CHAPTER 746: WHEN THE THIRD EYE OPENS

Ethan yanked open his system interface, eyes scanning the data streaming across the glowing panel.

Line after line flickered past—and with each one, his gut sank deeper.

The masked figure wasn’t just powerful. He carried over a dozen distinct Bloodline Powers simultaneously.

No wonder his energy felt so warped—like the screams of different worlds all howling through the same throat.

As the system dug deeper, a projected image shimmered into view.

Beneath the mask was a face—inhuman, unnervingly beautiful, and wrong in every way. Embedded in the center of his forehead was a single, blood-red eye.

The system’s final analysis appeared in bold:

Only half of his power is currently active.

The true source lies in the crimson eye.

If the mask is removed, his full strength will awaken.

Ethan’s pulse spiked.

Which meant... what they were facing now wasn’t even the real fight.

Just a half-formed version.

He exhaled slowly, dropping into a low stance, grounding his power deep into the stone beneath his feet.

Then, under his breath, he called out:

"Feylora—now."

She understood instantly.

Her energy surged like a flood from the heart of an ancient forest, pouring into him through the base of his spine. Pure Fey magic, clean and wild, flooded his core.

BOOM—!

BOOM BOOM BOOM—!

The power built fast, carving radiant channels through his body like rivers of light.

When it all converged into the blade in his hand, the weapon ignited—its edge burning with arcane fire.

Ethan struck.

A shockwave tore through the air, twisting as it flew, ripping the atmosphere into a spiraling vortex.

But the masked figure didn’t even flinch.

He raised a single finger.

Snap.

The shockwave shattered in his palm, reduced to harmless motes of light.

"Parlor tricks," came the voice from behind the mask—cold, amused, disdainful. "You dare flaunt such scraps of magic before me? Today, I’ll return you to the void you crawled from."

With a thunderous crack, he raised his staff high—

Then brought it down like a falling star, aimed straight at Ethan.

Ethan didn’t hesitate. He leapt back, retreating several steps in a blur, then threw up a massive energy barrier with everything he had.

BOOM—!!!

The staff slammed into the shield with a sound like a war drum struck by a god. The entire 28th layer quaked under the impact.

"Damn it..."

Ethan gritted his teeth. He couldn’t keep trading blows like this. Not with something like that.

And then—

A soft light bloomed above.

Elira rose into the air, her body glowing with a pale, steady radiance.

VMMM—!

Behind her, the spectral wings of the Skytear Demon Moth unfurled—vast, abyssal, like they’d been torn from the night sky itself.

Her power surged, crashing across the battlefield like a tidal wave.

She had reached the peak of 23 Tier.

Her racial abilities, honed through countless evolutions, had compressed into something volatile and devastating—barely contained destruction.

For the first time, the masked figure’s expression shifted.

He raised his staff again, and high above, a massive phoenix took shape—woven from fire and divine energy, its wings blazing with holy fury.

He hurled it at her.

BOOM—!

Elira’s Demon Moth slammed into the phoenix midair.

The two forces collided, twisting and shrieking, tearing the sky apart.

Vortexes exploded outward, space itself unraveling in jagged spirals.

BOOM!

BOOM BOOM—!

BOOM—!

The entire 28th layer groaned under the strain, as if the world itself was about to collapse.

Ethan stared, stunned.

He hadn’t expected Elira’s power to be this ferocious—enough to go toe-to-toe with an enemy of this Tier.

But now wasn’t the time to be shocked.

He surged forward, unleashing everything he had.

Power roared through him like a dam breaking. In a blink, he burst free of the vortex, seizing the split-second when the enemy’s attention was locked on Elira—

—and drove his fist straight into the bastard’s shoulder.

BOOM.

It was a punch packed with every ounce of strength Ethan could muster.

The enemy’s body rocketed backward, smashing through swaths of space like glass under a hammer.

At the same moment, Elira’s devastating energy came crashing down.

BOOM. BOOM. BOOM. BOOM—

The two forces collided, stacking into a single, monstrous impact.

With a sharp, cracking sound—

The mask on the enemy’s face finally gave out.

CRACK!

It shattered into a spray of jagged fragments.

The shards scattered like shrapnel, and for the first time, his real face was laid bare in the heart of the battlefield.

He staggered back, step after step, barely managing to stay upright.

His eyes burned with fury, wild and uncontained.

"You pathetic fools... I warned you—again and again!"

His voice thundered like a storm breaking.

"And still, you charge toward your own deaths!"

Then—

The third eye on his forehead snapped open.

Its blood-red pupil pulsed with a twisted, unnatural light.

BOOM.

Power erupted from that eye—more savage than anything he’d unleashed before.

SWISH—

The crimson eye flared wide, and a beam of blood-red energy exploded outward like a lightning bolt tearing the sky in half.

Ethan’s pupils shrank to pinpricks.

He knew exactly what that was.

Not just another attack—this was the source of the enemy’s true power.

There was no way they could take it head-on.

He lunged, yanking Elira behind him just as the blood-red beam came screaming toward them.

And then—

HUMMMMM—

A golden light flared from the side, warm and blinding.

Andona rose slowly into the air.

At some point, a golden, divine eye had opened on her forehead.

Behind her, translucent wings of light unfurled—majestic, angelic.

Holy power surged around her like a tidal wave.

In the next instant, her golden eye fired a radiant beam of divine energy—

—and it slammed into the blood-red ray midair.

BOOM.

KRA-KRA-KRA-KRA-KRAK—

The two beams collided, light against shadow, holy against profane.

The air shattered in layers. Space itself cracked and split open.

After countless battles and absorbing the power of worlds, Andona had reached the peak of Tier 23.

Her Angel King power had never been stronger.

The two beams locked in the sky, neither giving an inch.

The golden light held the blood-red ray at bay.

This was the opening.

Ethan launched himself into the air, arcing around from the side.

His fist gathered all his strength, glowing like a meteor about to fall.

He drove it straight into the enemy’s chest.

BOOM.

The impact hurled the enemy backward again.

Before he could recover—

Elira was already there, a streak of violet light.

HUMMMM—

Behind her, the massive phantom of the Skytear Demon Moth unfurled—

a net of night that wrapped around the enemy’s entire body.

At the same time—

Andona’s golden third eye blazed to full power.

A beam of divine light lanced through the air—

and punched straight through the enemy’s chest.

SWISH—

Three forces, perfectly timed, perfectly aligned.

The enemy’s body finally gave way.

Flesh tore. Blood sprayed.

He let out a scream that sounded like his soul was being ripped apart.

...