CHAPTER 106: A HIGH-LEVEL BATTLE

A few dozen minutes ago, in the hallway of the prison located within the Abyssal Depths, Sieg and Hugin stood facing Mr. Colin, who held a sword seemingly forged from the very fabric of the void.

"Not planning to make a move? In that case, I'll take the initiative." Mr. Colin's voice echoed through the corridor. He was smiling faintly. The closed environment amplified the sound, making it seem strange and unnerving despite its ordinary tone.

A feral, inhuman roar burst from Sieg's throat. The sound wave was so potent it almost seemed to manifest as a solid block of sound, erupting outward from Sieg and completely drowning out all the noise emanating from Mr. Colin.

"Oh dear, oh dear. We're not having a shouting contest here, are we, Sieg Wilsbach? You're acting a bit childish, aren't you?" Colin maintained his grin as he spoke, his voice still carrying through the corridor, though the earlier unsettling distortion was now absent.

"There's no need for tricks. They won't work," Sieg replied, his vertical pupils narrowing slightly. His current demeanor was a stark contrast to his usual genteel manner. The aura and pressure surrounding him were almost tangible, though devoid of any visible signs of fighting spirit or power.

"Alright, alright. But could I ask you not to play any tricks either? We both know exactly what we're after." Colin appeared to be persuaded by Sieg's words. He shook his head slightly—then, suddenly, the void-forged blade in his hand pierced the wall beside him with lightning speed.

"Argh!" A familiar scream echoed as a plume of smoke shot out from the smooth hole left in the wall, retreating back into the smoky armor covering Hugin.

"Damn it! How did this guy notice I'd slipped into the cracks in the wall?" the smoke demon muttered irritably near Hugin, clearly disgruntled.

"True understanding of the void doesn't require eyes or ears. The void is everywhere," Colin said casually, twirling the void blade in his hand before pointing it at Sieg, who stood ahead.

"What?! He can hear me, too? Hugin, maybe we should just run for it. You lock me up all the time, but I don't want to see you die, partner!" The smoke demon's panicked voice rang out again from the smoky armor enveloping Hugin.

"Silence," Hugin replied calmly.

"Fine, but don't waste time. Kill him, Hugin. I'll back you up," the smoke demon said, his tone now colder and more serious.

The smoke stopped dissipating and began to condense around Hugin's smoky armor. The once-ethereal smoke became more like a matte metallic surface.

The knight's helmet on Hugin's head twisted and morphed into a ferocious wolf-like visage.

Finally, the smoke coalesced into a slender longsword in his hands.

The weapon appeared fragile and simple at first glance, but closer inspection revealed countless minuscule serrated teeth along the blade's edge, moving in a rapid, continuous cycle. This wasn't a mere sword—it was a chainsaw.

"Looks like I've earned your full attention. How did you manage to get a demon to cooperate with you so willingly, Hugin?" Colin's tone remained mocking, but his underlying contempt had diminished considerably.

While the two men talked, Sieg took the initiative. Despite his lack of visible fighting spirit, his sheer physical strength alone was on par with that of an advanced knight. He plunged his hands into the corridor wall and tore out a massive slab of the specially reinforced material.

The ground shook as Sieg swung the enormous slab with immense force, hurling it straight at Colin.

The slab filled the corridor completely, leaving no room for evasion. Even if Colin split the slab in half with his void blade, the impact would still crush him.

"How brutish of you—but it's useless if it doesn't hit me." A flash of void energy distorted the space, swapping the positions of Colin and the slab. Colin's body then seemed to fuzz like a fast-forwarded scene. The gap between him and Sieg closed in an instant.

Colin thrust his void blade straight toward Sieg's chest. Bone shattered. It wasn't Sieg's chest that had been struck, but rather Colin's arm.

Sieg's speed was beyond imagination. In an instant, a sudden knee strike shattered Collin's sword-wielding arm in midair, splitting it into two. Flesh and bone fragments splattered everywhere; the void blade flew off along with the severed arm.

Sieg didn't pause. His arm shot out, grabbing Colin's head in a flash. His sheer speed made it seem as if Sieg's palm had bypassed all resistance and was pressed directly against Colin's face. Colin's features were a mask of shock.

Then, Sieg smashed Colin's head into the wall with a single forceful thrust, shattering it and sending blood and brain matter spraying across the area. The surroundings were painted in lurid red and white as Collin's headless, armless corpse slowly slumped to the ground.

However, Sieg didn't seem satisfied at all. It had been too easy—far too easy. His bloodline instincts were blaring a warning about Colin's dangerous nature. A being capable of triggering such primal alarm couldn't be defeated this effortlessly.

