The Glorious Evolution

Hearing this, Kraev’Morr’s mind finally snapped... he couldn’t leave because of the whispers, and he couldn’t fight properly in mid-air. To make it worse, he was under Jojo’s constant insults and prayer bead bombardment, making him feel like he was a piñata toy getting beaten up.

With a crazed expression, Kraev’Morr roared while spitting out a spherical dark blue marble above their heads.

”You kept testing my patience, now let’s see who survives... Dehydration Rite!”

The moment Kraev’Morr activated one of his ultimate abilities, streams of moisture began to tear away from Jojo’s skin and breath, drawn in fine wisps toward the spinning dark blue marble.

Her lips cracked, her skin dried up, and each droplet fed the artifact, making the marble swell larger under the stunned eyes of the viewers.

They weren’t taken aback by its results on Jojo, but on Kraev’Morr!

”Dehydration Rite! Such a nasty curse don’t care ’bout no foes or allies... just suckin’ the moisture outta anything close, not even sparin’ the damn atmosphere! And when you throw in that Grade B Drought Pearl Artifact? Its power is boosted three times over!” Gamemaster Sparks shared passionately while taking big puffs of his cigar.

Rayan, Jamal, Sergio, and the others couldn’t help but feel their chests tighten at the sight of the clouds getting pulled into the spinning marble!

It was so powerful, more than a fifty-meter radius fell under its Dehydration curse... Jojo, being the closest, was forced to grit her teeth, feeling like her throat was turned into dry sand.

Worse... her limbs grew heavier by the second while her mind was getting foggy...

”So, that’s your game... turning me into a water pouch?” She sneered, her twelve beads spinning unsteadily around her.

The dryness spread rapidly within her, but her eyes stayed locked on him... She was given a mission to hold him down, and she wasn’t going anywhere unless Levi said so.

The only positive news from this was Kraev’Morr... he was doing slightly better than her, but the effects started to show on his already rough skin.

Fortunately, his water jets were made out of compressed water, making it impossible for the artifact to pull from them effectively, forcing him to fall.

”What? Feeling tired already?”

Kraev’Morr smiled sinisterly, his lips cracked and bleeding, but he didn’t care... he opened his mouth wide open and fired a barrage of pressurized water drops!

Ting! Ting!...

Jojo entered a defensive stance, bringing back her prayer beads and using them to create a telekinetic barrier... Alas, the dehydration was taking water, oxygen, and whatever vital source from her brain. In turn, her spiritual prowess took a massive hit since it required intense concentration.

Crack! Crack...

After multiple hits, the spiritual barrier started to give in, cracking all over... the viewers could tell, the moment it broke, Jojo would have so many holes in her body, the Dehydration Rite would instantly leave her as a withered husk.

-Retreat!! Jojo!!-

-What is she doing!! Just retreat to safety!-

Before, it might have been possible... but now? Jojo knew that Kraev’Morr wouldn’t leave her side no matter what.

Instead of making him move all over the place, she wanted him to stay put... her trust wasn’t placed on her barrier holding out, but on someone else.

”Hahaha!! Why so silent!! Speak!! Curse!! Insult me!!”

Kraev’Morr had so much hate in him, he literally stopped his bullet barrage to speak shit to Jojo, his mocking laughter resounding across the sky.

’Good job, Jojo.’

”No need... your fate has been sealed long ago.”

Instead of feeling scared, Jojo clasped her palms and bowed her head slightly in his direction the moment she heard Levi’s voice.

Then, she gave him Jojo’s special: Ragebait with insults, and then prayed for his soul.

”May your rage sink into the earth... May your hunger find no more prey... May the shadows you’ve sown return to cradle you, and the silence you feared become your only companion.” She finished her prayer with a soft voice and eyes closed shut, ”Namaste...”

Before Kraev’Morr and the viewers could react to such a confusing turn of events, the viewers’ eyes suddenly picked up on a gleaming dark green streak, tearing through the air apart.

Its speed was so fast, the moment the viewers noticed it, it had already arrived at its destination.

A split second later... Kraev’Morr barely had time to react before his eyes reflected a scene of a black, vibrating staff being a mere ten meters away.

Blink.

The staff was gone... in its place, a resounding sonic boom assaulted his ears, akin to a thunderclap.

Yet, Kraev’Morr didn’t even pay it any attention... his stunned eyes glanced below, just to find a giant hole left in the middle of his chest with blood gushing rapidly in the direction of the Drought Pearl Artifact.

His own artifact and ability were assisting in his demise.

Alas... if it were only physical, he might have been able to save himself... odds low, but still, a chance, considering him being a Tier 4 nightcrawler.

But, it wasn’t... his soul was the true target, and it didn’t survive more than half a second before his subconscious barrier imploded.

’Huh?’

The last thing his dimming, confused eyes saw was Jojo’s shriveled bald scalp gleaming slightly under the moon, still bowing... not at him, but at hope that he might find redemption on the other side.

Under the stunned eyes of the viewers and his teammates, Kraev’Morr’s body and artifact fell one after the other into the crimson waters...

Meanwhile, the aether-infused staff was still streaking towards the moon, resembling a comet...

Gamemaster Sparks swiftly split the streaming screen into two and put the replay of what happened on one side, focusing this time on Levi.

That’s where everyone saw what happened... Levi was hurling his staff into the sky while it was illuminated with so much intense green light, they couldn’t fathom just how much aether energy he had stored around it.

But Gamemaster Sparks spotted the truth.

’It’s not stored around it, but inside of it... His weapon is hollow... but, why?’

