Chapter 288: Gate (3)

Chest, shoulders, abdomen, arms, legs.

Tail and wings too.

The thirty parts settled into their designated positions as if drawn by magnets.

And finally…

Click.

A helmet-like piece was placed over Louis’s face.

The moment Louis’s entire body was covered in silver armor, a purple light flashed.

And so it began.

Woooom…

A deep hum resonated as Louis’s Dragon Heart activated its attribute power.

Simultaneously, thirty small Mana Power Devices embedded in each part synchronized.

The silver armor then transformed into a white hue.

Tsu tsu tsu…

As the white armor formed its grotesque patterns, Louis’s wings emitted a rainbow glow, and at the same time…

Boom!

With a sonic boom, Louis vanished.

The moment Louis completed his fusion with the Transcendent, Silvio was in the midst of Spiritualization.

“If you revive… I’ll scour you again and again until you’re truly dead.”

Everything that followed unfolded exactly as Sandra’s premonition had foretold.

Kaiders appeared near Silvio without a trace of aura.

“You dare to commit such a vile act against another’s property?”

The instant his tail was about to pierce Silvio’s chest—

Tsu tsu tsu!

A white flash erupted between Silvio and Kaiders.

The sudden burst of light not only deflected Kaiders’ tail but also sent his physical form flying, merging with the tail in the process.

“What… what was that?!” Silvio cried out, startled by his narrow escape.

Kwa-gaga-gaga!

With a deafening roar, the white and black trajectories streaked across the sky. The two paths, which had been traveling in a straight line, suddenly split apart, diverging at a distance of 100 meters. Louis and Kaiders glared at each other, separated by the vast expanse.

“Hmm… what a remarkable form you’ve taken, Divine Machine,” Kaiders observed, his pupils narrowing to slits as he studied Louis.

Just then—

Piiii!

A high-pitched whine pierced Louis’s ears as another vision flashed through his mind. From above, below, in front, behind, and to either side—black spheres materialized in all directions, each one dragging a piece of his body into its vortex.

Having witnessed Sandra’s foresight, Louis immediately sprang into action without hesitation.

Whoosh.

The small power units connected to his Dragon Heart lit up.

At the same time, a black sphere materialized where he had been standing.

But Louis was already gone.

This was the culmination of all Louis’s knowledge and technology.

A monstrous power source, small in size yet capable of producing 100 times the output of a Grade 2 Transcendence Technique.

And he possessed thirty of these devices.

By freely distorting the serial and parallel connections between these power units, Louis could control their output.

The movements this created were so astonishing that even other dragons were left gaping.

”…?!”

Every time the bizarrely armored wings flashed with iridescent light, Louis’s body flickered in and out of existence.

“Good Lord!”

“Huh…”

Even Silvio, who had completed his Spiritualization, and Balotus, who was in the middle of Space Piercing, forgot their tasks and stared in awe at Louis’s physically impossible movements.

Meanwhile, Sandra, who was observing Louis’s movements, noticed something.

That guy… he’s reacting a step ahead of the Kaiders’ movements.

Realizing this, Sandra urgently shouted into the multichannel communication:

A swift reply came back:

As Louis shouted, mana particles began to gather at his lips.

With Sandra’s renewed foresight, Louis unleashed a white breath.

Kaiders countered with his own breath.

Tsukagagaga!

The black and white breaths clashed in mid-air.

Louis’s eyes flashed.

I knew it!

Sandra’s foresight had struck true again. Kaiders hadn’t evaded the breath but met it head-on.

I’ve been waiting for this!

Louis’s Dragon Heart surged with energy, and the thirty dynamos synchronized with his will, amplifying the power. Fueled by the overwhelming surge of mana, Louis focused his eyes and shouted:

Boosters, activate!

Louis’s breath, initially slightly narrower than Kaiders’, rapidly expanded in size.

Kuaaah!

The breath, originally only about three meters in diameter, now exceeded ten meters in width.

”…?!”

For the first time, Kaiders’ eyes showed confusion as Louis’ Breath overwhelmed his own.

And then…

Boom!

In an instant, Louis’ Breath engulfed Kaiders’ entire body.

“Me? Me?!”

”…What the hell did that kid create?”

Those who never imagined Louis could win a Breath battle alone were stunned into silence.

