Lassim stood amidst the wreckage after closing another additional portal just now after his fight with the voidling and its portal. His halberd was trembling in his hands as it faintly glowed with void energy.
He surveyed the battlefield towards the next portal. His body was growing weary, his muscles starting to ache from the relentless fighting and repeated portal closing, but his mind was sharp, his spirit still burning with determination.
There were only two portals left now.
The sky above him roared with thunder and explosions as Sect Masters Volten and Yuan Zhen continued their battle, their clash shaking the heavens and lands.
Every bolt of Volten’s newly created Defiance Lightning lit up the entire sect like a second sun, casting long, jagged shadows over the devastation below.
Lassim’s heart pounded in his chest, the spiritual pressure’s weight in the battle above bearing down on him.
Just a bit more. He had to finish this. The longer the portals remained open, the greater the risk that more abyssal creatures would spill through, and the greater chance they’d fully stabilize, overwhelming the sect entirely.
With a deep breath, he tightened his grip on his halberd and sprinted toward the next portal, his body moving on instinct as [Tempest Steps] carried him through the rubble.
His spirit sense flared, the threads of space around the portal pulsed with an unnatural energy, and Lassim could feel the pressure building as the portal tried to anchor itself more permanently into the world just like the last one.
The abyss’s will was earnestly trying to force its way into Nexaria—if it succeeded, this invasion wouldn’t end here.
He couldn’t let that happen.
As Lassim approached the next portal, a strange new presence greeted him. Surrounding the nearly fully anchored portal, were massive, insectoid demons—each about 3 meters tall and 5 meters long.
Their exoskeletons gleamed in the crimson light, glossy and blackened with corrupted abyssal energy. The reddish hue of the Abyss threaded through their segmented bodies like veins, making their creepy chitinous forms seem even more alive.
Their bodies were adorned with jagged plates of armor that clacked together with each movement, and their sharp, scythe-like appendages gleamed as they skittered forward. Their mandibles clicked rhythmically, releasing an unsettling hiss that reverberated in the air, a sound that was almost intelligent in its menace.
Their glowing, multi-faceted eyes in the center of their blade-like beaks fixed on Lassim with a predatory hunger.
Lassim was somewhat surprised by the appearance of the insectoid demons as he’d yet to encounter ones of this species yet, but these—combined with the voidling—truly came to show how gluttonous and all consuming the abyss was. It showed just how diverse it had made its legion with the number of worlds it corrupted and now had control over.
One of the creatures lunged at him, its scythe-like limb cutting through the air with a high-pitched screech. Lassim reacted instinctively, sidestepping and slashing with his halberd.
The blade connected with a sickening crack, slicing through the creature’s limb as dark, corrupted blood sprayed across the ground.
The demon let out a screech of agony, but there was no pause in its movements. Another of the insectoid demons was already upon him, its mandibles snapping dangerously close to his head. Lassim ducked low, bringing his halberd around in a wide arc, the lightning-infused blade slicing through the demon’s thorax, splitting it in half.
Its body twitched violently before collapsing to the ground, but the horde continued to surge from the portal.
Without hesitation, he launched forward, the blade glowing with the combined energy of lightning, water, and void. His weapon surged with their mixed power as it tore through the first row of demons, their hardened exoskeletons shattering under the force of the strike.
The ground shook as more of the insectoid creatures poured from the portal, their numbers swelling with each second. They moved like a swarm towards him, their sharp limbs tearing through the rubble of the battlefield as they closed in on him from all sides.
But Lassim didn’t retreat. He was done giving ground to these invaders, and was nearly finished with severing all the portals.
He spun in place, his halberd a blur of motion as he unleashed a torrent of electrified water in the form of [Storm’s Grasp], his wide area of effect control technique, sweeping it across the oncoming horde.
The attack hit the insectoid demons with the force of a tsunami, their bodies tossed through the air as the energy ripped them apart. Black, corrupted blood sprayed across the ground, staining the already battle-worn earth.
Still, more of them came. Their insect-like mandibles clicked menacingly as they skittered forward, relentless in their assault.
Lassim’s gaze flickered to the portal. He could feel the spatial threads anchoring it, trying to turn the rift into a permanent gateway for these creatures.
He couldn’t allow that.
His grip on the halberd tightened as he surged forward once more, cutting down any demons that stood in his path. With each swing of his blade, the bodies of the insectoid demons fell, their twisted forms twitching as they disintegrated into the tainted earth.
But the portal wasn’t going to close itself.
Reaching the edge of the rift, Lassim could feel the pressure building. The threads of space were thick with corrupted energy, the air around them pulsating with the rhythm of the Abyss. He could sense how the Abyss was trying to push its way through, attempting to permanently fuse this connection with their world.
"I’m not going to let you win!!" he growled.
He raised his halberd, the void energy crackling along its edge as his progenitor marks began to glow faintly. His spirit sense extended out, feeling for the threads that anchored the portal. His energy surged through the blade, manifesting as a sharp, violent current.
With a swift, deliberate strike, he slashed at the portal’s anchoring points, severing the threads that held it in place. The rift flickered, its corrupted energy collapsing as the connection to the Abyss weakened. But it wasn’t enough yet.
Lassim grit his teeth, the strain of using the void energy on much tougher threads weighing heavily on his body’s mana pathways. He was pushing his limits, and this portal wasn’t going down without a fight.
