Chapter 126: Manifestation of Will
"I won’t deny it, you are powerful—far more powerful than me. And yes, there’s even a chance you might kill me today..."
"But... no matter how strong you become, you can never be a human again. Am I wrong?"
Ash spoke those words clearly, and although they were harsh and cutting, his real intent wasn’t to insult—but to provoke, to pull some reaction out of Dark Ash.
Even if you’re stronger, those emotions must have made you unstable... so unstable that—
Ash couldn’t even finish that thought.
In the very next instant, he moved Eclipse in front of him and barely managed to block the devastating strike from Dark Ash.
BAAM!!!
His knees bent instantly, nearly collapsing under the sudden weight and overwhelming power behind the attack.
The pressure was crushing, and for a split second, it felt like his body might give out entirely. But he gritted his teeth and forced himself to regain his footing.
A wild, mocking grin stretched across his face as he looked up.
"Mindless fucker," Ash muttered with defiance, his voice laced with both pain and sarcasm.
The reaction was immediate.
The whites of Dark Ash’s eyes turned pitch black, blood veins bulging across them like cracks on shattered glass, and the red glow in his pupils flared with intense rage, burning brighter than ever.
"You want to make me angry, huh?" he growled, his voice low and dangerous. "Then let me show you what my anger really looks like."
As those words echoed, Ash’s instincts screamed at him with a sense of danger so sharp it felt like a blade at his neck. Without hesitation, he pushed himself back at full speed.
DIVINE ART OF ETERNAL SILENCE
SECOND FORM: Art of Burning Rage.
Almost instantly, a deep reddish energy began to manifest around Dark Ash.
It wasn’t just magic or mana—it was his fury made real, a physical form of pure anger, wrapping around him like a burning storm. With a twisted, cruel grin, he adjusted into a punching stance, and then—
He vanished.
Even with his heightened perception, Ash barely caught sight of the incoming attack.
He tilted his head quickly, dodging to the left, but this new form of Dark Ash seemed to defy all sense of logic or physics.
Even while maintaining the momentum of his punch, just as his fist passed Ash’s cheek, he shifted direction mid-motion—swinging his fist to the right.
The move was completely unexpected, and with a sickening sound, cracks bloomed across Ash’s face as the strike connected.
SWISH
Dark Ash disappeared again in the blink of an eye and reappeared next to Ash, grabbing him with both hands and stopping him mid-motion.
But Ash didn’t freeze up.
Ash gritted his teeth, coiling every muscle in his body like a spring on the verge of snapping.
Then, with all the strength he could gather, he began slashing wildly—strike after strike, like a storm of blades, putting his entire soul into the assault.
Yet, Dark Ash didn’t make any effort to block.
Dark Ash didn’t even raise a hand to stop the attacks, because the moment the sword touched his skin, a sharp metallic sound echoed instead of the expected flesh-tearing noise.
Fuck... What the hell is he...? This isn’t human anymore...
Ash thought, but without giving him even a second to react, Dark Ash grabbed him by the legs with one hand, lifted him like a rag doll, and began slamming him into the ground.
Again and again—left to right, right to left—just like the Hulk from some twisted nightmare.
What is this happening...?
How can he be so powerful...?
SLAM!!
CRACK!!
BOOM!!
No, it’s not that he is powerful... I’m weak...
Without mana, without spells...
I am weak. Still weak...
His martial arts are powerful. They’re showing this much strength even though he’s just a Soul. If real energy was supplied... I can’t even imagine what it would become...
CRACK!!
SLAM!!
Truly deserving of the name... Divine...
But what can I do...?
Will I truly die here...?
I thought I was immortal after getting the Rune of Death, but it looks like fate won’t allow me to become too broken, not yet...
But...
There should be a way to fight him... what is it...?
Think, Ash. Think...
Ash thought, ignoring the searing pain of his soul being damaged. It was something even Omni Thought couldn’t block, because a soul doesn’t have pain receptors.
Even so, amidst that unbearable pain, his mind continued to work—fast and relentless, like a well-oiled machine desperate for a solution.
He refused to give up. Ignoring the agony, he forced his thoughts forward, trying to think of anything that could work.
Then, as if satisfied, Dark Ash threw Ash away, and the reddish energy surrounding him slowly faded.
He began to walk toward Ash—his steps slow, deliberate, and unnervingly calm. Yet each one felt heavier than the last, as if tension itself was walking alongside him.