Hiss… Hiss…

The sound of the overheated power unit rapidly cooling filled their ears.

Huff… huff…

Louis panted heavily, glaring at the space his Breath had pierced.

It’s gone.

Had his Breath destroyed the creature? But Louis’ instincts screamed otherwise. This thing couldn’t possibly be defeated so easily.

Peiii!

Meanwhile, Sandra’s premonition flashed another scene before them.

A rift in space split open behind Sandra.

Kaiders emerged from the void, lunging at Sandra’s neck.

A premonition flashed through Louis’s mind, and he sprang into action.

Whoosh! Bang!

Louis sliced through space, appearing beside Sandra in an instant.

Sandra, the one who had foreseen this, urgently dodged.

The entire sequence unfolded in half a second.

In the next half-second, as Sandra had predicted, the black space split again. Kaiders burst forth, snapping his jaws at the space Sandra had just occupied.

Crunch!

The chilling sound of teeth clashing echoed through the air.

Boom!

Louis transformed into a white projectile, striking Kaiders and sending him flying across the room.

Their fates had been decided by a single second.

Sandra smiled and sent a message in response to Louis’s question.

What on earth is going on here?

Silvio and Balotus were both puzzled by the situation. From their perspective, Louis and Kaiders seemed to be engaged in a choreographed sparring match, as if they had rehearsed their moves in advance. The events unfolded in a split second, a moment even dragons found difficult to react to, making it nearly impossible for Silvio and Balotus to intervene.

In response to their confusion, Louis posed a question of his own:

“Bartholomew, do you have time to dawdle? How much space have you managed to breach?”

“You little brat! Who do you think you are to lecture me? Just wait a moment. I’ll create a small hole soon enough. It should be enough for one person to escape!”

Louis’s impudent question left Balotus momentarily speechless. However, having witnessed Louis’s relentless struggle thus far, Balotus reluctantly answered.

If it had been Silvio and me… we would have been defeated before we could even react.

Take, for example, how Louis saved Silvio just before he was about to be defeated.

Their exchange had been so fast that it had completely escaped their perception.

Meanwhile, Kaiders had been sent flying by Louis’s attack.

Tink… Tink…

It seemed Louis’s Breath hadn’t completely missed its mark.

Scales fell from various places on Kaiders’s body, revealing crimson-black blood seeping from the wounds.

Despite what appeared to be severe injuries, Kaiders showed no sign of pain. Instead, he wore a sinister grin.

”…So that’s how it is.”

Kaiders’s gaze turned toward Sandra.

“No wonder I felt something was off. It was as if you were moving as if you knew exactly how I would react.”

”…”

“So it was you.”

After a few exchanges, Kaiders immediately realized Louis’s secret for blocking him. He didn’t fully understand what was happening, but he grasped the general situation.

“It’s been like this for a while. Nothing annoys me more than those born with the Time Attribute.”

Kaiders’s eyes gleamed with murderous intent.

“It’ll be easier once I deal with you, bitch.”

As he spoke, a crimson-black aura erupted from Kaiders’s body. Louis gritted his teeth at the ominous, swirling energy that rippled like mist.

His reckless movements had rapidly depleted his mana reserves. It would replenish over time, but he was consuming it faster than it could regenerate.

“Our top priority is to endure as long as possible and escape this place.”

For that, Balotus’s role was crucial.

The slight tremble in Balotus’s voice made it clear he also considered the situation grave.

Louis sighed softly at Sandra’s absurd story.

“Then please, don’t stop your foresight.”

“I’ll try my best.”

Sandra bit her lip.

Peering into the future—a heaven-defying act that could never be easy.

Her Dragon Heart was already creaking, but now was the time to do it.

Just then, Kaiders spoke:

“Zero’s Domain is where one’s foot barely touches the realm of God.”

Louis glared at him, his eyes sharp with suspicion at this unexpected remark.

“When one of the Four Attributes reaches Zero Rank, you gain the power to interfere with the world’s laws.”

As he spoke, darkness rippled to the left of Kaiders’ body, while light coalesced to the right.

Light and darkness.

They were beings that could not coexist.

Yet, the light and darkness, endowed with Interference Power, remained in the same space.

“Here’s the thing.”

