Chapter356 – Great Dimensional Slash
“But even then, she shouldn’t be able to—”
Terrence twisted sharply and gave chase, his speed nearly turning him into a streak of flame. Even Axel was startled; Terrence was far stronger than he’d been back in Shiverstone.
“This kid’s a monster,” Lilith muttered, finally dropping her lazy, teasing demeanor. Her movements became sharp, efficient—like a seasoned combat operative.
White bristles shot out from the Ink Soul Brush.
Terrence smashed through many of them with brute force, his explosive power even exceeding Axel’s back in the Havoc Division arena. Still, the bristles regrouped, forming a cage around him.
“She’s incredible,” Nigel breathed.
Kenneth shook his head slightly.
“It’s not over.”
A muffled grunt came from within the white prison. Lilith’s expression shifted—she could feel the bristle cage being torn apart from the inside.
Stronger than when Axel was trapped…
“What an absurd talent.”
Sizzle!
Seconds later, Terrence burst free.
His body was covered in blood, flames blazing brighter than ever. Except for his hair—somehow untouched—his entire form was wrapped in golden fire.
“He injured himself again?” Nigel stared. “This guy’s ruthless even to himself.”
“Explode!”
Terrence’s fists blurred as white bristles surged toward him.
“Advanced combat technique—Dragon’s Roar?!”
His punch detonated midair. Pure force exploded outward, shredding the surrounding bristles and blasting them to the ground.
The Ink Soul Brush shimmered—and the fallen bristles twitched back to life.
Seeing the cage reforming, Terrence locked onto Lilith in the distance. With a sharp stomp, he twisted his body in an almost unnatural movement, slipping past the bristles and closing in again.
“Hah!”
He coiled like a spring and launched himself straight at Lilith.
At the last instant, the white bristles condensed into a solid wall.
Lilith abandoned restraint entirely and went on full defense.
The impact sent Terrence reeling, his vision spinning. The blood-soaked parts of his body flared red, then burned violently.
Poison.
Terrence clenched his teeth. The flames gave him limited regeneration—but they couldn’t neutralize the toxin completely.
“He’s about to use his killing move,” Sergio warned Axel quietly. “Watch him. He gets reckless at moments like this. Lilith’s strength is already proven.”
Axel’s eyes remained calm.
“Not yet. Relax.”
Nigel stared at Lilith with growing awe.
“She’s still holding back… Damn. Cool and beautiful.”
This time, Terrence didn’t hurt himself.
Instead, he drew his Force inward, compressing it fully into his knuckle dusters. The wild excitement in his eyes faded, replaced by a chilling calm. Axel could feel it clearly—every trace of Force inside Terrence was being condensed to a single point.
“Axel, aren’t you going to intervene?” Sergio asked tensely. His Force remained active, stirring a faint wind across the arena floor. Wind Soul—his psychic awakening. If things went south, he was ready to shield Lilith.
“Don’t rush,” Axel said quietly. “Watch.”
In the next instant, Terrence smashed through the wall of white bristles.
Lilith coughed, blood spraying from her lips. The droplets splattered onto the chaotic stains already covering the floor.
Terrence stepped into that blood-soaked zone—
—and pillars of blood erupted skyward.
“Awakening Skill: Six-Pointed Blood Array.”
Compared to her fight with Axel, this formation was denser, more refined, and far more dangerous. It wasn’t just because Lilith had grown stronger. The real reason was the reinforcement from her life essence. She’d deliberately avoided using it before—Axel was far too perceptive to miss something like that.
At the heart of the array, torrents of blood surged upward like raging flames. Lilith stood perfectly still at the center. Space around her twisted subtly, bending in ways that made the air itself feel wrong.
Even Kenneth, who normally couldn’t care less about combat, glanced at her a few extra times.
“The one you should be worried about now… might not be him,” Axel murmured, his gaze fixed on Lilith.
Her battle instincts were terrifying. How many life-or-death fights did it take to develop intuition like that?
