When a person accomplished something extraordinary,
people would look at them like they were divine.
But…
in the end,
they were still only human.
A human of flesh and blood,
no different from anyone else.
---
Just as the dangerous crimson mist was about to reach him,
the slumped professor slowly opened his eyes.
Inside those eyes,
a red glimmer flashed.
---
High above in the sky,
the Flying Carpet suddenly spun a full one hundred and eighty degrees, narrowly avoiding the monstrous serpent's vicious bite.
Beneath the freezing rain,
it looked like the only ray of sunlight piercing through layers of black storm clouds.
It's still chasing us just like before.
Kai glanced behind him.
Within the swirling mass of dark clouds,
something massive twisted up and down like a dragon weaving across the sky, revealing a gigantic crimson body.
Its skin is way too hard…
The laser can't damage it at all.
Kai narrowed his eyes, then shifted his gaze toward the cocoon.
That serpent's clearly gone mad.
Is it trying to make up for betraying its master?
At the front, Lyra suddenly spoke.
"We're almost there."
"I'm going to accelerate straight at the cocoon and try one more attack."
Kai turned to look at her.
The corner of his lips had just begun to lift into a faint smile—
then his eyes abruptly widened.
His jaw clenched on instinct.
Lyra, who had been glancing back at him, was startled by that expression.
She immediately whipped her head forward.
Right ahead.
More precisely—
beneath the cocoon.
Countless Eva Spawn were piling over one another, forming a massive pillar of flesh.
From the body of that pillar,
heads began pushing outward like living cannons.
And then—
SHHHK!
Dark-red beams fired all at once toward Kai and Lyra.
One beam slammed into the Flying Carpet's dome-shaped Energy Shield.
BOOM!
The explosion wasn't large.
But it was enough to shake both of them violently.
Lyra tightened her grip.
Her feet pressed down hard.
Acceleration.
Whoosh—
The Flying Carpet tore through rain and freezing wind like a meteor, charging straight through the storm of attacks.
"We're not going to let the professor down, right?!"
Lyra shouted through the roaring rain.
Her eyes never left the front.
Kai stared at the girl standing before him.
A small girl.
Yet somehow carrying a heart stronger than anyone he had ever seen.
She knew perfectly well—
once they kept charging forward,
there would be no turning back.
They should have escaped the firing range.
They should have found somewhere safe.
But instead—
she chose to charge directly into a sea of bullets.
Without hesitation.
Without fear.
Kai suddenly felt something being passed on to him.
Courage.
Resolve.
His heartbeat began pounding.
Faster.
Harder.
A faint smile appeared on his lips beneath the freezing rain.
Then he reached out
and placed a hand on Lyra's shoulder.
"That's far enough."
"Huh?"
Lyra tilted her head slightly and looked back.
At that exact moment,
golden light began spreading across Kai's body.
Kai gave a small shake of his head.
His voice was unbelievably calm.
"My turn."
The space beneath his feet suddenly loosened.
As if he was no longer fixed to the Flying Carpet.
Then Kai let go of Lyra's shoulder.
He leaned backward.
And dropped away from the vehicle racing through the sky.
Lyra froze.
Her hand shot out on instinct.
She wanted to grab him.
To pull him back.
But she was too late.
Golden light erupted.
It wrapped around Kai completely.
And in the next instant—
he vanished.
In front of the massive pillar shielding the cocoon,
a figure slowly appeared amid flashing golden light.
Kai.
He stood there,
body lowered slightly.
One hand resting on the sword hilt at his waist.
The posture of a samurai about to draw his blade.
The nearby Eva Spawn immediately sensed the abnormal presence.
They paused for a brief second.
Then every eye widened.
Shrill screams tore through the battlefield.
The entire swarm charged at Kai like mad.
But—
they were already too late.
CLANG!
A violet blade-light exploded from his sword.
Then swept across the battlefield.
SLASH!
SLASH!
SLASH!
The charging Eva Spawn were split clean in half.
Blood and flesh sprayed into the rain.