Another wave of insectoid demons surged toward him, their limbs clacking as they scurried across the battlefield. Lassim’s mind raced as he prepared for their attack. He [Thrust] his halberd forward, sending another torrent of water and lightning crashing into the creatures, but they kept coming.
He couldn’t keep this up forever. But he didn’t have to.
With a final, powerful strike after clearing a space large enough between the onslaught of bugs, Lassim severed the last of the portal’s threads. The rift collapsed in on itself with a deafening crack, the swirling red energy imploding as the connection to the Abyss was severed.
The insectoid demons that had remained seemed to quickly stiffen for a moment as their direct mind link to the Dragal and abyss was severed abruptly.
Lassim didn’t waste this chance while they were frozen to begin the slaughter, wiping away nearly three fourths of them before the leftovers seemed to "come alive" again after connecting again with the mental waves being sent through the remaining portals that were still open.
Yet, he was in a much better situation now and they were already lost causes. He reaped their lives before taking a moment to rest.
Only one more to go.
He didn’t have time to rest. His spirit sense was already pulling him toward the next portal, its energy flaring as more abyssal creatures began to push through.
Lassim sprinted toward the next portal.
___
Above, the sky roared with thunder as Volten and Yuan’s battle reached a fevered pitch. The air crackled with raw power, the heavens themselves trembling under the weight of their clash.
Yuan’s body had grown monstrous, his form swollen with the stolen power of his disciples. His sunfire aura, once golden and bright, was now twisted and corrupted, the red flames licking at the sky as he unleashed wave after wave of abyssal energy.
But Volten was undeterred. His body, now a living embodiment of his lightning companion, moved with an agility and grace that defied reason. Every strike of his fist sent shockwaves through the sky, his Defiance Lightning tearing through Yuan’s corrupted power with terrifying ease.
"You think you can stop me, Volten?" Yuan sneered, his voice a guttural rasp as he launched another volley of abyssal sunfire. "I will consume even you if you give me the chance!"
Yuan roared, his claws slashing through the air as he charged at Volten, the sky tearing apart in the wake of his attack.
But Volten, with his new stage, was still much faster. His body flickered as he weaved around Yuan’s assault, his movements fluid and precise. In the blink of an eye, Volten countered, his fist crackling with Defiance Lightning as it slammed into Yuan’s chest.
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The impact was devastating. Yuan’s body convulsed as the lightning tore through him, the corrupted sunfire flickering as it was overwhelmed by the raw power of Volten’s attack.
But Yuan wasn’t finished. With a guttural scream, he unleashed a torrent of abyssal energy, the twisted flames surging toward Volten like a tidal wave.
Volten raised his hand, the air around him crackling with energy as he summoned the full power of his new lightning. The orange light pulsed through his body, his eyes glowing with an intense light as he prepared to unleash his final attack.
"You’ve lost, Yuan," Volten growled, his voice low and filled with the weight of his new power. "This ends now. Please, take this chance to experience the full might of my will and defiance."
With a roar, Volten raised both hands to the sky, the storm clouds swirling above him as his energy reached its peak. The air around him crackled with electricity, the sky itself seeming to darken as the power built within him.
"[Defiant Heaven’s Punishment!]" Volten shouted, his voice booming like thunder as he unleashed his attack.
The heavens split open as a massive bolt of orange lightning, thicker than anything Lassim had ever seen, shot down from the sky, crashing into Yuan with the force of a mountain.
The air was filled with the loudest clap of thunder the world had experienced, causing even Lassim’s ears to slightly bleed, as the lightning tore through Yuan’s body, vaporizing the abyssal energy that had corrupted him.
Yuan’s scream echoed across the battlefield as his body disintegrated into ash, his form collapsing under the sheer force of Volten’s power. The abyssal sunfire that had surrounded him flickered and died, leaving nothing but silence in its wake.
Volten hovered in the sky, his body still crackling with the remnants of his Defiance Lightning.
His eyes, glowing with reptilian intensity, scanned the battlefield below, searching for any remaining threats.
But Yuan was gone. The main battle was over.
___
Lassim reached the final portal, but… It was problematic. There were no demons here, as if it didn’t matter if they were present or not. The air around the portal felt haughty and almost joyous in reverie as the abyssal will’s happiness for some reason seeped through the air. That energy that felt disgusting and unnatural to exist in this world just felt so ecstatic to Lassim’s senses.
It was so creepy.
Wishing to destroy this odd sensation, He raised his halberd once more to sever the threads, but as he brought the blade down, it met resistance much greater than the last two portals.
The portal flickered, but the threads remained sturdily intact, their corrupted energy pulsing as they held the gateway open.
Lassim gritted his teeth, pushing harder, but it wasn’t enough.
His strength, his proficiency with the spatial element—it wasn’t enough to close this final portal. The abyss was too strong here.
He kept [Slam]ming and [Slash]ing against the threads over and over and over again. Nearly 100 of each in just a few moments with his Spirit Ascension stage cultivation and nearly mid level Spirit Transcendent stage attack power.
Yet, his body began to tremble with exhaustion at this point, his muscles burning from the strain of battle. He could feel the weight of the portal pressing down on him, the abyssal energy pushing back with every ounce of force he could muster."I can’t… It’s over"
The Abyssal will that seeped through the air like a noxious gas seemed to grow a thousand times more giddy as Lassim uttered those words.