Boom!!!
The ground shattered again.
The impact did not merely crack the surface—it tore through it. Fractures spread outward like violent veins, chunks of concrete lifting before collapsing under their own weight. Dust surged upward in a thick wave, briefly swallowing the battlefield.
Dawolf burst forward head-on.
There was no hesitation. No adjustment. No restraint.
His massive body plowed through the ruins like an out-of-control war machine, every step carrying overwhelming force. Broken walls, collapsed beams, and scattered debris were simply crushed aside. Concrete didn't resist—it yielded, violently forced apart under raw momentum.
But the next second—
A streak of azure light slid past his flank.
Slash.
Still no sound.
No wind displacement. No cutting noise. Only the result.
Another wound split open along Dawolf's waist.
Clean. Precise.
Blood slowly flowed down, tracing the contours of hardened muscle before dripping onto the fractured ground.
And Lucian had already vanished again.
Azure light flickered beneath his feet.
It wasn't just speed—it was flow.
His entire body moved like a high-speed blue afterimage gliding across the battlefield, as if friction itself had been erased.
Faster.
Smoother.
At the beginning,
he still needed clear adjustments to change direction.
There had been pauses—tiny, almost imperceptible, but still there. Moments where motion reset before continuing.
But now—
Those gaps were gone.
His movements were completely linked.
Glide.
Turn.
Decelerate.
Accelerate.
Each phase fed directly into the next.
No interruption. No stiffness.
Everything connected naturally, like a continuous current.
He even began using elevation differences in the ruins to alter his trajectory—broken walls became ramps, collapsed slabs became angled platforms. Each uneven surface was no longer an obstacle, but a vector.
From a distance, many could no longer track his path.
Their eyes failed before his motion did.
They could only see a constantly flickering azure trail—appearing, vanishing, reappearing elsewhere. Not movement, but presence shifting across space.
Meanwhile, Dawolf kept turning.
His awareness had not dropped.
His fists blasted out repeatedly.
Boom!!!
Boom!!!!
Each strike detonated the air itself. Shockwaves rippled outward, scattering dust and debris. The pressure alone was enough to crack already weakened structures.
Buildings around them continued collapsing.
Fragments rained down. Steel bent. Concrete shattered further.
But the problem was—
He couldn't hit.
Not once.
Lucian was no longer fighting head-on.
There was no exchange. No clash.
He was something else now—
A blade.
A blade circling its prey at extreme speed.
Closing in only for the instant required to cut—
Then gone.
Leaving wounds.
Constantly.
And—
Deeper each time.
Tap.
Another azure orb attached to the shoulder.
It didn't explode. Didn't flash.
It simply adhered.
Structural Lock instantly lagged.
Just a fraction of a second—
But enough.
Slash.
The short blade cut through.
The wound expanded again, deeper than before.
A clear gash finally tore open across Dawolf's chest.
Blood flowed along his muscles, following lines of tension and movement.
Then—
Tap.
A second orb stuck to his back.
Structural Lock lagged again for a brief instant.
Slash.
Another wound appeared.
The Cobra members nearby began showing disbelief.
Their expressions shifted—subtle at first, then undeniable.
Because for the first time—
They were seeing Dawolf being weakened.
Not slowed.
Not pressured.
Weakened.
But Dawolf himself—
Did not retreat.
He didn't even take a defensive stance.
No guarding posture. No attempt to shield vital points.
Instead, he kept advancing.
Kept pursuing.
Step after step.
Like a true warrior.
Even as wounds multiplied across his body—
Even as blood began to accumulate—
He refused to step back.
Boom!!!
His fist smashed through a wall ahead.
The structure didn't resist—it collapsed instantly under the force. Debris exploded outward in all directions, sharp fragments cutting through the air.
But Lucian—
Slid along the tilted wall at high speed.
His body nearly skimmed the structure, boots barely touching the surface as he rode the angle.
The next second—
The azure blade sliced across Dawolf's shoulder again.
Blood scattered.
This time more violently.
And finally, Dawolf let out a low roar.
"Keep going!!"
His voice shook the air.
It wasn't anger.
There was no frustration in it.
It was something sharper—
Something more primal.
Excitement.
The kind that came from truly entering battle.
Because it had been too long—
Since anyone had pushed him this far.
On the other side—
The azure glow in Lucian's eyes grew brighter.
Not wild.
Not unstable.
Focused.
His breathing remained steady.
Controlled. Measured.
But his speed was still increasing.
Because as the fight continued—
He had become more and more familiar with Dawolf's rhythm.
Every turn.
