“You guys go first. Follow the stone path and don’t stop,” Dustin commanded in a low voice. Realizing that defense was no longer an option, he withdrew the disk of light and charged forward instead of retreating. His body shot ahead like a flash of cyan light toward the storm of light beams.
His longsword sang as it left the sheath, a sharp, resonant note that cut through the roar. With a flick of his wrist, a torrent of sword light burst forth, forming a rippling cyan barrier in front of him.
The beams struck the barrier in a deafening rhythm of metal and thunder, each impact exploding in blinding flashes.
Most of the attacks shattered against the barrier, but a few slipped through. They slammed into the lake behind him, sending up columns of crimson water and cracking a section of the stone path underfoot.
Rhydian and the others watched with their hearts in their throats, but none dared slow down. Bracing himself against the trembling ground, he shielded Grace, Judith, and Cyprian as they sprinted ahead.
“Trying to run? Did you ask for my permission?” Thymaleon asked with a contemptuous snort.
His figure blurred and vanished from his spot. He materialized before them in the next instant, blocking their path.
He raised his sword finger, and a sharp white arc of energy blade shot forth. The attack carried the power to tear through anything in its path, aiming toward Rhydian in the lead.
The strike came as fast as lightning, and Rhydian had no time to react. At that critical moment, a streak of cyan sword aura appeared before him out of nowhere, striking the energy arc’s flat side. The collision detonated with a thunderous boom.
The energy blade veered off course, grazing past Rhydian and carving a deep trench through the lake behind him that stretched for hundreds of feet.
Dustin appeared beside him, sword in hand, confronting Thymaleon head-on. His breathing was slightly irregular as he had taken the brunt of several hits from that energy blade while saving Rhydian.
“Your opponent is me,” Dustin said, his gaze locked onto Thymaleon, his voice calm yet edged with iron resolve.
“Fine. I’ll kill you first, then deal with those small fries later,” Thymaleon spat, his eyes flashing with murderous intent.
As he clasped his palms together, the white energy and crimson bloodlines around his body intertwined and compressed wildly into a sphere of raw destruction between his palms.
“Annihilation Wave!” he roared.
Thrusting both palms forward, he hurled the sphere-a horrifying amalgam of white and red churning with destructive power-straight at Dustin.
Like a falling meteor, its momentum was ready to crush everything in its path. Light vanished in its wake, and the air around it warped and screamed in protest.
The strike contained all the strength Thymaleon had gained after consuming the Dragonblood Renewal Pill, combined with the dragon blood malevolent energy he had channeled. Its impact could have leveled a mountain.
Dustin’s eyes narrowed, his expression hardening as he braced for the incoming strike. He knew he couldn’t afford to hold back. The mystical pure energy in his body surged and circulated at unprecedented speed, channeling entirely into his longsword.
The blade trembled and hummed, its cyan light blazing brighter. At the tip, a point of ultimate darkness that seemed capable of devouring all light began to condense and compress.
He raised his sword in a slow, deliberate motion that drew in and commanded the very flow of energy surrounding him. The point of darkness expanded rapidly and transformed into a miniature, slowly rotating black hole suspended before the sword’s tip.
“Mystical Void Return,” Dustin said in a low voice.
His longsword, tipped with the miniature black hole, thrust straight toward the amalgam of white and red annihilation sphere.
There was no earth-shattering explosion, nor any blinding eruption of light. The moment the two powers met, time itself seemed to freeze for an instant. In the next second, a silent yet even more heart-palpitating devouring force erupted from the black hole.
The annihilation sphere, powerful enough to level mountains, began to twist and collapse. Its raging energy was violently pulled, torn apart, and then devoured by the black hole. Within seconds, the sphere dimmed and shrank before disappearing entirely.
The arrogant smirk on Thymaleon’s face instantly stiffened, replaced by shock and disbelief.
“No!” he cried. “That’s impossible. What kind of strength is this? How can it devour dragon’s malevolent energy?”
He desperately channeled every ounce of his strength into stabilizing the annihilation sphere, but it was like trying to hold back the tide with his bare hands. The sphere was being swallowed, and there was nothing he could do to stop it.
Within three seconds, that terrifying annihilation sphere was completely consumed by the black hole at Dustin’s sword tip and vanished without a trace. All that remained was the slowly rotating black hole, radiating a soul-chilling energy wave.
Dustin’s face paled from the effort of channeling the Mystical Void Return technique. Yet, the hand holding his sword remained perfectly steady. The swirling black hole was aimed straight at Thymaleon, as if the next thing to be swallowed would be him.
Staring into that infinite darkness, Thymaleon could feel the core concept of oblivion it embodied. A fear rising from the depths of his soul finally overwhelmed his arrogance and rage.
Even after taking the Dragonblood Renewal Pill and gaining unimaginable strength, the seemingly ordinary Dustin possessed abilities he could neither comprehend nor contend with.
“You… Who the heck are you?” he rasped, trembling in a way he didn’t notice.
Dustin said nothing Seeing him slowly raising the tip of his sword, panic flashed across Thymaleon’s face. He abandoned all pretense of dignity and mission, staggering back in a desperate retreat.
In an instant, he became a streak of white light, racing from the heart of Vitalis Pool without daring to look back. A final roar, raw with fury and hatred, echoed across the lake long after he vanished.
“This isn’t over, Dustin. Elysium Isle will be your burial ground.”
With the formidable enemy retreating, the crisis was temporarily averted. Dustin slowly lowered his sword, the black hole at its tip fading into nothing. He drew a sharp breath to steady the turbulent energies within his body.
Though he had once again driven back Thymaleon, the victory had come at a cost. The final use of Mystical Void Return had nearly drained half his true energy.
Grace and the others finally snapped out of their extreme shock and quickly gathered around him.
“Dustin, are you alright?” Grace asked, concern etched across her face. Seeing his ashen complexion, she felt both relief and worry.
“I’m fine,” he replied, shaking his head. His gaze turned toward the direction Thymaleon had fled, then at the lake water still churning with crimson malevolent energy, and the endless path before them.
Though Thymaleon had retreated, hidden dangers remained. He was sure that the next enemy to come would be much stronger.
