Abyssal Chronicles

Burning his entire soul to unlock the Spirit of Revenge's ultimate state, Heinotim had reached the end of the line.

In five seconds, his body and soul would both collapse, turning to ash and smoke.

But in those five seconds, Heinotim would wield ultimate combat power. Not only would his strength hit unprecedented heights, but he'd become truly immortal—no attack could bring him down.

These final five seconds would decide everything.

Sure, this Abyssal girl could reverse any attack... but every time she did it, Heinotim felt her soul power drain. Her recovery was fast, but it was definitely costing her. Which meant that godlike ability of hers wasn't permanent! Once her soul power ran dry, she couldn't reverse attacks anymore.

That's when he'd deliver the killing blow!

All he had to do was use these last five seconds to unleash everything he had. Force this Abyssal girl to burn through her Authority as much as possible, drain her soul power completely. Once she was empty, victory would be his!

"I'm going to kill you!!"

With that final declaration, Heinotim shot forward like an emerald meteor, tearing through space itself to appear right in front of Momo.

His soul power and spiritual energy poured into his blade, making it blaze with brilliant light. Each swing carved through the air, leaving glowing trails. The sword edge crackled with emerald energy like flowing green lightning, every strike hitting like thunder, carrying the force of a hurricane as it slashed toward the black-haired girl.

Heinotim's eyes stayed cold and focused.

But his attacks were pure hatred and rage given form. It was terrifying to witness.

On the other side, Momo quickly summoned her crimson Shadow power, her hands gathering overwhelming black-red energy. Each blast could level mountains. Her butterfly wings beat as she became a crimson whirlwind, her aura crushing everything around her, cold as death itself—like some angel of death.

She whipped her thin blade around, slashing at Heinotim with deadly precision and wild abandon.

At the same time, swarms of bloody butterflies, Origin Blood Crimson Bullets, and Shadow Annihilation attacked from every direction.

But facing an assault that could destroy any Lv9, Heinotim didn't even try to defend. He took every hit head-on, and thanks to his Spirit of Revenge boost, he was basically invincible. His shattered body instantly healed under the blue vengeful flames, good as new.

"Oh? Giving up defense for all-out offense? Hehe... interesting..."

Taking Heinotim's attacks, Momo let out wild, vicious laughter.

BOOM!!!!

High above, crimson Shadow power and emerald spiritual energy clashed violently. Energy waves ripped through the air, tearing space apart like the sky was about to collapse. Each collision triggered blinding flashes and massive explosions. Flames roared through the air, thunder echoed across dimensions, threatening to devour the entire world.

Abyssal demons caught in the crossfire instantly vaporized into blood mist. The Alliance's remaining soldiers met the same fate—one touch of that terrifying energy and they were ground to powder.

In just one second, the two exchanged thousands of blows.

...

Meanwhile, on the scorched battlefield below, Gerard blasted apart a massive Lv8 Abyssal demon and turned his bloodied gaze skyward, watching the two figures locked in deadly combat.

Sensing the terrifying vengeful flames around Heinotim, Gerard understood the situation.

His eyes went dark with grief.

Spirit of Revenge—had Lord Heinotim burned his soul completely?

If so, only five seconds remained.

Realizing this, Gerard ignored the Abyssal demons swarming around him and pushed aside his grief. He had one thought: help his clan leader at any cost.

Gerard raised both hands, targeting the Abyssal girl in the sky.

He knew direct attacks would just get reversed. So he'd skip the offense and use his Authority to weaken her instead, creating an opening for his lord!

"Authority—Sacrifice!!!"

Invisible power erupted from Gerard's body, howling toward the black-haired girl.

This wasn't an attack but a support skill that drained the opponent's soul power to strengthen his chosen ally. It wouldn't cause direct damage but could shift the battle. Gerard had used this power before to strip strength from Abyssal demons and heal both himself and Heinotim.

Now he'd use it to give Heinotim one last chance at victory!

But he'd overestimated his own strength.

Just as his Authority was about to touch Momo's back, the Abyssal girl—still fighting Heinotim—suddenly whipped her head around and stared straight at Gerard. Her rainbow eyes were beautiful but bottomless, like staring into the abyss itself.

"?!!"

Under her stare, Gerard's whole body shook, like giant claws were crushing him, making it impossible to breathe.

At the same time, crushing weakness flooded through Gerard's body. Drained of power, he went limp and collapsed onto the bloody hellscape.

My weakness... My Authority power... it got bounced back too?

Damn it...

"Lord Heinotim... I'm sorry..."

The next instant, Gerard collapsed into the pool of blood, his combat ability completely gone thanks to his own rebounded Authority. He wasn't dead, but his weakened body couldn't move. With Abyssal demons closing in, his fate was sealed.

...

"Gerard..."

Catching sight of his fallen comrade, Heinotim bit his lip.

His friend's fate hit him hard.

But Heinotim had no time to grieve. Every remaining second had to go toward destroying the enemy in front of him!

Yet after burning his entire soul and gaining power beyond any peak, four whole seconds had already passed! He still hadn't drained the black-haired girl's stamina... if anything...

...Why was this woman getting stronger as the fight went on?!!

Staring at the frenzied figure ahead, watching that beautiful face twisted in wild laughter, fear crept into Heinotim's eyes.

He hadn't let up for a second, still attacking with everything he had, but now his strikes carried a trace of terror.

Why? Why?

"WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH THIS FREAK!!!!"

Heinotim couldn't stop the questions racing through his mind.

He'd landed over ten thousand strikes on her body...

But after taking such a brutal assault, after reversing so many attacks, the black-haired girl wasn't weakened like he'd expected. Instead, she kept getting stronger, her aura climbing higher and higher…

Not only that, but through close observation, Heinotim was certain—the black-haired girl's Authority wasn't unlimited reversal of all attacks. To reverse them, she had to let her body take the hit first.

Which meant the black-haired girl had to endure all the unspeakable pain from his attacks.

His wind-attribute spiritual power created thousands of wind blades with each strike, cutting enemies to ribbons and bringing unimaginable agony. But still...

Why?

Splat!!!

Blood sprayed as Heinotim's Wind Drop Slash took off half the black-haired girl's head.

But the severely wounded girl showed no pain at all.

Instead, under Heinotim's horrified gaze, she broke into a twisted, excited grin. Her beautiful face was flushed red, like she was getting excited on the pain.

Seeing that expression, Heinotim's pupils contracted, veins bulging on his forehead, his face twisted in horror.

"WHY DOES THIS CRAZY BITCH ALWAYS LOOK LIKE SHE'S ENJOYING IT AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!! ARE YOU KIDDING ME AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!"

With that mental scream, Heinotim's head exploded from the reversed attack.

No.

This monster...

We can't win.