Bloodbound Codex: I Grow Stronger in Secret

Atlas finished his sentence before finally moving, the Flames of Nothingness vanishing around him along with his figure itself. In an instant, he appeared in front of Kael, his fist already a nanometer away from him.

Kael’s instincts screamed in warning as his Martial Cadence took effect on its own, causing his left leg to burst into motion and appear directly in front of Atlas’s fist to redirect its impact in a different direction.

However, just as he did so, Atlas’s fist vanished as space tore open in front of it. His punch did not land on Kael. No, it entered a vacuum in space itself before suddenly causing Kael to feel a chill run down his spine. Before he could even understand what was happening, the consequences of Atlas’s attack had already reached him...

BOOOM!

Atlas’s fist struck Kael on the right side of his abdomen as it emerged from the torn space. Kael’s body bent from the impact and was launched toward the left side, causing him to completely lose his balance and graze the circular platform once again.

What Atlas had performed could be considered a technique that used the rules of space in a completely different way, allowing him to attack from a location that his opponent would never expect.

Atlas had simply created two connected ’space holes’ at two different locations. One was positioned in front of his fist, while the other was located beside the right side of Kael’s abdomen, and that was all there was to it.

If he threw a punch into one hole, it would simply emerge through the other one, allowing him to attack his opponent without his fist physically crossing the distance between them. This was one of the applications he had learned from those books, ’These applications are not limited by the power of the user at all.’

’We can simply use them as we see fit,’ Atlas concluded as he watched Kael’s body streak backward ferociously. Kael continued flying until his body collided against the barrier once again, but this time, the impact shook the barrier violently, causing its entire surface to tremble. Atlas observed the result without changing his expression, already considering the different ways he could use the applications he had learned.

”KHUG! COUGH!”

Kael coughed up blood again as his body remained against the barrier. He activated his regeneration once more while gritting his teeth, trying to recover from the damage he had sustained.

’He is almost invincible now. His speed and strength are on a completely different level, and he hasn’t even released a single ounce of energy yet.’ He couldn’t help but feel utter despair at the thought of facing those abilities, especially when some of them could erase him in an instant without leaving him any opportunity to retaliate.

’Only one attack remains, I am sure he wouldn’t release those threatening abilities at this moment. I just need him to remain like that.’ Kael finally decided to use his trump card, which he had created after stepping into the Emperor Rank.

He relaxed his entire body, allowing his muscles to return to a completely natural state, before giving Atlas one final statement, ”I will now use my strongest arsenal to defeat you, Atlas.”

Atlas looked at Kael with the same indifferent expression as he wondered what his strongest arsenal could be, aside from that sword capable of sealing every ability and power. He had already witnessed Kael use several unusual techniques, but none of them seemed sufficient to overcome the difference between their current levels of strength.

Just as he was wondering what Kael intended to do, he saw him assume a completely ordinary stance, one that was considered the most basic position in martial arts.

Atlas could recognize that stance immediately because it was the kind of position a person would take when they first began learning martial arts. There was nothing particularly special about Kael’s posture, nor did it appear to contain any hidden movement or complicated technique.

Atlas frowned at the sight but remained prepared, knowing that this guy was completely weird in both personality and abilities, and he wasn’t going to underestimate him simply because his current actions appeared ordinary.

The next moment, Kael slowly punched forward as he thought, ’Martial Cadence─’, his hand leaving behind several afterimages if someone were to observe his movement in slow motion. His fist eventually stopped in the empty air directly in front of himself, ’─Absolute Beat’, without producing any Aether Energy, spatial fluctuations, or anything similar.

It was just a simple and ordinary punch.

At least, that was what everyone, including Atlas, thought until two seconds later, when Atlas suddenly felt an impact so heavy on his back that it directly sent someone like him hurtling toward the ground at an immense speed.

’What?’ His shock was evident in his expression as he immediately controlled his body, preventing himself from crashing face-first into the platform. He had not seen an attack approaching him, nor had he sensed any energy fluctuation that could explain what had just happened.

Atlas instantly decided to use Event Absorption to absorb the entire event of receiving that impact. The moment he did so, his body returned to its previous position as though the impact had never descended upon him in the first place.

Kael, on the other hand, had already moved and thrown another punch with his left hand, remaining in the same position without moving an inch, as though he were performing a basic martial arts exercise rather than fighting someone of Atlas’s level.

The same thing happened a second later, except this time, Atlas felt the impact descend directly onto his head from above. Its sheer strength was so great that even he felt dizzy for a moment, making it clear that the force behind these attacks was not something he could simply ignore.

’What...?’ Atlas frowned as he immediately began analyzing the technique Kael was using, attempting to understand how an ordinary punch into empty air could produce such a result.

However, before doing so, he absorbed the event once again and coated himself with the Flames of Nothingness. He wanted to determine whether the technique could still affect him while he was protected by an ability capable of erasing almost anything that came into contact with it.

Kael moved his leg this time, performing an upper kick followed by a straight kick into the empty air, his body remaining in the same place as he executed both movements.

However, this time, the moment the resulting impact could even register upon Atlas, it was erased, as though something invisible had reached his body and been consumed by the Flames of Nothingness. Atlas lowered his head as he felt that something had just been erased from his body, his expression changing slightly as he considered the possibility.

’Wait... did he mark something on me previously?’

Just as he thought this, Kael’s voice came from below. ”You have finally figured it out, although not completely. I know I cannot win against you if you use those erasure abilities, but at least I stood a chance and got to test my strength.”

Kael exhaled before turning toward the Dragon Emperor standing outside the barrier. His expression showed that he had accepted the outcome of their spar, and he no longer intended to continue using attacks that Atlas could erase so easily.

”I would like some help here. Seems I really am not enough.”

Kael could only shake his head as he wondered how he was supposed to overcome someone like Atlas, ’If even my abilities and techniques don’t work against those flames, then there is nothing in my knowledge that can kill or defeat him. It seems impossible...’ He had already used the strongest technique he had created after reaching the Emperor Rank, yet even that had failed to produce a decisive result once Atlas understood how to deal with it.

He turned toward Atlas again and noticed that his pupils were glowing, making him realize that the latter was still analyzing the technique he had just used, ’Damn, he is analyzing my technique down to its very core.’

”It’s my defeat. I surrender. Now, I think the Dragon Emperor can join us if he wishes to.” Atlas nodded while remaining indifferent to the situation, accepting Kael’s surrender without making a big deal out of it.

However, his thoughts were considerably different from his expression, as he continued considering the unusual principle behind the technique he had just witnessed.

’His technique... it’s one of the most absurd ones I have ever seen. It bypasses things like space and directly acts upon its destination.’ Atlas had already understood that Kael’s punches were not ordinary physical attacks, but he still needed to determine exactly how their effects were being produced.

’It also seems to have cause-and-effect points and that mark... maybe it appears when he executes the punch. Hmm...’ Atlas smiled slightly as he continued examining the principle behind Kael’s technique.

Although he had not completely understood its workings yet, the connection between the movement and the resulting impact had given him an idea that he had been struggling to grasp for a long time.

’With this principle, I will be able to create ’that’ technique I have been trying to grasp.’