Ch. 18 Eternal Absorb

"Take my words? You will kill me?" The Curseuman laughed, a derisive, cruel sound.

"You are truly mad about that girl. Was she your love? If yes, I am even more delighted by her flesh."

Ray remained silent, but a faint, almost imperceptible quantity of purple aura began to emanate from his body.

"I thought you had no natural energy," the Curseuman mused, a flicker of curiosity in his eyes. "But it looks like your emotions are forcing your tiny body to release a minuscule amount of something. Wait!"

The Curseuman focused, his gaze piercing Ray.

This is not Nature Energy, nor is it Curse Energy, the Curseuman thought. The structure and presence of what he is releasing is different.

"What will you do to me," the Curseuman scoffed aloud, "with such a small amount of power as you possess?"

He is right! Ray thought, a wave of despair washing over him. What can I do to such a monster? But I want to revenge her! I want to kill this bastard! At least he must regret what he did! If I am not able to do this, then I... I am just...!

Tears began to stream from his eyes, and the release of his aura subtly quickened.

"I must kill you!" Ray declared, his voice raw with desperate conviction.

Ray began to run towards the Curseuman, a desperate, almost reckless charge, focusing all his strength.

I have no supernatural abilities, Ray thought as he ran. So, I have to focus all my energy on my fist, like I have seen in manga in my past life.

He channeled all his energy into one fist, which became enveloped by a thin, shimmering sheet of purple energy.

When I focus my eyes, the Curseuman thought, observing Ray, I feel like time is slowed. He is faster than before, and I can see which hand he will strike me with. He is fighting like a child who has just learned to walk, and is trying to run. Should I kill him with one blow? Or should I keep him alive for a few more moments?

Ray was running at his full speed towards the Curseuman, his eyes fixed on striking him with his fist. Suddenly, the Curseuman raised one hand. Ray instantly focused all his speed to reverse his momentum, the sudden shift causing him to fall back a few steps back.

He has sharp senses, the Curseuman thought. He instantly realized his death before him and took steps back.

"Wise decision!" the Curseuman said aloud, a cruel smirk on his face. "You would have to live a millennium—ten centuries—to defeat me."

"I can't defeat him," Ray sobbed, tears streaming down his face. "Defeating him is far off; I can't even land a single blow on him! What should I do? I don't want to die without avenging her!"

"Now, I can sense the fear of your death on your face," the Curseuman sneered, his smirk widening. "I have played with you enough. Now I should checkmate you by ending your life, sending you to her. You should be grateful to me that I am giving you the opportunity to send you to her, in my stomach!"

Ray's face contorted with ultimate fear, and his tears stopped, frozen by the sheer terror. "I don't want to die! I have to revenge her!"

"You still think you can avenge her?" the Curseuman scoffed. "Well, what should I use to kill you? You are too weak for me to use my space manipulation technique. Hmm..." He paused. "I get it! I should kill you with a small orb of raw energy; that will be enough."

The Curseuman raised one hand, spreading his palm. He created a small orb of black energy, the size of a marble. The orb was so weak that its surroundings showed no effect from it.

"This will not be enough," the Curseuman explained, "but if I fire it with good speed towards your head, like this"—he twisted his hand slightly, focusing his palm towards Ray's head—"it will make a hole in your head."

Ray's face was a mask of ultimate fear of death, his aura vanished, and his steps faltered backward.

I... I am going to die, Ray thought, despair gripping him. If I want to avenge her, I should be alive for that…

In an instant, even before Ray could try to turn back and run, the orb shot forward, striking his head and bursting it into fragments of flesh. It was a horrifying sight.

His lower body, headless, collapsed to the ground.

"Oh!" the Curseuman exclaimed, a note of surprise in his voice. "I thought it would pass through his head by making a hole, but unfortunately, his head was too weak."

The scene shifted. Rahi was seen in a meditation posture, enveloped by a subtle, reddish aura. Everything around him was dark, nothing visible. Suddenly, his eyes opened, and his surroundings transformed. To his right, his sword was straight, plunged into the earth. Around him were mountains, as if he were meditating in a jungle. In the sky, there were no clouds, no blue sky; it was dark, and thousands of galaxies sparkled like stars. Yet, without any discernible source of light, nothing was truly dark there, as if the place itself emitted light.

Rahi, his emotions calm, remained in his meditation posture, eyes open. "I didn't think he would be in danger this fast. It's only four to five minutes since I last saw him. Oh! On that planet, that means four days."

"It was a good decision to place that spell on him," Rahi mused. "As a Neutrality, he can't die; his wounds will heal automatically. But it will ultimately harm him and can send him into a deep slumber."

"I have to do something," Rahi decided. "I can't go there directly because I am focusing on gaining my sixth vortex. Hmm... What should I use so that I don't need to go there, and he will also be saved?" He paused.

"I can use that! He will defend himself on his own. I can use my father's technique to awaken his soul. I can't use it like my father does, but it will be enough for Ray. But before that, I have to use Time Manipulation because maybe a day has passed there!"

Suddenly, Rahi chanted something, his voice inaudible, lost in the cosmic expanse.

We returned to the battlefield. The Curseuman stood watching Ray, who lay on the earth, fragments of his burst head scattered around his body.

"Oh!" the Curseuman sighed, a note of boredom in his voice. "It was no fun. But at least I can have a feast now. I really don't want to eat him because he has no taste, no power for me to consume."

The Curseuman began to approach Ray to devour him. Suddenly, an energy blast erupted near Ray, kicking the Curseuman ten meters backward.

"What was that sudden blast of energy?" the Curseuman exclaimed, surprised. He glanced towards the source of the blast, trying to discern a figure there, but it wasn't clearly visible. "Who is there? Don't tell me he's alive."

We looked closer at the blast. The dust vanished, revealing a figure enveloped in dark black aura, looking as if he was the blast itself. A large sheet of aura, with a five-meter radius, enveloped him.

The Curseuman's eyes widened in fear. "What is this Black Aura? This is so dense inside, like it can devour this whole city—no, a city is too small—perhaps this entire continent!"

"A person's aura color defines his personality," the Curseuman muttered, his fear palpable.

"For instance, a white-colored aura generally belongs to kind-hearted people. Blue aura is of someone with both kindness and power. Red aura refers to a monstrous presence. My aura itself is dark red, but I have never seen anyone with dark black! This is truly frightening...!"

Ray, his emotions now calm, observed his own body. "What is happening to my body? I feel like my whole body has changed. Wait, I was dead a moment ago, I'm sure of it. Is this my reincarnation here? No, he is there! That bastard I was aiming to kill."

The Curseuman's face was contorted with fear. "What is this? Am I afraid? Is it fear? I have to kill him immediately."

The Curseuman raised his hand towards Ray. "I will kill him in an instant. SPACE MANIPULATION: CERTAIN EFFECT!"

Suddenly, Ray's aura fluctuated slightly, then returned to normal.

The Curseuman's eyes widened in shock. "What happened? Why didn't it affect him? His body was supposed to twist, and burst. I was certain it would kill him!"

Ray felt a surge of power within his body. "What is this power? I'm feeling it surging through my body; it's like my whole body is alive again. When he attacked me, instead of taking damage, I felt my energy increase a little."

He looked down at his body and hands. "What is this? This dark coating of black aura... ?"

"IS IT MY TECHNIQUE?".