Ascenders Rift

Chapter 199: Defeating Valoz, Looming Threat

Within the region of the secret lair, following the events of the massive explosion that shook far and wide. An enormous pit that spanned a few hundred meters had formed. If one looked around, they would see a sight of dust and smoke, which hindered all one's visibility.

The trees and boulders of the environment were all uprooted and destroyed, some crashing into other remote hills and objects due to the sheer force of the explosion's shockwave.

Eventually, the smoke had begun to die down, and the scene within it became clearer. If one looked at its depths that reached down for a hundred meters, they would see a scene of utter devastation, images mangled, scorched, or ruined bodies, as many different Body Shifters were injured to the point of not being able to move.

The weaker amongst them had already vapourised due to the extreme heat, leaving no single trace behind. Other than personnel, all sorts of equipment had been ruined, much like the containers that had the cloned bodies.

A series of painful groans were heard as some of them began to crawl, trying to preserve what remained of their lives. However, rather than these individuals, there was an area that seemed to be less affected.

Within the main room of secret lair, Evan's hair was now a mess as his body was covered in a slight number of wounds. He looked at the scene before his eyes with rage as he thought, 'To think the system would still make that change... that darn thing had made it through the portal. Not to mention this Valoz fellow, I didn't realize he was a Defense and Strength Based Ascended Lifeform. It's no wonder that he managed to resist that explosion with his bare body in that weakened state, tch, so annoying.'

Evan was staring at the silhouette behind the smoke before him, but currently. A notification sounded in his mind as text appeared to before his eyes.

____

Ding!

[You have leveled up!]

____

Evan wasn't stunned by this announcement, he knew that he had killed a lot with those explosives, he thought to himself, 'I suppose the only good side of this system is that it marks what you kill with any weapon or means as an actual kill.'

Feeling his surging rise in power, Evan felt a little better as even the slight wounds he received from the previous attack had recovered by a section.

At this time, Evan's eyes shifted towards the portal again; the smoke was slowly beginning to clear as soon after, it revealed that most of the Body Shifters that held the giant case had left through the portal.

The others had burned to dust as only Valoz stood before him in one piece. His body was scorched black, as his entire frame rippled with hard looking muscles, even his skin had a metallic sheen to it as the strange multi-colored layer of space had formed around him.

Valoz now had both of his arm crossed before his face, with his entire muscles flexed and tensed, he made sure to utilize his All Force to maximum power to survive and ensure that as much damage was mitigated from reaching behind him.

Ping! With a sharp sound, his All Force barrier cracked before shattering like glass as he opened his mouth and vomited.

Blarg! A sickening sound ensued as he was forced to break his posture by stumbling before he regained his balance with his arms positioned for combat.

Currently, his helmet was utterly destroyed, showing his full features. Looking at his face, one would see that it was a middle-aged man with a square-shaped head, straight nose, a broad forehead, chiseled cheeks, and black hair that fell to his neck. 

"You darn human punk, cough... you managed to injure me to this state, but then again, this body of mine wasn't all that good to begin, not like that completed masterpiece which has successfully left this base. Huhu," Valoz said as he stared at Evan, wiping the corners of his mouth that rose into a smile.

Evan frowned, he didn't like the fact that the case was transferred from here, he had no idea how they made it but knew that if any Body Shifter took that body, things would become more complicated due to that system notification.

He was about to charge towards the portal, but Evan soon took a good look at the man's face. Upon seeing those features, he thought they were a bit familiar, causing him to scrunch up his brows, but soon, Evan's eyes widen in shock as he exclaimed, "You are... Krasac Cramerton!"

Naturally, Evan had his reasons for being shocked, as he didn't think that Krasac would have ended up in such a state.

Valoz tilted his head as a look of realization came to him when he spoke, "Huhu... so you know of this old human, haha, you're knowledge is quite vast, but human, this vessel has already served its limits. We will meet again..."

