Eran murmured, "I can't transform… but I can still handle this fool."
With focused determination, Eran began slicing through the barrage of black arrows with his sword—dodging, flipping, twisting his body with sharp precision.
"Run back to the village!" he shouted to the soldiers behind him.
The soldiers didn't hesitate. Fear-struck, they turned and fled.
The black-clad man shifted his attention toward them, raising his hand. Suddenly, dark, jagged pillars erupted from the ground, racing toward the retreating soldiers.
But Eran saw it coming. In a blur, he dashed toward the rising pillars and, with fierce slashes, shattered each one at its base before they could fully form.
The man's eyes widened in shock.
"Impossible…" he muttered. "My pillars… they've never been destroyed like this. Not by a mere boy."
Eran's crimson eyes locked onto him—sharp, filled with rage.
"Now I remember," he said coldly. "You're the one from that night... The one who slaughtered an entire family... who ambushed me, Haruki, and Yakushi in the forest."
Eran's eyes locked onto the man with deadly precision, his blood-soaked sword dripping steadily. The man in front of him, for the first time, looked uneasy. He had never encountered a boy like this—someone so relentless.
But then he took a deep breath and smirked.
"I am immortal," he said coldly. "A boy like you could never touch me."
He raised his gaze toward the sky and shouted:
"Obsidian Rain!"
Suddenly, the skies darkened. A storm howled to life, and from the heavens, sharp obsidian rods rained down like death itself.
Eran couldn't transform fully into his Crimson Ascendance—his body was slower, heavier. But his sword, still bleeding, swung with terrifying precision. He slashed through the falling rods, one after another, refusing to yield.
The man muttered to himself, "This fight brings me no satisfaction. He's just wasting my time. The Angels' power must've already been absorbed into the jar…"
He began backing away, trying to vanish into the storm.
But Eran understood—if he wanted to end this, he needed to reach him fast.
With a sudden burst of speed, Eran dashed forward, cutting down obsidian spikes as he charged. He hurled blood blades from his sword at the fleeing man. The man barely dodged them—but a massive tree behind him was sliced cleanly in half, falling with a thunderous crash.
Panting, the man turned to face Eran again. The obsidian rain stopped. Not a single rod had touched the boy.
Eran closed the distance and raised his sword for the finishing strike—
—but then… his blade stopped bleeding.
His body felt heavier. His power dropped—half of his Crimson Ascendance vanished.
"No—please, not now!" Eran shouted, desperation rising in his voice.
Still, he struck with all his might using his normal sword—but every time he landed a hit, obsidian erupted from the man's body, blocking the attack. He swung again and again, aiming at different points—but each slash was met by the same result: solid obsidian shields sprouting in defense.
The man turned back, his expression cold.
"At first, I didn't want to kill you..." he said darkly. "But now, you're pushing your limits."
Eran hesitated, blood dripping stoped from his sword, but still smirked through the pain.
"Why are you throwing such heavy lines?" he replied, voice laced with sarcasm. "Even before, you couldn't touch me. Now that I'm not in my Crimson Ascendance form, you're suddenly showing off?"
The man narrowed his eyes. "Tch. Arrogant brat."
Fueled by rage, the man launched forward and thrust his obsidian-coated hand straight toward Eran's stomach.
Eran couldn't dodge in time. The strike landed hard.
The obsidian tore into Eran's abdomen.
He stumbled back, stunned. At first, he thought he could heal, but then a horrifying realization struck him—his internal organs were beginning to paralyze.
His eyes widened in shock. A thick stream of blood gushed from his mouth.
The man stepped closer, staring directly into Eran's fading eyes.
"Weren't you saying something a moment ago?" he sneered. "Why so quiet now?"
Eran struggled to stand, his vision beginning to blur.
But then... his gaze shifted past the man—something behind him had caught Eran's attention.
cold voice echoed from behind the man.
"Hey... is that boy Tenjaki?"
The man turned swiftly.
Behind him stood a mysterious figure—his entire body cloaked in black, only his piercing purple eyes and a glowing lightning crystal embedded in his forehead were visible. A dense, ominous purple aura surrounded him.
The man narrowed his eyes. "Who are you?"
Eran, though barely conscious, recognized him immediately. He must be the one the soldiers warned about... He's powerful.
The purple figure ignored the question.
"I'm the one asking here," he said, his voice calm but laced with danger. "Is that boy Tenjaki?"
The man sneered, digging his obsidian-covered hand deeper into Eran's stomach.
"Yes. If he is Tenjaki, what are you going to do about it?"
Suddenly—CRACK!
A devastating kick landed directly on the man's chest, sending him flying backward through the trees. No one had seen the purple figure move. His speed was untraceable.
The impact was so intense that the man's hand was ripped out of Eran's stomach.
In that instant, the vein seal on Eran's body shattered.
Eran collapsed, unconscious—but his body began to heal rapidly. The broken seal had released his suppressed power.