Aldrich's hands clawed at the ground, his fingers digging into the dirt as his body skidded backwards. The force from the Hollow Oni's punch sent him flying like a rocket. His boots scraped against the surface, carving deep lines behind him.
Finally, his hands caught hold of a jagged stone and His body jerked to a stop,He gasped for air while Pain radiated through his entire body.The injury was still there right beside his neck, a little movement something liquid slipped out it was blood it trickled down, warm and sticky. But then something strange happened, the bone that had impaled him began crumbling, It turned to dust, scattering into the wind like sand been washed away.
His wound started closing slowly,The torn flesh repaired itself back together.
"The system is offline… but yet somehow I'm getting healed? What is going on?" Aldrich muttered, touching his neck. The skin was smooth again, as if nothing had happened.
He looked down at his hands which were trembling . "Is the system trying to see what I'd do without it?"
A bitter chuckle escaped his lips. "Very well then."
Aldrich pushed himself up,His legs wobbled, but he stood tall,The healing was complete and from across the battlefield, a sound erupted it was a loud ROOOOAAAAARRRR,The Hollow Oni's roar shook the entire surrounding itself. It wasn't just loud it was animalistic and filled with rage.
A massive wave of essence aura exploded from its body like a dark hurricane. The ground beneath it cracked and shattered, sending spiderweb fractures racing outward in every direction rocks lifted into the air and Dust swirled violently.
Aldrich's eyes widened in shock meanwhile the Oni's form began to change,Sharp bone constructs burst from its elbows, white and jagged. Another set tore through its other hand, then from the top of its head, two massive horns spiraled upward, curling like a demon's crown.
The Hollow Oni had ascended, It had taken its true form a demon,the pressure hit Aldrich like a wall of solid iron.It wasn't just weight It was suffocating. The very air around him became heavy, thick, impossible to breathe, His lungs locked every breath felt like swallowing something hard.
His knees buckled,He dropped down onto one knee, his hands slamming into the ground to stop himself from collapsing completely.
"Ghhh…!" teeth clenched so hard his jaw ached from it,The pressure was from the wave the Oni had released and it crushed him from all sides. His muscles screamed in protest,His bones felt like they were being ripped together,Sweat poured down his face, every heartbeat sounded like thunder in his skull.
"Damn… it…" he said .
It wasn't just physical pain it felt like his very soul was being pressed down, squeezed, crushed under the monstrous weight of the Oni's power from the distance, something began to form.
A ball of energy,not just energy,This was essence in its purest, most terrifying form,It started small, no bigger than a fist but then it grew and grew and grew,The air around it warped and twisted gravity itself bent toward the sphere rocks, debris, even pieces of the ground began lifting into the air, pulled toward the black orb like it was a mini black hole sparks of lightning crackled around its surface red and white sparks danced wildly.
Aldrich forced his head up, his neck straining against the pressure,His eyes locked onto the attack his breath caught in his throat.
The ball was massive now. Almost the size of a small mountain no bigger, It was like staring at the Earth itself, compressed into a single point of destruction.
"Dammit…" Aldrich whispered. "That's going to wipe us out clean."
His eyes darted to the side,Kira was still lying there, unconscious and vulnerable,He had to move, He had to get to her but his body wouldn't listen.
FWOOOOOM
The Hollow Oni fired the attack,The ball of dark essence shot forward like a meteor. The ground beneath it didn't just crack it melted,Fire erupted along its path,Lightning exploded outward in wild arcs. The sheer heat and pressure tore through everything in its way.
Aldrich gritted his teeth,He poured every ounce of willpower into his legs.
"Move…move… move… MOVEEEEEEEE DAMMIT"
He took one step then another His body screamed in pain, but he pushed forward but It wasn't enough,The attack was closing in real fast it was clear Aldrich was about to die once again And then it happened.
[System Notification: The Library of the Bookkeeper Status: ONLINE]
[System Alert: Initiating Library of Seraph's Grace Defensive Support]
[Sanctum Aegis Activated – Accept?]
"I ACCEPT, YOU MOTHERFUCKER! WHERE THE FUCK HAVE YOU BEEN?!"
Aldrich roared at the system, his voice raw with desperation and The system responded.
[System Alert: 😊]
Aldrich's eye twitched. "WHAT THE HELL? DID YOU DO THIS ON PURPOSE?!"
[System Alert: Initiating The Sanctum Aegis]
[System Alert: Deploying Sanctum Aegis]
A massive mirror materialized in front of Aldrich,It wasn't glass It was something else entirely translucent,giving divine light Its surface rippled like water and The Hollow Oni's attack came and collided with it.