When Valoz said this, he pressed a button from a controller that suddenly appeared in his hand. One this happened, the portal behind him began to close at a visible rate.

"Not good! I have to strike them before they recover on the other side, no matter the cost!" Evan shouted in his mind as he exploded with his remaining power, turning into a blurry red shade that dashed towards the portal.

Valoz snorted at this as he didn't want Evan to get into the portal, he charged towards him and struck his palm forward when he shouted, "Mind Fission!"

Instantly, Valoz's hair rose up and down as his blood energy skyrocket around his body then his palm, Evan soon felt that the world around him changed, as a sharp pain came in his mind. It felt as if he was tossed into a red world where everything around him was being shattered to pieces, including his consciousness.

However, being an experienced individual, Evan had encountered even more terrifying mental attacks. Each of which was capable of honing his Battle Will to an astonishing degree.

"Break!" Evan shouted as his eye shone in red lights, his Battle Will explode in full, destroying the fake world instantly.

By this time, Valoz had appeared directly before Evan, one of his arms was pulled back with his muscles bulged to the extreme as it pulsed with his veins.

"Die for me!" Valoz said when he threw out a punch while twisting his body to the side, using his enter bodyweight to amplify the force.

Evan, now recovered, didn't even hesitate to strike out a punch of his own, his crimson battle energy pulsing around him as his hair and cape fluttered wildly.

Bang! Instantly, a loud boom sounded when both of their fists struck each other, the force of their attacks sending ripples of battle energy and genetic blood energy across the entire room.

The force of the collision pushed away all corpses lying on the ground, smashing them into the ruined walls, spreading even more destruction throughout the pit.

The attack didn't end there as both Evan and Valoz doubled up their fists and struck each other with a flurry of fist attacks, each leaving behind a series of remnant shades.

Bang-Bang-Bang!

A series of startling booms sounded as shockwaves spread out across the pit, startling any of the surviving Body Shifters as they looked at their direction in fear.

With an even louder collision, both Evan and Valoz had struck with full power once again. Still, this time, Valoz had found himself in a weak position as he was pushed slightly backward with his torso leaning back as both of his arms were repelled by Evan's punch, leaving him in a somewhat unguarded posture.

Valoz had a look of alarm on his face as he spoke, "How... how can you be so powerful? My strength and defense evolution are far beyond that of any humans..."

Evan smirked at this as he waved his hand, causing both the Havengaurd and Void Sword which he had momentarily put away to appear in his grasps. His body erupted with all of his remaining battle energy as he raised both swords at his sides and lowered his stance prepared to attack.

"Find out in hell! Cross Executioner Slash!" Evan said in a cold tone, both of his eyes have a red glint with them as he swung them swords forwards.

A bale crimson energy gathered at both of their edges, each filling Valoz with dread as he knew that he couldn't resist this attack at his peak, much less his severely wounded state.

"This darn human bastard!" Valoz cried out he kicked his foot against the ground, pushing himself backward as he crossed his arms before him.

However, it proved futile as Evan's attack cut through his body, slicing it into four pieces as the giant dual crimson blade energies cut towards the scene behind him and even vanished into the shrinking portal along with Valoz's body.

As Valoz's severed body entered the portal, Evan didn't waste any time and dashed towards it at full speed, but right before he could enter it, it rapidly shrunk and dissipated.

'Darn! I was still too late... I didn't even get any exp from that bastard, don't tell me he survived that attack?' Evan inwardly cursed as he looked at the space before him.

He closed his eyes and calmed down before he shook his head, no longer thinking about it as he spoke, "No matter, in that state it would take very long even if he wants to recover, the pressing concern is that strange body... we need to secure these lands and find..."

Evan was about to decide something, but right at this time, a loud noise sounded from above. When Evan heard this, he sighed and shook his head as he looked up and spoke in a voice only he could hear, "Looks like they've finally arrived, but they came too late..."