Chapter 83: Dead Man #3 (3)

In the Physical Dimension

Elijah stood as a lotus appeared in front of him, its three leaves spinning rapidly. The silver glow shifted to blue, crackling with lightning.

"You haven't used your lightning's destructive abilities much, have you?" Alter Elijah said, standing behind him, his black and golden hair shimmering.

"Yeah," Elijah replied, smiling as the dimension around them began to shake. "This is going to take a lot of chi." Despite his words, his excitement was clear.

Lightning erupted from his body, lifting his hair as he compressed the spinning lotus into a ball.

"Reiju…" Elijah thought as he moved into a stance. "Wave!" He punched forward, his fist moving at 50 meters per second, striking the ball. The moment his fist made contact, a powerful lightning wave shot out, moving at incredible speed.

It wasn't as fast as Julia's lightning strike, but it packed just as much power. With the control of his Expert realm combined with his E+ rank and his Tier 1 lightning element, the attack reached a solid (D-) rank in strength.

The wave, 2.5 meters wide and 2.5 meters long, surged forward, unstoppable. Cracks spread across the black barrier that limited him.

"Not enough! AAHHHH!" Elijah roared as the energy output increased.

The wave traveled 40 meters, shattering another barrier, then continued another 50 meters until it collided with yet another barrier. This one didn't crack or break.

Realizing this, Elijah halted his attack, his face pale. "Focus. Your chi is unstable. Use it to dispel the illusion," Alter Elijah advised.

Elijah nodded, centering himself, and dissolved the illusion. Returning to the real world, he opened his eyes just in time to see Dead Man #3 lunging at him. With a swift movement, Elijah dodged the attack, though his body felt weak and pale as he coughed up blood.

Dead Man #3 was shocked. "How did you escape my illusion?" He stared at Elijah's frail form, his complexion pale and his body trembling.

"What did you do?" the Dead Man asked, narrowing his eyes.

Elijah smiled, kneeling down as he wiped the blood from his mouth. "Nothing much, just used more chi than I had."

Dead Man #3 observed him closely. "This isn't mana depletion or whatever you call your energy. Mana depletion happens when you use more than you have, forcing your body to absorb more, which damages your mana veins. But this..."

Elijah looked like he had been consumed from the inside out, standing on the brink of death.

"Your energy ate you up," the Dead Man continued. "You'll collapse in a few moments to compensate for that."

"Yeah, that's how my chi works." Elijah pressed his hand to the ground. "Summon."

A puff of smoke appeared, and an Elijah clone materialized, seated in meditation. The original Elijah touched the clone, and in an instant, it dissolved into energy, which he absorbed. His body returned to normal, his complexion healthy again.

In just a moment, Elijah was back to full strength. Dead Man #3's eyes widened as he sensed Elijah's power rise from Beginner King Tier to Middle King Tier.

'What kind of monster is this?' the Dead Man thought, astonished.

Somewhere West of the Burning Town

"Two-Sword Style: Bull Thrust!" Kai, his masked covered his face, sent a massive, pressurized thrust of darkness from the sky.

On the ground below, Matt shifted into a stance. "One-Sword Style: Water Vortex!" He moved his sword fluidly, like water, and dashed toward the sky.

With a single slash, a swirling water vortex formed, colliding with the dark thrust.

BOOM!

The clash sent shockwaves through the air, shaking the ground and spreading cracks in the earth.

"AAAHHHHH!" Kai shouted.

"AAAAAHHHHH!" Matt echoed.

BOOOOM!

The force sent both men flying. Kai conjured a platform of darkness to stop himself, while Matt landed heavily, forming a crater. They locked eyes before disappearing and reengaging in mid-air combat.

TING! TING! TING! TING!

BOOM!

Swords clashed as the battle raged on, neither giving an inch.

Nearby

Julia and the two siblings dodged the moon arcs of slashes that flew from the battle between Kai and Matt.

'Damn it, Kai! Can't you two slow down a bit?' Julia thought as she barely avoided a slash that nicked her cheek.

The siblings were also evading the attacks. These strikes were coming from expert masters and King Tier opponents, making them all the more dangerous.

"Brother, we need to retreat, or we'll get caught in the crossfire!" the sister called out.

"Okay, sister, you're right," the brother agreed, glancing at Julia, who was also retreating in another direction. With a snort, he turned and fled with his sister.

Back at the Battle

Kai deflected another water moon arc while charging toward Matt, who grinned as he clashed swords with him once more.