“Shang”
A golden sword wind swept through, tearing apart the cardboard boxes piled on the side of the alley, shredding them into fragments that scattered to the ground.
Lyte pressed forward with his sword, slashing, thrusting, and feinting.
Hui, barely managing to control a few water elements, was left utterly miserable.
In just ten seconds of battle, his abilities had been easily neutralized by the Brave’s Power.
The water spheres he’d just formed fell apart in no time, perfectly demonstrating the feeling of having the will but lacking the strength.
What’s more, Lyte’s full-force attacks were exceptionally lethal—every strike aimed for a vital spot, practiced and treacherous, nothing like the open and upright fighting style a Chosen Hero should have.
“Bang bang bang”
Highly concentrated magic bullets shot at Lyte from tricky angles, but were quickly deflected by the Brave’s Power floating around him.
In a sense, he’d become impervious to all weapons.
“How did he get so strong? Boss, what do we do? At this rate, Hui’s going to die!”
Ahei, firing his rifle in bursts, asked helplessly.
His perception was blocked by the Brave’s Power, making it impossible to predict Lyte’s next move.
With no outsiders present, Lyte naturally unleashed the Brave’s Power unique to a Chosen Hero without restraint.
Meanwhile, the brothers’ strength mostly relied on their abilities, which Lyte completely countered.
“…Just hold on for now. Wait until that lord is ready.”
Abai hurled several large iron barrels at Lyte, but they were mercilessly cleaved apart by the sharp blade.
The Brave’s Power lingered on the scraps, making them impossible for him to control again.
All the ammunition, water, and metal objects the brothers had prepared in advance were proving almost useless.
Shang was already gathering strength, slowly transforming into his Mutated Form.
Forcing the process would only speed up his own corruption.
But…
Looking at Lyte, who only grew more formidable with every exchange, less than half a minute had passed, and Hui was already covered in wounds, his soul force nearly depleted.
If Lyte kept attacking at this pace, they probably wouldn’t last until Shang completed his transformation—they’d die first.
“Ahei! Go up and help Hui, I have an idea.”
There was no other way.
Even if Lyte didn’t kill them, Nightmare and Shang would finish the job afterward and pin all the blame on Lyte.
Their loyalty was to Lutos.
Nightmare had no right to demand their deaths—at least, Abai wasn’t willing to submit so easily.
Tin sheets, bricks, and other objects were drawn in.
As soon as Abai gave the word, Ahei rushed forward with his gun to assist Hui against Lyte.
The water shield couldn’t block the black Holy Sword; instead, the sword absorbed the water element and slashed back.
Hui had no way to dodge, so he crossed his arms to block.
Even so, just that one sword aura left his flesh mangled and his bones chillingly exposed.
“Ratatat”
A magazine’s worth of bullets sprayed out, momentarily halting Lyte’s advance.
Ahei grabbed Hui by the collar, barely sensing the direction of the sword aura with his power, and managed to dodge.
The two retreated to safety.
Lyte charged forward, intent on killing them both with two swift blows, but a mass of metal objects, just like last time at the factory, encircled him.
This time, Abai joined in as well.
“Please wait.”
The voice was pressed low, almost forced out from the throat, but Lyte’s sharp ears caught it.
His hand eased, and the blade struck the iron sheet beside Abai’s face.
Abai tensed up, using the enclosure of the metal cage to his advantage, and his lips moved rapidly:
“The Array Eye of the Enchantment Barrier above Nightmare is the key. I need you to stall Shang for us. The three of us want to escape.”
His words were concise, and Lyte understood quickly, nodding in agreement.
The two instantly reached an understanding.
Lyte pretended to slash Abai away, while the severely injured Hui could barely move.
At Abai’s signal, Ahei also ceased his attack and went to check if his elder brother was hurt.
Nightmare watched coldly, unmoved by Abai’s scheming.
Seeing Lyte break free and charge at her, she snapped her fingers.
Shang immediately unfurled the Six Arms behind him.
“Ly…te…”
A deafening roar rang out as six Demonic Swords blocked Lyte’s path in all directions, but all were held in midair by golden sword light, as if chained and unable to move.
At the same time, Nightmare entered her Mutated Form.
The tentacles lurking on the floor twined around Lyte’s ankles, trying to hold him back.
“How laughable. Don’t you know that Noi is also the Witch prophesied in the Holy Scripture? The Witch, said to be the incarnation of evil spirits! As a Hero, will you just watch as she brings the will of those spirits to destroy the world? Don’t forget, your power was granted by the gods!”
As soon as she finished, Lyte’s blade sliced through the tentacles.
Freed from his bonds, he raised his sword at Nightmare, forcing her to retract her tentacles to defend herself with a swift cross-shaped slash.