Clearly, Sieg's intuition was right.

"Haha, cautious, aren't you? I knew such a cheap trick wouldn't fool you." Collin's voice echoed from somewhere unseen. The shattered remnants of Collin's limbs began to dissipate, but the blood and other materials started converging towards Sieg.

"But would someone like me need a body at all? Haha, thanks for freeing me. Your body looks pretty good—why not offer it to me?" The void blade had disappeared. The blood now mingled with an endless, pitch-black void.

The liquid advanced from the air and ground from all directions, converging on Sieg. Whatever it passed through quickly eroded, leaving trails of destruction in its wake. The destructive power of this "blood" was evident.

The liquid surrounded Sieg from all directions, with no blind spots or discernible patterns. It pressed down on him from every angle.

Sieg remained still as he lowered his head.

"I wonder what the source of your confidence is." Colin seemed intent on provoking him with his incessant chatter.

The advancing liquid suddenly encountered resistance, revealing a once-invisible barrier blocking the liquid's advance. The highly caustic liquid clashed with this unseen obstacle.

"Ah, so it's your teammate! Such great coordination."

The invisible smoke that appeared to merge into Hugin's armor had, in fact, partially dispersed into nearly undetectable particles scattered throughout the area.

They could be swiftly manipulated as needed. At that moment, they had rapidly condensed into a barrier to shield Sieg from harm.

Simultaneously, Sieg lifted his head again. His once-handsome face was now lined with scales. Inside his mouth, something fiery and radiant was brewing.

The next moment, the smoke barrier vanished. All dispersed particles swiftly withdrew into Hugin's armor. The smoke coalesced into a shield that positioned itself between Hugin and Sieg.

"How ruthless—dragon's breath? Aren't you worried about hurting your ally?" Collin's irritating chatter was cut off by a thunderous roar.

Light, heat, and flames erupted simultaneously in a deafening explosion centered on Sieg. In an instant, scorching flames engulfed the corridor.

The explosive force generated within the confined space created a powerful current of air, sweeping away the debris dislodged by the battle.

By the time all the flames had dissipated, the entire corridor was a scorched wasteland. Even the ground and walls had been smelted, reduced to charred blackness.

The area around Sieg had been devastated. Aside from a small area around him, the surrounding walls and floor had completely collapsed. The debris was blown away, leaving the corridor on the verge of collapse.

Sieg glanced at the charred ground, which slowly cracked open as a purple hand emerged to claw its way out. A humanoid figure rose up from the depths, but before it could react—A chain of smoke shot out from Hugin's position, its sharp tip piercing through the humanoid figure's head. The chain tightened, pulling Hugin toward the figure with incredible speed.

Hugin, who had been prepared for the blast in advance, had used the smoke shield to block the bulk of the impact. The liquid had also been obliterated by Sieg's indiscriminate attack.

But Hugin's dispersed smoke, which he used for observation, had detected the liquid converging into this purple humanoid figure.

As Hugin shot toward the figure, his slender, serrated longsword whirred like a chainsaw, slicing through the purple figure's neck with ease. The head soared into the air.

The finely serrated blade spun at incredible speed, unleashing maximum destructive power at the cost of shattering after a single strike. The purple body, resistant even to dragon breath, was effortlessly destroyed.

"If I form a body, I'll be attacked. But without one, I can't withstand Sieg's dragon breath. What a dilemma..." Colin's voice echoed again, filled with mock frustration.

Sieg ignored him and followed up on Hugin's decapitating strike, plunging his clawed hand into the purple humanoid's torso.

The resulting sound wasn't that of tearing flesh but rather clashing metal. Even so, Sieg's immense strength prevailed. With sheer force, he drove his hand deeper until his entire claw was buried within the purple body. Then he squeezed, crushing something within.

"Ahhh, that really hurts! You're both so troublesome. But even if you can harm me, what's the point? Who said I need a body?" Colin's voice finally seemed to be tinged with genuine frustration. Despite Sieg and Hugin's formidable teamwork, they had only managed to inflict minor injuries on him.

Suddenly, a layer of deep, inky blackness covered Colin's body. A surge of energy radiated outward, causing everything around to blur and fade from reality. Even Sieg and Hugin couldn't escape this creeping distortion, this sensation of virtualization.

"Welcome to the Voidgate. Experience the key that connects reality and the void. And this key—well, it's incomplete for now. Once I collect all the pieces, though, haha..." Colin's voice grew more frenzied. It echoed within the shifting space.

"Uh... Am I interrupting something?" A hesitant voice suddenly came from the stairwell at the end of the corridor. Charles Ryder's head peeked out cautiously.