Chapter 265: Controlled (1/2)

The giant creature had the head of a fish but the body of a snake, or an eel, to be more precise. Two giant flames burned in its hollow sockets, looking at Rae as she approached it with wariness.

Like a meteor descending from the cosmos, she slammed into the monster's skull with her fist covered in a gauntlet. Pain shot through her arm from the impact, but the monster showed no signs of weakness.

”Break!” She roared inwardly as her mana gathered around her fist and exploded. As if struck by a mana blast, the monster swayed as a giant crack appeared in its skull.

'Damn it,' Rae bit her lips as her wings carried her away. Even though its skull was broken through, the monster wasn't harmed otherwise.

Her body started descending as her mana reserve approached being depleted. At that moment, she saw a golden light shoot across the sky.

'I knew he was hiding his strength.' Rae thought as she saw Alexie flex his arms. The sleeves disintegrated under the effects of the power surrounding his arm. 'However, even that amount of power can't kill this monster.' Rae felt helpless.

Yet, Alexie seemed unfazed by her failure, as if he had expected it. His face was terrifyingly scary as cracks began appearing on his skin.

'It's as if... he's breaking apart.' A normal person would see this as scary, but for Rae, this was a beautiful spectacle. 'We seek power to not break, but to wield a power that can break you apart, such an irony.' Her heart skipped a beat.

He tore through the distance between himself and the monster in an instant. His body arched backward as he punched toward the monster's body.

At first, she thought that she was imagining it. Yet, her ears were unmistaken. The moment his fist touched the monster's body, there was a resounding boom. The muted world was unmuted for the briefest second.

It was then that the monsters gave a pitiful scream that sounds like a bottomless growl. Its body was torn apart by Alexie's punch and the man, who looked like an omnipotent god, tore through the monster's body until he appeared from the other side.

'He did it,' Rae held her breath as she looked at him soar through the sky before doing a flip and stopping mid-air. 'But he isn't close to being done.'

At that moment, Alexie's mouth arched until a grin was painted on his face. She knew that grin, it was of power and excitement. Like a golden sun, Alexie flew until he was above the monster. Then arrived his descent.

At first, he was freefalling. His body began to accelerate until he became nothing but a golden blur. The monster was still breaking apart after its body was torn through. It opened its mouth toward the sky as energy gathered in it.

This energy wasn't something that Rae has ever witnessed before; it was nausea-inducing. As if it seeped the life out of everything around it without being destructive. The energy gathered into a giant black sphere before being spewed toward Alexie.

Rae focused her eyes on him and was able to make out his expression. He was still grinning. He spread his arms as if he was welcoming the deadly energy before clapping. That single clap broke space apart as it left her ears ringing like a thunderclap.

A thin line of light formed from the point his hands met. The line elongated until it looked like he was holding a giant needle. The line then descended upon the energy sphere, splitting it apart easily before continuing toward the monster.

Like a fruit that was cut by a knife, it was effortless and smooth. The line cut apart the monster's body in halves to reveal a figure inside of it. Rae's pupils constricted when she saw that what lied inside the monster was a human.

It seems as if Alexie shared her shook, judging by his expression. However, Rae also saw terror in his eyes. She couldn't understand why did he fear anything while wielding such powers nor did she understand his next actions.

He waved his arm and all the power surrounding his body disappeared. He flew away from the person inside the monsters and landed on the ground.

”What are you doing?” Rae landed next to him and asked, the world regaining its sound. ”Do you think an enemy stops being an enemy if they're human?” She was genuinely frustrated.

Alexie didn't answer any of her questions and silently gazed at the figure. For the first time since she had met him, he seemed lost and confused. His eyes carried unimaginable sadness within them.

”What happened to you?” He looked at the figure and asked. ”Who did this to you, Ori?”

***

The same tired appearance, the same lifeless eyes. Yet this time, Ori, his former club member and someone who taught him about runes, was nothing that Arthur could recognize. He wasn't inflicted with the Enders powers, but with something that Arthur couldn't recognize.

The Enders' Energy was there, but it seemed to be controlling Ori rather than Ori controlling them. Even with the question thrown at him, Ori didn't respond. He looked like a lifeless puppet that mechanically moved toward him.