SSS Ranked Awakening: I Can Rewind Time!-Chapter 38: Psyche Of Monochrome [2]

The crimson blades pierced through the darkness at a terrifying speed, poised to rip through the crimson haired lady. However, just as they appeared before her, the figure grimaced, and in the next moment, a radiant energy rose from her body, rapidly turning into a purifying, immolating dome that surrounded her.

A bright glow illuminated the endless darkness for a split second, just as the crimson blades struck the barrier with obliterating force. The attacks stacked on each other, each blade creating a fracture on the surface of the holy, purifying dome.

Before long, numerous cracks appeared on the barrier, spreading and stretching to cover its entire surface. However, the barrier ultimately held its ground, shattering just as the crimson blades ended their unrelenting onslaught.

And just then, I felt a terrifying energy brewing beside me. With a deep frown, I glanced to my left.

It was then, for the first time, that I saw Aezel undulating with terrifying power. His muscles squirmed and tensed as lightning crackled across his body. His expression darkened, and then it shifted into one of grim resolve.

...His muscles tensed beneath the sleek battle armor, and then...

Crack--!!

He dashed into the endless darkness, rapidly approaching the two figures still engaged in a brutal war of burning light and... drowning shadows.

***

I didn’t need to be told to know this was not a level of battle that I could directly take part in.

It was extremely evident.

From the explosions that rolled through the nightmarish landscape, to the endless flash of lights that I could barely keep up with.

The cold truth slowly dawned on me. And as the battle raged on, I felt something shatter within me.

As I watched the battle, with each passing second, it became clearer. The truth of it all, it slowly dawned on me:

’I was... weak.’

Pathetically so. And even worse was that, there was nothing I could do to help even if I wanted to.

Clench.

Tightly clenching my trembling hands, I felt a deep, uncontrollable urge to rush into the battlefield. However, I still retained some semblance of rationality to stop myself from doing so.

After all, as much as I hated admitting to it, there was little to nothing that I could do to change the outcome of the battle. However, just like all things in this world, as dire as this situation was, there was still a subtle ray of hope to cling onto.

And that was what I was currently basking on.

’All I had to do was wait for the perfect moment. I was sure the opportunity would eventually present itself. I just wasn’t sure of when, and if we’d still be alive to take it?’

My expression darkened at the thought.

But deep down, I knew an even deeper reason as to why I’d refused to join in the battle this early on.

"Hahahaha...."

The thought made a crazed laugh escape my lips, its jagged sound mirroring the fragile state of my mind.

The fact, and the cold truth was that:

I was greedy.

Greedy for life.

But even more so...

’...I-I was scared of dying.’

Biting onto my lower lips, I stared blankly at the raging battle. Deep within me, a plethora of complex, dark emotions burned within me as I said under my breath:

"...I’m sorry."

As the words slipped past my lips, I felt a weird, indescribable feeling burn within me. And with each passing second, it burned brighter and brighter.

***

Crack.

...A figure crackling with divine lightning stood before a towering nightmarish mountain. With a dark grimace, lightning streaked through his fingers as he drew onto the arcane warbow —one that could have only been drawn by a warrior of unparalleled might— his expression darkened even further, his muscles stretching taut as he released the thunder-infused lightning.

SWITCH!!!

The sound of the arrow piercing forward at breath neck speed echoed through the darkness. With a pained expression, lightning crackled across his fingers as he knocked the second arrow.

TWITCH!

The arrow followed behind the first, piercing forward with intense ferocity. With a flicker of determination masking his feeble, tearing muscles, he shot forth, the third arrow.

Flick!

The arrows streaked through the lightless void, approaching the nightmarish entity at a terrifying pace.

***

With the crimson sword in hand, the dark shadow clashed relentlessly with the crimson haired lady. Its eyes overflowed with uncontrollably madness. One that sent cold chills running down her spine.

Grimacing, she slashed forward with every ounce of strength she could muster. Right about then, a crimson glow illuminated the darkness for a split second, just as the creature attempted to cleave Mia into two.

Deflecting the strike with the dull edge of her sword, Mia stepped to the left and continued with the fluid motion in an insidious attempt to sever the creature’s body into two.

Right about then, the bright, incandescent light surrounding her sword became even brighter. In a flash of light that suddenly exploded, blinding the dark entity for a split second, Mia struck deviously for its waist.

...However, despite being blinded, the nightmarish entity seemed to notice this. Perhaps through its perception of the shadows surrounding it.

Clenching its hand, a morbid pool of blood materialized around its fingertips, splitting into numerous blood-shaped darts. With a calm, almost unnerving flick of its fingers, the blood-shaped darts suddenly shot for Mia.

"...!"

Her eyes widened for a second there. However, gritting her teeth, she stomped onto the ground, forcefully skidding to a stop. In an instant, she slashed forward numerous times, each slash faster than the last.

The force from the strikes pushed her backward, prompting her to leave deep gorges along her path of retreat.

She was able to deflect a few of the crimson darts, however, few still managed to break through her stalwart defence, slamming right into her pristine armor. Groaning from the pain, a few more darts got through her defense, drawing blood as she was forcefully thrown back.

