Chapter 421: locate the Spectrum base [3]
Rising to his feet, Akazel raised his scepter toward the ceiling. Demonic energy converged toward the tip of the artifact, forming a sphere of fire blackened by the corruption of the Abyss.
< Demonic Magic: Brazier of Oblivion >
A surge of purple flames swept through the room, consuming the oxygen and melting the stone of the pillars. Klein did not retreat. He immediately activated his Eye of Perception, his pupils illuminating with a cyan glow. The flow of demonic magic suddenly became readable, revealing the pressure points and zones of lower density in the deluge of fire.
Klein concentrated his aura toward his lower limbs.
< Aura Coating >
A layer of bluish protection enveloped his body, strengthening his muscles and skin against the extreme heat. In a fluid movement, he dashed through the blaze. Each step he took on the scorched ground was accompanied by a micro-pulse of Dash, allowing him to zigzag between the tongues of fire with precision.
Meanwhile, Amaera, who was finishing impaling the last blood Wyvern on an ice lance, turned her head toward the duel. Her silver eyes narrowed with suspicion as she observed Klein.
"Klein, don’t be reckless!" she shouted, while accumulating mana to intervene if necessary.
Klein ignored her. He was already within reach of Akazel. The base director, panicked to see his most powerful spell crossed with such ease, tried to trigger a point-blank explosion.
< Fire Explosion >
The snap of his fingers echoed, but before the spark could transform into a detonation, Klein performed a quick wrist rotation.
< Sundering Eclipse, second movement: Quarter Moon >
The katana traced a perfect arc. Instead of a simple cut, trails of residual aura remained suspended in the air, forming translucent secondary blades. These energy echoes did not merely slice; they literally absorbed the magical structure of the explosion before it could stabilize. The spark died out in a pitiful hiss.
Akazel remained frozen, his arm still raised. "What... how could you cancel my magic?"
"You should rather worry about your life," murmured Klein as he appeared in his blind spot thanks to a final Dash.
Klein did not strike with the edge of his blade, but with the flat of the katana, amplified by a discharge of Aura Repulsion. The impact at the level of Akazel’s ribs was so violent that the sound of the bone fracture was audible throughout the base. The director was hurled to the center of the room, sliding several meters before coming to a stop in a pool of his own blood.
Klein advanced slowly toward him, his boots clacking on the basalt.
Akazel rose, spitting out a new mouthful of blood. His red eyes shone with a rage mixed with terror. The fear had not disappeared, but it now fueled something darker within him.
"You think it’s over?" he growled, his voice hoarse. "Spectrum does not fall so easily!"
He plunged his fingers into his own chest, tearing his tunic. A black seal engraved on his sternum lit up violently. The demonic energy that already saturated the base suddenly concentrated around him like a vortex. The blood-red mana crystals embedded in the pillars exploded one after another, releasing their corrupted essence that rushed into the director’s body.
< Infernal Fusion, second circle >
Akazel’s frail body began to swell. His muscles tightened under his skin that was blackening in places, traversed by veins of incandescent lava.
Klein narrowed his eyes. His < Eye of Perception > was already analyzing the energy flows: the demonic mana had tripled in density. The temperature in the room rose sharply, melting the remains of ice left by Amaera in the distance.
"Interesting," murmured Klein.
< Fire Explosion, Domain: Scarlet Furnace >
Akazel roared as he struck the ground with his fist. The entire floor of the base cracked. Geysers of flames erupted in a perfect circle around the two fighters, forming a fire arena several meters high. The air became unbreathable, saturated with sulfur and corrupted mana. Even Amaera, who had just impaled the last Wyvern with a massive ice lance, had to retreat toward the entrance to avoid being burned alive.
Klein did not move. He spun his katana once, preparing to fight.
< Dash >
He disappeared. Akazel, now faster as well, pivoted and snapped his fingers into the void. Three simultaneous explosions detonated where Klein should have reappeared. But Klein had already anticipated it. He surged from the side, katana raised.
A series of rapid strikes rained down on Akazel. Each blow released a wave of white energy that cracked the director’s demonic aura. Akazel parried with his reinforced forearms, black and white sparks exploding with each impact. He countered with a circular claw strike that forced Klein to jump backward.
The explosion that followed was instantaneous. Akazel had placed a charge on his own arm. The blast hurled Klein against a pillar that partially collapsed. Flaming debris flew everywhere.
Without giving Klein time, Akazel raised both hands. Demonic runes appeared in the air around him, spinning faster and faster.
< Invocation: Ember Wyrm >
The ground opened with a rumble. A massive creature, half serpent half dragon, made of magma and calcined bones, emerged screaming. Over fifteen meters long, it occupied almost the entire width of the room. Its eyes were two pits of pure fire. It charged immediately toward Klein, jaws open.
Klein sprinted to the side. The Wyrm struck the wall, shaking the entire structure. Blocks of stone fell from the ceiling.
"Klein! The base won’t hold much longer!" Amaera shouted from the other end of the room.
"I know!" he replied without looking away.
He jumped onto the Wyrm’s back. The creature reared violently, but Klein planted his katana between two bone plates.
< Aura Repulsion, Concentrated Flux >
A wave of pure energy exploded from the blade, piercing the beast’s body. The Wyrm screamed and disintegrated into a rain of embers and flaming fragments. Klein landed back on the ground.
Akazel did not wait. He was already on him, claws forward. The two fighters exchanged a series of blows at a dizzying speed. Katana against claws, white aura against demonic mana. Each clash produced a detonation. The walls cracked further. The temperature had become infernal.
Akazel snapped his fingers at point-blank range.
< Fire Explosion, Burning Heart >
This time, the explosion was contained, concentrated between their two bodies. Klein was hurled backward, but thanks to the aura shield he had formed, he emerged unscathed.
"You see? You cannot win against the true power of Spectrum! I will take you with me!"
He raised his arms toward the ceiling. All the remaining energy of the base, the remaining crystals, the purple mist, even the corpses of the Wyverns was sucked toward him. His body swelled further, becoming a mass of flames and black flesh.
< Forbidden Art: Apocalypse Judgment >
A sphere of black fire formed above his head, growing visibly. It absorbed all the oxygen in the room.
