On the other side, the toxic clouds rolled across the rope’s fibres as Levi stood perfectly still in front of Fang, his chained staff resting against his shoulder, painting an image of a man assured of his victory.
Fang narrowed his eyes coldly while coating his skin in a thin layer of liquid blood, leaving only his eyes exposed... he knew that it wouldn’t be enough to handle the poison’s potency, but as long as it could buy him some time, it would be enough.
For he hadn’t lost even a tint of confidence in defeating Levi... especially now that the Aetheric Flames were out of the picture.
Fang slowly rolled his neck, the twin chained fangs hanging from his wrists.
For a few seconds, neither moved.
Then Fang vanished!
The mist exploded where he had stood as he launched forward like a cannonball, the chained fangs curving through the air from opposite angles to trap Levi in a pincer strike meant to tear his torso apart!
Fang’s speed was still as insane as ever, barely noticeable by the viewers or the rest of the Rifters... Yet, he couldn’t escape Levi’s Harmonic Spine.
No fear, Levi spun the staff in a tight circle, the chains uncoiling in a blink... and with a sharp flick of his wrist, he knocked the first fang away, causing sparks to burst on impact!
Then, he ducked low as the second fang sliced over his head, close enough to cut a few strands of hair.
Fang landed behind him instantly and yanked both chains back. The fangs reversed directions midair like homing missiles, aiming at Levi’s back.
Not bothering to turn his head, Levi slammed the end of his staff into the ground and vaulted over the incoming blades, flipping cleanly while the fanged chains tangled beneath him!
In the same breath, Levi twisted in mid-air and kicked the base of his staff, sending it flying in Fang’s direction.
Fang tightened his fist and punched the crown away with a low, bestial growl... then, he sucked in a deep breath and fired a barrage of crystallised blood bullets, taking advantage of Levi’s unbalanced form.
However, when it came to Levi... it was almost impossible to catch him in a bad form.
Still mid-air, Levi used a combustion leap to evade the barrage and rapidly approach Fang from the right side.
Fang rapidly stepped back, each step leaving a misty mirage behind him... Levi pierced through the poisonous clouds in an instant, refusing to let Fang leave the Toxic Kingdom’s borders.
He didn’t hesitate to mix spiritual attacks, using a low-pitched whistle that matched Fang’s subconscious barrier’s natural frequency... Levi wasn’t foolish to proclaim Fang’s death without having ample preparations.
Relying on his Melody Aspect, he easily figured out the natural frequency of Fang’s subconsciousness barrier, enabling him to weaponise spiritual attacks through sounds that matched it.
Sure, the attacks weren’t as potent as using them with the Voilin, but still... they were enough to cripple Fang’s thought process for a moment at a time, leaving him exposed to Levi’s assault.
Before long, Fang found himself holding his throbbing head with a murderous expression, feeling like Levi was firing spiritual bullets nonstop at his subconscious barrier until it started showing cracks.
These cracks translated to an agonising headache... a protective measure by the brain to warn its host that things didn’t look too good, spirit-wise.
The instant Fang’s speed slowed a bit, Levi appeared in front of him with a flying knee... Fang crossed his arms to block the knee, believing that Levi’s strength wasn’t enough to cause any major damage.
Ah, how wrong he was...
A split second before the impact, Levi awakened his Divine Starforged Skeleton. .. the switch occurred instantly, leaving Levi to feel his weight increasing immensely, and so as his strength!
BOOOOOM!! Crack!!
The impact thundered across the sky as Fang’s arms broke instantly under his disbelieving expression.
’Huh?’
Before he realised it, Fang found himself rolling across the poisonous clouds, soaking in a heavy amount before finally coming to a stop... during impact, the blood coating stood no chance.
He kneeled on his knee and coughed out a blackened blood tart on the ground... then, he wiped his mouth and lifted his head to meet Levi’s.
Levi stood silently amidst the raging, poisonous storm, his figure appearing once and disappearing again... but then, Fang’s vision turned disoriented a little, making him see two figures.
Fang’s heart skipped a beat, realising that he had underestimated the Toxic Kingdom’s potency... When he saw Levi breathing and moving fine, he assumed that his resistance to poison must be either on the high end or that the poison itself could be managed a little.