The blade continued tearing through the air.
Cutting through falling raindrops.
Kai didn't stop.
He swung again.
One strike after another. / \/ /\/ /
Wide arcs of violet energy blasted forward.
Ripping straight toward the gigantic pillar.
Immediately,
the heads protruding from the pillar opened their mouths.
Red light gathered inside their throats.
Then they fired all at once.
Scarlet beams collided with violet sword arcs.
BOOM!
BOOM!
BOOM!
Explosions echoed across the battlefield.
Smoke and debris spread in every direction.
Covering the entire area.
The pillar's "eyes"—
or more precisely,
the Eva Spawn heads growing from its surface—
kept scanning through the smoke.
Searching.
Looking for the one who had caused the chaos.
But they saw nothing.
No trace.
No shadow.
Then—
a voice suddenly rang out from above.
"Looking for someone?"
Every eye snapped upward.
Then all of them froze.
At the top of the pillar—
someone had been standing there for who knew how long.
A violent violet aura rippled around his body.
Golden flashes kept flickering around him.
Kai lowered his gaze.
Cold as a blade.
The Eva Spawn below still hadn't even understood what had happened.
And before they could react—
Kai launched himself into the air.
His voice thundered through the rain.
"Armament Equip!"
BOOM!!!
A massive surge of energy erupted around him.
Purple and gold light intertwined.
Forming a dome-shaped sphere of energy around Kai's body.
But the most terrifying part—
wasn't Kai himself.
It was the sword in his hand.
The blade began to tremble.
Then stretch.
Longer.
Bigger.
Heavier.
Violent arcs of purple lightning coiled around the sword.
An overwhelming amount of energy compressed into it without pause.
The blade kept expanding.
Larger and larger.
Until it looked like the weapon of an ancient giant.
Purple light reflected inside Kai's eyes.
His pupils burned violet.
His fingers tightened around the hilt.
Take this… you damn monster.
Then he brought the sword down.
BOOOOM!!!
The amplified slash reached its absolute limit.
A gigantic blade of violet aura split down from the sky.
Its target wasn't only the pillar—
but the cocoon behind it as well.
The ground shook violently.
The air itself felt like it had been torn apart.
The Eva Spawn below didn't even have time to run.
They were swallowed whole by the monstrous force.
BOOOOOOOM!!!
Smoke, dust, and shattered earth blasted upward.
The screams of the Eva Spawn echoed across the battlefield—
then vanished beneath the roar of the explosion.
A golden flash flickered.
Kai reappeared far away from the cocoon.
The moment his feet touched the ground,
his body staggered.
His breathing turned heavy.
Hot breaths escaped from his chest.
He raised a hand and wiped the sweat from his forehead.
Trying to suppress the exhaustion spreading through every part of his body.
That strike just now—
had been everything.
Every ounce of strength.
Every ounce of will.
"Did it work…?"
Kai muttered.
His eyes never left the wall of smoke ahead.
The battlefield slowly came back into view through the rain.
The hand gripping his sword trembled slightly.
The weapon had already completely left its Armament Equip state.
In truth—
it was an extremely rare form.
Instead of equipping armor onto the body,
it focused every bit of power into the weapon itself.
In exchange,
the user almost completely gave up their defense.
Everything—
for overwhelming offensive power.
Because of that,
very few people ever chose this path.
You needed a weapon strong enough to withstand that kind of power.
And more importantly—
who could guarantee one strike would be enough to kill the enemy?
Not to mention—
the burden left behind after every use was terrifying.
That was why most people stayed far away from this form.
Kai forced his breathing steady.
Then casually rotated his wrist.
The sword drew a clean arc through the air.
An old habit.
One he had kept for years after every finishing strike.
His gaze remained locked ahead.
The pillar…
was gone.
But—
behind where it had once stood,
a crimson beam suddenly shot straight into the sky.
Like the fury of a demon announcing itself.
---------
Lam Huy Trường slowly closed the book.
"That's enough reading for today."