NOVEL WEB Chapter 132: To Knowledge and Power (5)
A low and heavy breath left Adam's lips as he stood amidst the scattered blood.
Steam curled off his freshly reborn skin, swirling around his ankles like a crimson mist.
His hair, soaked in blood, clung to his forehead. His chest rose and fell, each breath slow and deliberate.
He didn't speak.
Slowly, he tilted his head upwards, dark eyes locking onto Celestia.
His gaze was void of emotion.
Yet within that void burned something darker than rage, colder than hatred.
Celestia froze mid-step, her eyes narrowing as a small smile flickered across her lips.
"…You're persistent, aren't you?"
She raised a bloodstained hand before swiping it forward.
In an instant, the space between them folded as her arm reached out, aiming straight for his neck.
But before her fingers could touch his skin—
Schlunk!
Bloody spikes erupted from the ground, stabbing through her extended arm and pinning it mid-air.
A small flicker of surprise crossed her calm face.
At the same time—
[Temporary Copy has been activated.]
[Select a viewer to copy.]
5th Style Sword Master
[Select between two skill options.]
Heaven's Parameter
Flow Piercing
[Heaven's Parameter has been chosen.]
[Reducing Heaven's Parameter to its E-tier version...]
[Heaven's Parameter has been reduced to Area of Wrath.]
[Area of Wrath]: The 10-meter area around the user automatically creates invisible slashes that cut down enemies.
Immediately, countless invisible blades erupted around Adam, tearing through the air with deadly intent.
Celestia's eyes widened faintly as deep crimson lines bloomed across her arms, chest, and shoulders.
Before she could move to free herself—
[Authority of Disconnection]
Adam's dark eyes flickered with faint red light as he severed the "limiters" of the ability, increasing the rate of slashes.
The invisible blades dug deeper, shredding through flesh and bone as blood sprayed out like rain.
For the first time, Celestia let out a quiet, pained breath as her body trembled under the merciless storm of cuts.
[King_of_azure_sky has donated a D-tier gift.]
[You have received] Heaven's Binding (Lesser) : When thrown at a target, it binds their spatial coordinates, preventing any form of teleportation, scattering, or displacement until the chain vanishes after 10 seconds.
[King_of_azure_sky]: Don't forget she can scatter herself into air molecules to escape.
Adam's gaze sharpened.
As Celestia's form began to distort and blur, scattering into a mist of vibrating molecules—
Clang!
A chain, glowing with pale silver runes, lashed forward from Adam's hand.
It whipped through the scattered mist and latched onto something unseen.
The chain shivered and glowed brighter as reality itself twisted...
Celestia's scattered state froze instantly!
Each molecule she had escaped into was bound, pulled back, and compressed with brutal force.
With a sickening, wet squelch, her body reformed forcibly into a single mass as the chains constricted tighter, digging into her pale flesh!
For a brief moment, Celestia's composed expression cracked.
A thin line of blood trickled from the corner of her lips as her narrowed eyes locked onto Adam.
But just as Adam was about to continue his assault—
A cold, commanding voice cut through the air.
"As I decree, empty your mind."
Instantly, a wave of unnatural emptiness slammed into Adam's thoughts.
His eyes widened as his body turned sluggish.
His arms trembled, muscles refusing to move as his thoughts scattered like torn paper in the wind.
'No…'
He grit his teeth, veins bulging along his neck as he forced himself to think.
'Think… think… move…'
But his mind felt fogged, drowned in suffocating stillness.
Meanwhile, across the battlefield—
Chains suddenly erupted from the ground, aiming to bind the woman in white armor.
But as the glowing shackles shot towards Selena, they suddenly lost all strength mid-air.
Clang—!
The chains crashed weakly onto the stone floor, like brittle iron rods tossed aside.
Selena turned her cold crimson gaze towards the caster.
Xel'Shaar.
Their eyes met across the arena.
For a moment, silence settled between them momentarily.
Then...
Xel'Shaar raised a hand, shadows swirling around his arm as he clenched his fist!
[Authority of Prisoner]
Dark ethereal chains burst from the ground, wrapping around Selena's ankles, attempting to bind her spirit itself rather than her physical form.
But Selena merely raised her hand.
The invisible pressure around her exploded outwards, shattering the chains with a deafening crack.
She stepped forward, her armored boots crushing the remnants beneath her feet as she closed the distance towards Xel'Shaar with calm, regal strides.
At the same time—
Celestia writhed on the ground, her body shaking violently as invisible slashes tore through her scattered molecules, dragging them back together over and over.
Blood pooled beneath her as each forced reformation cut deeper into her existence.
Adam's dark eyes flickered weakly as he fought against the emptiness clouding his mind.
He could hear the thudding of his own heart, slow and sluggish, echoing like distant war drums.
'Move… I have to… move…'
His vision blurred, Celestia's trembling figure flickering before him.
Whether he lived or died depended on who could recover first.
His fingernails dug into his palms, blood dripping down onto the cracked stone floor as he forced his numb limbs to move.
'Move…!'
But his mind felt like it was sinking deeper into a silent ocean.
Every thought was slow… heavy… fading…
And in front of him—
Selena's quiet footsteps approached steadily.
[Fanficismyheaven has sent an E-tier gift]
[You have received] Mind of a Fanfic Reader : Gain the mind of an entity who has seen and read countless monstrosities. Your resistance to mind-related abilities has greatly increased, and mental damage received is reduced.
[Woman of Specters is curious about the monstrosities the fellow viewer has seen.]
[Fanficismyheaven is silent...]
As the gift activated, Adam felt something click inside his head.
Like a window opening in a suffocating room.
His thoughts, once drowning in sluggish emptiness, suddenly cleared.
Images and fragments of memories he didn't recognize flashed in his mind...
Worlds consumed in eldritch darkness, twisted beings beyond reason, characters with fates worse than death...
The horror, the despair, the madness—
All of it passed through him like a fleeting breeze.
His eyes snapped open, cold and focused.
For a moment, Adam felt as though what his mind was facing right now was nothing compared to the glimpse of the feeling he had just witnessed!
Without wasting a moment, Adam activated his next skill.
[Surreal Creation]
Darkness surged out of his body like a tidal wave.
A giant shadow blanketed the entire arena, drowning it in pitch blackness.
For a moment, silence reigned.