Chapter 186: Unkillable Cockroach.
Everyone knew that races not related to nightcrawlers but born with the Shadowlife seed were called Trueborns.
They called themselves this to separate themselves from the Hollow Races ... Races born without a Shadowlife seed, like Humans.
Unlike humans or any other Hollow race that had their powers connected to nightcrawlers, the Trueborn had their Shadowlife seed passed down through generations... which allowed it to retain inheritance and pass it to the new generation.
Since Trueborn married within the same race for generations, and had no connections to nightcrawlers... the inheritance remained pure, untainting the Shadowlife’s seed with any other powers.
It was like passing down a library filled with books related to a single subject... instead of thousands of unexplored, useless subjects.
This kind of focus on a single Aspect and a Law... allowed the new generation to be born with Solarity Access reaching up to 50% or even 70% straight up, depending on the quality of their genetic traits.
No spiritual build-up, no discovery, nothing...
With this much access, creating abilities and manipulating their powers was like drinking water to them.
On the other hand... Nightcrawlers’ racial features and the massive expanse of species mixed across millions of years made it extremely difficult for the Shadowlife seed to retain a specific law/aspect-related power.
The nightcrawlers’ ability to possess bodies and merge with another species had intertwined with the genetic traits of both, ensuring that any future generation using the same Shadowlife seed... or born with one.... would have to start from scratch with the seed’s Solarity access at 0%.
This situation was happening to Arthur, Jojo, Nurah, and the rest of the Daywalkers.
In Levi’s case... his seeds didn’t follow the Solarity system in the first place... and focused more on the host itself.
Neither his innate abilities nor the Resonance access required a signature weapon to activate them... He used his weapon most of the time simply because it amplified his prowess.
His Origin seeds were sole entities following a different set of rules... and this had just made it even harder for everyone to believe he was a human or a Daywalker.
After all, it was nearly impossible for a Daywalker to have more than 30% access at this level.
Boom! Boom!
Unaware of the waves of doubt and confusion he was sowing in the viewers’ minds, Levi continued exchanging blows with Sandwitch.
His massive sound constructs held the golden arms at bay as he rained strikes on Sandwitch from every direction, switching relentlessly between twin-bladed and twin-fang styles.
Though his sound arms didn’t need to connect to his weapon, Levi still controlled them telepathically.
Yet, he wasn’t losing either battle... his sound abilities were systematically dismantling Sandwitch’s defenses.
"Damned sound elementalist," she muttered, frowning as she was pushed back, struggling to keep up with Levi’s unpredictable movements.
With sound-enhanced potency against sand, she couldn’t mount an offense; her abilities were shredded the instant they formed.
And that wasn’t even all Levi had to offer.
’Time’s running out... I have to end this now! Think, think, think,’ he murmured, channeling his Harmonic Spine to the limit.
Every blow sharpened his perception, giving him the clearest vision of his surroundings. His mind raced, calculating any advantage to defeat Sandwitch swiftly.
His Thunderchant ability was already active, building with each strike, yet Levi refused to unleash its full force prematurely... Precision was key.
As for Death Chime Field? He knew that to make it effective against Sandwitch in a short time, he’d need to pour in an insane amount of energy; energy he couldn’t afford in his current state.
Then his harmonic spine caught a blunt stalactite hanging from the tunnel ceiling at a distance.
’That’s it... Scream Cutters!’
Without hesitation, Levi circled Sandwitch on his glider, his arms blurring as he sent sharp Sound Blades slicing in her direction.
Whoosh! Whoosh!
Sandwitch was forced to retreat into a spherical sand barrier that continuously regenerated while firing projectiles in return... but Levi’s sound barrier remained unbroken.
Once she had fully retreated, Levi hurled multiple sound blades toward the stalactite, concealing them in the barrage to make it appear he’d missed.
Realizing she had underestimated him, Sandwitch’s expression darkened.
’I can’t defeat him alone in time... He’s too fast, too versatile, and wields an aspect that counters mine.’
Her gaze fell to the Scalesand Leviathan below; she knew it was the only being capable of killing Levi in his current all-out state.
’Ten seconds until the mark expires... So be it.’
Sandwitch waited until the Leviathan neared the tunnel exit, then shouted a strange sentence that no one understood... except one entity, even in its fury.
