Time seemed frozen by that cold voice.
Inside the observation post, the air was heavy, almost tangible. The heavily armored figure that appeared silently, without a sound, exuded an oppressive aura that made one's soul shiver just by its presence. It did not emit the corrupted energy like the Deep Diver, nor the insane whispers like the Red Moon. Its mere existence felt like a denial of life itself, a deathly stillness akin to absolute zero.
"Thief of the relic... I have found you."
The ancient words echoed directly in the mind, carrying an undeniable sense of judgment. Its target was clear—Raine, or rather, the mark of the Seed of Life on his left chest, ignited by the ancient horn.
Liana's pupils constricted to their limits. She had never seen such an entity before, and the Church's texts made no mention of it! The Death Silence detected by the Corruption Tracer indicated that it had no connection to the pollution of this land; it might even be... opposed to it? Yet the coldness and hostility were real and undeniable.
Raine's mechanical right eye continued its frantic alarms, the data streams like an avalanche. Impossible to analyze! Impossible to decipher! The opponent's energy level, composition, and even mode of existence were completely beyond the database's comprehension! Yet his body instinctively entered maximum alert. The crystalline right arm hung slightly lowered, its black-golden luster restrained but brewing a storm; his left hand subconsciously gripped the hilt of the Frost Tongue sword on his back, the icy touch bringing a flicker of clarity.
"…Who are you?" Raine's voice was hoarse, breaking the silence. He forcibly suppressed the complex thrill of awe and repulsion emanating from the Seed of Life.
The armored figure did not answer. Its head, covered by a helm, tilted slightly, as if observing, or perhaps confirming. Then, it moved.
Without warning, without any preparatory motion, it crossed tens of meters in an instant like a black streak of light! The huge black crystal greatsword screamed as it tore through space, aiming straight for Raine's head! Its speed surpassed that of any enemy before!
Fast! Inconceivably fast!
Raine's nerves didn't even have time to react; it was only the instincts honed through countless life-and-death battles that saved him. Frost Tongue automatically drew half a inch at the critical moment, the pale-blue sword guard barely managing to intercept the deadly slash!
Clang—!!!!
A deafening explosion!
The terrifying force surged along the blade like a torrential flood! The ancient stone slab beneath Raine's feet shattered instantly! His entire body was slammed backward, crashing heavily into the observation post wall, spiderweb-like cracks spreading immediately! His throat stung, and blood overflowed from the corner of his mouth.
Just one strike! He hadn't even seen how the opponent had moved!
Liana's reaction was equally swift! The moment the shadow moved, her hands shot out six Holy Light Needles: Evil-Breaking Type—not as attacks, but precisely aimed at the possible trajectories and joints of the shadow, attempting to hinder its movement! At the same time, she rapidly chanted a spell, forming a simple Radiant Barrier instantly between her and Raine!
However, the Holy Light Needles, which could make Deep Divers retreat in pain, melted silently upon touching the black heavy armor, like ice meeting a red-hot iron! Not a ripple was stirred! The Radiant Barrier was cleaved apart with a single stroke of the black figure's sword, like tearing a sheet of thin paper!
The shadow's movement didn't pause in the slightest. A second strike followed immediately—simple, direct, efficient—aiming straight at Raine's heart, which was temporarily incapacitated from the previous impact! The icy intent to kill locked down all his escape space!
The aura of death had never been so palpable!
At this critical moment, the energy inside Raine, which had only just begun to stabilize yet still raged uncontrollably, was completely triggered by the threat of death!
"Roar!!!"
An inhuman roar erupted from Raine's throat! No longer a restrained growl, it was now a furious cry mixed with the roar of a dragon! His left eye instantly glowed molten-gold, while the gear-like pupil of his right eye spun at a terrifying speed, almost tearing itself apart!
The remaining seals of silent mercury were utterly shattered!
The emerald glow of the Seed of Life, the burning gold-red of the dragon bloodline, the black-golden luster of the crystalline right arm, and even a trace of abyssal taint in dark purple—all these vastly different energies erupted with unprecedented intensity, leaving nothing in reserve.
But he did not let them explode chaotically! At the life-and-death moment, the "guidance" concept and the instinct of "withering" that he had previously discussed and experimented with Liana came into play!
He directed this erupting, chaotic flood of energy—not attempting to fully control it, but roughly channeling it toward—Frost Tongue! And the black crystal greatsword that had come slashing!
[Withering Burst · Parry]!
Frost Tongue emitted a strained, almost unbearable cry. Cracks rapidly expanded along the blade, yet the surging, mixed energy forcibly healed and reinforced them! The entire sword erupted with wildly unstable, aurora-like, dazzling light, radiating destructive power as it boldly met the black greatsword!
Boom—!!!
This clash was no longer a mere metal-on-metal strike. It was a frenzied collision and annihilation of two utterly different energies!
Blinding light engulfed everything! The violent shockwave of energy exploded outward in a ring, clearing all dust and debris inside the observation post in an instant, even flinging Liana violently away!
The ground beneath Raine completely collapsed, and he began to fall! But the shadow figure was also pushed back half a step by this sudden, utterly illogical energy eruption! This was the first time it had retreated since its appearance!
