Chapter 91: Deadly Technique
The explosion’s force sent shockwaves rippling through the battlefield, hurling debris in every direction. Klaus instinctively shielded his face with his forearms, bracing himself against the powerful gust of air that followed the blast. The air carried the scent of charred flesh and decayed matter, a sickening mixture that made his stomach churn. When the dust finally settled, he lowered his arms and surveyed the aftermath.
Where the Nightmare Carapace once stood, there was now nothing but scattered remains of fresh and fragments of its chitinous shell embedded in the dark stone, pools of inky ichor slowly seeping into the ground. The sheer force of the detonation had completely obliterated its monstrous form.
And at the center of it all, Adrian stood motionlessly.
His spear was still held firmly in his grasp, its tip dripping with the dark essence of the slain creature. His silhouette was framed by the remnants of the explosion, the Weaver’s Shroud billowing slightly in the residual wind. His chest rose and fell with deep breaths, but his expression was eerily calm, as if the destruction he had just wrought was a mere afterthought.
Klaus blinked.
What in the Chaos was that? Was that some kind of secret technique of the sorts?
No. That’s it.
Inadvertently, he recalled that the blonde Strider could manipulate wind. More specifically, according to Adrian himself, his Echo granted him control over wind vectors, a power that resulted in the phenomenon known as "wind manipulation." The way one directed the wind determined the type of effect produced. For instance, channeling the wind in a straight line created a "wind blast," while swirling it around a fixed point formed a "wind tornado." Some Striders used this ability to enhance their speed or agility, and those with precise control could even achieve flight.
However, what Adrian had done was a different kind of wind manipulation. Instead of simply using the wind to attack or push his enemy away, he had compressed, condensed and forced it inward, building up pressure until it reached an unstable threshold. Then, in a single instant, he had let it rupture.
A controlled implosion.
That was why the explosion had been so absolute. The force had not merely struck outward, it had crushed inward first, collapsing the Nightmare Carapace before tearing it apart from within. There was no defense against that kind of attack, and no armor was thick enough to withstand an assault that worked its way from the inside out.