Chapter 280: The Attack Was On Autopilot
I looked at the Deathmist swirling around the violet hole in the phantom’s torso. The singularity was still pulling everything inward, an endless drain of matter and energy. Nearly thirty percent of its mass had already vanished—erased from existence. But it wasn’t enough. Not yet.
Azalea didn’t let up. Her roots kept sprouting from the earth, wrapping around the phantom’s dismembered legs, now sealed off from the torso by my second Space Lock.
She poured pure life force into them, her attacks burning through the corrupted fog with a radiant green-white light. With each pulse, more of the Deathmist curled up, dissolved, and scattered.
"Come on," I muttered and pointed my staff again.
Dozens of violet flowers bloomed inside the space. Petals shimmered and pulsed with pure violet Essence, circling the screaming phantom like a blooming grave. My grip tightened. With a pulse of will, I detonated them all at once.
BOOM!!
A shock of light and force rocked the sealed cube. The Deathmist inside convulsed violently, chunks of it burning away in the cascading explosions. The scream from inside turned guttural, desperate.
And then it retaliated.
The mist within churned again. A massive claw, twice the size of the last one, formed in the heart of the chaos and slammed into the cube’s inner wall.
CRACK!
My Psynapse trembled from the stress of keeping the space sealed.
Another hit like that and I’d lose it.
"Damn it—" I whispered, eyes flaring with violet light.
And then I let it go.
The singularity at the center, the tiny dot that had been silently devouring the phantom’s body—collapsed.
BOOM!!!!!
A shockwave burst out from the center of the cube, obliterating what was left of the sealed space. The shock hit me first, ripping through my barrier and tossing me back. Another chunk of Deathmist evaporated in the collapse, its particles torn apart and scattered.
I flared my wings and shot backward, putting distance between myself and the phantom. The air hissed as I cut through it. Azalea followed, her expression pale but focused as she flew beside me.
We both stared down at the aftermath.
The Deathmist churned furiously, an angry sea in a dying storm. Then the phantom screamed again—a high-pitched, fractured wail—and the mist started folding in on itself. Arms, legs, a torso... a head.
But this time, it didn’t form a towering giant.
It returned to its original size. A tall woman, cloaked in black mist, holding a long blade dripping with shadow. Her form was more stable now, tighter. Denser.
I narrowed my eyes.
My Psynapse confirmed the estimate and compared it to the giant version. At least forty percent of its mass was gone.
And just as the phantom reformed, my core finally ticked past the threshold.
1800/1800
[Requirement completed]
[Talent Leveling Up...]
Suddenly, the space around me trembled.
A thin crack split open in midair, barely visible but thrumming with power. From that fracture, Essence poured into the sealed space—rushing straight toward my chest. I hovered motionless, feeling the currents funnel inward, converging at my heart where the Generator Core pulsed faintly.
Everything moved with purpose—refined, efficient. The Essence spiraled in like a calm tide, yet carried immense weight.
I closed my eyes for a moment and focused on the sensation. The core responded eagerly, pulling in more and more Essence. The familiar humming in my bones deepened, growing denser as the internal circuits adjusted. My body held steady. My mind clear.
Then, I felt it—the level up. A clean, quiet shift. As if something fundamental had just locked into place within me.
And that’s when the phantom moved.
I opened my eyes just as it took a step forward, its humanoid form cutting through the scattered mist. It didn’t hesitate. With a burst of speed, it rushed toward us, its blade trailing black mist like ribbons of smoke.
I didn’t move.
The phantom raised its arm, sword angled straight for my neck. The air split as the weapon came down, its edge cutting through space with a screech.
At the last possible second, I stepped forward—calm, centered—and swung my staff.
CLANG!
The impact jolted through my arms as my staff met the phantom’s blade, stopping it cold mid-swing. The shockwave from the clash kicked up loose mist and dust around us, but I didn’t flinch.
Both of my Psynapse fractures locked onto the phantom now.
I stepped back lightly, pivoted, and jabbed the staff straight at its chest. But it was quick. The phantom twisted its body and brought the sword up, parrying my strike with precision.
I used the momentum to step in even closer.
My knee crashed into its stomach—solid and sharp.
The phantom lurched from the hit, and in that same moment, I released the staff. My right hand shot forward like a spear and closed tightly around its throat.
Its eyes flared with red glow as my fingers dug into the cold, mist-wreathed neck.
My wings flared and beat once—hard.
We launched upward like a cannonball. The wind screamed around us as I spun mid-air, dragging the phantom in a tight arc above my head. The violet glow from my Essence trails burned behind me like streaks of lightning.
Then I roared and hurled it downward with everything I had.
BOOM!!
The ground shattered beneath the impact.
A crater exploded outward in a ring of cracked earth and churning Deathmist as the phantom’s body smashed into it like a meteor.
I hovered above, wings spread wide, chest heaving and hurriedly pulled up my talent panel to see the new changes.
[Talent Panel]
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Talent Name: Generator Nexus
Level: 3
Activation Command: Power Up!
Recharge Sources: Any form of energy
Upgrade Requirement : Level 5
Function 1 : Essence Generation
– Generates Essence from absorbed energy
– Essence : 30 / 145 units
– Level-Up Requirement: 2900 Essence units generated
– Progress: 000/ 2900
Function 2 : Null Heart
– Generates Soul Threads from generated Essence
– Combines Soul Threads into a Soul Shackle
– Null Heart Charge: 0 / 1000 Essence (1 Soul Shackle = 1000 units of Essence)
– Soul Shackle : 2
– Anchored Soul : 1
– Soul Shackle Limit: 3 (equals to level of talent)
Abilities:
– Essence Transfer : Can transfer stored Essence to an attribute. After use, 50% of the transferred Essence unit remains as a permanent boost
– Essence Infusion : Can infuse stored Essence.
– Particle Absorption : Can directly absorb energy particles from the environment.
– Sovereign’s Mark : Generated Essence bears your unique signature, bending only to your will.
– Soul Shackle: Anchors a corrupted Bonded Soul into the Null Heart, allowing control and shared evolution.
– Sovereign Absorption: Generates a violet vortex that devours energy and channels it directly into the generator core, bypassing the engraved channels. Scales with Talent Level and Psynapse strength.
-------------------------------------------
The talent had reached Level 3. Essence storage capacity surged by 55 points. Soul Shackle limit increased to three.
But the best part? The new ability—Sovereign Absorption.
I read the description and couldn’t help but nod.
It was exactly what I needed.
No more waiting. No more build-up. Direct energy flow, straight to the core.
I tightened my grip on the staff and let out a slow, focused breath.
Then I shot forward toward the crater. My roar echoed across the torn battlefield as I raised the staff overhead.
"[Blitz Hakai!]"
Air warped from the force, Essence crackling around the weapon.
The moment it struck—
BOOM!!
A deafening blast tore through the mist-shrouded crater, scattering Deathmist like broken glass in a hurricane.
My wings flared wide, halting my momentum mid-air.
But I wasn’t done.
I spun once in the sky, gathered more Essence—and dove again.
"[Blitz Hakai!]"
BOOM!!
Another thunderous impact cratered the ground. The land shuddered under the repeated force.
A ripple ran up my arm as I landed.
A notification from the system followed.
[Skill Level Up!]
[Blitz Hakai – Level 3 → Level 4]