As this question resounded in his mind, Levi snapped his finger while uttering calmly, ”Aether Resonance Javline... ignite.”

Boooom!

The stored condensed aether energy was suddenly ignited through resonance, creating a contained, intense explosion within the staff!

Since the staff was unbreakable, this kind of energy needed a release... and Levi provided it by loosening the bottom crown of the staff.

The staff rocketed through the sky, its velocity surging to supersonic in an instant, shattering the sound barrier before the astonished eyes of the onlookers.

Once all of the aether energy within was released, the detached bottom crown was pulled back into the staff, reconnecting with the rest... its speed remaining constant as it headed with great accuracy towards Kraev’Morr, whose entire focus was affixed on Jojo.

The sharp tip of the Resonance Javline pierced through his chest, while the untouched coating of aether energy delivered the final spiritual blow!

Truly, a One-Shotting Technique!

”I can’t believe it took him less than fifteen days to create such a complicated technique... his Solarity Access must already be above 30% to merge multiple powers.” Lord Hicham mentioned with an impressed tone, while the rest of his peers kept nodding in fascination.

They understood just how difficult to reach such a high level of access in less than a couple of months... even the most talented Daywalkers took years before hitting 20%.

”It’s his spiritualness... Solarity requires a spiritual connection, and that boy is not lacking in that department.” Lord Idriss said while watching Gamemaster Sparks switch to the end of the battle on the bridge.

”Oh... look, a falling star, better make a wish...”

Meanwhile, on the bridge, Arthur grinned wickedly as he lifted Orr’Vekth’s mushed-up head from his kelp-like hair, making him stare at the faint green comet in the sky against his will.

Shia and Nurah were standing beside him, one was cleaning her dagger, and the other was wiping the blood from her face.

’How did it turn like this... they are supposed to be children from a desolate region...’

As his cloudy eyes reflected the faint green comet, memories of the thrashing he received from those three resurfaced in his mind.

It showed Arthur hurling his shield toward him with a grunt... he didn’t enhance his strength this time, which allowed Orr’Vekth to meet it with a swift open palm.

Whoosh!

Pressurized water burst forth, slapping the shield aside and sending it spinning high into the air.

But Arthur remained unfazed... His gaze tracked the shield as it turned, spinning wildly until its gemstone faced down toward Orr’Vekth.

The instant it aligned, his lips parted. ”Release.”

A beam of stored kinetic energy erupted from the central vermillion gemstone, causing the shield to be launched into the sky even higher... However, the destructive beam cut across the bridge, forcing Orr’Vekth to jump away, moving just in time to evade the beam!

Yet, it did its job thoroughly, casting a pillar of light near Orr’Vekth... Light was almost always accompanied by shadows, setting up the chance Nurah was waiting for in the background.

From the dark outline at Orr’Vekth’s back, Nurah erupted, covered in shadowy tendrils and daggers drawn.

She swung for his neck in a single, fluid motion... her eyes displaying not an ounce of hesitation.

Orr’Vekth’s instincts activated; he snapped his head aside, the blade whispering past his throat by a hair’s breadth!

He was also a Tier 4 experienced nightcrawler, and this wasn’t his first rodeo at dealing with assassination attempts.

However, Nurah didn’t press the miss, knowing that it was a long shot... she instantly somersaulted away while activating mid-spin her first ultimate ability.

”Blackthorn Shadow Arts: Shadow Puppeteer!”

Once she landed, her shadow was linked to Orr’Vekth’s shadow, forming a long, shadowy bridge on the floor... Orr’Vekth stiffened, his limbs locked in place.

”Shadow Spikes!”

Before he could react, dark spikes sprouted from the binding shadow... piercing into his legs, his sides, and his arms!

Argh!!

He roared furiously, thrashing against the pain.

Alas... just as he was about to force himself out of the ensnarement, Shia had already arrived at a dangerous distance.

”Mantra Blood Arts: Bleeding Peaks!”

Her palms hit the ground, causing uneven, sharp towers of crystallized blood to tear upward, reaching him in a blink.

’Water bari...’

He instinctively attempted to protect himself, but still... it wasn’t enough.

The bleeding peaks erupted through his torso and shoulders, impaling him three meters into the air for all to see...

Shadow spikes and crystallized peaks... his body had been transformed into a monument, his limbs spread out, and blood dripping down the spires beneath the astounded eyes of the viewers.

Shia clenched her fist... the towers cracked and turned into liquid, which was drawn to her and devoured by Blee’der to recharge their blood supply.

Thud.

Orr’Vekth landed on the ground, his body broken and mind shattered beyond recovery... he couldn’t even afford to move a limb, his fingers twitching once in a while.

The moment he collapsed, pain ravaged through his cold body, his clouded vision focused on a distant falling corpse... the corpse appeared hazy, but with that big hammer nose, he knew immediately who it belonged to.

Splash... as the sound of his partner’s body smacking the water resounded in his ears, he found Arthur holding his head and showing him the green ’comet’...

”Make your wish... just know, you’ll only get to enjoy it in your next life.”

BOOOM!!

The moment Arthur’s cold words resounded in his mind, Orr’Vekth found his vision and mind go completely silent... Arthur had bashed his head like a watermelon with his shield against the bridge, spraying blood and brain juices all over his shoes.

Yet, Arthur merely rubbed them on the floor and turned his gaze to Syc’closs and his teammates, who had finally arrived on the other side of the bridge.

Their expressions were livid, but this time... it was clear for all to see, a hint of dread was buried within their eyes as they looked at three corpses... one split in half, one had a donut on his chest, and the last was smashed on the ground.

Each death was more gruesome than the last.