CHAPTER 51: INTO THE 8TH FLOOR PART IV - WAVE OF ARCANE ABERRATIONS

Four more circled in—a flanking maneuver. Clever. I smirked.

"You’re learning."

I dashed straight into them.

One jab to the gut—burns threading through its core.

One rising knee—collapsing its neckplate.

The third tried to clamp its jaws down—

I twisted, grabbing its jaw with both hands and unleashing a burst of Emberfang into its throat.

Three chimerae down in five seconds.

The last one swung a crystal wing like a blade.

I blocked with both arms, bones groaning—

Then retaliated.

Straight punch. Liver. Burn Stack: 6.

Palm. Chest. Burn Stack: 9.

Spinning elbow. Jaw. Burn Stack: 11.

It was panicking. It started a spell—its chest lit up with internal runes.

"Nope." I raised my hand.

Blank Protocol: Erasure Pulse.

’Again.’

Its core shattered before the spell could even resolve.

The Apex Command Unit floated high above, watching in silence.

Then it moved. Hands spread. Runes forming.

"Oh? A Mana Reversal Field, huh? Aren’t you a clever one?!" I shouted with excitement.

Everything flipped. My fire turned cold. Movement slowed. Regen began to invert.

"But do you really think this is new to me?"

I stepped forward into the field. Slowly.

5 meters.

Thanks to Absolute Dissonance, magic within five meters of me weakened by 30%.

The field began to falter.

I dashed forward. My fists were still burning.

The Command Unit raised both arms. It had no face—just a glowing core for a head.

It fired a compressed bolt of antimatter—

I met it with a punch.

Reality buckled. The bolt destabilized midair, and my fist drove into its chest like thunder.

Burn Stack: 15.

The core exploded.

Its runes scattered like fireflies.

[Wave Four Cleared.]

[Time Until Next Wave: 3 minutes, 30 seconds.]

[Tier Bonus Acquired: Mana Apex Core x1]

I stood amid smoke, breath even, skin tinged with ash and heat.

"They’re accelerating. That shouldn’t be Wave Four material."

I rolled my shoulder, cracked my neck, and exhaled.

"But then again... I’m not Wave Four material either."

[Wave Five Incoming...]

[Threat Detected: Singular Apex-Class Entity]

[Warning: High Anomaly Readings Detected]’

3 minutes, 30 seconds passed.

Silence returned to the arena—but it was the wrong kind of silence. Not the calm before a storm.

The kind that shouldn’t exist.

Like the world itself was holding its breath.

The arena trembled. Cracks split the ground from beneath. And then, it rose—

A single entity, dragging itself out from the molten rift in the center platform. Slender. Towering. 7 feet tall.

Skin like obsidian glass veined with glowing red mana. Its face was a cracked porcelain mask — expressionless, except for a slow-moving ripple of runes across the surface.

It didn’t roar. It didn’t charge. It just stood... and watched me.

[Entity Identified: Abyssal Mirror – Model: Eidolon Tyrant]

[Classification: Reflective Apex Construct]

[Warning: Possesses Adaptive Countermeasure Systems]

[Note: This entity adapts to your tactics after a threshold of exposure is met.]

"A mimic again?" I muttered, eyes narrowing. "But not a cheap copy. You’re a direct-response countermeasure."

I clenched both fists. My body was still running hot from Emberfang’s momentum—but I could feel it. This wasn’t like the chimerae or the Apex Spellform.

This thing was built to end people like me.

-

It moved. No fanfare. Just vanished.

I instinctively ducked as a sharp edge sliced where my throat had been—its arm had turned into a blade. It swung again—a perfect cross-strike.

I blocked with both arms.

Crack.

Pain jolted up my bones.

’This shit is strong’

But my counter was faster, a flaming backfist to its face.

Burn Stack: 1.

The Tyrant’s mask shifted—copying my stance.

Feet apart. Shoulders low. Fists raised.

"You’re using Emberfang Style..."

It nodded, then lunged.

It was fast, faster than it had any right to be.

The first flurry was a mirrored combo—my own 5-strike rhythm. I blocked the elbow, parried the knee—but the follow-up kick came from the opposite angle I expected.

"It’s adapting mid-chain—!"

I twisted, absorbing the impact with my side. Rolled, then slammed a heel into its hip.

Burn Stack: 3.

It grunted—but barely. Then countered by grabbing my ankle.

Slam.

I hit the ground hard. Rolled with the momentum—just in time to avoid its boot crashing down where my head had been.

"You want to play fire?"

I swept its legs out from under it—then pounced.

One, two, three body shots.

Burn Stack: 6.

But it let me hit it so it could lock its arms around me and detonate its own inner mana circuit.

’Shit! A reversal of Erasure Pulse? An Implosion Field!’

My vision blurred. Blood trickled from my nose.

-

I broke the hold and jumped back.

Crackling red arcs rolled off its shoulders—it had already absorbed and replicated parts of Emberfang and my passive nullification.

"Of course. You’re not just mimicking. You’re building a counter."

Its mask rippled, and suddenly fire began coating its fists—my fire.

’Time to escalate.’

I activated Blank Protocol: Second Trigger – Internal Flow Sync.

My body stabilized, letting me bypass the dizziness.

Then surged forward with Emberfang—Level 7 now, the flow even faster.

I zigzagged through its guard—eight hits in five seconds.

Burn Stack: 14.

One more, but it jumped back, using a mirrored Ember Dash.

"No you don’t."

I closed the gap—canceling its dash with a feint, baited its strike, then twisted under it.

A clean uppercut.

Stack 15.

"Time to burn."

The mark exploded. Its body lit up in a blast of orange-gold fire. The healing disruption and defense shred kicked in just as I landed the follow-up strikes.

Three punches.

One palm strike.

And a final flying knee to its chest—

CRACK.

The mask shattered.

It stumbled—glowing core now exposed beneath. It lifted its hand for one final spell.

"Nope."

Blank Protocol: Erasure Pulse.

The core blinked—then died.

The entity collapsed, twitching once before falling still.

[Wave Five Cleared.]

[Apex-Class Entity Neutralized.]

[Time Until Next Wave: 5 minutes.]

I stood over its remains, sweat clinging to my jaw, pulse steady despite the carnage.

"Now that was a worthy wave."

My knuckles were bruised. My skin cracked.

And still, I grinned.