’How... how can he survive such insane potency?’ Fang’s pupils turned crimson, activating blood vision.
Immediately, his sight was fixed and improved, turning his world black and white... the moment Levi reappeared in his vision, his breath was caught in his throat.
’This... is this the doing of a mutation?’
He saw it clearly... the invasive, potent poison was getting erased from Levi’s bloodstream by a peculiar dark energy. It didn’t matter if he breathed it, ate it, or absorbed it through his pores.
Not a single poisonous particle managed to escape the cleanse!
Albeit this situation made no sense to Fang since he knew that no low-ranked mutation should possess such insane powers, he knew that it wasn’t the time to lose focus.
"You’re slowing down..." Levi said calmly as he got closer.
He still had no clue what Fang’s Aspect was, except that it was related to Blood... for a seasoned fighter like him, Levi understood that he couldn’t keep rushing him without a strategy lest he get caught off guard.
Fang did not answer... he slowly stood back up, looking as frail as a dog on its last leg. Then, he narrowed his crimson eyes coldly and uttered, "You’re too dangerous to be left alive and roaming free."
After everything that Levi showed, Fang realised that his master had still significantly underestimated him... Aether Flames, Soulleech Maw, Strange mutations, Soul-Harvesting Lantern, Half-Radian, and a peculiar burst of insane strength. These were just the secrets Levi showed them.
If he were to survive this game as his master planned, after killing his loved ones, they wouldn’t be setting a boy to hunt them, but a Crazed Demon.
Fang couldn’t afford to lose this fine opportunity to eliminate him while he still could... for he knew, the instant Levi decided to relocate to the Boundless Expanse, it would be near impossible to track him down.
He didn’t care about going against his master’s orders if it meant getting rid of such a threat early on... unlike him, he didn’t have an ounce of mercy in his heart.
Awoooooo!!!!
Fang let out a low growl that slowly rose into a full, violent howl; the sound alone cleared the thick, poisonous mist around him.
Yet, everyone’s eyes were affixed on the sudden emergence of an illusory gigantic blood moon in the sky behind him... it cast a sinister glowing pillar on his figure.
Levi raised his guard to the limit and watched Fang getting bathed in the light; his muscles swelled explosively, bones cracked as his frame expanded, while his thick dark fur grew rapidly through his skin... His shoulders widened, and his height nearly doubled.
Yet, it wasn’t over.
His fingers stretched into curved black claws, and his teeth sharpened into long fangs as steam emitted from his mouth with every breath. He had gotten so large, so monstrous, the cuffs around his wrists snapped, breaking off the chains!
When the transformation finished, Fang stood towering over Levi and everything else around him... his fur rippling against the wind while his glowing crimson eyes locked onto Levi.
As for the illusory moon? It remained there, still showering him with its light.
"As expected, what’s a werewolf without Lunar Blood Aspect ?!" Gamemaster Envy shared loudly.
Many viewers were familiar with Lunar Blood Aspect, as it was the trademark Aspect of the Trueborn Bloodmoon Werewolf Race... Fang might not be a member of their race, but as a Falseborn under Bishop Na’thir’s creation, it only meant that the Bishop had a connection to that race one way or another.
Naturally, Levi had read about that race amidst his studies of the universal power racial structure... that’s why he wasn’t that surprised by Fang’s transformation.
He knew that while under the illusory blood moon, Fang’s blood entered a sovereign state, meaning it no longer behaved like normal blood inside a living being... it became dominant, aggressive, and predatory.
One of the Bloodmoon Werewolves’ infamous transformative techniques.
’This must be his trump card... he is still limited to Tier 4 abilities, and it should be his strongest one.’ Levi thought inwardly as he readied himself for a struggle.
He hadn’t gone all out for the sake of forcing Fang to show his hand... knowing that he was using a disposable clone, it changed the entire narrative of their fight.
On one hand, Levi’s death was permanent... on the other, Fang wouldn’t lose anything.
"Brat... I am done fooling around." Fang uttered indifferently while leaning slightly forward, "Both of us are dying here... I give you my word."