Chapter 167: Fall of the Ashway Stage (2)
Dark.
Everything was dark.
Ruvian had plunged into a vast hollow beneath the amphitheater; a buried cavern choked with shattered stone and twisted metal, where thin streams of water wound through the wreckage like restless veins.
’Damn it... four minutes left. I need to get back up there.’
Driving his right arm upward, he forced the rubble off his body, stone grinding and sliding away in heavy fragments. Then, rising to his feet, Ruvian lifted his gaze toward the distant opening far above.
He had fallen deeper than he thought.
But then, a maniacal laugh rolled through the darkness... low, jagged, steeped in malice. It echoed off the broken cavern walls, stretching far longer than it should have.
Then the source of it spoke.
"Wow, I’m impressed you’re still standing after all that. I was certain I’d crushed you for good with that kick. And yet here you are."
He slightly paused, followed by a faint, mocking chuckle.
"Seems I underestimated you. Look at all these cuts you made on my body. How infuriating. How daring."
’So he followed me all the way down...’
’Very considerate of him.’
Ruvian’s eyes swept across the pitch-black cavern.
But he couldn’t see anything.
"Now that you can finally talk... I take it your little power-up has worn off?" Ruvian said, tightening his grip on the blade. "Confident enough to come after me instead of helping your friend?"
The demon let out a low, amused laugh.
"Well, maybe the boost has faded," it replied, voice curling with mockery, "but traces of it still linger in me."
He paused.
"And in this darkness..."
Its tone sharpened.
"I can see you as clearly as daylight."
’...Haaa. So that was his plan all along.’
Just as Ruvian had suspected, the demon had regained its senses during their last exchange. It was no longer relying on brute force alone — this time, it was choosing its moves with intent.
After all, the creature had deliberately shaped the battlefield to favor itself while placing Ruvian at a clear disadvantage — by forcing him down here, into the collapsed abyss beneath the amphitheater, a lightless pit of rubble and ruin — the demon’s vision ruled and his own was stripped away.
Honestly, it was a clever move.
But there was one thing the demon failed to consider...
Ruvian could see in the dark too.
Without wasting any time, he invoked [Night Eyes]’s spell chants, then he channeled his mana smoothly over his vision. The suffocating blackness gradually peeled away, as shapes and contours emerged from the void.
Who would have thought that a spell he had drilled endlessly in preparation for the Vazrun Island test would prove useful at a moment like this?
At the same time, Ruvian quickly inspected his [Runeheart].
Mana Essence: [773/2110]
’I don’t have much mana left.’
Then, he cast another spell on top of [Night Vision].
[Body Enhancement].
Strength surged through his limbs, sharpening every movement as he scanned the darkness around him.
Then, he found him.
The demon stood still, waiting.
Two and a half minutes remained. That was all Ruvian had left to end this. Tightening his grip on the hilt, he kicked off the ground and charged straight at his target.
’Huh? Why he’s not coming to me?’
Ruvian narrowed his eyes.
’Did he realise it already... that I’m the one racing against the clock with this relic?’
Even so, he wasn’t about to let the demon stall for time. In just a few seconds, Ruvian had already closed the gap between them. He raised his blade and brought it down in a sharp, decisive arc — aimed straight for the demon’s head.
But...
’He’s not dodging!?’
The moment his blade cut through the silhouette, there was no resistance. Nothing at all. It felt like he was slicing through empty air.
Then, from somewhere in the darkness... another laughter echoed.
"Did you really think gravity was all I could use?" the demon sneered. "Fool. We demons are not so limited."
Then, Ruvian turned around and saw a flicker of movement.
Another silhouette moved from his right.
Ruvian’s brow tightened.
’Damn it, I guess I haven’t fully mastered [Night Eyes] yet. I can barely make out his outline... and only fragments of everything around me.’
An unease crept into his chest.
There was a huge difference between application of the spell during a real fight and training.
For the first time, victory didn’t feel certain.
Gritting his teeth, Ruvian forced more mana into the spell, pushing its limits further than before. His vision strained, then expanded.
And what he saw made his breath hitch.
There wasn’t just one silhouette in the darkness.
There were many.
More than a dozen figures, scattered across the cavern, each one standing just as still... just as real!
"That look on your face..." the demon’s voice curled through the void, amused. "I guess I was right, you’re using something to boost your strength and now~ you’re running out of time."
He paused for a while, then he let out a low chuckle that grew into full, unrestrained laughter.
"Alright, then. Since you did well tricking us previously... shall we play a game and see how fast you can figure out which one of these is the real me before your time runs out?"
Then, the demon laughed.
"HAHAHAHA."
"Tch." Ruvian clicked his tongue.
*****
[Silvena’s POV]
The battle above still raged on, the clash of steel and claws echoing across the fractured stage as bursts of magic lit up the broken amphitheater.
With their enemies reduced to a single demon, the advantage should have clearly shifted.
Irene was more than capable on her own, and with Silvena’s support from the sidelines, they should have been able to overwhelm it — forcing it back, and steadily tightening the gap until victory was inevitable.
However... it didn’t look that way at all.
Silvena, watching closely from her position, noticed the subtle change in Irene’s movements. Before, it made sense for Irene to be on the defensive side, holding her ground against two opponents at once.
But now, with their side holding a two-against-one advantage, Irene should have been the one dictating the pace, pushing forward with relentless pressure.
Yet somehow... she wasn’t.
Why?
’Is she already at her limit?’ Silvena couldn’t help but wonder.
At intervals, Silvena would switch in, taking Irene’s place to give her brief moments to recover.
But even when she stepped forward to press the attack, she found no gap she could exploit to land a decisive blow.
The demon’s fighting style had changed too. It was no longer reckless as before. No longer driven purely by brute force.
After a while, the clash between them loosened, the rhythm breaking apart as both sides disengaged.
Catching her breath, Silvena steadied herself before turning her head toward Irene at her side.
"Irene... are you alright?" she asked.
It was only then that she truly saw the state Irene was in. Her dark eyes, hidden behind the masquerade mask, widened in shock.
’...’
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[Chapter 167: Fall of the Ashway Stage (2)]
