Belial sprinted with every fiber of his being, the mutant's monstrous form looming ever closer behind him. With each stride, he pushed himself to the limit, his heart pounding in his chest as he raced towards the glowing runes of the barrier.
The mutant's outstretched arm reached out, its grotesque claws poised to capture Belial in its grasp. With lightning reflexes, Belial dodged the creature's attack, narrowly avoiding its clutches as he continued his desperate flight.
But as he reached the barrier's edge, a wave of dread washed over him, sending a chill down his spine. Cold sweat trickled down his forehead as he came to a sudden stop, his gaze fixated on the glowing runes before him.
"I might be screwed..." Belial whispered to himself, his breath coming in ragged controlled gasps as he surveyed his surroundings.
There was nowhere else to run, no escape from the relentless pursuit of the mutant that now bore down upon him with relentless frenzy.
With a resigned sigh, Belial turned to face his adversary, steeling himself for the inevitable confrontation that lay ahead. His options were limited, his back against the proverbial wall with nowhere left to flee.
'I only have one way out of this... I have no other choice,' Belial thought grimly, his resolve hardening as he prepared to confront the looming threat head-on.
[Conclusion: The best chance to defeat the mutant is to imitate Gael's usage of ether, as his way of using ether deems quite effective.]
A thunderous strike echoed through the air as Gael leaped forward to engage the mutant he was fighting, his movements swift and decisive.
"Oracle, is it possible for you to do that?" Belial inquired, his voice tinged with urgency.
[It is possible.]
Belial's eyes widened in amazement at the capabilities of the talent within him. With a sense of determination burning within him, he awaited the results of the analysis.
[Analyzing: 15%...]
As the analysis progressed, Belial activated his shadow trigger, summoning forth the swords that surrounded him in a protective barrier.
"Alright, here we go," Belial muttered to himself, his heart pounding with anticipation.
[Analyzing: 55%...]
With each passing moment, the tension in the air grew thicker, anticipation building as Belial prepared to face the mutant head-on.
Suddenly, Belial lunged forward, swinging his sword with all his might. But to his dismay, the blade bounced harmlessly off the mutant's hide, leaving him vulnerable to its retaliatory strike.
In a flash, the mutant's claws closed around Belial's arm, its hot breath washing over him as its stitched mouth forcefully came undone, revealing rows of menacing fangs.
Chomp.
[Talent: Tenacity active (external)]
Despite the pain resided through him, Belial remained resolute, his tenacity steeling his resolve to prevail.
Summoning his swords once more, Belial launched them at the mutant with all his strength. But to his horror, they bounced off its thick skin, leaving him defenseless against its relentless assault.
With a mighty heave, the mutant flung Belial against the barrier with brutal force, the impact sending shockwaves of pain coursing through his body.
As he slumped against the barrier, struggling to maintain consciousness, Belial's mind raced with a single thought—I can't loose here,
[Commencing wake-up sequence...]
[Activating...]
{Cancel activation}
[Searching...]
[Error: Unidentified entity detected.]
[Commencing termination...]
{Talent override; Disabling the Great Oracle... Apologies*****, but I must protect this seal for now.} The shadowy figure's voice echoed through the ethereal realm.
Belial's eyes fluttered open, and he found himself surrounded by the mysterious dark figure once again.
"It's you again..." he muttered weakly, his voice barely audible.
The shadowy figure's eyes glowed with an intense purple light as it regarded Belial.
{Given the circumstances, I cannot allow you to perish. However, the current situation leaves me with limited options.}
"What...?" Belial croaked, his strength waning.
{I will clear the conditions for you to achieve the 'Spark'. All that remains is for you to forge your own path and survive.}
Belial's mind reeled with confusion. Even throughout his research on oasis he had never heard of the 'Spark' before, and the shadowy figure's words only added to his bewilderment. But as he struggled to make sense of it all, one thing became clear—he had been given a second chance, and he would do whatever it takes to no let it go to waste.
