Ashira’s eye twitched, his hands shaking vigorously as he bit down on his bottom lip so hard that it started to bleed.

  This is bad. He thought. I can feel myself getting weaker and weaker by the second. Whatever this bastard did to me is starting to take effect. I need to quickly end this.

  Rak rested the scythe on his shoulder, staring coldly at Ashira. “It’s getting worse, isn’t it? And here I thought we’d have more time to have some fun.”

  Ashira’s gaze met Rak’s, his face overflowing with rage. “Just you wait! I’ll kill you way before whatever you did to me can harm me. Not even my ability you stole will save you from me!”

  Rak let out a loud ugh, his voice carrying an air of mockery. “You think I copied your ability because I need it? You still don’t understand your current situation, do you? You think you're only at a slight disadvantage. You think there’s still some way to pull yourself out of this and beat me?”

  Rak’s voice turned cold, his glowing eyes locking onto Ashira like a predator. “For what I’m about to do to you… death is a mercy.”

  FWOOSH!!!

  Rak shot toward Ashira, the blood scythe dragging behind him, leaving a bright red trail like a comet streaking through the void.

  Ashira smirked, tensing up as he drew his twin blood bdes behind him, prepared to parry the incoming strike.

  As Rak came into range, he lifted the scythe high and drew it back, aiming directly for Ashira’s head. Ashira pulled his swords to his face, ready to block. But just as the scythe neared its target—

  Cp.

  A low cpping sound echoed. In an instant, Rak was gone.

  Ashira didn’t have time to be surprised. A suffocating killing intent loomed behind him, freezing him in pce. His head tilted slightly, his eye darting to the side. There was Rak, standing behind him, the scythe already positioned at his neck—waiting.

  Without hesitation, Rak swung the scythe, aiming to decapitate him.

  NO!! Ashira’s mind screamed.

  SWOOSH!!

  The scythe sliced into Ashira’s neck. As it dug deeper, he turned his body just enough to keep a sliver of skin intact. Blood poured out as he quickly used Conquer of Red to regenerate the damage.

  FWOOSH!!

  Rak gave him no time to recover, unching another flurry of strikes.

  CLANG!! SWOOSH!!

  The sound of Rak’s scythe cshing against Ashira’s swords filled the void of space. Ashira tried to dodge and block, but Rak was relentless, teleporting constantly and outpacing every attempt to defend himself.

  This bastard is just pying with me at this point! Ashira thought, his frustration mounting. **No matter what I do, nothing works. He’s too fast! And if I turn my body into blood, he’ll just take control of me. Damn it!”

  After what felt like an eternity, Rak suddenly stopped, hovering above Ashira, his scythe resting in his hand. He stared silently, his gaze cold and calcuting.

  Panting heavily, Ashira struggled to keep himself upright. His body was riddled with deep cuts, and his regeneration couldn’t keep up.

  “Look at you,” Rak finally spoke, his voice dripping with disdain. “In this pitiful, disgusting state.”

  “With those wounds to your body and my little friend that’s slowly devouring your soul, you have no chance of making it out alive. So do me a favor: tell me the coordinates of the main universe the X3X empire rules.”

  Ashira slowly lifted his head, gring at Rak. “Who said I’m going to die here? And even if I were, why would I betray the people who made me who I am? I may have no honor, but I respect loyalty. I wouldn’t say a word to a dog like you.”

  Rak sighed, his expression bored. “So be it. It matters not if you tell me or not. We’ll find others, but high-ranking individuals like yourself would have saved us some time. No matter. We’ll end this here.”

  Ashira suddenly jammed his hand into his chest.

  KWSHH!!

  Rak’s expression darkened. “What are you doing?”

  Ashira ughed, blood continuously running out of his mouth. “You’re right about one thing: I definitely can’t beat you. But if I’m going to die anyway… I’ll take you with me!”

  He pulled out his glowing heart, red energy pulsating from it like a ticking bomb.

  “You think that’s going to—”

  WHOOSH—PZZZTTT!!!!

  An enormous pressure hit Rak and Ashira. A bright white streak of thunder erupted in the direction of the main battlefield.

  Ashira froze, his glowing heart dimming as he looked toward the thunder in horror. “What the hell? Who—what—is capable of something like that!?”

  Rak’s expression turned grim, his gaze fixed on the thunder.

  Kid… you’re hurt.

  Hey everyone, it's Shax. I won’t be posting for the next few days as I focus on wrapping up the current arc. In the meantime, if you want to read ahead, you can check out more chapters on my Patreon. Thanks for your support!