Chapter 271: Brutal Beatdown
I kept climbing higher, wind roaring in my ears, wings beating hard as I carried the thrashing Phantom with me.
The corrupted chains it used as arms flailed wildly, trying to wrap around my limbs, but I didn’t let go.
My arms were locked around its waist like a steel vise. It squirmed and screeched, mist leaking from its joints, but I kept flying—higher, and higher, until the clouds were below us.
Then I stopped.
And dropped.
We freefell for a second, the Phantom still flailing in my grip.
Then I growled into its ear.
"Your turn."
I shifted my grip, grabbed its head with both hands, and slammed my forehead into the back of its helmet.
CRACK!
The metal dented inward as I sent the Phantom spiraling forward through the air. But I wasn’t done.
I kicked off the air with my wings and shot forward like a missile, caught up in a second, and hammered my fist into its spine.
BOOM!
It lurched forward, limbs jerking—but I grabbed its chains and pulled it back, driving my elbow into the side of its neck.
Again.
And again.
Each blow a brutal thud of bone and force.
It tried fighting back but I spun in midair and drove my knee up into its stomach. The Phantom folded around the hit—and I grinned.
I grabbed its face with both hands, flipped in the air, and dragged it down with me like a falling comet. I spun once more in the dive and launched it down with a monstrous kick to the chest.
[Seismic Burst]
A sonic boom sounded as its body cleaved through the air. It flew downward, howling, twisting through the clouds.
And like a streaking meteor hit the ground hard.
BOOM!!!!
A shockwave rippled through the clouds as the Phantom slammed into the ground far below, flattening trees and sending waves of corrupted dust outward. A dark crater spread from the point of impact. For a few seconds, everything went still.
Then the mist began to churn again.
I watched as the black tendrils slowly began reassembling the body. Pieces of armor reformed. The broken chains snapped back together, dragging across the dirt. Its mask reknit itself, featureless and cracked.
I folded my wings and dropped.
The wind howled past me. I angled my body straight toward it—fists clenched, heart hammering, a grin already on my face.
The Phantom looked up.
I landed with a shockwave that split the earth. My knee drove into its chest, slamming it back into the dirt before it could even fully stand. I grabbed one of its reforming chains, still flickering with dark mist, and wrapped it around its own neck .
"Mine now."
Then I yanked.
The chain snapped taut, and I used it like a leash, dragging the Phantom across the broken battlefield like a ragdoll. It screeched, body scraping and bouncing, limbs flailing uselessly.
I spun once—and smashed it into the ground.
The ground shattered.
Before the mist could escape, I twisted Essence around my arms and pressed my hands over its face and chest.
A net of radiant violet light exploded across its entire body, sealing it in. The corrupted mist hissed and recoiled, unable to escape.
"Try dispersing now," I whispered.
It couldn’t.
I let the chain dangle in one hand like a tether and yanked it forward again, slamming the Phantom into a nearby tree. Then again. And again.
CRACK.
CRACK.
CRACK.
Each time the trees gave way before its body did. But the armor kept denting. The helmet kept fracturing. And I didn’t stop.
It flailed a bit, trying to break the Essence shell—but I slammed a fist into its ribs, then another into its spine.
I slammed it into the ground.
Then into a tree.
Then another.
Then back into the dirt.
A trail of destruction followed us—scorched earth, broken trunks, shattered stone.
The Phantom barely even had a body anymore—just a barely-holding-together cloud sealed inside an Essence shell. But I wasn’t done.
I flew up again—just enough to get lift—and dropped, knee-first onto its chest with a sickening crack that made the entire body twitch.
Still, it twitched.
Still, it held on.
I raised my hand, let the chain wrap fully around its torso, and pulled it tight—tight enough that the Essence in the air screamed in protest. The Phantom arched once. Then again. Its core flickered through the cracks in its armor.
And that was all I needed.
I reached forward and punched straight through the sealed chest—hand gripping something solid.
The core.
I commanded the Null Heart.
The glowing chain responded in an instant, shooting from my chest into the Phantom’s as I yanked the core free.
The core shuddered in the air, held tight by my will, the chain wrapped around it like a brand of judgment. Then it pulsed once—and slammed into my chest, merging with the others inside.
I stood there in the crater, surrounded by ash and ruin, steam curling from my skin, heart still pounding.
It was over.
The Phantom’s body dissolved into the air, mist scattering like dust on the wind.
I let out a slow breath and whispered, "Deactivate."
The third Node faded. The rush of power that had surged through me just moments ago now left a deep ache behind, like my muscles had been pulled too tight and suddenly snapped loose.
The fight hadn’t even lasted a full minute, but it felt like I’d been brawling for an hour.
My body pulsed with exhaustion.
I dropped to the ground and sat down, breathing heavily, letting the weight settle in.
Inside me, the Essence Engine hummed softly—steady and alive—gradually restoring the flow of Essence. I could feel it cycling Essence through my limbs, easing the pressure, stabilizing the internal strain left behind by the Node’s activation.
I closed my eyes and waited for Azalea.
Soon, Azalea emerged from the Deathmist wall.
She looked different now—brighter, stronger. A soft glow clung to her form, pulsing with quiet power. As she floated toward me, her gaze swept the area before landing on me.
"What happened?" she asked. "Where is it?"
I gave a simple nod.
"Gone."
She blinked in surprise.
"That fast? What did you do?"
I shrugged, still catching my breath.
"Killed it, I guess."
I motioned toward the lingering Deathmist wall.
"What about that? What are you going to do with it?"
Azalea’s expression turned serious, and she gave a small nod.
"I’ll take care of it. But it’ll take some time to fully dismantle the laws binding it here."
She looked at me again, noticing the fatigue probably radiating off my body.
"Why don’t you go rest outside for now? You’ve done enough."
I didn’t argue. I just gave another nod.
She waved her hand—and in the blink of an eye, I was standing inside the temple again.
Without a word, I walked outside, spread my wings briefly, and took flight. A few moments later, I landed softly on the roof of one of the wooden houses nearby. I let my wings dissolve into light and folded my legs beneath me.
The place was silent.