CHAPTER 271: NEW COMBINATION?

"This... This is a cheat ability." Mirela whispered, her eyes alight with iridescent colors as the divine light seeped through the city’s walls, flooding the streets with a soft, almost tangible glow.

Lucen’s expression remained composed, but a faint tone of awe laced his words. "The power itself may not be on the same level, yet in terms of range... this already reaches the scope of a Rank 4 Spark skill."

Adyr’s Grace could heal both mentally and physically, yet it was not strong enough to regenerate lost limbs. But the sheer breadth of its effect was staggering—an area rivaling Collossith’s tremor range, perhaps even surpassing it. That alone was enough to place it on par with Rank 4 Sparks.

If you’re impressed by this, you should have seen my Malice. Adyr reflected inwardly, a trace of amusement hidden beneath his calm exterior.

Where Grace was a support-light type, Malice was its polar opposite—a debuff-darkness type. One healed, the other destroyed. Yet their shared strength lay in their flawless synergy with his Presence, amplifying the area of effect to an astonishing degree.

As he considered this, an idea sparked in his mind. What would happen if I combined Presence with Gaze?

Unlike his other bloodline abilities, Gaze was not an aura. Until now, the thought of such a combo had never occurred to him. But an instinctive urge surged through him, daring him to experiment.

Without withdrawing his Presence and without deactivating Grace, he tried to layer Gaze

atop them.

Gaze’s ten-second future vision was always active, impossible to control directly. For a moment, his mind wavered, struggling with the challenge of layering it on top of Presence. Then he sharpened his focus, determined to find a way to make the combination work.

"Fuck." The curse slipped under his breath as sharp, sudden pain flared across his temples and eyes. He clutched his head, his expression twisting into a mask of discomfort.

"Are you okay? What happened?" Mirela’s concern sharpened as she saw his wings falter, a brief stumble threatening to pull him downward. Her butterfly-like wings fluttered rapidly, carrying her to his side in a protective arc.

"I’m fine. I just... pushed myself a little too hard." Adyr rubbed his temples, the sudden headache throbbing like a drum before subsiding almost violently.

Mirela’s eyes softened, worry giving way to quiet care. "It’s obvious you’re pushing yourself too much." Her voice carried a tender, almost apologetic undertone, aware yet unsure of the depths of what he had attempted.

She thought this reaction was a backlash from overusing his healing light, but she couldn’t have been more wrong. Inside, Adyr’s mind roared with exhilaration and shock he couldn’t reveal.

What the hell... it actually worked.

Moments before the headache struck, his vision shifted. In an instant, it was as if he were viewing the landscape through a third-person perspective from the sky.

Every detail—the colossal figures of Liora and Collossith, the city walls stretching far below, the intricate layouts of houses and streets, even the people moving within them—was captured in a single, instantaneous panorama.

Presence extended over every inch, every structure, every heartbeat in its reach, rendering it all like a living, moving snapshot.

But the sheer density of the visual input overwhelmed him. Even a second was unbearable. His eyes and head felt ready to shatter under the strain, and the image dissolved almost immediately.

This Presence... it holds more than I’ve understood. Thoughts raced through Adyr’s mind, calculating, assessing. If he wanted to reliably use this combo, he would need to further increase his stats—especially [Resilience]—to ensure his brain and mind could endure such an influx of information.

And the day he mastered this combo—using it flawlessly without backlash—Adyr knew he would finally solve the lingering issue of his lack of investigative-type skills, completely and permanently.

"What is the situation?" Liora’s deep, animalistic voice resonated across the field as her enormous eyes scanned the trio. Six massive arms held Collossith’s gigantic form steady, controlling its weight despite the strain.

After the last strike, Collossith showed minor damage. A slight deformation marred the top of it’s skull, and its body moved with slow, almost pained gestures, but the injuries were far from fatal. It was still very much alive, a colossus only slightly weakened.