“Space-type Awakening Technique,” Lilith said softly.
“Great Dimensional Slash.”
This was one of her strongest techniques—one she hadn’t even hinted at using earlier. From the moment Terrence had been trapped by the Ink Soul Brush, she’d been silently accumulating spatial power. After such a long buildup, and with Terrence now locked inside the blood array, this strike would be more than enough to cleave him in half.
“I concede on his behalf!” Sergio shouted.
Lilith immediately halted her technique and exhaled, wiping the sweat from her brow.
The moment the restraints vanished, Terrence lunged forward—only to be grabbed by Axel and Nigel at the same time.
“Fight! I want to keep fighting!” Terrence roared, eyes blazing with manic obsession.
Nigel was scrambling for a way to calm him down when Axel calmly raised a finger.
A gentle yet profound force enveloped Terrence.
Return to Origin.
His wounds healed at a visible pace, and the frenzy in his eyes slowly ebbed away.
“Fight—! Keep—!”
Then his voice faltered.
Finally… a way to make him calm down.
“I’m not dragging half your body to the hospital to get stitched together,” Sergio snapped irritably.
“You did lose… but why didn’t you use your Original Instruments?”
“I did,” Terrence replied honestly. “The knuckle dusters and my boots. I just didn’t activate the armor’s functions yet.” He turned toward Lilith, eyes shining with admiration. “Miss Lilith… who exactly are you?”
“Thank you for the compliment.” Lilith smiled faintly. “I’m a captain of the Whisper Syndicate. Among the thirty-seven captains, excluding the elite squads, I rank first in combat strength.”
Nigel slapped a hand over his mouth.
“No wonder you call us little brothers,” Terrence laughed, finally relaxed. “To push a Syndicate captain this far… guess I really am strong.” He pounded his chest twice, pride and confidence returning.
Lilith chuckled. “Youth really is wonderful.”
Her gaze shifted to Axel beside her.
Except this one, she thought.
Youngest of them all, yet he carried himself like a scheming old fox—no trace of youthful recklessness.
“You’re all strong,” Axel said, patting Terrence on the shoulder. “If we can’t even clear Mr. Instrument King’s challenge, then it just means he never intended anyone to succeed.”
He paused, then added calmly, “But even if we reach the peak of Level Five… we still can’t call ourselves the strongest.”
Lilith’s eyes flickered. She already knew what was coming.
“Axel, come on,” Nigel scoffed. “Who at the same level could possibly beat you?”
Kenneth and Terrence both looked at Axel expectantly.
Axel lowered his voice.
“It’s only a hypothesis. But if there’s a chance… I want to confirm it.”
“Confirm what?” Terrence asked impatiently.
Axel spoke slowly, clearly.
“The Saints.”
The moment the word left his mouth, the room froze.
Expressions shifted. Breathing stalled.
“Capturing—or killing—a Saint earns a Level-A Original Instrument,” Axel continued, his voice laced with unmistakable desire.
Lilith’s chest rose sharply as she narrowed her eyes at him.
If they hadn’t discussed this before—if Axel hadn’t winked at her earlier—she might have thought he was just running his mouth.
But now?
She knew better.
A chill crawled down her spine.
Now she understood why Obsidian had insisted on recruiting Axel, even back when he was still weak.
This kid has guts.
Lilith pretended to consider it before nodding. “It’s not just about Original Instruments. Never facing them before Level Six… that kind of regret sticks.”
Her words carried absolute confidence.
“Hell yeah,” Terrence said, grinning. “Now this is getting exciting.”
Nigel hesitated, rubbing his chin. “I’ll check what the others think…”
Sergio was still deep in thought when Kenneth suddenly spoke, his neck twitching.
“I want to kill one too.”
“We’ll talk about that later,” Axel said calmly. “I haven’t even cleared Mr. Instrument King’s challenge yet. I’ll give it a shot first. I’m not from one of the major families, and the Saints have had their eyes on me for a while now.”
Lilith glanced at him, a hint of surprise flickering across her face.