The Sandscale Leviathan came to an abrupt halt, sliding across the sand and propelling both Levi and Sandwitch toward its massive head!!!
It was like a train applying the brakes all of a sudden.
As for the stalactite? Levi’s plan misfired, almost sending it crashing onto his head after the sudden shift ruined his calculations!
Sandwitch was caught by her golden arms, while Levi wasn’t ready for the unexpected switch... his body flung directly in front of the Leviathan’s cruel face.
The Sandscale Leviathan’s cloudy eyes locked onto Levi, tracing his heat signal as he fell in slow motion before it.
In an instant, its colossal jaw stretched wide as a six-story building... Levi was assailed by the stench, like being trapped under a toxic assault.
But this wasn’t the time to worry about that. Instinctively, Levi threw his chained crown toward the first object capable of pulling him away.
It was the Leviathan’s enormous, yellowish left fang!
The chains rolled three times before locking, reaching their full extent. Without hesitation, Levi pulled himself toward his imminent damnation, the shocked eyes of Gamemaster Biscuits and the viewers watching in awe!
Whoosh!!
The Sandscale Leviathan inhaled deeply, creating an unescapable vortex.
Levi’s body flailed uncontrollably with his glider, yet he neither screamed nor lost control.
He was the Three-Body Problem... he never lost control.
Retracting his chained crown, Levi swung it at the Leviathan’s mouth while shouting inwardly, ’Thunder Chant! X20!’
The Judgement’s chainstaff erupted in a thunderous explosion, its force powerful enough to alter his mid-air trajectory!
Whoosh!!
Levi spun past the Leviathan’s horrific fang by mere meters...getting thrown back in the direction of its neck.
No time to celebrate, he stabilized his glider by releasing mini sound shockwaves from his palms until he landed on the Leviathan’s raised neck.
A single shake restored his balance as he sped toward Sandwitch... his face a mask of calm, though everyone could tell he was royally pissed.
Sandwitch watched, stunned, as Levi advanced, ignoring the Leviathan that had turned its gaze toward him.
In reality, Sandwitch knew the Leviathan was fixated on her... and not kindly.
Earlier, she hadn’t ordered it to stop, contrary to what many assumed... it was too furious, and fast to obey such commands in time.
Instead, she released it from her bloodline connection, restoring it to default behavior...Hunting her as the marked prey!
That was why it stopped instantly, its programming forcing it to focus on Sandwitch... yet it remained a predator, ready to kill anything in sight.
The moment Levi landed before its gaping maw, its instinct prioritized him as the first target.... exactly as Sandwitch had planned.
She hadn’t anticipated the cockroach surviving such a feat.
"I can’t believe I lost with a Leviathan on my side..."
Sandwitch shook her head, a faint, amused smile on her lips, fully aware that the Leviathan would still attempt to hunt them after the mark expired, since they were underground and bound by the rules.
Although Nocturn’s systems had brainwashed the creature for the sake of the games, its royal bloodline was too resilient to completely override.
"Until we meet again..."
She bowed toward the Leviathan’s fast-approaching jaws, seeing a flicker of resistance in its eyes... but it was futile.
Nocturn’s grip on the Leviathan remained too strong in his realm...
Yet Levi arrived first, his vibrating blade slicing cleanly through the golden hand at the center of its palm.
Sandwitch, however, was already gone.
She had activated a Resignition Token, abandoning the game to save herself.
Resignition tokens could be used only once per three games to keep them from being abused in each game... This spoke volumes about how much terror a wild Leviathan put in Sandwitch’s heart.
Levi landed back on Leviathan’s surface and spun around, just to find Leviathan’s cloudy white eyes affixed on him.
He wasn’t even given a chance to curse Sandwitch for running away before he found himself face-to-face with the big boss.
Yet... somehow he wasn’t scared.
His heart burned with adrenaline and anger, but his rationality wasn’t impacted too negatively.
It was like he accepted his fate... the fate of becoming a man who stared into the face of death and flipped it off.
And so he did...
Instead of fleeing, Levi pointed his staff at the Sandscale Leviathan, his voice resonating with cosmic authority yet tinged with coldness:
"Beast... It’s time for you to have a new Owner."