Chapter 164: The Mirror of Red Night
Although Ruvian had already made it clear that their only option was to retreat and evacuate, carrying out that plan proved far more difficult than it had sounded.
The moment the two demons completed their transformation, they immediately went on releasing a relentless barrage of spells at them. A searing blue flame erupted at Irene’s side of the barrier, scorching the air and forcing her to brace herself.
At the same time, an overwhelming pressure descended from all directions. The barrier trembled as gravity magic bore down upon it, pressing with crushing force.
"Tch, so that gravity magic is coming from that one demon there."
Ruvian grumbled.
A moment later, a thin, splintering sound cut through the chaos.
"Not good."
Silvena warned.
The barrier was beginning to give. Hairline cracks spread across its surface, each one glowing faintly under the strain of the two forces. It might collapse at any second.
"Prepare to move," Irene said, her voice tight but steady. "This barrier won’t hold any longer. We have to leave the moment it breaks."
Ruvian didn’t argue. Neither did Silvena.
Both of them gave a sharp nod, already strengthening their body with mana. There was no need for further discussion.
Timing would decide everything.
Then came a sharp, crystalline crack.
Soon, the barrier shattered.
Instantly, the three of them moved. Vanishing from their previous position in the same breath as the [Magic Barrier] collapsed.
A fraction of second later, the space they had occupied was consumed entirely, drowned beneath a roaring sea of blue flame. Had they been even a second slower, there would have been nothing left of them but ash.
Ruvian reappeared near the center of the hall, his steps landing lightly against the velvet-lined seats of the amphitheater. For a short moment, it felt like they had succeeded — that they had managed to break away cleanly...
But that fleeting sense of relief shattered.
A cold, crawling sensation crept along the back of his neck. Before his thoughts could even begin to catch up, his gaze snapped upward — driven by pure instinct.
And there he was.
One of the demons, Raglak stood directly in front of him, his presence so sudden and absolute that it erased any sense of distance, movement or time between them.
Ruvian’s mind stalled for a fraction of a second.
’...When did he—?’
But before Ruvian could finish the thought...
A sudden shadow moved towards his left — too fast to see, too close to evade — and something hard and solid slammed into his side with overwhelming force.
After that, his body was sent flying.
The world blurred into streaks of motion as he was flung across the hall before his back crashing violently into the opposite wall.
BOOM!!!
The impact thundered through the chamber, stone cracking on contact as fragments broke loose and scattered across the floor.
Dust and debris swallowed his figure entirely.
"RUVIAN—!!"
Silvena’s voice tore through the chaos, sharp with panic as she watched him disappear into the fractured wall.
*****
...
...
For a few minutes, there was only a heavy, unbroken silence. Then, little by little, the sensation began to return. It started as a distant ache, dull and spreading. His body understood the damage before he did.
His thoughts drifted slowly through the haze, unfocused and sluggish.
Ruvian opened his eyes.
For a slow, dragging moment, the world refused to take shape from his eyes, as light and shadow bled into one another, forming indistinct outlines that shifted every time he tried to focus. Even sound reached him in a muted, distant way.’
...What... happened...?’
The question surfaced weakly. He tried to recall the moments before this, but his memory felt fragmented. Until, gradually... it returned.
’Ah, right...’
He remembered that he had been struck — no, kicked from the side!
The movement had been so fast that his eyes had failed to follow it entirely, leaving him with nothing but the aftermath. And yet, even in that impossible moment, his body had responded on its own.
In that split second, he had instinctively raised his left arm, managing to intercept part of the blow with [Body Enhancement]; it had not been enough to stop it, but it had lessened it.
Without that reflex, the damage would have been far worse. His ribs might not have held at all. Even so, the difference between them had been unmistakable.
A gap of two ranks was not something effort alone could overcome. No matter how he looked at it, this was never a fight he could truly match.
’...Damn it, how long was I out?’
The thought came urgently with a sharper edge now.
’Irene. Silvena...’
He forced himself to move, the moment their names crossed his mind.
’Please be alright.’
Pain flaring as he pushed against the uneven rubble and fractured stone around him.
His head was bleeding.
Still, he pressed on, dragging himself upward from the shallow depression where the impact had left him embedded, ignoring the strain that coursed through his muscles.
But as he instinctively tried to steady himself...
His left arm failed him.
There was no strength behind it, no response to his will.
’Not good. My left arm is broken.’
Ruvian exhaled through clenched teeth as the pain sharpened.
Even so, he did not allow himself to stop. Adjusting his balance, he forced himself upright with what strength he had left. And as the scene before him came back into focus, his expression tightened.
They were still fighting.
Which meant...
...He didn’t pass out for too long.
However, as his vision steadied, it became painfully clear that the situation had only worsened in his absence.
From where he stood at the edge of the hall, Ruvian could see Irene being steadily driven back. The pressure bearing down on her was relentless, forcing her to give ground little by little.
Silvena remained close, weaving in to support whenever she could, her spells intercepting and redirecting what would have otherwise struck Irene directly.
Yet even with her assistance, it wasn’t enough to turn the tide.
At best, they were holding on.
Barely.
Ruvian’s gaze hardened.
’No other choices.’
Without wasting another moment, he reached into his dimensional storage and pulled out a small vial. Bringing it to his lips, he drank it in one motion.
The effect came almost immediately.
A subtle warmth spread through his body, as his strength slowly began to return to his limbs, allowing him to stand more firmly on his feet.
Even the lingering dizziness faded.
Still... his left arm remained unresponsive. Though the potion dulled the pain to a manageable level, the injury itself had not been fully repaired.
But at the very least...
He could move again.
Ruvian sighed heavily.
’Well, now that it’s come to this... it’s a good thing Silvena managed to get her hands on this beforehand.’
It was a relic that he had planned to bring along in advance, in case a situation like this ever happened.
Truthfully, he never expected those Demons to already possess the Devil Fruits, but even so, the relic he brought with him would still help tilt the battle in his favor.
With that thought, he reached once more into his dimensional storage. A moment later, something cold and metallic settled into his grasp.
Then, a thin but carefully made chain with a centerpiece shaped like a small crescent red moon appeared on his hand. Its dark red surface shines softly under the light.
Ruvian gave a ragged, knowing smile as he stared at it. The artifact resting in his hand was none other than...
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[Chapter 164: The Mirror of Red Night]
