During Ernest's encounter, the battle between Neil, Scarlet, and Yoke raged on like a violent storm. The ground was torn apart by the chaos, yet Scarlet stood firm despite the obvious toll on her body. Blood trickled from cuts and scrapes that littered her frame, her left arm hanging limply at her side—useless. But her spirit burned fierce.
"What the hell is this?" Scarlet snarled; her voice sharp with irritation. The battlefield around her was a whirlwind of destruction, and still, Riot remained untouched. He danced in and out of their attacks, his spatial manipulation rendering their efforts useless. Space folded and flipped around him, turning their strikes against each other. All the while, Riot's laughter echoed—a maddening cackle that grated against her nerves.
"Don't worry," Riot sneered, his wild eyes alight with glee. "When I'm done with you, you'll beg me to kill you."
Scarlet gritted her teeth, fury rising as she glared at the madman. Her fingers twitched with the urge to rip that smug expression from his face.
Neil observed the chaos and a smile bloomed on his face. Space Laws are truly versatile. I should be able to do even more with my Law considering it Is of a higher tier than his?
Neil then quickly examined himself and his injuries weren't severe—mostly shallow cuts and bruises—but his attacks had been fruitless. He'd been relying solely on his Runes, holding back his true power. Yet something gnawed at him, drawing his gaze to Yoke.
And this person… Neil thought, narrowing his eyes. Yoke hadn't made a single offensive move. Their presence was quiet yet unnerving. Defensive to a fault, Yoke seemed almost uninvolved, but Neil could feel the weight of their aura. This person wasn't ordinary. There was a Law at play—something unique, something Neil recognized.
Before Neil could dwell on it further, Scarlet's voice cut through the noise. "Enough of this!" she shouted. Her voice carried a dangerous edge as a sinister energy began to emanate from her body. It was dark and heavy, creeping like a shadow that consumed the light.
She extended her palm, and a cold smile spread across her face.
"Aspect Execution: True Corruption."
The world shifted.
The air grew oppressive, weighed down by a palpable sense of decay. Riot's smirk faltered as the surroundings turned into a grey-black void. The ground beneath them cracked and crumbled, dissolving into nothingness. Visibility dropped to zero, and the silence was deafening. For the first time, Riot stood still, his usual confidence replaced by a growing unease.
"What the…?" he muttered, raising his hand. But to his horror, he saw the same grey-black energy now crawling over his skin, sinking into his flesh. A sharp pang of fear shot through him as he tried to activate his Limited Displacement Law—only to find his power unresponsive.
Panic flashed in his eyes. "What did you do?" he demanded, his voice unsteady.
"You should've attacked me the moment I activated my Aspect Execution," Scarlet's voice echoed through the void. She stepped forward, her presence cutting through the oppressive gloom.
But she was no longer the Scarlet they knew.
Her fiery red hair had turned an ashen grey, streaked with black highlights. Her eyepatch was gone, revealing two wide-open, pitch-black eyes that bled dark tears. She looked like a demon dragged from the depths of the abyss, her aura suffocating and unrelenting.
Riot took a step back, his breath hitching. "What is this…?"
"This," Scarlet said, her voice low and chilling, "is what death looks like."
In a blur of movement, Scarlet's hand shot forward. Riot barely registered what was happening before a sharp, agonizing pain erupted through him. He screamed as his right arm was severed cleanly at the shoulder, blood spurting in violent arcs.
"The power to corrupt," Scarlet explained coldly, "is the power to destroy. Once something is corrupted, it's never the same again. Your Nux? Completely corrupted. Without it, you're nothing more than a pitiful man playing with broken toys."
Riot clutched at his shoulder; his face twisted in agony. "Y-You…!" he choked out, but Scarlet wasn't finished.
She tilted her head, her black eyes gleaming with malice. "Your Spatial Law was clever, but flawed. It only works within the range of your vision. And that fluctuation in your Nux whenever you switch spaces? Sloppy." Her voice dripped with mockery. "Great for sneaking around, but in a real fight? Pathetic."
Riot stumbled back, but there was nowhere to go. The corrupted void closed in around him, suffocating his every movement. Scarlet raised her hand again.
"Let's see how loud you can scream."
With another precise strike, Scarlet severed his left arm. Riot's scream echoed through the void; a sound so raw it seemed to tear at the air itself.
"Yes!" Scarlet's voice rose with gleeful madness. "Scream louder! Beg me for mercy!"
Riot's vision blurred, his body convulsing in pain. He managed to spit out a single word. "You…bitch…"
Scarlet's grin widened. "That's more like it."
She moved swiftly, her movements fluid and merciless. One clean chop, and Riot's right leg was gone. His body crumpled to the ground, his screams reaching an unbearable pitch. He writhed and squirmed like a broken insect, his mind fracturing under the sheer weight of the pain.
Scarlet crouched over him, her expression one of cold satisfaction. "Oh well," she said casually, raising her hand for the final blow. "Time to put you out of your misery."
With a single, brutal strike, she decapitated him. His head rolled across the ground, the light in his eyes extinguished.
Scarlet stood over his lifeless body, her breath steady despite the carnage. "Good thing he was weakened," she muttered to herself. "In his prime, this wouldn't have been so easy." Her lips curled into a murderous smile. "Now… let's see how the others hold up."
From within the void, Neil and Yoke watched silently, their expressions unreadable. Riot's screams had faded, leaving an eerie stillness in their place.
Neil adjusted his stance, his azure Runes shimmering faintly. The ability to corrupt… interesting. But it seems to have a drawback. Looks like she loses her rationality.
