NOVEL WEB Chapter 129: Escape!
The assassin gasped, faltering for a crucial instant as pain shot up his arm and his grip loosened fractionally from the combined impact and internal disruption.
That instant was all Lucian needed.
"[Mountain-Cleaving Slash]!"
He didn't need the full wind-up. He channeled the energy directly through his spear, already in contact with the assassin's defense. The golden-red crescent erupted point-blank.
SHIIIING-CRUNCH!
The energy wave, amplified by Emperor's Dominion and bypassing defenses due to Primordial Rending, slammed into the Shadow Blade's chest. His dark leather armor offered little resistance. Bones shattered, organs ruptured.
The assassin was blasted backward, hitting the rock wall with bone-jarring force, Void Whisper clattering from his numb hand. He slumped down, eyes wide with disbelief, blood pouring from his mouth and the massive wound in his chest.
[Assassin (Lv 100+) Eliminated!]
[+12,000 EXP | +2,500 Relic Gold Coins]
[SS-Rank Skill: Blood Devour Activated!] → +7 Physique, +5 Agility, +4 Strength
[Blood Harvest Activated!] → Dragon Soul Devourer Attack Power Bonus: +108%
[Item Acquired: Void Whisper Katana (Legendary)]
[Item Acquired: Shadow Syndicate Insignia (Quest Item?)]
Lucian didn't have time to check the loot. Killing the Shadow Blade had taken immense effort and precise timing, leaving him vulnerable.
Borin roared, enraged that his prey had killed one of the elite assassins right under his nose. "YOU INSOLENT WORM!"
He didn't use a fancy technique this time. He simply charged, his body blurring, crossing the distance instantly, his massive fist aimed straight at Lucian's head, carrying the weight of his full Level 103 power.
No time to dodge. No time for skills. The Wyrmscale Barrier was depleted.
Lucian could only brace himself, pouring every last bit of his remaining ambient mana into his Celestial Adamantine Body and the Titan set bonuses.
CRUUUUUUUUUNCH!!!
The world exploded into white light and unbearable pain. It felt like his entire existence was being compressed into a single point, then violently detonated. He felt his skull fracture, his brain liquefy, his armor scream under the strain before failing, his body atomizing...
(Blackness)
...
(...A faint warmth...)
(...A pull... a connection...)
(...Master...?)
Lucian's consciousness flickered back into existence. He wasn't dead. How?
He felt... strange. Disconnected. He tried to open his eyes, but there was nothing to see. He tried to move, but had no limbs. He existed only as a point of awareness, floating in a warm, crimson void.
He felt the connection to his Blood Shadows, distant but present. Levi. Baltzer. They were still fighting, he could sense their struggle against the Executioner and the Shadow Dancer, though dimmed.
And he felt another presence. Close. Overwhelmingly powerful. Familiar.
Kyra.
Her amused voice echoed directly in his mind, no longer needing physical sound. 'Well, Master. You certainly know how to make a mess. Atomized, were you? Quite dramatic.'
'Kyra?' Lucian projected his thought, confused. 'Where am I? What happened?'
'You're in me, silly,' her mental voice purred. 'Or rather, your soul core is tethered to my essence. That little life-saving amulet of yours? It didn't just block the hit. It seems it triggered a... failsafe. Shunted your core consciousness into your strongest available anchor when physical death was imminent. Lucky for you, that happens to be me.'
Lucian struggled to process this. His soul was... inside Kyra's shadow space? Tethered to her essence?
'Don't look so panicked, Master,' she teased. 'Think of it as... protective custody. Your body is regenerating out there, piece by piece, thanks to your ridiculous talent, but it'll take time. Meanwhile, that old windbag and his remaining goons are still rampaging. Shall we give them a little surprise?'
'Surprise?'
'Oh, yes,' Kyra's mental voice dripped with predatory glee. 'He destroyed your body. It seems only fair that I borrow it for a little while, don't you think? Let's show him what happens when you annoy my Master.'
Before Lucian could fully comprehend or object, he felt a sensation like being poured into a new vessel. The crimson void vanished. He felt... senses returning. Sight, sound, touch... but distorted. Magnified. Different.
He opened his eyes.
He was standing on the rocky ground of the Secret Dimension again. But his perspective was slightly lower. His hands... felt different, slender, claws slightly extended. A long black tail swished into his peripheral vision. He looked down. He saw the sleek, black-and-red Hellforged Shadow armor.
He wasn't in his body. He was seeing through Kyra's eyes, feeling through her senses, while she was somehow... piloting his rapidly regenerating physical form, which was apparently still coalescing nearby. This was utterly bizarre.
Across the battlefield, Elder Borin stood panting slightly, looking down at the spot where Lucian had been atomized. A look of grim satisfaction was on his face. The Executioner and the Shadow Dancer were pressing Levi and Baltzer hard, sensing their master's apparent demise.
Then, Borin saw it. A figure rising from the dust near where Lucian had fallen. Not Lucian's familiar form, but Kyra. Clad in her legendary set, twin daggers Night & Ember held loosely, golden eyes burning with terrifying amusement and power.
"Looking for someone, old man?" Kyra purred, her voice echoing strangely, carrying both her own musical quality and a faint undertone of Lucian's deeper resonance.
Borin stared, utterly dumbfounded. "What... Who are you?! Where is Morningstar?!"
Kyra stretched languidly, like a cat waking from a nap, every movement filled with lethal grace. "My Master is... indisposed. But he asked me to convey his regards." Her smile widened, showing sharp fangs. "And to return the favor for that rather rude disintegration."
She vanished. Not with Crimson Shadow Step's explosive mist, but with a silent flicker, a true phase step courtesy of her armor and innate ability.
She reappeared directly behind the Shadow Dancer, who was dueling Baltzer. Before the assassin could react, Night, the shadow-infused dagger, slid silently between their ribs, piercing their heart. Ember, the fire-infused dagger, simultaneously slashed across their throat.
"Puchi! Slice!"
[Assassin (Lv 100+) Eliminated!]
[+11,500 EXP | +2,200 Relic Gold Coins]
[Blood Devour/Harvest Inactive - Controlled by Shadow]
The Shadow Dancer collapsed without a sound, their poisoned blades clattering uselessly.
Baltzer stared, momentarily stunned by the sheer speed and efficiency.
Kyra didn't pause. She flickered again, appearing beside the raging Executioner who was locked in a power struggle with Levi. Her daggers became blurs, striking the Executioner's joints, tendons, and the gaps in his heavy armor dozens of times in less than a second!