Chapter359 – Four left
And this fight would give them something far more precious than theory—real combat experience.
“So this doesn’t count as cheating, does it?” Isidore chuckled lightly.
“You’re not wrong, sir,” Kason replied with a wry smile. He understood Isidore’s reasoning all too well. “But you should still be careful. Puppet Formation shows no mercy. If you wait until they hit their limit, it might already be too late to save them.”
Isidore glanced sideways—only to find Kason’s gaze fixed on Kenneth, his Force carefully concealed.
Rumors say Kason despises his mad brother, Isidore thought. But is that really all there is to it?
He didn’t comment. His attention returned to the battlefield.
.....
Boom!
After two consecutive self-incinerations, Terrence’s face had gone corpse-pale. He had lost an enormous amount of blood, his injuries bordering on catastrophic.
And yet—
That very state granted him terrifying power.
His brass knuckles descended like a storm, pounding the puppet soldier relentlessly into the ground.
The machine was completely pinned. The earth beneath it fractured violently, cracks spreading outward like a massive spiderweb.
Beep—beep—beep!
The puppet soldier struggling against Axel sensed its companion nearing destruction and tried to turn back.
Axel stopped it cold.
On the other side, Sergio and Kenneth continued their suppression tactics. They couldn’t damage their targets, but they were doing everything they could to keep them locked down.
Thump! Thump! Thump!
Suddenly, the puppet soldier that had been chasing Nigel changed direction and charged straight toward them.
“Nigel! Stop it!” Sergio roared.
Nigel’s stone giant form had grown another meter taller, but it was battered and cracked, bruised all over and barely holding together.
“I—I’m in fucking agony!” Nigel yelled, his voice shaking. “No one’s helping me! How the hell am I supposed to stop that thing?!”
“Stop it with your life,” Sergio shouted back coldly, “or you’re nothing but trash!”
The words burned.
Humiliation surged through Nigel like wildfire.
“Fine!” he bellowed. “Then I’ll die fighting this iron bastard!”
He lunged forward like a clumsy wrestler, wrapping his massive arms around the puppet soldier’s torso.
Punches and kicks rained down on him.
He didn’t move.
“It’s now,” Axel murmured, eyes blazing.
This was the turning point.
The puppet soldier in front of him was riddled with massive gashes from the Soul Devouring Blade, its movements noticeably slower.
But Axel knew better than to celebrate.
He didn’t know where its core was.
Grinding it down would take time—time Sergio, Kenneth, and Nigel didn’t have.
Their only real chance was Terrence.
“Terrence!” Axel shouted. “Burn again!”
What?!
Terrence froze.
So did Isidore and Kason in the distance.
“You trying to kill me?” Terrence yelled back hoarsely.
He had already beaten the puppet soldier into a twisted wreck, but it was still fighting. Terrence knew his situation better than anyone—his body was like a boat caught in a hurricane. One solid hit and he’d sink for good.
“You think playing it safe will win this?” Axel roared. “Then wake the hell up—you’re dreaming!”
The words hit like a detonator.
Terrence’s eyes ignited.
“Damn it… fine!” he snarled. “I’ll fucking fight!”
This time, he didn’t fully incinerate himself. That would destroy his body outright.
Instead, he deliberately let the puppet soldier’s fist graze his arm—then slam straight into his abdomen.
Crack.
A faint snapping sound came from his forearm.
Golden light exploded around his body. His life force flickered like a dying flame—but his combat power surged to an entirely new level.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
His brass knuckles glowed pale gold, striking faster than Sergio’s eyes could follow.
The puppet soldier was smashed straight into the ground.
With a thunderous crack, Terrence finally tore it in half.
Metal fragments blasted outward like shrapnel.
Terrence’s pupils shrank. He retreated instantly—his body was beyond its limit now. One more hit would end him.
“Now!” Axel shouted.
Return to Origin surged forth, instantly enveloping Terrence—then peeled away just as fast.
