Bloodbound Codex: I Grow Stronger in Secret

With that, Kael moved again, Instant Shift instinctively activating as he appeared directly in front of the man while saying, ”Monolog Series – Defense Nullification.”

The moment he spoke the name of the ability, the devastating thunder surrounding the unknown man was completely bypassed by his fist. Defense Nullification allowed Kael’s attack to tear through the space and defenses that would normally have stopped him, leaving nothing between his fist and the man’s body.

His fist continued forward with enough force to distort the surrounding space, and Kael was confident that this attack would at least cause serious damage to the horn. If it didn’t, then the force behind the attack should at least be enough to send the unknown man flying away.

BOOOOOOOOOOOM!!

Kael’s fist slammed directly into the horn on the unknown man’s forehead, creating a massive shockwave that spread in every direction.

For an instant, Kael believed that his attack had succeeded because Defense Nullification had completely bypassed the thunder surrounding the man’s body, allowing his Soul Force-coated fist to make direct contact with the target. He had already prepared himself for the possibility that the horn might withstand the attack, but there was no reason for him to believe that the attack itself would fail.

Then something happened, something that made his expression change instantly.

Instead of the horn breaking or the man’s body being launched away, the entire ”event” of Kael’s attack suddenly disappeared. The entire sequence in which Kael had appeared in front of the man, bypassed his defenses, and struck his horn was absorbed as though it had never happened, and the result was exactly the same.

In the same instant, Kael found himself floating exactly where he had been before launching the attack, his fist no longer extended and the unknown man once again standing several meters away as if Kael had never moved at all.

There was no damage on the man’s body, no trace of the shockwave, and not even a sign that Kael had ever reached him. Kael stared at him in silence for several moments before his eyes slowly narrowed as he finally understood the terrifying meaning behind Event Absorption.

’Tch! He absorbed the event...’ Kael’s expression became heavier as he continued looking at the unknown man.

His Defense Nullification had worked perfectly, yet it had ultimately accomplished nothing because the ”Event” of not only his defense being bypassed, but also the ”Event” of Kael successfully attacking him, had been absorbed. If it had stopped there, Kael would already have considered the ability troublesome enough, but he could sense something else happening as well.

The unknown man’s power was increasing.

He wasn’t merely absorbing the event and returning the situation to how it had been before Kael’s attack. He was also gaining strength from the ”Event” he had absorbed, which meant that every powerful event he consumed could potentially make him even stronger.

Kael’s eyes narrowed further as he realized the implication, ’This only proves that I need an ”Event” where nothing happened at all, but how can such a thing even exist?’ The moment he asked himself that question, his mind suddenly drifted toward the Null possessed by Atlas.

’Wait! He can counter it, right—!’ Before Kael could finish the thought, the unknown man suddenly appeared directly in front of him.

Kael’s eyes widened as he hadn’t sensed the man’s approach at all.

Hell, even his instincts, which automatically activated Instant Shift whenever they detected danger, had not reacted in the slightest. There had been no warning, no fluctuation of power, and no indication that the man had moved toward him. It was as if the ”Event” of the man moving from his original position to standing directly in front of Kael had never happened to begin with.

Realization immediately dawned on Kael’s mind, and for the first time, genuine horror and pure shock appeared on his face, ’Don’t tell me... he absorbed the ”Event” where the distance between him and I existed?’

Before Kael could fully conclude what had happened, a devastating blow landed directly against his stomach from the front. He couldn’t sense the attack, couldn’t react to it, and his body had no time to activate Instant Shift before the punch connected.

”You have been bothering me for a while. I have been quiet all this time to analyze an anomaly like you, but that ends here...” The man’s fist sank into Kael’s stomach, literally bending his entire body forward as blood erupted from his mouth.

An unbelievable force exploded from his back as the punch became the source of the impact, and the next moment, Kael’s body was launched away at an incredible speed. He flew several hundred miles through the air without stopping, while the pain from the attack directly spread through his soul because the unknown man had infused the punch with Soul Force.

”Khughhh!! GAHHHH!!”

Kael screamed as he coughed up even more blood, his body continuing to fly through the air without any way to slow himself down.

His soul felt as though thousands of needles were piercing it simultaneously, and the pain was so intense that even maintaining his consciousness became difficult. More blood escaped from his mouth as he continued flying farther away, unable to do anything about the momentum carrying him.

Just as he had traveled roughly a hundred miles from his original position, Kael’s body suddenly came to a complete stop. A hand had landed on his shoulder and effortlessly stopped the force that had been throwing him away, while a calm voice came from behind him.

”I suppose it is time I intervene a little, that man will likely go after me as well when he deals with all the others like you, so it is better that I take some support with me, right? Why should I carry the burden alone? Haha, I am no hero after all.” Kael immediately recognized the voice.

It was Zaakrax, the Dragon Emperor.

At the same time, Kael felt the Soul Force that had been attacking his soul slowly disappear without leaving behind any trace.

He arched an eyebrow as the pain vanished almost immediately, and when he turned around, he saw Zaakrax standing behind him with a slight smile on his face. Kael couldn’t help but wonder how the Dragon Emperor had suddenly erased the effect of Soul Force that had already entered his soul.

”You are quite an anomaly, I might say. You have more than two Unique Abilities, which should be impossible, but what we witness with our own eyes cannot simply be dismissed as unbelievable, right?” Zaakrax spoke casually as though the existence of Kael’s multiple Unique Abilities wasn’t particularly surprising anymore.

Kael, however, remained focused on what had just happened to his soul, because he still couldn’t understand how Zaakrax had removed the Soul Force so easily. Before he could ask anything, Zaakrax looked toward the distant position of the unknown man.

”Anyways, let’s deal with that man first—” Before Zaakrax could finish his sentence, the unknown man was already standing directly in front of both of them.

Unlike Kael, Zaakrax didn’t show any shock at the sudden appearance. His expression simply became slightly more serious as he looked at the unknown man, who was already preparing another attack using the thunder he had absorbed earlier.

”Deal with me? I know you are quite a troublesome guy, you have reached the level where I once was, but...” The man’s fist became coated in the enormous thunder surrounding his body as he moved forward at a speed that even Kael could no longer properly track. The attack was aimed directly at Zaakrax’s face, and the force behind it was enough to distort the surrounding space as the thunder gathered around his fist.

”Cultivation rank is not all that decides the outcome, does it?”

BOOOOOOOOOOOM!!

The man’s fist slammed directly into Zaakrax’s face.

At least, that was what everyone watching the battle believed had happened.

The impact created an enormous shockwave that spread through the battlefield, filling the surrounding area with smoke and debris. Kael’s eyes widened as he looked toward the center of the explosion, while the unknown man’s grin remained on his face for only a moment before slowly disappearing.

”You are quite right, only cultivation rank does not decide a battle’s outcome.” Zaakrax’s voice calmly emerged from beyond the smoke. The unknown man’s expression immediately became serious.

A moment later, the smoke began to clear, revealing the Dragon Emperor standing exactly where he had been before the attack.

However, something was different.

The hand the unknown man had punched with was gone.