Chapter 616: Still Hacking
For a moment, the battlefield fell into an uneasy silence after the Celestial Abyssal Beast collapsed into the ruins below.
The overwhelming pressure that had once filled the sky weakened and the destruction settled into stillness as dust continued to drift through the air.
But Clyde did not calmed.
He stood amidst the wreckage, lightning still crackling faintly around his body while the flames along his arm flickered with reduced intensity.
His eyes remained locked on the massive fallen form before him. There was no relief in his expression or satisfaction. Only focus. Because the thing was still alive.
He did not look for Mina or the others. None of them mattered right now in his mind.
Everything in his mind centered on one thing. The creature. And beyond that, something far greater.
His ambition had not faded. It had only grown stronger. The thought of the higher realms still lingered within him like a burning obsession. This battle was nothing more than a step. A necessary step toward something far beyond this place.
"This isn’t over," he muttered quietly.
The Beast was still alive. That was enough to make Clyde move again.
His body surged forward as he raised his sword, lightning and fire gathering once more, but weaker than before.
He drove his blade into the dark flesh of the fallen entity. The impact sent a burst of energy across its surface, tearing into it again.
Attack after attack followed.
Each attack landed into the unstable mass, breaking apart fragments of dark flesh as the creature twitched beneath him.
But something felt different.
The power that had once surged so freely through him began to thin.
His movements slowed. The lightning around his body flickered inconsistently. The flames no longer roared as fiercely as before.
Clyde noticed it immediately.
His eyes narrowed.
"Am I running out of magic power already?" he muttered under his breath.
He could feel it clearly now that his magic power had been drained far more than he expected. The earlier attacks, the constant output, the scale of destruction he had unleashed, had all taken its toll.
Without hesitation, he tightened his grip on the Demon sword, intending to drawing from it instinctively as he had done before.
But nothing came.
The blade remained dim.
The energy he expected did not answer.
For a moment, his expression hardened.
"You too?" he said quietly.
The Demon sword had also reached its limit.
Whatever power it had lent him earlier was no longer there.
Clyde sighed. A low, controlled breath.
"Fine," he muttered.
There was no frustration or panic in his voice. Just acceptance.
If that was all he had left, then that was enough.
He adjusted his stance. Then attacked again.
This time, his strikes were different.
They were smaller. More controlled and carried less overwhelming force, but none of the precision was lost.
He continued cutting into the Beast’s dark flesh, carving through weakened parts and targeting what remained of its core.
Fire still burned along his blade, but faint. Lightning still sparked even though it was unstable.
Each strike landed with purpose and pushed the creature closer to its end.
Even without the overwhelming power from before, Clyde did not stop.
Not far from the crater where Clyde was still hacking at the flesh, something moved beneath a pile of concrete and steel.
A hand pushed through. Then Mina pulled herself out from the rubble with a strained breath as dust slid from her body while fragments of debris fell away around her.
Her movements were unsteady. Her body trembled slightly as she forced herself upright.
Her left arm hung at an unnatural angle. Broken.
Pain shot through her the moment she tried to move it, sharp and immediate. She grimaced as her teeth clenched while a low hiss escaped her lips.
"Damn it..." she muttered, her voice tight.
Her body was covered in dust and streaks of blood. Small cuts ran across her skin and her breathing came ragged as she struggled to stabilize herself.
For a moment she stayed still, trying to steady the pain that pulsed through her arm and ribs.
Then she lifted her head. Her eyes scanned the ruined battlefield.
Everything around her looked destroyed beyond recognition. Buildings reduced to fragments. The ground cracked and uneven. Smoke and dust were still lingering in the air.
Her gaze slowly shifted forward then she saw him.
Clyde still moving and attacking.
Her eyes narrowed slightly as she watched him drive his blade again and again into the massive dark body that lay within the crater. Even now, even after everything that had just happened, he had not stopped.
A faint disbelief crossed her expression.
"What the hell..." she whispered.
Her mind struggled to process it.
That thing... that massive existence that had filled the sky... it had just fallen. Crashed down like it was nothing. Like it could actually be brought down.
And he did that.
Mina swallowed slowly.
Her grip tightened slightly despite the pain in her arm.
"How am I even alive..." she thought quietly.
She remembered the pressure. The attacks, and the destruction that had swept across the battlefield. By all logic, she should have been crushed somewhere in that chaos.
But she was still here. Still breathing.
A few meters away, more movement broke through the silence.
Rubble shifted again as a figure forced himself up from beneath a collapsed section of the building.
It was Sean.
He pushed aside a slab of concrete with a strained grunt, his body shaking slightly from the effort.
Blood ran down the side of his face and his clothes were torn in multiple places. His breathing was rough as well, each inhale heavy with pain.
"Shit..." he coughed, spitting out dust as he dragged himself free.
Not far from him, another figure stirred.
Connor groaned as he rolled onto his side, pushing himself up slowly with one arm. His entire body ached and it showed in the way he moved.
His steps were unsteady as he finally managed to sit up, his face twisted with pain.
"Fuck... that hurt..." he muttered hoarsely.
Both of them were injured, bruised, and bleeding.
But alive. Somehow.
They lifted their heads almost at the same time.
And just like Mina, their eyes were drawn toward the same sight.
Clyde.
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