Scarlet emerged from the shadows, her devilish form still intact. She turned to them, a wicked grin plastered across her face. She revealed her herself to the them despite the void like environment they were in.
"So, it's done?", Neil asked with a straight face.
"Naturally.", Scarlet said as she approached them.
"Let's go to Ernest.", he suggested.
"Sure but ….", Scarlet stretched out her right hand. The power of corruption populated around Neil and Yoke.
"Are you sure you want to do this?", Neil asked with a nonchalant expression. He was undisturbed by her approach.
"Naturally", she answered.
Neil's nonchalant expression remained unmoved as Scarlet's corrupted Nux coiled around him like serpents, its malevolence pricking at his skin. Yoke, standing a few steps back, remained silent, observing the interaction with a guarded expression.
"You're serious, aren't you?" Neil asked, his voice calm but tinged with a faint undertone of amusement.
"Deadly," Scarlet replied, her grin wide and wicked. Her new devilish form radiated power, and the corrupted aura made the air itself feel suffocating. Her black, tear-streaked eyes stared into Neil's, daring him to flinch.
Neil sighed, his hand flicking through the air as golden runes began to materialize around him. "Well, this was to be expected. The rewards are quite tempting…"
Scarlet chuckled darkly. "So, you know why must die."
"Die? You are too arrogant", Neil smiled.
Without further warning, Scarlet launched forward. The power of corruption surged like a tidal wave, transforming the ground beneath her into a decayed wasteland. Her clawed hand slashed toward Neil's chest, moving faster than most could track.
Neil sidestepped effortlessly, the corrupted Nux grazing his shoulder but leaving only a faint burn. "You'll have to do better than that," he said, his runes flashing brighter. With a flick of his wrist, the azure symbols coalesced into a spear of light, which he hurled at Scarlet with precision.
Scarlet tilted her head, allowing the spear to whiz past her cheek. "Close," she taunted. She retaliated by slamming her palm into the ground, sending a surge of corrupted Nux in all directions. The terrain around them turned into a swirling, blackened void that seemed to eat away at the fabric of reality.
Neil jumped back, azure barriers forming around him in layers as the corruption tried to pierce through. His movements were graceful, almost lazy, but his precision was undeniable. "Your Law is quite powerful I must say. Impressive—if a little one-note."
Scarlet's grin widened. "Let's see if your smugness holds up against this." She raised her hand, and a dense wave of corrupted Nux condensed into a massive scythe, its blade gleaming with a malevolent aura. With a single swing, the weapon released an arc of energy that carved through the air, aiming to cleave Neil in half.
Neil's runes flared brighter, forming an azure shield that caught the arc just in time. The impact sent a shockwave rippling through the battlefield, kicking up debris and creating a momentary stalemate.
"It seems you can't keep yourself sane the longer the Aspect Execution lingers," Neil said, his voice calm even as he deflected another attack.
Scarlet snarled, the taunt cutting deeper than she wanted to admit. "You talk too much!" She surged forward again, this time faster, her scythe spinning in a blur as she unleashed a barrage of strikes.
Neil weaved between the attacks, his movements like water flowing around a storm. Each swing of Scarlet's scythe was met with a perfectly timed step or a glowing rune barrier, frustrating her further.
What type of Law if this? Scarlet questioned herself.
Neil smirked and uttered. "Soo predictable and I've also noticed something interesting about your power."
Scarlet's eyes narrowed, but she didn't respond. Instead, she shifted her strategy, using her corrupted energy to create tendrils that lashed out in every direction, forcing Neil to keep moving.
"It's not limitless, is it?" Neil continued; his azure runes shifted into intricate patterns around his body. "Not only does your sanity wither away the power of corruption also eats you away, huh?"
Scarlet hesitated for a fraction of a second—a pause so brief it was almost imperceptible. But Neil caught it.
"Thought so," he said, his voice soft but victorious. He extended his hand, and the runes around him erupted into a dazzling array of azure light. "Time to end this."
Scarlet growled, pushing her power to its limits. The Aspect Execution she released coalesced around her, forming a massive vortex that threatened to consume everything in its path. "You think you've got me figured out? Let's see if you can survive this!"
Neil didn't flinch. The runes around him expanded, forming an intricate web of azure light that clashed with Scarlet's vortex. The battlefield was engulfed in a blinding explosion of Nux, the two forces colliding with earth-shattering intensity.
When the dust settled, Neil stood unharmed, his azure runes shimmering faintly. Scarlet was on one knee, her scythe shattered, her corrupted form flickering as she struggled to maintain it.
"Well, that was a nice exercise", Neil smirked and approached her.
"You…" Scarlet growled, glaring up at him. Her hands trembled, her corrupted energy receding as she struggled to regain control.
"Ill use your share productively", Neil laughed and held out a finger. His azure Nux condensed into a ball and he fired it at her forehead. The life in her eyes faded.
And just like that Scarlet died.
"Profts aren't everything….", Neil said but just as he was about to turn around, he felt an ill foreboding. He immediately jumped upwards and landed several meters from his ambusher. A dark energy (Nux) explosion occurred just where Neil was.
"You weren't affected by her Law. That's surprising", Neil said with a furrowed brow as he quickly examined her Nux.
"She was nothing more than a pawn.", Since the beginning of this endeavor Yoke remained silent and now it was the first time hearing her voice.
It sounded quite grotesque like she was suffering from a throat injury or disease.
"I see….", Neil swung is arm and runic inscriptions suddenly spawned into existence.
Yoke held out her right hand and her Nux condensed around Scarlet's corpse. Scarlet's lifeless eyes turned black ….
Necromancy. A Law pertaining to Death.