Ash blitzed Dusk with an explosive speed that the devil couldn't hope to match. The training and pills Ash had taken had enhanced his physique to a level far beyond that of any typical Spiritual Foundation cultivator, and he was determined to use it to his advantage.
He unleashed a barrage of strikes upon Dusk. Each swing of his sword was a masterpiece of precision, speed, lethality, and power. Ash's mastery over his weapon was unparalleled, a culmination of rigorous training under Kelton. From footwork to blade positioning, every movement flowed effortlessly, like a deadly dance.
But Ash's true advantage wasn't just his skill. It was his Recursion and the Eyes of Infinity. Every slight misstep was immediately corrected by his ability, and his Eyes gave him a heightened perception that allowed him to predict and react to Dusk's every move. No matter how fast the fight escalated, Ash remained untouchable, even in close-quarter combat.
To put this into perspective: Ash had already mastered the fundamentals of swordsmanship. His body had learned everything from technique to instinct. The only way to improve was to grow more creative, to push past the boundaries of technique. And that's where Ash's Recursion came in. Every time he executed a flawless move, his body and mind learned from it, evolving his attacks, sharpening their effectiveness. What once was perfect grew even more deadly with each repetition.
Dusk, despite being an elite devil, found himself unable to even breathe. The relentless onslaught of Ash's strikes left deep, unhealing cuts all over his body. Every time he tried to react, Ash was already one step ahead, exploiting weaknesses before Dusk even realized they existed.
Ash took a step back, his sword trailing the air as he prepared for another round. And then, with a sudden burst of force, his last barrage repeated itself, this time with double the lethality.
SHK!
SHK!
SHK!
SHK!
The final slash left Dusk standing in mid-air, battered, bloodied, and completely disheveled. But the devil's pride was not so easily broken.
"Enough of the games."
Dusk's voice turned cold, his eyes burning with fury as he activated his innate ability.
|Void Eclipse|
The instant he activated it, the area around them was plunged into an impenetrable darkness. Light itself seemed to vanish, leaving Ash in a void so complete that not even his enhanced senses could make sense of it.
"Heh, you're good…" Dusk's voice echoed in the absolute blackness. "Too good. But now… Let's see how you fare in the dark!"
The air around Ash thickened. Tendrils of shadow began to form, snaking out to bind his movements. With every passing moment, the pressure on his body grew, as if the weight of the entire world was pressing down on him. Gravity seemed to double, making even the simplest of movements an agonizing task.
"Clever." Dusk raised his hands, manipulating the shadows, and the tendrils lashed out, wrapping around Ash, tightening with every second. His strikes were slow, but the force behind them was enough to break bones and crush flesh.
BANG!
BANG!
BANG!
Dusk's punches landed one after another, each hit knocking Ash further off balance. Ash's mind raced, searching for a way out of this predicament. But even as the pressure mounted, something else was happening. His Recursion kicked in, constantly adapting and recalibrating his body. His vision, which had been swallowed by the darkness, began to return. The crushing force of gravity started to dissipate, but his movements were still restricted by the tendrils.
BOOM!!!
The force of Dusk's punch sent Ash spiraling through the void. Blood spilled from his mouth, and he could feel his body protesting. He was no longer in control. "COUGH! FUCK!" he yelled, struggling to maintain consciousness. Dusk was treating him like a living pinata, hitting him relentlessly with no mercy.
[UGH, MASTER! USE YOUR DAMN SOUL TRAIT!] Riya's voice cut through his thoughts. Her frustration was palpable as she watched him falter. The sight of him struggling, especially after his strong start, was getting under her skin.
"HAAA, right!" Ash snapped back to reality. He knew what he needed to do.
|Omni-Threads|
In an instant, Ash's perception shifted. The very air around him grew heavier, the oppressive darkness doubling in weight. But this time, it wasn't him being crushed. Dusk was the one who faltered. The tendrils wrapped around Ash loosened as he manipulated the threads of gravity, amplifying the force around Dusk to an impossible degree.
The effect was immediate. Dusk's knees buckled under the extreme gravitational pressure, forcing him to drop to one knee. Ash had turned the tables. The gravity that Dusk had used to restrict him was now being used against the devil.
But Ash didn't stop there. He reached deeper into his abilities and manipulated the kinetic force around his sword. With a flick of his wrist, his blade cut through the tendrils, freeing him from the darkness that had enveloped him.
Once freed, Ash chuckled weakly, despite the blood trickling down his chin. "Heh, you caught me slipping a bit just then. If I didn't have my dear Riya, who knows how long I would've kept being a dumbass?"
He shifted his stance, his sword gleaming in the dim light, now fully released from the void's grip.
"But you won't catch me again." He tightened his grip on his sword, focusing on the feeling of the Omni-Threads connecting him to everything around him. With the threads of inertia, Ash accelerated far beyond what was possible, even for most Domain Forging Cultivators. His body blurred, becoming nothing more than a streak of motion.
SHK!!!
The strike came faster than Dusk could react. The devil's eyes widened in surprise as Ash's sword cleaved through the air.
Ash blitzed Dusk with speeds that the devil could barely track. Each strike came so fast and precise that Dusk was left reeling, unable to catch his breath. Ash's swordplay was perfect, each strike an embodiment of swordsmanship mastery. Every swing of his blade was deadly, with Recursion repeating his moves with double the power.
CRACK!!!
The Void Zone around them wavered, strained under the relentless onslaught. The pressure of Ash's attacks was too much, and the dark void began to crack like glass under a hammer. In that final instant, Ash landed a decisive blow on Dusk, sending him crashing back into the dark void, completely overwhelmed.
Ash's final strike shattered the last remnants of Dusk's defense. Dusk's body was left broken, floating aimlessly in the darkness, blood spilling out of his wounds. His body slowly fell from the skies as the light in his eyes began to fade.
Only then did Ash step back, his form a blur as the remaining Void Zone fractured into nothingness. The oppressive dark aura that had once surrounded him disappeared in a flash, leaving Ash standing alone in the center, his breathing steady and calm, a sly grin spreading across his face.
"Well," he said, his voice low, "I guess this will be the beginning of my glorious tale."
He didn't waste another moment. With a sharp breath, he activated his Sword Aura.
|Sword Aura - Endless Sea|
HUMMMMM!
In an instant, a massive illusory sea of blood-red swords appeared behind him, a wave of deadly energy that filled the air. The swords were smaller than Kelton's, but still imposing—each one humming with power. Ash's aura was palpable, a terrifying force that made the air itself vibrate with the promise of destruction.
He then released his soul pressure to its maximum—100 meters. This was the limit of his control over the Omni Threads. His presence expanded outward, filling the battlefield with a crushing weight that forced the devils around him to hesitate.
Through his enhanced vision, Ash saw hundreds of colorful threads, each representing a different force—gravity, inertia, kinetic energy, and thermal energy. He manipulated these forces instinctively, empowering himself with the threads of gravity and inertia, while using others to slow down and restrict the devils that surrounded him.
Within a fraction of a moment, Ash moved. He became a blur of motion, his sword cutting through the air, each strike a blur of speed and precision. Every Spiritual Foundation devil he came across fell before they could react, their bodies collapsing under the force of his onslaught.
At the same time, his sisters were already engaged in their own fights. Ary, Selvira, and Nyssari moved with deadly efficiency, dispatching the Domain Forging devils one after another. Together, the three of them carved a path through the enemies, their teamwork flawless as they fought side by side.