As soon as Rayne saw the true form of the being with three pairs of eyes, he stopped in his tracks.
A massive, bizarre figure stood before him—a giant humanoid body made of stone, with three heads representing three elements: fire, water, and wind.
Despite its terrifying appearance and the overwhelming aura that crushed his spirit, Rayne did not falter. Without wasting time, he raised his pistol and aimed at the monster's leftmost head—the one wielding the power of water.
Dorr! Dorr! Dorr! Dorr!
Four bullets fired in a single breath. The recoil barely moved his body—but the result was useless. The bullets shattered instantly, not leaving even a scratch.
Rayne growled softly. Suddenly, the rightmost head of the monster spewed out a massive burst of fire.
Blarrr!!
Rayne leaped to the side. The searing heat passed mere inches from his body.
Swoshhh!
He dashed through the flames, every step defying the inferno, his gaze locked onto the monster's left leg.
Then, the middle head fired a high-speed blast of wind—almost like a bullet.
Cratt...
A small stream of blood burst from Rayne's cheek. If he hadn't dodged even slightly, he would've been a corpse without a head.
Boomm! A loud explosion erupted behind him as the wind bullet struck the ground.
Swoshhh! Slaasshh! Slaasshh! Slaasshh!
Three consecutive slashes left no mark. The monster's body was far too durable for Rayne's current strength.
"System, find its weak point!"
{DING! Weak point detected—The monster's core is located within its chest.}
Rayne kicked off a tree and leaped high. Upside down in midair, he aimed his pistol at the monster's chest.
Dorr! Dorr! Dorr! Dorr! Dorr!
All five bullets shattered upon impact with the stone-like surface.
Rayne landed hard, rolled once, and stood up with heavy breaths.
At the same moment, the giant hand of the monster came crashing down at inhuman speed for its enormous size.
Rayne flung his body sideways, rolling away with all his might.
Duaaarrrr! Blaaarr!
The devastating impact created a massive crater in the ground.
As Rayne rose, the elements of water and wind twisted into spear-like forms, followed by a giant fireball flying toward him.
Still disoriented, Rayne dodged desperately.
Dashh!
Even with lightning-fast speed, it was impossible to evade an attack so close and so swift.
Duaaarrr! Blaarrr!
A far greater explosion erupted once more—this time hitting Rayne directly.
"Khuekk!"
"Spurfft!" Blood gushed endlessly from his mouth. The armor that had formed over his body—he didn't even know when—was completely shattered, though it began to reform instantly.
Realizing the sheer impossibility before him, Rayne smiled faintly.
Persistence was a good thing, but Rayne wasn't stupid enough to ignore that what he was doing now was pure ego.
He refused to fight for something he already knew was impossible.
Rayne stood up, but the monster gave him no chance. A massive sphere of combined elemental energy surged toward him at high speed.
Slashhh!
Trapped once again, Rayne dismissed his pistol from his left hand and gripped his sword tightly.
"Heaaaaaa!"
Slashhh!... Boommmm!
The world seemed to stop for a moment. The blade cleaved through the combined energy sphere effortlessly, splitting it in two without leaving a single wound on him.
"Just as I thought," he muttered softly, then dashed away as fast as he could.
He had no idea where he was going—all that mattered was getting away from that monster.
If you remember his previous battle against the horde of monsters, Rayne once slashed through a blaze of fire until it turned against its master. From that, he realized something was different about his weapon.
It could repel any attack imbued with mana. Well, perhaps it was still just a theory for now.
After running far, Rayne spotted a narrow crevice at the base of a small mountain ahead. Cornered by the monstrous being chasing him, he had no other choice.
Before entering, he tried to see what lay beyond the crack, but his eyes weren't sharp enough to see that far inside.
{DING! Nameless Eyes have leveled up.
New functions added: can read truth and lies (active, usable once per day), immune to low-level illusions (passive), revert user's position three seconds back (active).}
Along with that message, Rayne's vision suddenly extended to the very end of the crevice. But before he could see clearly, his eyes burned with intense pain.
With the monster's footsteps growing closer, Rayne had no choice. He dismissed his armor and slipped into the narrow crevice.
Carefully, he moved sideways and stopped once he felt he was deep enough not to be seen from outside.
Rayne clenched his teeth as the pain in his eyes grew worse.
Itchiness, heat, and stabbing pain merged into one, while his body could barely move due to the cramped space.
Moments later, Rayne opened his eyes. The pain had completely vanished, replaced by a warm energy flowing through them.
"System—"
{DING! Yes, Master. Whatever it is, it can always be improved as long as you keep using it.}
The system answered the question Rayne hadn't even voiced yet.
"And also, I'm still curious why my weapon can repel and even deflect magical power so easily?"
{DING! That's because the weapon's core contains Mora energy.}
{Mora is the energy born when life ends.
When a living being dies, part of its remaining soul transforms into Mora particles—a power that carries emotions, memories, and final purpose.
Unlike 'mana,' which flows through nature, Mora only manifests from death and can only be controlled by the core of your weapon.}
{Mora can strengthen weapons, nullify magic, and leave wounds that will never heal.
In short—mana gives life, while Mora takes it back.}
"What do you mean only the weapon core can control it?"
{DING! It means Mora energy is exclusive to the weapon core, Master. It won't affect any other power.}
"So that's why they destroy each other?"
{DING! It can't be called destruction in an absolute sense, Master.
Mana represents life, while Mora represents death.
The Law of Death always stands above all that lives.
So no matter how powerful the mana, Mora can still pierce through it—because it embodies 'the inevitable end.'
It's not mutual destruction, but rather the devouring of concepts.}
"Mora... this energy is terrifying."
As Rayne focused on the end of the crevice, something moved faintly in the darkness.
"Hey, sweeetie~"
"What are you doing there? Come over here~"