, transforming into a cannon of divine thunder, racing toward Alex with impossible speed.

Alex raised his sword calmly and took the same stance.

“Dawnbreaker Judgement, Fourth Form: Severing Ray,” he said mockingly.

This time, a dark beam surged forward—pure abyssal energy condensed into a streak of death.

Light and darkness collided.

The explosion that followed shattered the ground. Pillars disintegrated, walls cracked, and the sky of the virtual coliseum split apart like glass.

For a brief moment, the light beam held its ground, but the dark beam slowly pushed through, overpowering it. The resulting shockwave sent Ethan flying backward, his body crashing through multiple pillars before slamming into the wall.

Crimson lines formed across his body. His flesh tore in several places, bones fractured, blood spilled.

Flames erupted around him again as his regeneration began working overtime.

Alden stood nearby, his chest rising and falling rapidly. His mind was working faster than ever, piecing together fragments, patterns, and impossible coincidences.

Then, like a lightning strike, the realization hit him.

’Six months ago, he died… and then this guy appeared. Same aura. Same arrogance. It can’t be a coincidence.’

Alden started laughing hysterically, his voice echoing through the ruins.

“Hahahaha! This can’t be chance! You—Lucifer—you’re him, aren’t you?!”

He pointed his sword straight at Alex.

“Take off that mask! Or I swear, I’ll find you in the real world and kill you myself!”

Alex tilted his head, smiling beneath the mask.

“I told you already—I don’t like being ordered around.”

Black flames began to coil around Alden’s body as he snarled. “Fine then, you bastard! I’ll take that mask off myself, or I’m not a man!”

Alex burst out laughing. “Then I guess you better start practicing how to wear a dress, you girly bastard!”

Just as Alden was about to charge, Ethan landed beside him, his expression grim.

“We need to work together, idiot! He’s not someone—”

Before he could finish, Alden’s fist slammed into Ethan’s face, sending him crashing into the coliseum wall.

“I don’t need anyone’s help!” Alden roared. “I’ll kill this bastard myself! The entire world will see that I’ve always been better than both of you combined!”

He raised his sword high, then stabbed it into the ground as his voice echoed like thunder.

“Veytharion! Come to me! The moment I once dreaded would never come… has arrived before me once again!”

The space around him began to twist violently.

From the tear in space, a deep rumble emerged—like the growl of a divine beast.

Then, from the distortion, a colossal head pushed through.

Obsidian scales, cracked and glowing with veins of molten magma, reflected the dying light. Twelve burning eyes ignited across its skull, each one glowing like a miniature sun.

It was chaos incarnate. The air rippled as reality itself warped around the creature’s exhale. Horned ridges jutted from its head like black mountains, and a mane of molten flame cascaded down its neck, every strand moving like liquid fire.

The beast opened its jaws, molten light spilling out. The heat alone made the space tremble.

A shiver ran down Alex’s spine as he stared at Veytharion’s enormous form.

’What in the seven hells… is that thing?’

——

A/N:

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