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"Boom————!"
Amidst the deafening explosion, the sea of poisonous miasma stretching across half a kilometer was cleanly cleaved by the descending greatsword's light. The resulting shockwaves erupted like a tempest, sending a devastating impact surging in all directions.
Wherever the shockwaves passed, ruins and rubble alike were upended as though erased from existence, transforming into a storm of shattered stone and dust. The thick air currents churned violently, consuming everything in their path like an unstoppable gale.
By now, the uproar in the Entertainment District was impossible to ignore. Panic had likely begun to spread among those who had come out seeking amusement.
Within Asterisk City, security forces and the Six Great Academies would have undoubtedly taken notice of this escalating battle. Even those in the furthest alleys might already be aware of the chaos unfolding.
But for the two locked in combat, none of that mattered.
Only one thing did.
Victory.
"Chī————!"
A piercing sound split the air as a streak of light tore through the sky.
That streak of light, was Fang Li.
Like a falling star, he plummeted toward the devastated battlefield below at astonishing speed, a sharp contrast to the crumbling ruins beneath him.
At the heart of that destruction stood Orphelia, her body engulfed in writhing poisonous miasma.
"Zheng————!"
A brilliant glow radiated from the Ogre Lux clutched in Fang Li's hand.
Gripping 'Bo Xie', his ice-blue Mystic Eyes gleaming coldly, he shot toward Orphelia like a meteor streaking toward its mark.
Orphelia, her gaze unmoved, unleashed another surge of miasma. The swirling toxin coalesced into countless grasping arms, merging together into a colossal hand that loomed overhead before surging forward to intercept him.
One side, the Murdering Demon, a human comet streaking across the battlefield.
The other, the Strega, her malevolent power manifesting as a monstrous hand of poisonous miasma.
The scene mirrored their fateful confrontation from three weeks ago. And because it was the same—
The outcome would be the same.
If the massive miasma hand reached Fang Li, its fate was already sealed. The instant it entered his sight, it would meet the undeniable truth of the Mystic Eyes of Death Perception. Its death was inevitable, its existence erased.
And if that happened, Orphelia would once again be unable to launch a second attack. Just like before, she would fall to Fang Li's overwhelming speed.
But Orphelia was no fool.
Thus, in the next instant, the massive miasma hand did not strike toward Fang Li. Instead, it veered downward, slamming into the ground with monstrous force.
"BOOM————!"
The resulting impact was cataclysmic. The ground ruptured violently, sending shockwaves rippling outward as though the entire city of Asterisk itself had trembled under the force.
A titanic shockwave erupted from the point of impact, an overwhelming storm of debris and force surging in all directions.
And naturally, it didn't stop there, the violent surge roared into the sky, sweeping up fragments of shattered structures and sending them hurtling toward Fang Li in a chaotic barrage.
Faced with the unexpected counterattack, Fang Li's eyes narrowed.
But he did not retreat.
Instead, he pressed forward.
Like a lone warrior challenging the wrath of a storm, he charged directly into the raging maelstrom.
"Qiāng————!"
A resonant hum rang from his blade. The dazzling arc of a sword light flashed—following an invisible trajectory, a path that only Fang Li's eyes could perceive.
"Pū Chī————!"
A single slash.
And in that moment— the terrifying storm… perished.
It was as though it had never existed, the raging winds lost all force, dissipating into harmless air currents that scattered in all directions.
In that instant, Fang Li's ice-blue pupils suddenly contracted.
"Vwoom—!"
Beyond the turbulent air dispersing in all directions, a deep hum resonated.
Like a divine hand parting the heavens, the colossal miasma appendage surged through the swirling air currents, slicing through the haze as it lunged forward.
Its speed was staggering.
Having chosen to charge into the impact storm rather than retreat, Fang Li had no room to evade. It was as if he had walked straight into the attack, allowing the immense hand to close around him in a crushing grip.
"Bang—!"
The sound of shattering rang out, crisp and merciless, like a glass orb being crushed into dust.
On the ground, Orphelia remained emotionless as she witnessed the scene.
Her crimson eyes flickered slightly, then, as if sensing something amiss, she suddenly turned.
"Shiiing—!"
A faint rupture of space echoed once more.
A streak of light tore through the air, closing in from another angle, Fang Li had reappeared, rushing straight for Orphelia.
"…!"
Orphelia's gaze sharpened.
Pouring more Prana into her body, she caused the swirling poisonous miasma to flare up violently once again.
In an instant, countless miasma appendages burst from her own shadow, surging toward Fang Li in rapid succession.
Fang Li, his ice-blue Mystic Eyes gleaming, saw it all clearly.
The way the miasma writhed and expanded, seeking to consume him.
The sheer, overwhelming force behind it.
It was an astonishing onslaught, merciless and vast.
A toxic tempest powerful enough to shake the entire city of Asterisk.
It had to be Orphelia's most extensive attack yet.
After all, using an Ability consumed Prana.
No matter how monstrous Orphelia's Prana reserves were, they weren't infinite.
If she continued expending it at this reckless rate, unleashing her poisonous miasma on such an immense scale, it was only a matter of time before she exhausted herself.
And now, signs of that strain were beginning to show.
The proof was right before Fang Li's eyes:
The miasma hands surging toward him had suddenly dwindled. Their size, too, had begun to shrink.
Orphelia had no choice but to burn through her reserves in an attempt to eliminate him.
Yet, despite it all—
The result would not change.
It could not change.
Fang Li's entire body was wracked with searing pain. His lungs quivered, straining under the weight of inhaled poison. His heart throbbed violently, as though corroded from within. His blood felt like it was evaporating, seeping out through his pores in a slow, agonizing trickle.
A line of blood dripped from his lips.
But he paid it no mind.
His ice-blue Mystic Eyes remained locked onto his path forward, piercing through the wall of miasma hands.
In his grasp, the Ogre Lux hummed with power, radiating wild energy as it absorbed a surge of Prana.
And so, there was only one thing left for Fang Li to do.
He swung his sword.
"Flashing Scabbard— Seven Nights Curtain!"
The blade's arc became a bolt of frozen lightning.
"Slash—!"
A chilling thunderclap followed as the Prana-infused strike cut through the writhing mass of miasma hands.
Like a falling comet, Fang Li shot forward.
Orphelia's gaze flickered.
And in the next instant—
His sword came down.
(End of Chapter.)