CHAPTER 225: CHAPTER 225- BURST

Julian’s breathing deepened, steady, sharp, and controlled—as he tightened his grip on his blade. Sparks crackled across his armor, crawling along his skin like living lightning.

Then, the ground split beneath his feet.

A deafening crack echoed through the battlefield as storm clouds spiraled above them, drawn by his aura.

"Let’s end this," Julian growled, raising his sword high.

The air twisted, charged with electricity. Bolts of lightning rained down around him, merging into a colossal current that descended from the heavens itself. The storm bent to his will. The earth trembled.

"[Heaven’s Descent]!"

The sky erupted.

A blinding surge of lightning engulfed the battlefield, forming a massive dragon-shaped arc that screamed toward Leo.

Leo’s eyes widened, but then narrowed, burning with defiance. His aura flared violently, divine and feral. Golden veins pulsed across his skin as his insect carapace thickened, gleaming under the electric storm.

"YOU THINK THIS WILL BREAK ME?!" he roared, crossing his arms as his shield-like exoskeleton hardened, glowing red from the sheer force of the energy.

The lightning struck. The explosion swallowed them both in a storm of blinding white.

Wind tore through the air like a living thing, dust and debris spiraling outward.

Through the chaos, Leo’s roar pierced the storm and furious. He pushed through the torrent, step by step, lightning burning his flesh but not his will.

Then—BAM!—he broke through.

Leo appeared before Julian in an instant, fury etched across his face.

"MY TURN!"

He slammed his fist into Julian’s abdomen with monstrous force. The shockwave rippled outward, shattering the ground. Julian coughed blood, body flung backward through stone and smoke.

Julian’s body slid across the ground, leaving a trail of cracked earth. His body trembled—but then, slowly, he forced himself up, his eyes still blazing with blue light.

Leo exhaled, aura shaking the air as he raised his hand—summoning his own ultimate. The divine energy converged into his palm, twisting into a massive, radiant spiral.

"[Divine Cataclysm]!"

He hurled it forward—

The air screamed as the beam tore through the battlefield, ripping everything in its path.

Julian darted sideways at the last second, lightning surging from his feet, barely escaping the attack. The explosion behind him consumed half the terrain, leaving nothing but molten stone and roaring fire.

Julian landed, breathing hard, electricity flickering across his battered armor. He glared at Leo, eyes filled with both exhaustion and fire.

"...That almost got me."

Leo smirked, blood dripping from his mouth.

"Almost isn’t enough, Bastard."

Lightning sparked violently across Julian’s skin as he lunged forward once again, blades clashing with a thunderous crack against Leo’s claws. The ground beneath them shattered from the sheer pressure of their strikes each blow heavier, faster, and more desperate than the last.

Julian’s body screamed in protest. His muscles trembled, vision blurring for an instant as the lightning, shadow, and now gravity energy pulsed violently within him, three forces intertwining in chaos.

’Damn it... I can’t keep this up much longer.’

Every nerve in his body burned as if molten steel was flowing through his veins. ’Three skills at once—it’s tearing me apart.’

He clenched his jaw, eyes narrowing as arcs of blue lightning burst around him.

’No... not yet. I’m not done.’

Julian thrust his hand forward, and a deep, heavy pressure rippled through the battlefield. The air itself seemed to collapse—gravity bending under his command. The stones lifted from the ground only to crash back down with crushing force.

"[Gravity Collapse]!" he roared.

The pressure wave surged toward Leo, distorting the air like a black hole.

Leo grinned, veins bulging beneath his carapace. He stomped the ground, his aura exploding outward in golden fury. The venom and divine energy around him counteracted the crushing pull, his feet digging deep into the cracked earth.

Their powers collided, lightning and gravity twisting against divine venom and brute force. The battlefield quaked under the strain, stone fragments floating midair before being crushed to dust by the conflicting energies.

Julian dashed in with lightning speed, blade coated in stormlight. Leo’s fist met it head-on, creating another shockwave that sent sparks and venom flying like rain.

Julian’s breathing grew ragged, but his eyes—those deep, cold, blue eyes only burned brighter.

’Even if my body breaks, I’ll drag you down with me.’

Leo sneered through the clash, his aura flaring hotter. "You’re burning yourself out, Julian! It’s pathetic!"

Julian smirked faintly, voice low but steady.

"Maybe. But if it ends you—"

He twisted his sword, gravity folding around the blade. "—then it’s worth it."

Their clash detonated once more, the shockwave lighting up the ruins like a dying star.

Leo lunged forward again, his aura blazing like molten gold. Every movement of his insectoid limbs sliced through the air with deadly precision, each strike carrying the weight of his desperation. The ground beneath him fractured under the force of his acceleration, and in a blink, he was in front of Julian.

"Enough of this!" Leo roared, his clawed hand gleaming as it slashed down, leaving trails of venom and energy in its wake.

Julian blocked with his lightning-coated sword, sparks and poison scattering like stardust. The impact sent shockwaves through his bones, his body screaming with every clash—but he refused to back down.

Their eyes locked—two wills colliding harder than their weapons.

’He’s getting faster’, Julian realized, gritting his teeth. ’His movements... He’s trying to end it in one go.’

Leo’s grin widened, twisted with frenzy. "You feel it too, don’t you? The difference in our strength!" He spun, unleashing a barrage of strikes—kicks, claws, and venomous lashes that cut through the air like whips.

Julian dodged narrowly, the edges of his coat torn apart. His boots slid against the broken ground as lightning surged up his arm once more. "I don’t feel it," he spat, then vanished in a burst of blue light.

In that split second, Julian appeared behind Leo, his sword swinging with a devastating arc. But Leo pivoted, exoskeletal plates deflecting the blow. Sparks burst as metal met carapace.

They clashed again. And again.

Every strike echoed across the battlefield, each one heavier, faster, more vicious. The night sky itself seemed to tremble as lightning and venom danced in a chaotic storm.

’If I slow down, I’m dead’, Julian thought, channeling his remaining strength. ’No—this ends now’

Leo snarled, realizing the danger. His instincts screamed that Julian was beyond the brink, pushing past human limits. ’He’s losing control... but if I don’t finish this, I might not get another chance.’

With a growl, Leo poured every ounce of energy left into his core. His aura exploded outward, the light turning white-hot as it bent the air around him.

Julian met that surge head-on, lightning and shadow flaring violently in answer.

And then—both of them charged.

A massive shockwave erupted, flattening everything in a hundred-meter radius, stone, flame, and light merging into a chaotic storm as the two powers collided head-to-head, refusing to yield.