Chapter 106: Curtain Call

Heracles roared in anger. Accompanied by his roar, Ace seized the opportunity to unfurl the Illusion Barrier.

In the ensuing darkness, Heracles became affected by the pulse of Mana. Ace did not focus on illusionary disorientation, as that would be useless. He even canceled the Illusion Barrier’s effect of continuous will checks, as that effect would only strengthen Heracles’s resolve.

Ace only used two effects: Emotion Amplification and Thought Activation.

He complied with Heracles’s inner turmoil, accepting his rage and sense of humiliation, and amplifying these emotions, allowing them to override all rational thought.

Heracles felt his rage and sense of humiliation escalate. Ace’s scornful smile deeply wounded his pride.

He recalled his childhood, his father’s humiliating death at the hands of the desecrators, and how he was mocked and ridiculed. Gritting his teeth and enduring the pain, he finally honed formidable martial arts, defeating all those who had once mocked him, and departing with arrogance.

“No one, no one can scorn me! I am Heracles the Fearless, the pride of my father, and the pride of Milne City State.”

Heracles’s speed burst, and he almost caught up with Ace.

Cold sweat dripped from Ace’s brow. He was playing with fire. He chanted a spell, and Mana pulsed!

“Mana Crystal · Solidify · Barrier Cascade!”

Dozens of resilient Mana Crystal barriers materialized behind Ace.

Ace injected his Inherent Mana, imbued with his own will, into the Mana Crystal barriers. All the Mana Crystal barriers had the effect of Mana Crystal Shaping. This was a highly troublesome barrier spell.

Heracles instantly evaded one Mana Crystal barrier. Unexpectedly, the barrier suddenly transformed into several tentacles, reaching out to grasp him. In his haste, Heracles was caught and restrained by the Mana Crystal barrier tentacles.

He furiously channeled all the Mana in his body, shattering the entire Mana Crystal barrier. He then remained cautious, smashing every barrier into powder with the black broken blade.

However, this ensured he could not catch up with Ace in the short term.

“Roar!”

He roared fiercely, raising the black broken blade high above his head. Ace felt a massive surge of Mana breakthrough the sluggish, inerting power of the environment, rapidly gathering behind Heracles!

Ace did not hesitate. He accelerated Flash Teleportation, using it repeatedly, flying away quickly.

“He actually managed to break through the Mana inertia here and forcibly condense a massive amount of Mana! Does this mean his power breaks through its limits when his emotions become extreme? Coupled with his deep-seated vendetta, the Wonder in hand, and his overwhelming pride, he’s practically a main character template!”

Ace was ranting internally. He fled without blinking.

If he didn’t run now, it wouldn’t be luring the enemy; it would be offering himself as prey.

Heracles, behind him, was surrounded by surging blood-red Mana. His eyes were completely red, and he roared like a beast. Blood-red Mana gathered on the black broken blade, condensing and compressing, eventually forming a red, high-energy Mana compression sphere, strikingly luminous in the darkness.

With Heracles’s swing, a wave of red light, which Ace could not match, rushed toward him.

“Boom!”

In the moment of crisis, Ace turned his body. His lips trembled, and with a strange cadence, he injected Inherent Mana without reserve.

“Reinforce · Thirteen-Layer · Mana-Crystal Protection Ring!”

Crack! Crack!…

The Mana Crystal Protection Rings grew, layer by layer. Ace did not look back. He activated the Soul Spell Flash Teleportation again.

Accompanied by the sound of the Mana Crystals shattering like glass behind him, Ace turned sideways and fled without looking back.

The strong red Mana light gradually dissipated. In the darkness, a deep scar marked the abandoned underground city.

“He actually had a power burst! Thank goodness he lost his mind. If that red light cannon had hit me, there would be nothing left but dust!”

Even the usually calm Ace lost his composure, ranting frantically.

Heracles, panting heavily, his eyes still glowing red, continued to chase Ace.

