Born In Ashes: The Enigma

The moment the two coffins began to rise from the collapsed ground around the golden casket, everything in Azrael's vision slowed down as he activated True Focus.

Feeling the violent energy fluctuations radiating from the crimson barrier that had sealed their retreat, he instantly deduced that the barrier was almost at the peak of the epic level and there was no chance they could break it in a short span of time.

Without hesitation, he activated the Wings of Wind Essentia Art, and two wind-forged wings sprouted from his back, glowing with faint currents of swirling air.

In that slowed state, Azrael's gaze shifted to the two pitch-black coffins as their lids began to creak open.

A thick wave of black smoke seeped out of them, but he turned his attention toward the scattered skeletons spread throughout the chamber.

There were nearly fifty of them left, about twenty of which were at the class level.

Without wasting a second, he pushed the Wings of Wind to their absolute limit, and in the next instant—

Bang!

A deafening sonic boom reverberated across the chamber as Azrael's body shot forward at breathtaking speed.

His both hands gripped tightly around the handle of Fallen Star, its tip angled forward like a spear.

In less than a heartbeat, he appeared before a level 18 class-level skeleton that had just begun to lumber toward them. But even as he reached it, his momentum didn't slow.

Boom!

The sharp tip of Fallen Star pierced through the skeleton's skull, and under the sheer force of Azrael's speed, the skeleton exploded into shards of bone and dust.

Even after obliterating his first target, Azrael did not stop and continued to dash forward like a storm of destruction.

From Elyara and Luo Bingqing's perspective, all they saw was a streak of emerald-green light, tinged with a black glow, weaving through the chamber and every skeleton it passed instantly burst into fragments.

Boom! Boom! Boom! - - - - -

In less than two seconds, the last of the skeletons exploded into a cloud of shattered remains and Azrael finally slowed down, his wings folding back as he came to a halt beside Elyara and Luo Bingqing.

His face was pale as using the Wings of Wind at their absolute limit left his stomach churning and his head spinning.

A quick glance at his status confirmed the toll as it had cost him a full fifty points of cosmic energy in only two seconds.

"Are you alright?" Elyara asked, her voice tinged with concern when she noticed his pale face.

"I am fine," Azrael replied, taking a steadying breath before nodding. "Stay sharp. Those two won't be easy opponents."

The reason he had cleared the chamber so recklessly was because of the two undeads who were inside the coffins.

The moment the two coffins appeared, all three of them had felt an oppressive pressure—an aura far stronger than any monster they had faced until now.

Although the aura wasn't on the same level as the Level 45 Elite monster they had encountered a few hours ago, the two undeads inside the coffins were still formidable opponents.

Knowing that their situation would become dire if the skeletons joined forces with the two undeads inside the coffin, Azrael had no choice but to burn his energy reserves and destroy them all before the real battle began.

Both Luo Bingqing and Elyara understood this as well and despite their worry at seeing his pale face, they shifted their attention back to the coffins, from which thick streams of black smoke continued to rise.

Azrael's True Focus was still active, and under the effect of his Infinite Comprehension trait, he immediately discerned the faint outlines of two bulky figures clad in black armor, each gripping a long sword, standing within the coffins and obscured by the black smoke.

Suddenly, his expression shifted and without saying a word, he lashed out with a kick, striking Elyara, who had been standing beside him.

"Wha—?!" Elyara cried in shock, while Luo Bingqing's eyes widened as he too was sent flying when Elyara collided into him.

But a moment later, their shock turned into horror.

Boom!

A massive black sword cleaved through the drifting smoke, crashing down exactly where Elyara had been standing.

The force of the strike blew away the black smoke, finally revealing the figures concealed within as two towering undead warriors stepped forward, clad head to toe in jagged black armor. Their hollow eyes burned with deep blue, flame-like fire as they fixed their gaze on Azrael and the others.

"Level 38…" Azrael muttered softly, his grip tightening around Fallen Star as the overwhelming aura of the two undeads pressed down upon all three of them.

Elyara, though uninjured from Azrael's kick, quickly regained her footing alongside Luo Bingqing and both of them stiffened as they beheld the two Level 38 undead, their auras surpassing even that of ordinary Epic-level warriors of the same rank.

"Well… I expected exploring these ruins wouldn't be easy," Azrael whispered under his breath and his Cold Blooded Trait activated, instantly suppressing any stray emotions.

His eyes became completely indifferent, devoid of hesitation, as cosmic energy surged violently through his body.

"I will deal with one of them," He said in a flat, detached voice. "You two take the other or at least hold it back until I finish mine."

Luo Bingqing and Elyara exchanged quick looks upon hearing Azrael's flat voice.

His tone carried no emotion, as though fighting a level 38 epic warrior was nothing more than routine for him.

Though his voice made them feel unsettled, but after witnessing his strength over the past few hours, they knew he wasn't weak so they simply nodded.

Swish!

Suddenly, the long sword that one of the undead had thrown moments ago flew back to its master, and the tall armored warrior caught it with ease.

Azrael's gaze fixed on the undead, whose deep blue, flame-like eyes blazed ominously from behind the shadow of his helmet and his own eyes narrowed.

Clang! Clang! - - - -

The sound of grinding metal echoed ominously through the chamber as both undead moved in unison—one advancing toward Azrael, the other toward Luo Bingqing and Elyara.

Azrael focused on his opponent, who halted roughly forty meters away from him and then, in the very next instant—

BOOOOOOOM!

A deafening explosion of sound tore through the chamber as both of them vanished from their positions, and the ground beneath them shook violently from the force.