NOVEL NEXT Chapter 124: Dark Asura
The Dark Asura surged forward, its mass amplifying mid-stride as its gravity core pulsed at full output. The sudden shift in weight distorted the battlefield around it, pressing down like an invisible mountain.
The move was calculated to trap Damien between a fractured slab of collapsed arena shielding and the crushing pressure zone. The ground beneath cracked and split, debris erupting in jagged bursts as the Dark Asura's rifle-spear sliced through the air in a vicious arc meant to impale.
But Damien was already moving.
He had sensed the gravitational spike a moment before it peaked and adjusted accordingly. His mecha's output surged in perfect synchronization, compensating for the pressure with surgical precision. He did not resist it. He flowed through it.
His matte-black frame dipped with an impossible lean. The titanium blade came up at a sharp diagonal, catching the spear with a shriek of metal. Sparks burst between them as Damien deflected the strike, letting the force roll harmlessly across his shoulder plating. The recoil became his momentum.
In a single smooth pivot, he stepped into the gap, drove his foot upward, and slammed it into the Dark Asura's knee actuator with surgical force.
The heavier mecha staggered.
Just for a heartbeat.
But that heartbeat was enough.
Damien reversed the blade grip, drove it upward into the exposed joint at the hip, and twisted. The armor held, but the pressure sensors flared crimson. The Dark Asura retaliated with a backhand blow, swinging its massive shield like a bludgeon.
Damien ducked low, swept out the mecha's stabilizing foot with a tight crescent kick, then jumped back as the Asura recovered with an energy blast from its chest vent. He barely cleared the zone of detonation, flipping midair and landing light on both feet, skidding backward in a half-circle before stopping just outside the boss's new charge path.
In the stands, the crowd had gone feral.
"Is he dodging a gravity blast with footwork?!"
"That cut to the hip joint, did you see how fast that was?"
"Of course I didn't! It was THAT fast!"
"He's playing with the Dark Asura!"
Grumpy Bear was gripping the edge of the desk with both hands. "Oh my god. This is completely unbelievable. Never in my wildest dreams… That Hungry Monster is so… This fight is utterly..."
He was so stunned and excited that he failed to complete several sentences.
Sleepy Smile was gushing like a little boy watching his childhood idol perform live. "No wasted movement. No hesitation. Hungry Monster is incredible! He's the best! The best there ever was! The Dark Asura doesn't even know it's on the clock!"
Inside the military VIP box, General Maru was halfway out of his seat. "Gods help me, I trained elite killers for twenty years, and none of them move like that."
General Riki exhaled through his nose, arms crossed. "I don't think he learned that. He must be born with it. No human could learn such an exquisite movement technique. That's it. This settles it. He is not human. His parents are definitely angels! Or an unholy union of angel and demon!"
"He hasn't even used magic," General Liang muttered. "It's all mechanical manipulation and battlefield instinct."
In the back, Commander Gao Jian was shaking. "The Dark Asura's predictive engine is falling behind. It's failing to forecast his movement patterns."
The other aides could only swallow their salivas nervously.
Back on the battlefield, the Dark Asura growled forward with another rush, this time switching tactics. The spear separated into two pieces, half-length polearms now crackling with anti-mana disruption energy. It came at Damien with alternating strikes, left-right, high-low, pressing the advantage with sheer aggression.
Damien met it head-on.
He ducked the first strike, parried the second, allowed the third to glance off his side plating, then closed the gap between them. He slipped inside the reach of the polearms and launched a tight combination. One upward slash that struck the boss's side, followed by a quick stab into its abdominal plate, and a final slash across the chest node to disrupt its gravity output.
The boss reeled.
Three strikes. Clean. Sharp. Targeted.
And Damien had already stepped out of reach before the retaliation could arrive.
He was no longer just holding his own.
He was dismantling the Dark Asura piece by piece.
And the entire world was watching.
Damien's blade struck true. Not once. Not twice. But three times, each impact a whisper of lethal precision across reinforced alloy. He didn't move like a soldier. He moved like a sculptor shaping the end of a masterpiece, each stroke guided by deliberate, perfect intent.
But inside his cockpit, his breath came slower now. His heart beat evenly, but the pressure was unmistakable.
The weight of this fight pressed down on him.
This opponent… was different.
He had battled monsters. He had survived beasts. He had danced through simulated extinction events crafted to break even the toughest minds. But this was not that. The Dark Asura was not rage, or madness, or even brutality.
It was discipline.
Every motion was measured. Every feint carried purpose. Each strike wasn't just meant to damage, but to kill.
And Damien knew, without question, that he was facing a veteran.
No.
A master.
Possibly even… a general.
High above, in his chamber surrounded by his nervous aides, Grand Marshal Li Qingshan sat within the pilot's cradle of his Sim Pod, a faint smile touching his lips.
"This boy is impressive," he murmured. "Very impressive. In fact, considering his mecha, he might even have an edge on me. But… he is still too young to understand. Power alone doesn't decide the outcome of war."
On the battlefield, the two mechas faced one another again.
Both were scarred. Their frames scorched, dented, and worn. Their blades were chipped, their systems strained from prolonged perfection. Every move now would matter. Every choice would cut closer to the end.
Inside the Dark Asura, a pulse of darkness began to stir.
The Grand Marshal's eyes narrowed.
"Show me your true strength, boy. Or you won't survive what comes next."