BOOOOOOM
The impact was catastrophic,The ground beneath Aldrich's feet shattered,Shockwaves exploded outward, sending debris flying in every direction, The force pushed him back, his boots sliding across the cracked earth,But the mirror held,Slowly, impossibly, the mirror began to swallow the attack. The massive sphere of dark essence started shrinking, being absorbed into the shining surface and The system prompted again.
[System Alert: Initiating Sanctum Aegis Mirror Reflection ability]
[System Alert: Initiating Technique from the Library of Hermes]
[System Alert: Messenger of Gods Technique – Link Established]
[Accept?]
Aldrich nodded, panting. "Do it."
[System Alert: Command Accepted]
The mirror swallowed the attack completely,For a moment, everything went silent and Then it fired,The attack burst back out of the mirror but it didn't come toward Aldrich.
It vanished, and instantly reappeared directly in front of the Hollow Oni face, it was a direct unavoidable contact.
BOOOOM was the impact made,The explosion was blinding,White light erupted across the battlefield. The shockwave was so powerful it flattened the ground, sending dust and debris flying into the sky.
When the light faded, the Hollow Oni was on the ground, smoke rising from its charred body.
[System Alert: Messenger of the Gods Technique – Used]
[Acquired Technique: Messenger of the Gods]
[Rank: S Rank]
[Description: An instantaneous teleportation technique. Can teleport objects, attacks, or the user to any location within visual range]
[System Alert: Sanctum Aegis Technique – Used]
[Acquired Technique: Sanctum Aegis]
[Rank: A Rank]
[Description: A divine defensive mirror that reflects all physical and essence based attacks back to their source.]
Aldrich blinked twice, reading the notifications. A smile slowly spread across his face.
"So he got a taste of his own medicine. Nice one, Bookkeeper."
He turned and sprinted toward Kira, but She was already standing at this time,Her eyes were sharp, focused But something was off,Her black crop top was torn on the side. The fabric barely clung to her body, exposing… more than it should and of course it was her perfect chest with two beautiful breast.
Aldrich's eyes accidentally drifted downward,His face turned bright red,He immediately slapped his hand over his eyes. "Uh Kira! Your uh some of your chest is out"
Kira glanced down. "Oh." But She didn't even flinch.
"Never mind," she said casually. "You saved me, so you can look just once,But this is the first and last time this happens."
Aldrich's jaw dropped. "I WHAT?! A 'thank you' would've been nice!"
Before he could say more, a sound cracked from the distance it was the Hollow Oni was rising again,Its body was beaten, smoking, broken but it wasn't dead.
Kira's expression hardened. "I know you expected a thank you," she said quietly. "But I hate it when people help me. It's because of the life I lived before this."
Her voice cracked slightly and then she sprinted forward, her eyes locked on the Oni.
"This is my chance to pay it back for what it did for making me look weak"
Tears welled up in her eyes, but she didn't stop, she raised her hand to the sky.
"Library of the War Maiden!" She muttered
The sky above her began to change, the red hue darkened and then two stars appeared it was bright blinding ,They burned like white hot diamonds,as if it was illuminating the entire battlefield, the stars pulsed once twice then they began to fall.
But they weren't stars anymore, they were swords and it was massive forged from pure starlight.
"Library Art: Archive 10 Greatsword of The Fallen Star!" Kira muttered
The two swords descended like rockets. They tore through the sky, leaving trails of brilliant light behind them the air screamed as they fell, the Hollow Oni looked up.
It didn't even have time to react,The first sword struck, cleaving through the Oni's body from shoulder to waist the second followed, cutting through the other side.
The Oni's body split apart,And then It turned to dust,The wind swept the ashes away, scattering them into the wild
By this time Aldrich walked up beside Kira, staring at the empty space where the Oni had been.
"Wow… you're pretty strong, Kira," he said, genuinely impressed. "But why didn't you use that attack earlier?"
Kira looked down at her hands. "Because I couldn't, I'm still learning about the techniques I have."
She stared up at the sky, where the stars had disappeared.
"It seems wherever there are stars… I can use them for this," she thought.
She turned to Aldrich. "How do we get out of here?"
Before he could answer a RUMBLE…The ground in front of them began to crack it was a door and it opened it wasn't like a normal door this one led downward,Inside was a staircase, Aldrich and Kira exchanged glances.
"The Realm of Hollow," Aldrich whispered.
They were about to descend.