Depth Level 3, Extreme west-side
Neo and Nathan stood at the edge of a small road.
The world around them was broken while the gravity defied the laws of nature.
Floating debris and crumbling ruins were scattered around.
The road beneath them was cracked and fragmented, and every few feet, chunks of pavement hovered in the air.
“The place is worse than other locations.
“Lucas’ Shadow must have come here since it’s easy to hide here,” Neo said.
He gazed at the surroundings.
Some of the buildings were ripped from their foundations entirely.
They hovered at odd angles and casted flickering shadows over the chaotic ground below.
Wreckage of buildings, vehicles, steel beams, chunks of concrete, shattered glass.
Everything drifted without purpose.
Nathan pointed at the roof of a building that hung upside down in the air.
It was as though the structure had been torn from reality and flipped on its head.
“Lucas’ Shadow is there.”
“Can it see us?”
“I doubt it. This place is filled with broken wreckages that are hiding us.
“Besides, the Shadow is assisting other Shadows in their battles. It doesn’t have leisure to search for us,” Nathan answered.
He pursed his lips.
Lucas’ Shadow was dangerous.
It was only slightly weaker than Lucas.
Moreover, its ability to use portals made it nearly impossible to defeat since the Shadow could run away when it was on the verge of losing.
“So what’s the plan?” Nathan questioned.
Instead of answering, Neo posed another question.
“Can you use Noctis Burst Spell?”
“How did you even know I can use that…. Sigh, nevermind.”
Nathan massaged his nose.
Back in the academy, he used the Spell once during the missions.
Felix uploaded the videos of their mission to the private website of the Academy.
Neo might’ve seen the Noctis Burst Spell in those videos.
“The one I can use is not very powerful since my mastery is low.
“It is far weaker than the standard version you can see other Shadow wielders using and—”
“Can you use it or not? A simple yes, no is enough.”
“Yes, I can use it.
“But why?” Nathan asked.
“I need you to attack Lucas’ Shadow with the Noctis Burst Spell.
“Since it’s a long range Spell, you should be able to use it from this distance,” Neo answered.
“Wait, wait, wait! What!?”
Nathan’s eyes shot wide open.
He took a step back and shook his head.
“Impossible. You want me to attack Lucas’ Shadow? I’m too weak to fight him.”
“Calm down. You can retreat after the first attack. I’ll handle it from there.”
“….What do you mean by that?”
“Noctis Burst Spell can stop Lucas’ teleportation ability for a few seconds.
“That’s the only moment when we can defeat Lucas’ Shadow.”
Nathan understood what Neo was trying to say.
Noctis Burst Spell was a condensed sphere of shadow elementals.
It exploded upon contact with the target.
The high concentration of shadow elementals released from the explosion would disrupt the elementals in the air.
That included Space elementals.
Let alone Lucas’ Shadow even Lucas would not be able to manipulate the Space elementals to create portals after he was hit by Noctis Spell Burst.
But….
“I can’t stop Lucas for more than five seconds!
“How the hell are you going to defeat the Lucas in five seconds!?”
Nathan pointed at the path between their location and Lucas Shadow’s location.
“We are several hundred meters apart!
“And the path is filled with debris and shadow monsters!
“Look at that.”
A massive shadow monster with long arms and sharp claws slept on the ground.
“That thing is as strong as the wraith we fought. There are dozens of monsters with similar strength around the building where Lucas’ Shadow is hiding.
“The Shadow chose that location because it knew the monsters would act as alarm for it in case it was ambushed.
“Five seconds will be up before you cover half of the distance.
“There is no way you can defeat Lucas’ Shadow when you can’t even reach it.
“You’ll just… die.”
Nathan bit his lips and looked away.
“We should make another plan.”
“It’s fine.” Neo smiled at Nathan’s concern. “Just trust me.”
He put his hand over Obitus’ hilt.
Since he could fight at his full strength after Obitus awakened, he was confident.
It was not easy to convince Nathan.
But Nathan had to agree to the plan after Neo remained firm on his decision.