Belial's mind raced with panic as he struggled to regain control of his own body. His muscles refused to respond to his commands, leaving him paralyzed with frustration and fear.
"Move!Move!Move!" he shouted inwardly, his thoughts a jumbled mess of desperation.
But no matter how hard he tried, his body remained unresponsive, as if under the control of some unseen force.
"Get up, get up, stupid body!"
In that moment, a strangely familiar voice echoed in his mind, its words Familiar, in that vulnerable state he couldn't contain his emotions.
A confused expression crossed Belial's face as he grappled with the intrusion into his thoughts. But before he could make sense of it, his expression shifted to one of blank obedience, as if he were being manipulated like a puppet on strings.
His body moved of its own accord, rising to its feet and grasping his sword with an eerie sense of purpose. The dark aura that surrounded him seemed to pulse with malevolent energy as he assumed his stance, readying himself for battle.
{shadow trigger}
With a burst of speed, Belial dashed towards the mutant, his sword humming with power as it sliced through the air.
When Belial activated Shadow Trigger, it unleashed a transformation both brutal and precise, stripping away the natural limits of his body. The first step of the process shattered the mind's restrictions on physical strength, allowing his body to harness the full extent of its potential. This unshackling made Belial a far better conduit for ether, enabling the energy to surge through him with heightened intensity so much that it could destroy him. By blending the external ether with the reserves of his internal ether, his output became exponentially more potent—raw power refined into something devastating.
The second step was far more intricate, a testament to Belial's mastery of his own abilities. Using his Hax, he conjured a thin yet unyielding layer of muscle forged from pure darkness. This layer acted as a safeguard, holding his natural muscles together and preventing them from collapsing under the strain of the overwhelming ether coursing through his body. The flow was volatile, threatening to tear him apart from the inside out.
However, the spark—the very core this existence—provided the final piece to stabilize the transformation. Its regenerative properties ensured that his body could withstand the violent storm of energy, constantly repairing any damage inflicted by the process. With this, he became a stable yet lethal conduit for ether, a weapon honed to perfection, burning with an intensity that defied mortal limits.
Each strike was infused with his ether, glowing with a brilliant blue light as it arced towards its target.
But despite his efforts, the mutant seemed unfazed by Belial's assault, its thick hide absorbing the blows with little more than superficial cuts.
Belial as he continued to attack, his movements becoming increasingly precise as he searched for a weakness in his adversary's defenses.
Belial moved with practiced precision, his movements devoid of any hint of emotion or hesitation. His eyes, normally filled with determination and resolve, were now vacant, as if the spark of life had been extinguished within them.
Despite the constraints placed upon him, Belial's body moved with surprising agility and speed, matching the mutant blow for blow as they clashed in a flurry of strikes and counterattacks. Each movement was calculated and precise, as if he were a well-oiled machine programmed for combat.
With each strike of his sword, Belial's ether surged forth, weaving intricate patterns of light and energy as it clashed against the mutant's formidable defenses. Though his attacks lacked the raw power of his usual strikes, they still carried a deadly precision, each blow aimed at exploiting the slightest weakness in his opponent's armor.
The mutant, for its part, seemed equally matched in terms of speed, its massive form moving with surprising agility as it sought to overpower Belial with sheer brute force. But despite its size and strength, it found itself unable to land a decisive blow against the relentless onslaught of Belial's attacks.
But even as the battle went on, it became clear that neither combatant would emerge victorious easily. The mutant's resilience seemed endless, its monstrous form shrugging off blow after blow with almost contemptuous ease. And though Belial fought with all the skill and determination at his disposal, he knew that he was fighting a losing battle against an opponent that seemed all but unbeatable.
Belial's movements began to lose their initial fluidity, a testament not to his dwindling energy, but to the mutant's growing understanding of his fighting style. With each passing moment, the mutant seemed to adapt more and more to Belial's attacks, anticipating his every move with uncanny accuracy.