In a few flashes, the two reached the vicinity of the abandoned city’s performance hall.

Ace flashed into the hall, then used the Imperfect Transformation Spell to turn into a thumbtack, rolling silently.

Heracles, radiating killing intent and panting heavily, smashed through the roof of the hall.

The Illusion Barrier created sounds from all directions. A phantom of Ace appeared in the center of the stage, wearing a tuxedo and making an exaggerated, chant-like gesture.

“Heracles the Fearless, you are a respectable opponent. Let the performance hall of the former civilization play a lament for you. It is time for your curtain call!”

Heracles had lost all reason. His excessive rage seemed to have triggered unknown changes in his body. His normally dark body turned red and hot. Driven by a bestial madness and sharp combat instinct, he ignored the phantom and rushed straight toward Ace’s host body.

“Buzz!”

The Rune Arrays, etched long ago, surfaced one by one. Ace injected his remaining Inherent Mana into the Rune Arrays. Chains of Mana Crystals, barbed with hooks, shot out of the Rune Arrays, stabbing straight at Heracles!

In this state, Heracles displayed astonishing supernatural martial arts. He twisted and maneuvered, swinging the black broken blade. With a terrifying, beast-like combat instinct, he shattered the incoming Mana Crystal chains one by one!

But there were simply too many chains. He eventually collapsed, his body penetrated by the Mana Crystal chains and firmly fixed to the spot!

“Roar!”

Ace ignored his beast-like roar. He transformed from a thumbtack back into his true form. He activated the Imperfect Transformation Glycerin Magic Tubes he had buried here, along with the Soul Pulverization Rune Array, and quickly retreated from the hall.

The thousands of magical glycerin tubes transformed, crawling like liquid over Heracles’s body, firmly adhering to him. Just then, the black broken blade suddenly flashed with intense starlight. It floated up on its own, sliced off one of Heracles’s fingers, and struck him, knocking him out of the hall.

Ace saw the scene clearly from a distance. He flew toward the direction the finger was sent and chanted a spell over the severed finger: Advanced Magical Trickery activated.

“Mana-Crystal · Seal · Soul Severance!”

Ace did not know how to perform a true seal, nor had he researched the related rune structures. But relying on Advanced Magical Trickery, and injecting enough Mana and strong intention, he could reluctantly achieve a sealing effect that was stronger than a Lesser Spell but weaker than a Soul Spell.

The intention was to seal the finger and sever external spiritual connection.

Mana Crystals began to form chains, following Ace’s visualization, trapping the finger. Then, the outside of the chains formed a Mana Crystal box, completely encasing the finger.

The naturally occurring Mana pulsed awkwardly. Complex rune structures gradually surfaced on the box. The seal was successful.

It should last for about three days, Ace concluded from the quasi-spell’s feedback.

He collected the box. With no time to research the complex rune structures on it, he stored the box in the Monster stomach pouch.

Turning his attention back to the hall, it was a sea of fire. A massive mushroom cloud surged into the sky, radiating intense light and heat. Heracles was at the epicenter of the explosion. Apart from the severed finger, his physical body no longer existed.

Ace approached the hall, activated Perception Retrieval, and found that the Soul Pulverization Curse Rune Array had activated. Hundreds of Rune Arrays, once triggered, transformed the tormented soul powder into vengeful spirits. Carrying cold Mana, they swarmed Heracles.

Although these vengeful spirits were intrinsically weaker than Heracles, their sheer numbers allowed them to tear and consume Heracles’s soul!

Just then, a starlight emerged from the black broken blade, which was reduced to a puddle of black liquid.

The starlight flickered. It carried a paternal warmth and resolve. It suddenly shone brightly. The vengeful spirits were purified by the sacred light, and Heracles’s soul was nourished by the light, recovering its sanity.

His soul murmured, “Father…”

He was then pulled by the starlight, turning into a shooting star that pierced the steel dome of the underground city and vanished.

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