Splash!

    It happened in an instant.

    A figure had blown past Rex, swift as a phantom, leaving only a lingering presence in its wake.

    His instincts flared, and as he turned, his pupils dilated at the sight before him.

    At the center of the lake, a woman emerged.

    First, her head breached the calm surface of the lake, crowned in hair split into two halves—one a deep, mesmerizing emerald, the other a shadowy black. A mask concealed most of her face, but her beautiful eyes remained exposed—one gleaming emerald, the other a pale, ghostly gold.

    Cold and unreadable, they held an almost divine indifference.

    Power radiated from her like an unshackled storm.

    Just the sheer pressure of her presence sent a tremor through the air.

    As the water cascaded down her form, highlighting her divine grace with its spotlights, the rest of her body was revealed. She was equipped in a steel light plate, polished to a dark silvery gleam, adorned with a crest of a winged star shield coiled by a dragon, pulsing with emerald light.

    Behind her, an ethereal black cloak billowed.

    Its edges dissolving into emerald energy, fluttering as if alive.

    Rex was quite sure that her cloak was her Soul Artifact considering that it was intense with life energy.

    Overall, she embodied the perfect fusion of elegance and dominance—a female knight draped in sheer majesty, which was layered above an untouchable beauty sculpted by power. Her very presence spoke of an extraordinary background, one that set her apart from the ordinary since birth.

    Out of pure instinct, Rex used the System to scan her.

    However, as soon as he did that—a very sharp pain stabbed his mind.

    Notice: Be advised, the target is too strong for the user to see her full stats window

    Attempting to scan the target again will harm the user

    Rex was caught off guard when he saw the notification as he grabbed ahold of his throbbing head.

    I forgot about this.

    Upon emerging from the water, an emerald light expanded throughout the lake.

    As it covered the entire lake, she stood on the water’s surface as if it were solid.

    "Leave the premise," the woman said when she made eye contact with Rex, confused as to why someone was here—when everyone practically knew about the current situation. "It’s dangerous, go back inside the bubble or you’ll get in the way"

    Despite her indifference and poise, Rex’s eyes squinted as he saw blood drizzling down her forehead.

    She was trying to hide it but it was clear that she was hurt.

    However, as soon as Rex heard what she said, his eyes flared open completely.

    He came to realize that the arcs of darkness from earlier, it wasn’t an attack meant for him.

    Instead, it was a clash residue, which mean this woman was fighting something incredible.

    Not that this was any of my concern though, I’ll go back inside until the coast is clear again.

    For once, he wasn’t the one who would need to clean up the mess and it somehow made him feel weird.

    Just as he thought of that and was about to leave, his ears perked up.

    "Rex! It’s coming!" Linthia shouted from above.

    Having a better vision as a Seeker, she could fly above and became a sentry to help Rex.

    But her shout only helped so much as when Rex turned to the other side, his pupils dilated as a powerful torrent of flame shot at him at incredible speed. Seeing this, the woman quickly moved. Her speed was a blur as she reached Rex in an instant and used her cloak to cover both of them.

    Swoosh!!

    Under her cloak’s protection, the torrent of blue flame wasn’t able to touch them.

    In a flash, the woman protected Rex—she was so close that Rex’s nose was filled with her scent.

    It rose to the woman who hovered above, untouched and unmoved.

    Her cloak billowed unnaturally, lengthening as it absorbed more and more life energy,

    Growing so long that its edges nearly brushed the ground.

    She was a storm gathering, her stillness more terrifying than any motion.

    Recognizing the threat more by the second, the dragon snake struck, its massive body constricting hard around her as dark water erupted from nowhere, swirling in a vortex that mirrored its movements. As someone who came from the Mortal Realm, he could see that the dragon snake has a water affinity.

    But for some reason, Rex could feel that this was different.

    It was not an ordinary elemental control.

    As opposed to being commanded, the black water responded to the creature’s assault instead.

    Almost like a piece of equipment that amplified a spell.

    Swoosh!

    Creating a massive column of towering water, the vortex swallowed the woman whole, her form utterly obscured but her emerald glow was still piercing through the inky darkness. Rex could see it all from a distance, the clearance of the Black Rift gave him a VIP spot to watch the battle.

    Roar!!

    Then, the dragon snake roared again, and the vortex surged skyward.

    Rex looked up at the clear night sky—and frowned when he saw three more dragon snakes descend, their bodies woven entirely of black water, spiraling down in a deadly dance. If he thought that the woman was already in trouble, his belief was reinforced twofold.

    Just the sheer scale of the attack was staggering.

    Like the main dragon snake, the other dragon snakes coiled around the vortex and tightened their grip.

    It was clear that they were trying to drown and crush the woman.

    However, as the pressure reached its peak, the emerald light flared brighter, blinding.

    In the next second, the vortex exploded, shattering the water dragon snakes—into black droplets that rained down like shards of night. And there she stood, her cloak swirling with renewed energy—as her eyes drowned in emerald light.

    "Spirit Genesis: Starfall..."

    Upon her chant, her cloak shattered into dozens of stars that spread across an area.

    At the center of the enclosure was the dragon snake, roaring as its Spirit Genesis was overpowered.

    Rex watched as the woman looked down at the dragon snake like a Goddess, her gaze was filled with superiority. In the next second, her body shot into one of the gleaming emerald stars, disappearing from her spot completely.

    But as Rex continued to watch, something happened.

    He was anticipating what the woman’s Spirit Genesis would be—but as he was watching her closely, the world suddenly began to spin—his mind was struck by a mental whirlwind out of nowhere, and it didn’t take too long for him to pass out.

    An unknown amount of time passed and when Rex opened his eyes, he was on his knees.

    Blinking his eyes a couple of times, his eyes widened.

    Instinctively, Rex stood up and looked around—only to find out that he was still within the Black Rift. Enjoy exclusive content from Freewebnovel

    What happened? Did I pass out? If I did, how come Linthia didn’t bring me into the bubble?

    Considering that Linthia was probably waiting for him inside—the bubble, if he had taken too long, she should have gone out to check and found him unconscious. She would certainly do that so the fact that he was still here meant one thing.

    "I must’ve passed out only for a moment," He mused as he shifted his gaze ahead.

    Rex saw that the battle had already reached its conclusion with the woman the last one standing.

    She slowly descended to the ground as her aura began to sway and disappear.

    Seeing this, Rex couldn’t help but feel the timing of him passing out was very convenient for the woman.

    He missed what she was capable of entirely and that was quite suspicious.

    She must’ve done something.

    As soon as he thought of that, his suspicion was confirmed when the woman instantly turned to him.

    Just this deliberate gesture alone shows that she knew that Rex was watching her.