“I’ll start.”
Nathan chanted the Noctis Burst Spell.
Motes of black energy gathered above his palm.
They formed a condensed, swirling mass of shadows.
The Spell flew through the air and struck the building where Lucas’ Shadow was.
Hundreds of shadow hands came out from the explosion.
They wrapped around the buildings.
The concentration of shadow elementals in the vicinity increased by several folds.
“He knows we are here! Go now!”
Neo dashed forward.
The shadow monsters, alerted by the attack, turned to Neo.
‘Be calm.’
Neo exhaled.
‘I can do it.’
He didn’t know how strong he would be after releasing Obitus from the sheathe.
His current actions were a gamble with his life on the life.
If he had a choice, he would have not taken it.
Neo pressed his thumb against the hilt of the sword at his waist and pushed it out of its sheath slightly.
Instantly, the debuff that weighed him down vanished, and a surge of energy coursed through him.
His speed exploded.
The world around him turned into a blur of light and shadows. free𝑤ebnovel.com
Monsters lunged at him, but they were too slow.
Neo weaved between them like a phantom.
Their claws and fangs missed him by a fraction of a second.
His speed was overwhelming.
He turned into a blur that even the sharpest eyes couldn’t follow.
The monsters rushed at him from all directions like a giant tsunami.
Neo leapt above them.
He used the floating debris as foothold and made a straight beeline towards the rooftop where Lucas’ Shadow hid.
As he neared the building, he saw Lucas’ Shadow.
The Shadow stared at him with a smile.
It pulled the bow taut and aimed towards Neo’s head.
The air around the bow trembled.
Although the Shadow was unable to use portals for the moment, it could not be underestimated.
Lucas used the portals to battle, not because he was weak without them, but because they were convenient.
He was one of the strongest demigods of his generation for a reason.
Neo’s eyes narrowed.
He didn’t slow.
The Shadow released the arrow.
It turned to a black bolt of energy that tore through the air with deadly precision.
Neo drew his sword with a fluid motion.
As the blade left its sheath, it became wrapped in darkness.
The Aura of Death and Darkness swirling around it extended the sword’s length massively.
He slashed through the air in one smooth strike.
The blade cleaved through the oncoming arrow as if it was made of paper.
The bolt of energy was split in two.
The strike didn’t stop there.
It cut across the Shadow’s body and sliced him in half with a single, decisive blow.
The giant blade continued onward.
It split the building where Lucas’ Shadow stood moments before.
Neo landed on crumbling building gracefully.
His blade reverted to its true size before he returned it to the sheathe.
The fight was over with a single strike.
Neo looked at the Shadow’s corpse.
The Shadow, split into two halves, continued to smile.
It was dead before it knew what had happened.
“It wouldn’t have lost so easily if it didn’t underestimate me and used Invincible.”
Neo shook his head.
As the Shadow disintegrated, Neo picked the elemental seed it left behind and devoured it.
[Divine Energy +1]
“I don’t think this is enough to defeat Arthur’s Shadow.”
Neo exhaled.
He was about to call Paimon when suddenly he saw something far in the distance.
In the North-east direction, white mist covered everything. Neo could not see what was happening there.
“That must be where Arthur and others are fighting against Arthur’s Shadow.”
Squinting, he turned his gaze to the South, and…
“Huh?”
Far into the distance, he could see Harrison about to be devoured by his Shadow.
Neo’s face hardened.
He was too far to do anything.
“No, I need to try. We need as many peoples as alive if we want to win.”
Neo looked around.
He tore apart a long rebar from the floating wreckages.
Just as he was about to pull the sword out of the sheathe, a voice spoke into his mind.
You don’t need to unsheathe me every time.
As long as you wish, I’ll remove the burden over you.
Neo nodded.
He followed Obitus’ words and thought about removing his debuff.
Instantly, endless power surged through his body.
The sword began to absorb his Divine Energy at a rapid pace.
Neo tightened his grip around the rebar.
He wrapped the Aura of Death and Darkness around the iron pole and pulled his hand back.