Genetic Ascension

Chapter 1241  Unexpected

The lance shot down from the skies above. And just when the Duke thought he had a gauge on its speed…

[Glassvolt Shift].

Sylas applied his movement technique to his attack— something that should have been impossible. Unfortunately for the Sanguara Patriarch, Sylas was a Rune Master the likes of which he had simply never seen before.

Freedom. That was what his abilities gave him.

And in these skies, he was the real Duke.

—

**\[Class: Glassvolt Duke (Gold)]**

—

**BANG!**

The Dukeʼs earlier shout had already sent the Blazara trying to save him spiraling. This attack sent him falling down from the skies even faster than before.

Sylasʼ tail flickered, his 100 Foundation Rune roaring as it pointed toward the falling Duke.

BANG!

A beam of light shot out as though fired from a cannon.

Sylasʼ Throne danced in the air, the clouds clapping with thunder as the skies were rocked by the streaks.

ʼIʼm about to lose my advantage of surprise.ʼ

Sylas could feel it coming. He had maintained this dominance because he was first. But there was only so much momentum he could maintain against so many opponents.

Once the Duke recovered…

The power of his name was an asset, but the gap in power wasnʼt something he could easily bridge. On top of that, the regeneration abilities of the Sanguara were off the charts.

The Duchess had long healed, as had her father. Something told Sylas that even if they hit the ground, the odds it would kill them were minimal. Maybe they would end up heavily injured, or maybe, like many experts at this level, they would have the right combination of Constitution and various tricks up their sleeve to survive the fall.

Once again, Sylas was at a crossroads, his mind slowing everything down even as his attack appeared before the Duke in a flashing instant, crossing the distance in a blink of streaking lightning.

Sylasʼ eyes flashed toward the Demonic Serpentes for a moment, but then he shook his head.

Now… was not the time. There was no guarantee that it would even work.

Sylasʼ armor vanished, replaced by a version of himself with long, flowing white hair.

The Dukeʼs pupils constricted into pinholes as Sylasʼ wings unfurled. There was a dense, mesmerizing charm to the man all of a sudden—the sort that made the world pale and the Runes of it bow in obedience.

ʼCharysm!ʼ

Suddenly, everything the Duke didnʼt understand seemed to make sense.

Sylas looked down from the skies. Standing in the clouds, lightning crackling around him, he chose a different route.

Now… was certainly not the time.

With a single flap of his wings, a surging power manifested from him. He twisted out of the way of a volley of attacks, flames causing the air to steam and billow with hissing winds.

He dove into the clouds below, but his expression changed a moment after.

The Duchess suddenly appeared before him. His senses snapped back toward where she had been before, and as he expected, there was still a version of her there.

An illusion? No, it was too real for…

The version of the Duchess he had been paying the most attention to faded as though an afterimage.

ʼSpeed?ʼ

Sylas had never seen this sort of raw speed displayed in his life. It had almost felt like she was still there, and then she was suddenly here. It didnʼt feel like a Skill.

A Gene Talent, maybe? Raw speed that felt like something closer to teleportation? But how had she done that in the air —?

The Duchess answered the question by stomping a foot onto the wind, riding the clouds with a forceful strike of her heel.

Tears filled her eyes, falling down her cheeks in streams.

Sylas could tell immediately that these werenʼt tears of a broken heart. They were the tears of humiliation and fury.

Her small fist shot through the air and Sylas felt his heart skip a beat again.

The fist—it was so much like the speed from earlier. It was beyond the realms of reason. It was a superior strength that broke the laws of the world around them.

It was too fast. There was no room to dodge. Sylas hadnʼt even been able to stop his forward momentum just yet.

Several thoughts were flashing through his mind all at once.

Was this really a weakened version of the Duchess? How had she tracked him so easily without him noticing? And why did it feel like there was no limit to her speed and strength?

BANG!

Sylas coughed up a mouthful of blood, his ribcage

compressing like a spring and nearly shattering along its sides.

It managed to bounce back, but his heart and lungs rattled inside as though they might implode from the pressure at any moment.

He shot back as though fired from a cannon, landing right back in the middle of the encirclement. If it had been before his upgrade, that one fist would have ripped right through him. What kind of ridiculousness was this?

The Duchessʼ shriek filled the air. Her fury took tangible form in the air, her hair lengthening as her eyes reddened and veins of black began to streak across her delicate, fair skin.

Her black robes shredded to pieces, revealing the tight, white leather armor she wore beneath.

She stomped a foot onto the air again, bouncing back up and streaking toward Sylas in a line.

Faster than fast, completely beyond the realms of reason.

It was the second time Sylas had thought this, but it was no less true nonetheless.

His thoughts seemed to have been impacted by the Duchessʼ

shriek. It wasnʼt exactly a Will attack, but the fact it could be so powerful despite not being focused only made it all the more fearsome.

This was the Sanguara?

Super speed. Super strength. Supernatural Will. Hyper regeneration. Ridiculous durability.

They were well and truly the vampires of legend, but even more unnaturally broken in practice because they seemed entirely unaffected by the sun.

BANG!

Sylasʼ head snapped to the side, his brain rattling in his skull.