Liora herself bore the signs of the clash as well. The recoil of her last attack had caused blood to stream from the corners of her mouth and ears, pooling heavily on the ground beneath her. Her eyes were bloodshot, the veins near her temples ruptured, yet the radiant light covering her entire body worked rapidly. Within seconds, she was visibly healing, recovering with the unstoppable flow of her natural regeneration.

"Sis, your last strike affected the city, but everything is under control now. Don’t worry. Just give me a moment to check the status." Mirela relayed the situation to her sister with precise urgency. Receiving her nod of approval, she cast a final, concerned glance at Adyr to ensure he was good as well, then launched herself into the clear sky. Her colorful wings flared, cutting through the wind like a leaf caught in a gale, speeding toward the city.

"Are you okay?" Liora asked, shifting her gaze from her departing sister to Adyr.

"I’m fine, don’t worry about me. But you... Are you alright?" Adyr waved casually, his tone reassuring, masking his inner focus.

"I’m good, as long as you’re good. Thanks to your talent, I just need a few seconds to fully recover for the next strike." Liora’s massive ape-like face stretched into a wide, almost terrifying grin. The blood that had poured from her mouth was already halted, though traces clung to her teeth and the edges of her lips, deepening the intensity of her presence.

Only a few minutes passed before Mirela returned, arriving with the same blinding speed she had taken off with.

"How’s the situation?" Lucen asked, though the expression on Mirela’s face already confirmed everything was under control.

"Everything is stable. A few citizens are still in shock, but there are no fatalities, and the wounded continue to recover swiftly under the healing light." She offered Adyr a look brimming with deep gratitude before turning her attention back to Liora. "Knights and Malrik have ensured everyone’s evacuation. They’ve moved far beyond the shockwave’s reach. I also reinforced the walls with vines. They should hold against the next wave, at least, preventing further structural collapse."

"This is reassuring," Liora murmured with a deep breath, the very thought of anyone from her people losing their life under the weight of her power enough to mentally strain her. "Now I can finally unleash my full strength."

She already looked fully healed, her stamina restored after only a brief rest, and she was preparing for another strike, pushing her muscles closer to their limits this time.

Still holding the Rank 4 Spark steady with four arms, she raised the upper two again, clenching them into fists. The fists expanded, their colors shifting into a metallic, solid form like enormous hammers. This time, they were even more massive and denser than before, signaling that she was truly ready to unleash her full power, not just in appearance.

Seeing this, Lucen shifted his massive white mount slightly forward, his hand reaching for the hilt of the enormous sword strapped to his back, ready to intercept the shockwave once more. But Adyr’s voice made him pause.

"Can I try this one?" Adyr’s lips curved in a faint smile. His pure black sword rested in his left hand as he hovered in the air, wings flapping rhythmically to keep him steady.

Lucen’s eyes flickered with surprise, but he stepped back, giving a slight nod. "Go ahead."

Cutting through something like a shockwave wasn’t just about the Spark skill itself—it required flawless swordplay, precise timing, and control. Adyr’s desire to attempt it piqued Lucen’s curiosity; he genuinely wondered if Adyr could pull it off.

"Be careful. This one will be stronger and more forceful than the last." Lucen warned, eyes locked on Liora’s massive, power-infused fists, each poised to strike.

"I will." The faint smile on Adyr’s lips vanished, leaving a completely expressionless mask. His deep eyes narrowed, fixed on the precise moment to act.

He wasn’t planning to rely solely on the strength of his arms or the sheer power of his muscles. The skill of the Echo Screamer—Sonic Burst—was already gathering at the tip of his blade, a subtle effect like a small, concentrated gust of air.

Until now, Adyr had only manipulated this skill with the tip of his finger. Channeling it through his sword demanded far greater focus and precision. Yet Lucen and Mirela couldn’t help but be struck once again by the effortless mastery and control he displayed.

Spark skills were never just "use and done" abilities. Their true power depended on the wielder’s skill, finesse, and control. No Spark behaved the same in every hand, and witnessing Adyr wield his with such command was both astonishing and deeply reassuring.