Chapter 1223: Red Threats (Part 2)

Even though the Kirani Colony had been destroyed except for two Twilight Crystals remaining among the caves, there were still quite a few monsters at the Corrupted Volcano.

After all, the Kirani Colony was one of many nests covering a fairly large region. The monsters watched the battle between the two great beings, trying to kill each other.

Once upon a time, Adam was in their place, but now they had switched roles. Perhaps in a few years, one of these monsters would evolve to Elder Level or even higher, influenced by Adam’s movements, his attacks, and the fire in his eyes.

This was a reality for many monsters that, in the early stages of evolution, saw the Phantoms fighting against the Elders. This happened especially often at the Dark Shore, where, although very rarely, battles between Second Rank Phantoms and Lords took place.

Adam and Bathild surely knew about this. They could sense hundreds of them from afar, and the monsters were afraid to get too close, but they couldn’t fight their curiosity.

However, that didn’t matter to Adam and Bathild. They only thought about how to win. Each of them had their own goals: Bathild wanted to earn the title and prove that she was truly strong.

For Adam, his goal was his memories and the trembling Path Construct. He didn’t know what was happening, but a few minutes ago, even that had lost all meaning in his eyes.

Now, his mind and instincts were focused on surviving and winning, because Bathild had become a real threat to him.

As soon as he could no longer use the power of his artifact and the energy from the white heart, it would all be over for him.

Adam understood this. He saw that despite her wounds and dozens of attacks, Bathild showed no signs of fatigue.

The crystal and seal on her chest gave her enough power to fight two Phantoms like Adam at the same time.

“The power she got from that Exarch. It’s scary, but that doesn’t mean she’s invulnerable!” Adam exclaimed inwardly as he cut through the stream of flames in front of him.

Then, Bathild’s pupils narrowed as she realized what Adam was about to do, but by that moment, his two needles had already become one.

‘No, I have to dodge, I have to do it!’ Bathild thought as a shiver ran through her body.

Crack. Crack. Crack.

Electric discharges covered her frame as she was ready to turn into lightning, but Adam’s great path had already been laid.

Fromund and Marhen, watching from the sidelines, saw a white line stretching from Adam to Bathild.

In the blink of an eye, Adam appeared next to Bathild.

If it weren’t for her incredible speed, his path would have cut her in two right here and now. Bathild managed to avoid this fate, but she couldn’t completely negate all the damage.

Thrust.

Blood gushed from Bathild’s shoulder. Her wound immediately began to regenerate, moving toward the sword hovering above her.

“Tsk!” Bathild gritted her teeth as she distanced herself from Adam as far as possible.

Strangely enough, he did not pursue her, as he had achieved his goal, the first of many.

With a serious look on his face, Adam looked at Bathild’s sword, which was now 100% charged and shattered into fragments, releasing energy.

“Agh?” Bathild gasped. “What’s happening?”

The red stars headed toward Adam, forming a seal on his hand. Now, he had everything he needed to carry out his plan.

“Are you ready?” Adam asked, turning to Silvana.

Silvana nodded with a fierce look.

“Sure. Just be sure you know what you’re doing. This is our only chance. If Bathild survives this, it’s the end for us.”

“I know. That’s why there won’t be any mistakes.” Adam’s deep voice echoed in the cold wind as he stretched his right arm forward.

Bathild’s legs tensed as she thought Adam was going to use the great path again, but he had something much worse in store for her.

Crack.

The needle shattered in his hand as five rings connected by chains took its place, covering his arm.

Before Bathild could understand what Adam was going to do, energy ran through the first and second rings, stopping at the third. This was a first for Adam, but he knew he could withstand it because Silvana was with him.

A few seconds before the third ring activated, silver threads appeared around his arm. Silvana healed his arm, knowing how serious the backlash would be.

Tremble. Tremble. Tremble.

At the same moment, the space around Bathild, who had become the target of Adam’s ability, began to tremble, covering itself with a multitude of crimson misty clusters high above her and below, deep underground.

Acting on instinct, Bathild tried to run away. She knew she couldn’t expect anything good.

But it was too late to run.

Hundreds of red threads simultaneously burst out of the mist clusters, binding Bathild’s arms, legs, and torso as tightly as possible.

In just a second, almost her entire body was covered in red threads that only tightened their grip.

Thurst.

Blood gushed from Adam’s arm, flooding the ground around him, but he had no intention of stopping there. The third ring flashed, having fulfilled its purpose.

“Right, now it’s your turn!” Adam exclaimed and clenched his fist, simultaneously activating the sword seal for increased regeneration and the fourth ring.

Last time, his arm had broken in several places when he used the second ring, but now the recoil was much stronger, as was the regeneration.

Adam knew he had to endure this period, then it would all be over.

Step.

He stepped forward, causing the ground to shake, as did Bathild’s eyes, filling with fear at the power gathering in Adam’s hand.

“You used someone else’s power and hoped to prove that you were worthy? You were doomed to fail from the start, Bathild!”

Adam thrust his hand forward, his two fingers pressed tightly together as he flicked his hand twice, leaving an X-shaped crimson blade in the air.

The X-blade grew dozens of times larger, looming directly over Bathild, who was unable to escape the trap of red threads, either through her power or that of the Exarch.

It was time for her journey to come to an end.