The dark gap beneath its helm seemed to gaze at the faintly humming black greatsword in its hand, then looked at Frost Tongue in Raine's grasp, which radiated chaotic energy as if it might disintegrate at any moment.
"…Mixed… Blasphemy…" The cold intent echoed again, this time carrying a trace of… disgust?
It no longer rushed to attack. Instead, it raised its left arm. The runes on the armor lit up—not a magical glow, but something far older, more fundamental—a pulse like the heartbeat of the earth itself, yet imbued with death and finality.
[Decree · Slumber].
Silently, a gray-white ripple spread outward from it. Wherever the ripple passed, everything seemed to lose its "vitality." The rune engravings on the walls dimmed completely; the healing light Liana had just conjured vanished instantly, and even the flow of air grew sluggish and heavy.
Raine felt an irresistible exhaustion surge over him like a tide—not just his body, but his soul, even the energy coursing through him seemed on the verge of eternal slumber! The light of the Seed of Life dimmed sharply.
This was suppression at the conceptual level!
"No… sleep…!" Raine burned his willpower frantically. His molten-gold left eye flared violently, the pride and defiance of the dragon bloodline resisting this deathly slumber! He tried to channel his energy again, only to find the circulation impossibly muddled and opaque.
At that moment, Liana, thrown aside by the shockwave, struggled to her feet. She saw Raine's predicament and felt the hopelessness of this law-level suppression. She knew conventional methods were useless.
A desperate thought flashed in her mind.
"Raine!" she screamed, charging toward the spreading gray-white ripple. Her hands formed an extremely complex, almost sinister hand seal—not a spell of the Dawnlight Church, but a technique she had devised herself, combining her "Withering" talent with certain forbidden knowledge, never tested in battle.
[Life Link · Reverse Flow Sacrifice]!
She forcibly established an energy conduit to Raine using her own life force as fuel! But this was not to transfer energy to him—it was to madly extract the most violent, unstable, and destructive portions of his energy—mainly the trace of abyssal corruption and some of his runaway dragon breath!
"Ughhhh!!!" Liana's seven orifices bled instantly, her body convulsing violently, her skin cracking with terrifying black veins and magma-like fissures! She was enduring energy powerful enough to kill her ten times over in an instant!
But she did not stop. Instead, she took the extracted, self-destroying chaotic energy and, fused with all her "Withering" power, violently channeled it toward the ground in a suicidal manner—not to attack the shadow, but into the ancient array on the observation post floor, which had long since faded.
She was gambling! Gambling that the foundation of this array was ancient enough to withstand and transform such power! Gambling that this array had some connection to the horn, to this shadow!
Buzz—!!!
The ancient array suddenly flared to life! But no longer silver-white—it radiated a wildly unstable, strange light interweaving black, gold, purple, and green! The entire observation post shook violently, and the crystal lenses of the dome shattered!
The array had been forcibly activated, overloaded, and even twisted by this profane and immense energy, distorting its original function!
A warped pillar of light, infused with life, destruction, corruption, and order, shot up explosively from the center of the array, piercing through the dome and soaring into the sky!
The spreading gray-white ripple was disrupted by this sudden surge of highly chaotic energy, instantly destabilized, its effect greatly weakened!
For the first time, the shadow's movement clearly faltered. It seemed… confused by the forcibly warped and activated array? Even… provoked with a sense of offended fury?
"…Desecration… of sacred ground…"
It abandoned its attack on Raine and turned the black greatsword toward the skyrocketing pillar of chaotic light, as if attempting to sever it!
Now!
Raine's pressure suddenly dropped, the exhaustion ebbing away. He had no time to think about Liana's condition—his survival instinct and combat intuition seized this fleeting opportunity!
He poured every ounce of his remaining energy into his legs, without distinction of type.
Bang!
The ground exploded into a shallow crater, and his figure shot toward the observation post's breached exit like a cannonball! Passing over the collapsed, barely conscious Liana, his crystalline right arm shot out suddenly, scooping her up and tucking her under his arm!
Reckless! Escape!
The shadow's attention seemed entirely drawn to the twisted pillar of light, and it did not immediately give chase. But the moment Raine dashed out of the observation post holding Liana, that cold intent returned, like a bone-deep parasite gnawing at his mind:
"The mark is locked… the relic… will inevitably return…"
Without looking back, Raine unleashed all his speed, sprinting frantically into the depths of the dense forest. In his arms, Liana's breathing was weak, her body burning hot, her vital signs extremely unstable, and multiple chaotic energies ravaged within her.
Behind them, the towering pillar of chaotic light gradually faded, and the ancient observation post fell utterly silent.
And the shadow known as the "Tombkeeper" still stood amidst the ruins, its black faceplate "watching" the direction Raine had fled, silent and motionless.
It did not seem in any hurry to pursue.
Because its prey had already been marked for eternity.
A new threat, whose scale and purpose were entirely beyond their comprehension. Compared to this sudden "Obelisk Tombkeeper," Ashen Town, the mines, the Red Moon… all seemed trivial in comparison.