In that moment, the dark entity moved to chase after its prey, its body trembling in excitement.

"Huff, Huff..."

However, right about then, the hair at the back of its neck suddenly stood on end.

Chills~

A cold chill ran down its spine.

In an instant, it manipulated the blood surrounding it, creating a sturdy barrier just in time for....

Crack!!!!

The arrows to strike with obliterating force.

As a terrifying shockwave rolled through the nightmarish landscape, subtle cracks ran across the crimson barrier.

’In order to acquire sufficient energy needed to block the strike, it had drawn a larger amount of the crimson blood surrounding them. And slowly, but surely, —even with all the morbid carnage and massacre it had caused— its source of blood energy was slowly diminishing.’

But that was the least of its worries.

...Or rather, that should be the least of his worries.

Crack! Crack!!

The cracks on the barrier intensified, spreading even faster, and as a result, the nightmarish entity to its dismay, was forced to draw on the surrounding blood to an even greater extent.

The clash between lightning and blood intensified, a blinding mixture of crimson-purplish light illuminating the dark space.

The lightning was fierce and indomitable. But the blood...

The blood was versatile and unpredictable. This enabled it to hold its ground, but even then, the signs that the barrier would soon give in became more obvious with each passing second.

There and then, the nightmarish entity suddenly felt a terrifying energy undulating behind it.

A solemn sense of dread gripped his heart, chilling him to the core.

Behind him, the crimson haired lady was suffused with blinding, immolating light. Her figure was wreathed in burning, pristine fire as she cleaved forward with every ounce of strength she could muster. As though it were a divine judgement, a bright incandescent light erupted from her sword, and then, a glowing ray of light suddenly streaked through the endless darkness.

Before the nightmarish entity could do so much as to blink, the strike wreathed in light had already arrived before it.

BAAANG!

Right about then, the third and the final arrow broke through the barrier shielding it, piercing through the crimson barrier as though it were but a thin sheet of paper. It went on to easily rip through the nightmarish entity who stared at the gaping wound in its chest.

Drip!

Drip--!

Crimson blood dropped onto the ground, the sound echoing through the tense silence.

The paralyzing effect of the strike numbed the dark entity, albeit for a brief second, it was more than enough.

Gazing up, its eyes widened in fear as a white incandescent light suddenly blinded its vision, followed by a searing hotness that sent hellish agony through every fiber of its being.

’It burns.’

It hurts.

’It is so... painful.’

And then, when it could no longer take it, a blood-curdling shriek escaped its lip:

"AARGGGHH!!"

The mind-tingling sound echoed through the darkness.

In that moment, the white glow illuminated the entire space, blinding everyone’s vision. And for a second there, I thought it was all over.

...It had to be. No one could have withstood such-

"..."

My thoughts were broken as light returned to my vision.

In that moment, I caught a glimpse of it.

...Of the nightmarish entity.

Half of its body had been ripped off, and gaping wounds riddled the other remaining half as deep, crimson blood with a hint of black, continuously dripped onto the ground.

Tok- Tok--!

The sound resounded through the darkness.

The nightmarish entity himself simply stared at the ground in... in awe, his body bent at an inhuman angle, as though it was taking every little ounce of willpower within him to stay on his feet.

I heaved a sigh of relief at the sight.

’Finally, it’s... over.’

But just then,

"...!!"

Its expression suddenly started to crack.

In an instant, a solemn sense of dread surged through me. Somehow... something didn’t seem quite right.

Raising my head up to stare into its hollow black eyes, I caught a glimpse of a wide grin, if only it wasn’t made of flesh and mangled blood.

The sight was both eerie and grotesquely disturbing. However, even more so was the sudden sense of terror slowly rising within me.

’I don’t like this feeling one bit.’

And then, as though to answer my thoughts. Before my shocked eyes...

"Ha-hahah-aha."

A wild, crazy laugh escaped the nightmarish entity’s lips. A-As though it had just gone through the most exhilarating experience in all of existence.

The pain.

I-It was so... familiar.

’...So... Familiar!!!’

One of its hands covered its face, madness slowly igniting within the depths of its crimson pupils as its laugh pierced through every single one of us.

Its body trembled in... in excitement as the last remnant of blood from the dead nightmarish creatures slowly gathered around it, and then, within the blink of an eye, sinew and flesh merged together and pooled around his mangled body.

In mere seconds — as my breath caught in my throat while I stared at the unimaginable transformation— it was back to its peak form!

...It was in no way different from Mia’s healing ability, perhaps even better in a sense that it didn’t seem to pay any price for it.

Madness spilled from the creature’s hollow eyes as its eyes landed on me.

A wide grin slowly settled on its face, and then, with its body trembling in uncontrollable excitement.

Creak.

It bolted into the endless darkness before it.

"More!! More!! More!!"

It dashed towards us at an astounding pace. A suffocating force pressing in on us from all sides.

...B-ut... there was now something peculiar about it.

Something different.

Its eyes.

T-They were different. T-They now embodied something.

...An emotion I hadn’t seen in months.

Fear.

It slowly crept in.

Despair.

It slowly tightened around my chest like an iron vice.

Its eyes. They...

...They now embodied madness.