“So what? Isn’t she also the Saintess representing the will of the gods? I believe fate is set. My meeting her was arranged by the gods to guide her to the right path. On the contrary, I should hate all of you.”
Brave’s Power surged around him, greatly unleashing his body’s potential.
Lyte soared into the air, his breakthrough allowing him to firmly control the magic under his feet and stay afloat.
Lyte’s gaze was merciful, with a clarity and divinity that matched the awe-inspiring presence of a mortal rivaling the gods.
“Tch, hate us? I don’t see you that angry. Is this the face you make when your own girlfriend is poisoned?”
“…It was better when you didn’t mention it. Now I really want to kill you…”
The black-haired Hero’s eyes glowed faintly gold, the smile at his lips feigning brightness, tinged with a hint of eerie madness.
At this moment, he was more like an enraged god descending to the world, delivering judgment to the guilty.
“You ruined my life, yet act like it’s just a joke. The treasure I held so dearly—why is it worthless in your eyes?”
It had been a long time since Lyte felt such murderous rage, the urge to tear someone limb from limb.
When was the last time?
Over two months ago, before his rebirth, in the Witch War—his helpless fury.
That was his first taste of “darkness” beyond the light.
The strongest Hero who never yielded, swallowed by despair, his sword heart shattered at its peak, all his efforts wasted.
It was then he fell in love with the numbing comfort of alcohol.
But it was precisely that despair that taught him—the angrier he was, the more he needed to calmly and rationally seek a solution.
“Wong~”
As Lyte spoke, all six arms gripped a massive Demonic Sword formed of chaotic energy and swung it down at the small golden figure in the sky.
Tentacles twisted once more, pouncing at Lyte, determined to end him here and now—kill two birds with one stone by poisoning one and slaying the other.
Lyte steadied himself, sword intent rising higher and sharper.
The gilded Brave’s Power was so dense it formed a mist around Lyte.
He sheathed his sword in the Bronze Scabbard, bent forward to grip the hilt, and gently closed his eyes.
The moment he did, a shockwave spread out from his feet.
The light brown brick walls and the black-and-red glow of chaotic energy all vanished.
Inside the barrier, only Ahei and Abai remained.
Colorless flames burned from the edge of the Enchantment Barrier, the sky turned turbid, and the air warped and twisted.
The three brothers, weak as they were, felt their souls momentarily pulled from their bodies by the overwhelming Brave’s Power, leaving them floating in midair, contorted in strange postures—fearing death, craving life.
Only Shang’s six outstretched arms, the massive Demonic Sword, and the writhing tentacles remained perfectly still, as if frozen in a single frame.
“Shang~”
Lyte opened his eyes, golden light blazing within.
With a motion swift as a powder blast, he drew the pitch-black Holy Sword and unleashed Eightfold Slash.
The dark blade cut Shang’s body into dozens of pieces, tentacles dropping, the Demonic Sword snapping apart in midair.
After the eighth slash, Lyte gathered his strength for a second, then swung the final blow horizontally.
A crimson sword aura floated in the air, so red it seemed to split space itself.
That crimson aura absorbed all light within the barrier like a black hole, swirling and changing.
When all light was gone, only a single, stunning, and tranquil Red Spider Lily could be seen.
The consciousness of all five present seemed swept away by the crimson sword aura.
Their minds were filled with the Red Spider Lily—red as blood, intoxicatingly beautiful, breathtaking to the point of losing oneself.
“Dong.”
A bell tolled like the arrival of death.
A stark sword scar appeared across the exquisite Red Spider Lily.
The instant they noticed the scar, the flower shattered, petals fluttering in the air.
Color flooded back into the world, but Shang was left spewing blood like a fountain, nearly forced out of his Mutated Form.
Six arms retracted to shield his vitals—he was truly terrified by Lyte’s display.
“How…how can this be? A sword technique of this level…are you already a supreme master?”
As a martial grandmaster, Shang clutched his chest.
He knew better than anyone that Lyte’s power just now was not only the overwhelming deprivation of the five senses by Brave’s Power, but also the mysterious sword intent of yin and yang.
The secret of rebirth could not be revealed, but Lyte’s sword heart, over time, had been unconsciously mended by Noi.
Once again, he touched the threshold of the supreme realm—a level even higher than before.
Lyte did not answer.
Seizing the moment while Shang was gravely wounded and Nightmare stood frozen in shock, he flew to the Array Eye, shattered the Enchantment Barrier, then immediately dropped to the ground and raced toward the café where Noi was.
The three brothers in the alley were spared by Lyte.
As soon as the barrier broke, Abai and Ahei carried Hui and fled, while Nightmare and Shang chose not to give chase.