"So... how did you like my anger?" Dark Ash asked, his voice laced with wicked amusement and a grin that reeked of cruelty.
"Do you want to make me angry again? Huh? Are you going to push me again?"
His tone dripped with sarcasm and madness.
But Ash, even as he heard those words, was already trying to stand. His body trembled under the pressure, but his mind was burning—working faster than ever.
Thousands of thoughts bloomed and died in his mind every second, overwhelming even his enhanced thinking ability.
His head began to heat up from the overload, but just as he was about to lose focus, the soul essence began to replenish his will.
"Wait..."
My will...
Isn’t my soul and mind somehow connected? Just like how I used my will to stop my healing back then... can I use my will to attack?
A dangerous possibility bloomed in Ash’s mind.
So he tried.
He failed.
But he didn’t stop.
He tried again.
And again.
With the help of Omni Thought, the process repeated hundreds of times every second, each attempt slightly sharper, more refined than the last.
As Ash stood, he saw Dark Ash coming slowly toward him. Each second, one step.
There were about ten steps of distance between them.
Ash could feel time slipping, but he refused to let go.
So he kept trying.
Step.
In a single second, he failed hundreds of times.
Step.
But he never gave up.
Step.
He kept repeating the process.
Step.
Again and again.
Step.
Without any break, without allowing himself even a breath of hesitation.
Step.
A continuous, desperate loop.
Step.
Then, his thought process accelerated even more, as he reduced some of his unnecessary thoughts, focusing even harder. From hundreds to thousands of attempts to manifest his will.
Step
His will was exhausted.
Step
But it replenished just as quickly.
Step
Then, as Dark Ash took the final step and reached out to grab Ash by the throat—
"So, are you doing something? Come on then, show me what it is," Dark Ash taunted, clearly entertained by Ash’s struggle.
But in that exact moment—
Ash succeeded.
His sword flashed.
Like an arrow released from a bow pulled to its limit, he vanished from his spot—reappearing in a blink at a distance behind Dark Ash.
And then—
Silence.
"OH!! Interesting... what is this?"
Dark Ash spoke with a curious tone, but as his eyes scanned his surroundings, he suddenly realized something was wrong.
His body was still standing tall, unmoving—but his head had been completely detached from it.
"It’s my Will," Ash said in a calm but firm voice.
At the last possible second, he had succeeded in channeling his will into his legs and his sword, Eclipse.
The burst of energy that erupted from that action wasn’t something ordinary mana could produce—it was far more potent, perhaps second only to the mana stored within his Primordial Core.
"I see," Dark Ash nodded, acknowledging the explanation with little emotion.
But before Ash could say anything else, he spoke again with a cold smirk curling on his lips.
"But are you absolutely certain that such a thing can kill me?"
Just as he asked that question, his body casually reached down, picked up the severed head, and reattached it with unsettling ease—as though it was nothing more than a routine gesture.
Seeing that, Ash was genuinely shocked.
Even if he were to die like that, his head would regenerate anew—not like this. Not like what Dark Ash had just done.
"It feels good now," Dark Ash muttered, cracking his neck side to side as if adjusting it after a long rest, his voice carrying a twisted satisfaction.
Ash’s expression grew grim at the sight, his thoughts racing.
Noticing this change, Dark Ash chuckled with amusement.
"Don’t make that face. What I’ve become... is all because of you. Because of those emotions you buried deep inside, I was able to separate myself from you. I was able to hide my thoughts—even from you."
"And because of that, I also became unable to die. When I tried to end myself in that prison, I expected it to be the end... but I lived."
"At first, I thought it was a cruel joke, a curse with no meaning. But then I began studying it, breaking it down piece by piece, trying to understand how it worked."
He grinned wider, madness flickering in his eyes.
"Of course, I won’t be telling you how it works. That secret stays with me."
"Kekekeke..."
"It doesn’t matter," Ash said, his voice no longer uncertain but steady and cold.
The moment those words left his mouth, Dark Ash went silent, his expression unreadable.
"It doesn’t matter if you can’t die. That just means I’ll have to keep killing you—again and ag—"
Upon hearing that, Dark Ash broke into uncontrollable laughter, his laughter echoing like a twisted melody of madness.
"Hahahahh hahahh ahha aha ah "
"a h ah a a ha h a h a ha ha "
"Hahahaha"
"That’s one hell of a cliché line... but damn, I love it. Now then, don’t say—SHOW ME."
And just like that, Dark Ash vanished.
At the exact same moment, Ash disappeared as well.
***