Chapter 341: Explode Means Explode
The Deathmist rushed at me like a wave of black fire, twisting in the air, sharp and alive. I stood still, watching.
Knight reacted the moment it neared me.
The shadows around him exploded outward, forming a thick barrier between me and the incoming mist.
His body dropped slightly, crouching low, as if preparing to pounce. Then the shadow tendrils moved.
They reached into the air and began pulling the Deathmist toward him, shaping the flow, twisting it into a spiral.
It resisted at first, thrashing wildly like a living beast, but Knight held steady. His control over shadows was precise, and now I saw how he used them like extra hands, wrapping around the mist without touching it directly.
Then something changed again.
The crimson mist swirling around Knight began to move, following after the shadow tendrils. It wrapped around the Deathmist like a second layer, weaving through the black smoke with smooth, precise motion.
The crimson mist mixed into the black shadows. It didn’t fight them. It moved with them, strengthening them. Together, the two types of energy swirled into a vortex, spinning tighter and faster.
Knight lowered his stance, muscles coiling tight, and his eyes locked onto the swirling Deathmist. Then, he opened his jaws wide.
A deep hum filled the room as a crimson orb began to form between his open jaws, small at first, then growing quickly, spinning with violent speed. The crimson mist around him surged, pulled into the orb like it was feeding it. Shadows curled beneath him, rising like smoke, wrapping around his body in tight coils.
Then the orb fired.
A concentrated beam of crimson energy shot forward with a sharp crack, tearing through the air and slamming straight into the heart of the Deathmist.
The black mass howled without sound, twisting wildly as the beam pushed through it. It tried to scatter, but the energy locked it in place, burning through it piece by piece.
The Deathmist thrashed, pulled in by the beam, unable to escape.
Knight didn’t stop. His paws dug into the ground, holding firm as the beam poured from his mouth, relentless. The shadows beneath him thickened, anchoring him as the last of the black mist was dragged into the crimson light and shredded completely.
Then, finally, it was over.
The beam faded. The orb vanished. Knight closed his jaws and let out a low breath. The shadows around him slowly settled, and the room fell into silence.
The crimson-stained mist drifted in the air for a moment, then rushed straight toward Knight. It circled him once, then began to sink into his body, drawn through his fur, through the shadows, absorbed fully into him.
I noticed the change right away, Knight had grown stronger, just like Lyrate. It had taken more effort from him, but the result was the same. And that made me smile. Now I had one more reason to hunt down the Phantoms.
Knight let out a low growl and turned to look at me.
I gave a small nod.
"Go on. Help Steve."
The shadows around him swirled instantly, and in the next breath, he was gone.
But I could still feel his emotions through our link and they were sharp, focused, and filled with excitement. He wasn’t just going to help. He was going to hunt.
I chuckled to myself. Knight’s excitement had felt almost childlike.
I glanced around the lab one last time. There wasn’t much left. The other halls were in similar shape unfinished with broken experiments scattered around. Most of them had been abandoned before they could be completed, left half-baked and forgotten.
With nothing more to see, I turned toward the illusionary entrance I had entered through. I stopped at the threshold and stared out, narrowing my eyes.
Essence drifted gently through the air, like a soft breeze flowing through the broken halls. But as I reached out with my will, everything changed. The Essence responded instantly, just as it always did.
I commanded all of it.
Every trace of Essence that floated around me, the same streams that had been quietly filling the space like invisible air, began to shift. From gentle to warm. From warmth to fire. Then, from fire to pure rage.
The change was instant.
The entire corridor lit up as every thread of Essence ignited at once. Flames roared to life, thousands filling the space with searing heat. The temperature spiked in an instant, so intense it bent the very air around me.
I lifted my hand and made a single, sharp gesture.
All the flames collapsed inward at once, pulled into a single core of pressure.
Then came the explosion.
With a deafening roar, the fire blasted outward in every direction, ripping through the halls with unstoppable force.
The shockwave tore through the hallway, the pressure hitting like a hammer. Heat flooded the tunnels. One by one, the labs began to collapse under the sheer force, disintegrating into fire, ash, and broken steel.
My clothes snapped in the wind, hair whipping wildly around my face as the blast rolled past me.
The ground trembled beneath my feet, a deep, heavy rumble that echoed through the stone. The entire underground prison shook with raw force, walls groaning, air thick with heat.
Then, after a few seconds, everything went still.
Silence returned, broken only by the soft drift of ash floating through the air. The tunnel behind me was blackened and scorched, the labs now nothing more than burned-out shells.
I let out a slow breath and turned away, walking forward with steady steps down the only tunnel still intact.
As I moved, my perception stretched ahead, scanning everything.
I saw Steve and North locked in fierce battle with the Abominations. They weren’t alone, the other prisoners had joined them, turning the fight into a full assault.
Flashes of light filled the corridors as skills burst to life, lighting up the chaos. Blades, fire, wind, everything collided with the corrupted beasts in a storm of movement and noise.
Knight too was busy tearing through the creatures.
He stood alone, facing three of the largest Abominations by himself. His body was surrounded by shadows, eyes glowing faintly, calm and focused even as the monsters charged him.
I spotted familiar faces too. Ming and Xin were there, grinning wildly as they fought. Their laughter echoed between the walls, even as they clashed with the twisted creatures, moving like they’d been waiting for this fight all their lives.
All around, the prisoners were fighting like it was their last stand. No fear, no hesitation. Just pure will.
Weapons slammed into thick hides, skills cut through limbs, and the walls around the cells began to crumble from the sheer force of the battle.
Fire and smoke rose from cracked floors, and I noticed a few surviving Nagas among the prisoners, only three of them, but they fought fiercely.
Soon, I reached the front area, near the start of the prison zone. Four prisoners were struggling together to take down a single Abomination, their bodies already bruised and bleeding, but their eyes still burning with determination.
"Absolute Domain," I whispered.
A pulse of violet light burst from my generator core, spreading outward in a wide circle.
The air shifted. The world changed color around me, subtle at first, then sharp, as runes flickered to life in my vision. Essence churned and twisted within the bounds of the domain, responding to my will.
The four prisoners and the Abomination froze and turned to look at me.
I pointed at the creature and spoke.
"Explode."