INTERSTELLAR ERA: MY MIND IS A LIBRARY

Silas, Amelia, and Bryan stood side by side, eyes locked on the smoke. 𝕗𝐫𝐞𝕖𝕨𝐞𝗯𝚗𝕠𝘃𝐞𝚕.𝐜𝗼𝚖

"What is it this time?" Bryan muttered.

Silas thought about this too. "This is only one of their bases. What about their other bases, or the headquarters?" He wondered aloud, drawing the gaze of both Bryan and Amelia.

The implications of Silas’s words were clear. There could be more of this horror lying in wait at other Crimson Fang bases.

From the smoke, a spear made entirely from darkness streaked through the air, aimed squarely at Silas’s head.

The speed was too fast for Silas to react. He did not even see the spear.

Bryan sprang in front of him, his sword slicing upward in a blur.

The force from the spear made his knee buckle. Then his clothes ruptured.

Before anyone could assist, his pores expanded, blood gushing from everywhere like a broken pipe.

The spear dispersed, but not without knocking Bryan down completely.

"Ehh, I wanted to give you a painless death since you helped me achieve this form so quickly, but alas," a voice said calmly from the smoke.

Han revealed himself.

He was no longer as huge as before, but neither did he have the same human form from earlier.

His body was charred black, with red horns sprouting from both sides of his head.

His crimson eyes were dilated and cold.

Silas looked at Bryan’s unconscious body, then at Amelia, before returning his gaze to Han.

"Don’t worry, I will give you three minutes to plan," Han said with a calm tone. "I will kill all of you anyway."

He folded his arms in excitement.

"Amelia, take all of them away," Silas said.

"And leave you here? Stop joking," Amelia retorted, getting into a stance.

Silas shook his head. "Don’t worry, I have my ways. Take the general and his vice away. Tell the rest to leave as well."

Amelia shook her head, not paying heed to Silas’s words.

Silas sighed.

"Rion, the transcension potion," he said calmly.

A vial appeared in his hand.

Amelia was briefly captivated by it before looking back at Silas.

"What is this?" she asked.

"It is called a transcension potion. It increases your power to the Marshal rank momentarily and concentrates all your aether into a single element. This one is for the light element," Silas said.

Han looked at the potion with greed. "No, I cannot go back on my words. I will spare him later so he can tell me where he found it."

Amelia sighed.

"Don’t you dare die," she said.

She picked up Bryan’s body and ran toward Azrael.

Seeing Amelia leave with all the remaining combatants, Silas uncorked the vial.

He downed the entire contents in a single gulp.

His body pulsed with power. His strength soared far beyond what it had ever been.

"So this is the Marshal rank," Silas said with quiet reverence.

Then he felt another power pulsing within him. The power of an element. Something only accessible to those in the Ascendant Realm and beyond, yet now he could use it freely, albeit temporarily.

"Hey, are you done with the foreplay?" Han asked, a greatsword made entirely from void flame forming in his hand.

Silas’s grip on the katana tightened. Then he nodded.

Boom.

The force was catastrophic, destroying the earth beneath them as they lunged toward each other.

Han opened with an overhead strike and followed up with a slice at Silas’s torso.

Silas calmly sidestepped, then jumped clear of the blade.

He countered, his katana flaring with fire and light. He thrust forward at Han’s chest.

Han moved quickly, deflecting the blade with the flat of his greatsword.

The clash carved a crater beneath them but neither looked at it.

Han followed up with a kick aimed at Silas’s knee.

Silas took the hit, his body staggering a few feet backward before he stabilized.

He drove his katana forward, releasing a crescent arc of light from the edge.

Han ducked beneath it, delivering a rising slash from below.

Silas stepped back just enough to avoid the attack.

He closed the gap again, his katana lashing forward toward Han’s chest.

Han raised his sword to block.

But the attack never came.

The sound of flesh tearing echoed across the field.

"Refraction," Silas said calmly.

The attack Han had blocked landed from behind.

Han did not bother with the wound. Void flames ignited across it, sealing it before it could deepen.

Silas frowned.

"What? You think I gained all this power for nothing?" Han said, snapping him out of his daze as his greatsword cleaved forward.

Silas managed to dodge by a hair but not without consequence.

A deep cut appeared on his shoulder, blood oozing out slowly.

Light washed over the surface immediately, cauterizing the wound.

Silas kept a straight face as the wound was burnt shut.

Han closed the distance at that moment, not giving Silas a breath of reprieve.

He drove his sword forward toward Silas’s head.

Silas met the attack with equal strength.

Metal clashed against metal.

The floor beneath Silas cracked as he was slowly pushed back.

Han grinned, thrusting his other arm forward.

A dagger formed in his palm and streaked toward Silas’s head.

A shield of light appeared, blocking the dagger mere inches from Silas’s face.

Both fighters were locked, eyes gleaming with ferocity.

They broke apart. Silas moved first.

His body became a streak of light as he shot into the sky.

Han could barely catch sight of Silas’s figure when the light began to slam down from above.

The tip of Silas’s blade was enveloped in light and its innate flame attribute.

For the first time, Han’s face turned serious. Void flames began to weave around his body, forming a dome of pure darkness around him.

Silas hit the dome. The ground around them for several meters was reduced to ruin.

From afar, the Veritas Corps members, who had long since finished off the last of the Crimson Fang, watched with their mouths wide open in shock at the terrifying display of power.