Every strike.
Every shift in weight.
All patterns.
All readable.
Structural Lock was not invincible.
It was simply:
A fixed structure.
Stability taken to an extreme.
But stability had a cost—
Maintenance.
And once the maintenance of that structure was slowed—
Even for an instant—
Azure could cut through.
And now—
That principle was being proven repeatedly.
The wounds on Dawolf's body were increasing.
Arms.
Shoulders.
Waist.
Chest.
Thin lines of blood kept appearing.
Individually insignificant.
But collectively—
They formed a pattern.
Not yet enough to cripple him—
But it meant:
Structural Lock was being gradually torn apart.
Dawolf clearly realized this.
So—
He changed.
Boom!!!
The ground beneath him shattered violently.
This time, it wasn't incidental.
It was intentional.
Dawolf stopped chasing Lucian.
Instead—
He began destroying the terrain itself.
Buildings were smashed one after another.
Not targeted strikes—
Wide, sweeping destruction.
The street collapsed continuously.
Support structures gave way. Layers sank.
Debris scattered wildly, filling the air and space between them.
He was trying to compress Lucian's movement space.
Remove angles.
Remove flow.
Turn the battlefield into chaos—
Where speed lost meaning.
But the next second—
Azure light flared under Lucian's feet.
He shot through the flying debris at high speed.
Between fragments.
Through gaps that existed for less than a second.
As if gliding through the air itself.
No hesitation.
No collision.
His movements became even lighter.
As if the chaos itself was now part of his path.
Slash!
The blade cut again.
A deeper wound finally tore open on Dawolf's right abdomen.
This time—
Blood sprayed.
Not a flow—
An eruption.
And at that exact moment—
Lucian's gaze shifted slightly.
An opening.
The next second—
Tap.
An azure orb pressed onto Dawolf's right thigh.
But this time—
It wasn't just surface contact.
It didn't remain external.
It was:
Penetration.
The azure light spread beneath the skin.
Subtle at first—
Then visible.
Structural Lock lagged more noticeably.
Not a flicker—
A disruption.
And in that instant—
Lucian's blade struck down.
Slash.
Silent.
The azure dagger finally pierced into Dawolf's thigh.
Dawolf's pupils contracted for the first time.
Because this was the first time—
Azure had truly entered his body.
Not surface damage.
Not external cuts.
Internal breach.
The next second—
Lucian rotated with the motion.
No pause.
No reset.
His right foot slammed onto the dagger's end.
Boom!!!
The force drove downward with the rotation.
The dagger sank deeper instantly.
Blood burst out.
And it wasn't a simple stab—
It was:
A rotational drive.
The spinning force from his movement widened the cutting angle, tearing through stabilized layers.
The surface reinforced by Structural Lock—
Was finally, completely—
Torn open.
Dawolf's right leg sank slightly.
Not collapse.
But instability.
Everyone nearby changed expression at once.
Because for the first time—
Dawolf showed imbalance.
And Lucian didn't stop.
Using the rebound force—
He slid away instantly.
No lingering.
No follow-through pause.
The next second—
He was already at Dawolf's left side.
Tap.
Another orb attached to the left arm.
Structural Lock lagged again.
And in Lucian's right hand—
A second azure blade formed.
Condensed.
Sharp.
Slash.
It pierced in silently.
This time—
Directly through the left arm's surface.
Then—
Lucian rotated again mid-glide.
His body pivoted with perfect alignment.
His right foot stomped down hard.
Boom!!!
The dagger was driven deeper.
No resistance.
No recovery window.
Blood finally gushed out heavily.
Not controlled—
Uncontained.
Dawolf's left arm muscles visibly spasmed.
The reaction was involuntary.
The entire battlefield fell silent.
Because everyone saw it—
That man who seemed "unbreakable"—
Was finally being suppressed.
Not theoretically.
Not gradually.
Visibly.
Blood streamed from his right leg and left arm.
Dawolf still stood.
Still upright.
Still present.
But this time—
He no longer smiled.
Heavy breathing escaped his mouth.
Not exaggerated.
But undeniable.
Those eyes that had always been steady—
Changed for the first time.
Not anger.
Not excitement.
But—
Gravitas.
Weight.
Recognition.
Because at this moment—
He finally realized—
He might lose.
And what surfaced in his mind—
Was not death.
Not battle.
But something else.
Something he had kept hidden.
Dawolf slowly clenched his fist.
Structural Lock began stabilizing his body again.
Reinforcing.
Rebuilding.
Holding.
But the weight on his face—
Could no longer be concealed.