Belial's strikes, once precise and calculated, now seemed to falter, as if the rhythm of his movements had been disrupted by some unseen force. His attacks no longer carried the same deadly precision they once did, their impact weakened by the mutant's increasing mastery of the battlefield.
Despite his best efforts, Belial found himself struggling to keep up with the mutant's relentless assault. His movements became sluggish and uncoordinated, his once razor-sharp reflexes dulled by the relentless onslaught of the mutant's attacks.
With each passing moment, the mutant seemed to grow stronger, its movements becoming more fluid and controlled as it exploited every weakness in Belial's defenses. It was as if it had unlocked some hidden potential within itself, tapping into a wellspring of power that Belial could scarcely comprehend.
And yet, even as Belial fought to maintain his footing against the mutant's onslaught, there was a part of him that remained eerily calm, as if resigned to his fate. His mind, once filled with thoughts of strategy and determination, now lay dormant, its consciousness obscured by the shadowy veil that enveloped him.
Belial's blade clashed against the mutant's massive hand with a resounding clang, the force of their collision sending shockwaves rippling through the air. But even as the mutant prepared to deliver a devastating blow, Belial's hand moved with lightning speed, his blade reversing its course in a blur of motion.
"Shi Yuri Kenryu No.11: Shi no Gyakufū" Belial's voice was barely a whisper as he unleashed his deadly technique, as if he said it instinctively.
TL:Death Lily Sword Style, No.11: Death's Reversal
.
In an instant, the trajectory of Belial's blade changed, veering sharply to the right in a swift and unexpected maneuver. The mutant, caught off guard by the sudden shift, found itself unable to react in time as the razor-sharp edge of the sword sliced through the air towards its neck.
But the mutant was no ordinary foe. With a horrifying twist of its unnatural anatomy, it contorted its neck in a grotesque display of flexibility, sinking its teeth into the blade just before it made contact. The impact sent a shudder through the sword, a crack forming along its surface from the point of contact to the hilt.
As the crack glowed with a sinister etheric energy, Belial's eyes widened in alarm. He instinctively deployed a protective shield around himself, but even as the barrier formed, he knew it would not be enough to the impending explosion.
With a deafening burst, the crack in the blade erupted in a burst of energy, sending Belial hurtling backwards with the force of the blast. His shield, though valiantly erected, shattered under the strain, leaving him vulnerable to the full force of the explosion.
As smoke and debris filled the air, Belial struggled to regain his footing, his senses reeling from the impact. With the mutant still looming ominously before him, its gaze filled with malice and hunger, he knew that the battle was far from over
"Hunt..."
That single word reverberated through Belial's mind, drowning out all other thoughts. His focus honed to a razor's edge, his gaze locked onto his quarry. Before him stood his prey, the mutant, a twisted abomination.
With a disdainful toss, Belial discarded the remnants of his blade, shedding the trappings of convention. His jacket, which surprisingly did not have a single scratch on it, now tied around his waist, his energy coalescing into a potent force in his right hand.
Assuming a stance steeped in sword mastery, Belial prepared to unleash the full extent of his power. The mutant, sensing danger, charged forward with primal ferocity, its senses tingling with unease.
"Shi Yuri Kenryu, No. 1: Saisei."
TL:Death Lily Sword Style, No.1: Rebirth
In an instant, faster than the blink of an eye, Belial's hand became a conduit for death, slicing through the air with lethal precision. The mutant recoiled, a shallow cut marring its chin, but the true devastation had yet to be revealed.
As Belial's strike connected, the air itself seemed to shudder with anticipation. Bright sparks and ether like lightning erupted from the point of impact, casting an otherworldly glow upon the battlefield. Reality itself quivered, as if caught in the throes of an ethereal glitch.
"He did way more than I expected..Now there is no mistake about it, he is 'her' child, I want him to be mine.." Lex muttered with a sinister grin.