Terrence collapsed to one knee, breathing raggedly.
The healing lasted less than a second, but the effect was immediate. Color rushed back into Terrence’s face as the worst of the damage stabilized. A few stray shards of metal clipped his body, leaving stinging cuts.
“Axel, you cheap bastard,” Terrence grumbled as a protective barrier formed around him. He finally let out a long breath. “Couldn’t you have healed me a little more?”
“That was enough to keep you alive,” Axel snapped. “If you’re not dead, get back in there.”
“Still fighting?!” Terrence protested—yet his body had already moved. He could see it clearly now: Sergio and Kenneth were reaching their limits.
“You two, fall back and recover,” Axel said, casting Return to Origin on Sergio and Kenneth while turning to face the two puppet soldiers that had broken free.
It wasn’t that Sergio and Kenneth were weak. The problem was the puppets themselves.
They were absurdly durable.
Axel’s radio interference, the burning effects of the fire spirit, even the Soul Devouring Blade’s special properties—none of it worked. These things were built to negate exactly that kind of power.
Damn machines…
“I wonder how Lilith’s doing,” Axel muttered.
The ground beneath them still trembled faintly. Whatever was happening underground, it clearly wasn’t over yet—but at least it didn’t feel like she was about to lose.
Seeing Axel hold off two puppet soldiers at once, Sergio and Kenneth finally relaxed and focused on restoring their Force.
.....
“He actually took one down…?” Kason murmured, the faint smile he’d worn the entire time finally cracking.
“This kid’s no joke,” Isidore said quietly.
Both men found themselves glancing at Axel again—and again.
.....
“Huh?” Axel frowned. “The aftershocks… they’ve stopped.”
At this point, Axel was locked in combat with two puppet soldiers, while Terrence held off the third.
Nigel, meanwhile, was doing his best impression of human shackles.
He’d been beaten black and blue, his granite body covered in cracks, screaming nonstop—but damn it, he was still holding on.
His strength lay in sheer stubbornness.
“Someone fucking save me!” Nigel howled, his voice full of misery and outrage—yet still loud and energetic.
Axel exhaled. “Ignore him for now.”
Nigel: “…”
Axel’s gaze drifted to the massive pit where Lilith had fallen earlier. An uneasy feeling crept into his chest.
Then—
A blood-soaked hand gripped the edge.
A slender figure vaulted up and landed lightly on the ground.
Lilith stood there, holding a puppet soldier’s severed head in one hand. Her long hair spilled down her shoulders, her chest rising and falling heavily. The seductive smile she usually wore was gone—replaced by icy indifference.
“Is it not over yet?” she snapped. “Are you all useless pieces of trash?!”
She coughed mid-sentence, blood slipping from the corner of her lips.
Everyone froze.
Lilith was a dual-talent Awakener—but only Great Dimensional Slash was known for overwhelming power.
Down there, in that confined space, the puppet soldier wouldn’t have given her time to charge it.
So how the hell did she kill one by herself?
Before anyone could figure it out, Lilith had already joined the fight. She wiped the blood from her lips and shot Axel an annoyed glare. “What are you staring at? Move.”
Axel’s expression was complicated. He could feel it—she was badly hurt. She was just forcing herself through it.
“Stubborn to the bitter end,” he muttered.
Return to Origin wrapped around Lilith. She let out a soft, satisfied hum.
Nigel immediately tightened his grip. “Sister! Look at me! I held one off all by myself!”
Lilith glanced over.
Nigel—still in his giant form—had the puppet soldier locked in a bizarre hold, arms wrapped around its head and shoulders, legs clamped tight like some deranged stone octopus.
Her expression twisted.
“Pervert,” she spat. “That’s disgusting.”
Nigel’s granite face drooped in utter despair.
“…Ouch.”
“That’s enough,” Kenneth said. “Same plan as before. Four left.”
With Sergio and Kenneth back in fighting shape and Lilith rejoining the fray, the battlefield finally tilted in their favor.