The light and darkness surrounding Kaiders began to swirl.

“Do you know what would happen if two attributes were to reach the Zero Rank?”

No one could answer that question, not even the Elders who had lived for thousands of years, nor Louis, who was born with Four Attributes. After all, they were still only Zero Rank in a single attribute.

Under the questioning gazes of three pairs of eyes, Kaiders smiled and said in a kindly, educational tone:

“You would be able to manipulate the very laws of the world.”

As soon as he finished speaking, the light and darkness that had been divided around Kaiders slowly began to merge.

”…?!”

Light and darkness.

The two opposing forces, instead of merely coexisting, merged into an uncanny unity.

That moment—

Beep beep beep!

The ringing echoed again in Louis’s ears.

Simultaneously, a vision flashed through his mind:

Balotus, triumphant, having finally pierced through the barrier.

The passage opening beneath his feet, leading to the outside world.

Then, the Black Sun rising above his head.

Crack!

Balotus bursting into flames the instant he was exposed to the scorching black light.

And the emergency passage he had created being devoured by the flames.

Driven by this premonition, Louis acted immediately.

The already overworked Transcendent power unit roared back to life.

“Penetrated! Connect!”

Balotus’s voice echoed through the multichannel communication lines as a connection portal opened beneath his feet.

Simultaneously, Louis arrived above Balotus and summoned every ounce of his strength to erect a mana barrier.

Then came the onslaught of the Black Sun’s light.

Tsu tsu tsu tsu…

Louis gritted his teeth so hard they bled, straining to block the dark radiance.

Damn it all! What kind of abomination is this?!

Darkness devours all, while light illuminates everything. The light that illuminates the world can sometimes bring great destruction, but its reflective properties can also be used to repel it.

But the Black Sun was different.

To anyone who witnessed it, the destructive nature of light seemed to be devouring everything like darkness itself.

Screech…

Louis gritted his teeth as the mana barrier he had conjured screamed in agony under the searing heat of the Black Sun’s radiance.

Realizing they couldn’t hold out much longer, Louis shouted, “Elder Bartholomew! We have to get out of here!”

“W-What are you talking about?! If anyone’s leaving, it should be you…”

“There’s no time! Get out now and report to Silver Flower Castle what happened here!”

“B-But…”

“Go! Someone has to do it anyway!”

As Louis said, the barely established escape corridor was already beginning to collapse.

The worst-case scenario.

And Balotus made a swift decision.

“Stay alive… I will definitely return!”

With those words, Balotus hurled himself into the external passage.

And a mere 0.1 seconds later, the corridor sealed shut.

Thank goodness.

His relief was fleeting.

Fizzle…

The mana barrier he had briefly maintained quickly dissipated.

Oh no!

It seemed like he would be swallowed by the black light at any moment.

Just then…

Louis felt a refreshing breeze swirl around him. The wind carried Silvio, who shoved Louis aside.

Thud!

Louis was sent flying dozens of meters away. In his place, Silvio took the brunt of the black light.

“Headman!”

“Silvio!”

For a split second, it seemed like Silvio was resisting the black light. But that was all.

Having left this brief message, Silvio’s body was engulfed by the black light.

And then…

Fwssss…

Where the black light had vanished, nothing remained.

“Ah…”

”…”

Sandra and Louis looked utterly devastated.

“What a pity. That could have been your chance to escape, you fool.”

The voice carried an amused undertone, and the speaker’s face was radiating smug satisfaction, as if he were looking at prey already in his grasp. Louis’s face twisted in fury.

That bastard!

Beeep… Beeep…

The emergency alarm for the Transcendent’s power unit continued to sound repeatedly, signaling its imminent failure.

The situation was dire. The Transcendent’s power was fading, and their strongest ally, Silvio, had fallen in battle. All that remained were Louis and Sandra.

Moreover, Louis realized with his recent attack that it would be difficult to confront the Kaiders using his own power alone.

What should I do…?

Louis bit his lip again.

Just then, a voice rang out:

“Louis.”

The world slowed to a crawl the moment the call ended.

…?!

Louis’s pupils gradually dilated as the sudden shift in the situation registered.

Before him, Sandra smiled with resolute determination.

”…Let’s take a gamble.”

Simultaneously, Sandra’s Origin began pouring into Louis.