Chapter 600: He's not dead, right?
Kyle shook his sword to rid it of the glistening crimson blood on its blade and faced Ceano in mid-air as the man unconsciously withdrew. The green eyes fixed on Ceano became even more eerily silent when a dark aura subtly enveloped the air surrounding the silver-haired man, clearly different from dark energy.
It was evident the human was gearing up for a move even more potent than what he had just displayed to the audience.
Those opposing the dark side held their breath in anticipation as Ceano and Kyle floated facing each other.
Carcel hovered behind Kyle to assist him. But despite being shaken by Will's death, Ceano didn't retreat. Instead, he gazed at Kyle with a solemn expression, focusing on the faint blue particles swirling around the human's skin... as he finally comprehended their nature. Something otherworldly... that no one possesses, at least not in this universe except Azazeal, his master.
Ceano let out a breath as realization dawned in his eyes. The reason behind the human's immense power despite being only at the divine rank became clear. The power to defeat Will, the extensive knowledge he held - it all originated from the otherworldly particles, or should he say the essence within the human, the source from which the otherworldly particles emerged? Greed and another emotion - fear, a sentiment unseen by anyone except Azazeal, flickered through his golden eyes.
He raised his gaze to look into the green eyes, disbelief evident on his face as a chuckle slipped from his lips.
"I admit... I, Ceano, the second shadow general, find myself truly astonished for the first time by a mere divine rank."
He shook his head as faint golden lines started appearing all over his body. His strength began to fade, and he wished for the lone fragment of a powerful soul within his body to gradually dissipate into wisps of dark energy, moving towards a distant location, far from the Sacred Divine Land.
"However, it is not surprising, for you possess something coveted by all in the universe, do you not? So, human, I wonder how have you managed to conceal your existence for so long? I couldn't sense its presence for some reason, but I have encountered something similar before, hence I am aware... I am aware that you hold something truly Cele-"
His final words were drowned out by a loud rumble reverberating through the air as Kyle disappeared from his position, infusing his blade with all the spiritual energy in his body to execute the fourth and last move of his sword art. His sword art had long since transcended from a 3-Star to a 7-Star art after he perfected all four moves within the No Mana Land. A low murmur echoed amidst the loud rumble.
"Void of Silent Darkness."
Kyle's blade was completely shrouded in pitch-black shadows, gliding through the air with spectral elegance, its edge pulsating with immense power. With a swift and precise motion, he aimed the blade at Ceano's body. However, confusion and doubt flashed in his eyes when the second shadow general made no attempt to evade or defend against the attack. Instead, the man merely stared at him with eyes brimming with greed.
As the attack connected, a wave of darkness erupted from the golden blade, engulfing Ceano in a chilling embrace of nothingness. The second shadow general's body, enveloped in the silent void, appeared to dissolve into the shadows, his form disintegrating into mere echoes of existence. However, before his entire body could fade into the shadows entirely, he fixed his gaze on Kyle and spoke a few words with a twisted smile.
"We shall cross paths again... Soon. Then, I shall unearth whatever Celestial resides within your body..."
Kyle's eyes widened at his words, and he finally caught sight of the wisps of dark energy slipping away from Ceano's body, which was slowly but surely turning into a hollow shell. He loosened his grip on his sword and hurriedly reached out to grasp the wisps of dark energy, but it was merely a remnant of what was real. Anger and bewilderment flashed in Kyle's eyes as his hand grasped nothing. The air around him became stagnant, with countless voids forming in the sky to swallow every speck of spiritual energy within.
The eerie silence that followed hung in the air for a long time as Kyle floated in mid-air, staring at his empty hand. The darkness in the air that arose from his action started to fade alongside the voids in the sky.
It was at that moment Carcel, who had been hovering behind Kyle all along, spoke up with a touch of hesitation.
"Kyle...?"
The silver-haired man didn't reply to him and vanished from his spot, only to reappear before Elizabeth. The people around were all startled when he showed up in front of her, but he paid them no heed. Kyle knew Elizabeth was the most powerful person in the Arena and perhaps the only one who could dispel his confusion. A deep voice rumbled from his throat as he settled on his heels to meet the woman's voilet eyes, who returned his look in a daze.
"He's not dead, right?"
Elizabeth snapped out of her daze and closed her gaping mouth when she heard his question. It took a few seconds to fully grasp Kyle's words, and when she did, she let out a sigh and nodded.
"You are right. He's not dead. Ceano, he's very cunning... I believe he anticipated that something would go wrong in the arena and didn't come with his real body. Instead, he sent a part of his soul with another body he likely created using his power."
Kyle closed his eyes briefly and then turned his gaze to the area where the people from the dark side were seated. After the second shadow general's body dissipated, they all had started shouting with panic and dread. He had thought he wouldn't harm them, but now he felt a desire to eliminate them all to release his frustration because one of his preys had escaped.