THE LAST KEEPER

Chapter 366: 366: CRACKS IN THE FORMATION

The fight raged on with the two going at each other’s throats for a few more minutes.

Sagiri suddenly vanished from the center of the formation where they had been fighting and reappeared perched sideways against one of the thirteen crimson pillars, balanced effortlessly.

Nokai rested across his shoulders while crimson energy continued pouring from his body into the formation. Rika immediately swung around to face him, her floating blades circling protectively as a triumphant smile spread across her face.

The formation was draining him faster than ever now. Visible streams of darkness and crimson power were being ripped from him and swallowed by the pillars. For a moment, Sagiri looked exhausted.

His skin seemed paler and growing even paler by the moment. His breathing grew heavier. He slowly closed his eyes while the formation roared louder, greedily devouring more and more of the Archive.

Rika’s laughter echoed through the cliffs.

”You can’t escape. I don’t know what you intend to do, but you can’t win. Just roll over and die and be a good nephew.” Sagiri remained silent. The pillars blazed brighter. More archive power vanished into them.

Rika’s laughter became increasingly hysterical as she watched what she believed was the inevitable death of the man she hated most.

Then, after a long moment, Sagiri opened his eyes, which had been closed while he stayed unmoving on the pillar. The crimson within them had not faded.

It had deepened into something darker, richer, almost black around the edges. Rika’s laughter faltered.

Something about the way he was looking at her made an unfamiliar chill crawl through her body. For the first time since activating the formation, she felt uneasy. Sagiri smiled faintly.

”How are you still able to use the eyes of the echo?” She snarled, her lips trembling.

”Rika... Rika” Sagiri said quietly, and her grip tightened around her weapon.

”What?” For a moment, Sagiri simply looked around at the thirteen blazing pillars surrounding them.

”Your formation can indeep keep the Archive trapped.” His smile widened slightly. ”But...can it contain it? How much longer can it contain it?” Rika froze instantly. The laughter vanished from her face. For several heartbeats, neither moved.

”Look at your pillars with those beast eyes of yours. Sagiri said, and Rika looked around. Then she noticed it.

The pillars were no longer merely draining the Archive. They were swelling with it. The formation had spent the entire battle greedily consuming every fragment of power it could pull from him.

Generations of accumulated memories. Countless echoes.

Endless darkness is buried within the relic itself. And now the pillars were beginning to shake.

Tiny cracks appeared along the nearest one. A heartbeat. One impossibly massive heartbeat. The crimson light flickered. Rika’s eyes widened, but she tried to hide it. Sagiri slowly rose to his feet atop the pillar while darkness began leaking from the cracks spreading through the formation.

The formation had been designed to suppress the Archive, not endlessly consume it. And for the last several minutes, it had been force-feeding itself directly from the source. Sagiri’s smile never left his face.

”I was wondering how much it could hold,” Sagiri said in a cold tone. Another heartbeat thundered through the battlefield, louder than before.

The cracks spread violently across all thirteen pillars. Rika took an involuntary step backward. For the first time since the battle began, fear appeared in her eyes.

”You forgot a very important lesson, Aunt. This formation was meant to protect first, and it was held by thirteen living people. You are alone, and even with their thirteen bones, they still hold the memory of what they wish to do. It could have worked even so. Against a weaker relic, but this is the archive aunt. You are foolish, just like I thought.”

”You have tainted the memories of our ancestors for nothing. They should be resting in peace, but you...” Sagiri looked at Rika with disgust. She was the type of person who had no respect and no lines to draw. The kind of person he had to kill.

Sagiri looked down at the spreading cracks crawling across the thirteen pillars and then back at Rika. Despite the exhaustion written across his face, a faint smile lingered there.

”I have indeed been weakened,” he admitted. ”More than you know.” His voice was calm, almost conversational.

”In the next minute, you can kill me if you wish.” He glanced briefly at the trembling formation surrounding them. ”Well... if you can.” Another colossal heartbeat shook the battlefield. More cracks appeared.

Crimson light spilled through them in violent bursts.

Sagiri’s smile widened slightly.

”The moment this formation breaks, I will surely kill you.” His crimson eyes locked onto hers.

”So, Aunt...” The word dripped with mockery. ”...kill me before I kill you.” The words were icy. For a second, there was silence. Then something inside Rika finally snapped. Her face twisted into pure fury.

”Shut up!” she roared.

The sound echoed through the cliffs like the scream of a wounded beast. The crimson glow in her left eye exploded outward. Veins spread across her face. Her body convulsed violently.

The strange taint hidden within her scent suddenly surged to the surface. Muscles expanded beneath her skin. Her nails lengthened into claws. Bones cracked loudly as her posture changed. One eye remained vaguely human while the other lost all trace of humanity, becoming a burning crimson slit filled with animalistic madness. Even her teeth sharpened.

The transformation stopped short of becoming a complete beast, but only barely. She had crossed some forbidden line long ago, and now she embraced it fully. The floating weapons orbiting her began vibrating wildly as crimson energy poured from her body into them.

The pressure rolling off her doubled.

Then tripled. The ground beneath her feet exploded.

She launched herself forward with such speed that the air itself screamed. The cliffside shattered in her wake. One moment, she was dozens of meters away. Next, she was already upon him. Her blade descended toward his neck while the crimson weapons attacked from every direction at once.

Rika no longer cared about strategy. No longer cared about survival. The only thing left inside her was the desperate need to kill him before the formation collapsed. Above them, the thirteen pillars groaned, and the cracks widened. Darkness poured from them in waves.

The formation was dying.

And both of them knew it. Rika moreso. She was acting like a wounded beast, which she was at the moment.

”Well, then, Aunt, 56 seconds remain before I kill you,” Sagiri said, dodging the hundredth attack in the last few seconds.