CHAPTER 355: BREAK IT IF YOU CAN

Then he moved.

The Essence around him condensed with brutal focus.

A ring of pressure formed at his feet, crushing the cracked ground even further. Then another ring, and another stacking outward in concentric waves, each heavier than the last. Dust lifted. Wind halted. And then the world groaned as a phantom weight dropped from the sky.

Gary’s body blurred forward.

His spear surged with force, the pressure around it stacking like a mountain about to fall. The tip glowed with amber light, heat waves twisting the air, making it feel like the world itself might crack.

Malcolm’s eyes sharpened.

Wind howled around Malcolm as he raised both hands.

The air twisted and spun, layers folding over each other, forming a violent spiral. It stretched out into the shape of a huge, spinning bladed sphere, spinning fast enough to tear apart steel.

Across from him, Gary’s spear burned with power.

Then they clashed.

Wind and pressure slammed together in midair. The sky split with the force. For a heartbeat, everything went quiet.

Then a thunderous boom followed, waves of shock crashing through the battlefield. Soldiers on both sides were knocked off their feet. Some were crushed by falling debris. Others screamed as their skills lost control, exploding mid-cast.

And that’s when I moved.

My eyes locked onto Malcolm’s skill. I focused, watching how he pulled wind into a spiral, how the threads of Essence tied it together. My [Right to Insight] flared. Runes danced across my vision. I could see the gaps, the weak points, the stress his laws couldn’t handle.

So I slipped my own Essence in.

Thin violet lines slid through his skill, not strong enough to break it, just enough to disturb it. The wind faltered. The spiral thinned. Just a little. But that was enough.

Gary’s spear smashed through, tearing straight toward Malcolm’s chest.

And I moved.

One blink and I was behind him.

"[Fractured Unity]," I whispered.

My Essence surged, pouring through my arm. Violet energy wrapped around my fist like smoke. Then I pulled in the natural Essence. Green light joined the violet and a deeper brown formed. The combined energy swirled into a spinning ball over my fist.

It spun and pulsed, growing heavy with force.

I compressed it. Smaller. Tighter.

Until it was the size of a nail, so small, but so powerful it made my bones creak.

I drove my fist forward.

My punch landed on his back at the same moment Gary’s spear struck his front.

The world lit up.

A blast exploded from the point of impact. Light and power surged in every direction. The shockwave flattened buildings, ripped up trees, and split the ground. Roots from Lyrate’s attack cracked and fell. Flaming spells blew out. Air boomed with thunder and dust shot into the sky.

Soldiers were thrown backward, rolling and tumbling like dolls. Some couldn’t react in time—burnt, crushed, or swept away in the chaos. Screams echoed. Shields shattered. Blood splashed the dirt.

Then silence spread across the battlefield.

A strange, still wind moved through the battlefield, carrying only dust and smoke.

As the dust settled, everyone turned to the crater.

Only Malcolm’s legs remained, still standing in place. Blackened. Twitching slightly.

The rest of him was gone. Just... erased.

The field was quiet. Masters on both sides stood frozen. Some of the Holt soldiers dropped their weapons. A few took slow, fearful steps back.

Even above us, the grandmasters had paused. Arkas floated with lightning flashing quietly over his back. Brutus gritted his teeth, face dark with fury.

Every pair of eyes turned toward me.

I stepped forward, slow and steady, the echoes of [Fractured Unity] still buzzing against my hand.

Gary let out a deep breath and lowered his spear.

"...Thank you," Gary muttered, still catching his breath.

I rolled my shoulder, letting the tension bleed from my arm, the remnants of [Fractured Unity] fading into the air like steam. But before I could answer, a shout tore across the battlefield.

"RUUUUN!"

My head snapped up instantly. The voice came from above.

Brutus.

A roaring ring of fire blasted outward around him, forming a burning vortex that tore through the sky. Without a second glance at Arkas, he turned and shot in the opposite direction, toward the edge of the base.

And as if his shout had broken something, chaos erupted.

More shouts echoed across the battlefield. Holt soldiers and Masters began running, pushing past one another in a frenzy to escape. Fear surged through their ranks.

Arkas just floated in place.

He chuckled.

"No one is going anywhere," he said calmly.

He raised one hand and pulled out a glowing white orb, small, but radiating so much pressure the air around it began to warp. The space itself twisted in my perception.

My eyes narrowed. I felt the spatial ripples emanating from it.

Then Arkas crushed it.

The orb shattered with a sharp pop. A ripple burst outward, an invisible wave that rolled across the battlefield in every direction. It passed through soldiers, broken walls, even the outer boundary of the base, and kept going.

The instant it reached its limit, space reacted.

A dome shimmered to life, covering the entire base and more. A pocket space.

Brutus reached the edge at full speed and slammed into the barrier with a fist wreathed in fire. The wall didn’t budge.

He attacked again.

Once, twice, thrice....launching waves of heat and force.

Nothing worked.

Behind him, the Holt soldiers began screaming. Some hurled spells. Others just stood in shock, frozen by panic.

Brutus turned in midair, veins bulging on his neck. His voice was hoarse but furious.

"If you corner us like this, Arkas, we’ll go all out! You want that!?"

Arkas spread his arms, lightning curling along his body.

"You’re welcome to try."

Brutus roared in frustration and turned to the Holt forces below.

"KILL THEM ALL! LET’S FUCKING DIE TOGETHER!"

The panic turned to frenzy.

The Holt Masters screamed and surged forward. Their remaining Grandmasters raised weapons, eyes blazing with fury. The army moved like a crashing wave, driven by desperation and rage.

The second round had begun.

I stood still for a moment, my gaze lingering on the barrier edge.

That orb... Dante made it.

I remembered its design, meant to seal an area by folding space around itself, anchoring the laws inside and cutting off outside interference.

But it wouldn’t last long. Barely an hour.

Which meant we had less than sixty minutes to end everything.

My hand flexed. Essence gathered once again around my knuckles.