Ex-Rank Awakening: My Attacks Make Me Stronger-Chapter 100: EX . Astral Ascent

As the smoke from the explosion began to settle, the shattered earth hissed with embers and warped heat. Amidst the cratered terrain, something moved, a heavy, dragging shhhhk sound cutting through the fading echoes of destruction.

Out of the swirling dust stepped a demon unlike any other.

Its skin was a shade of ashen gray, stretched taut over a hulking frame carved with dark, pulsing markings that weaved like corrupted veins across its body. Its face was broad and square, the jaw heavy like a stone block carved from malice itself. Four jagged black horns jutted outward around its glowing red eyes, two on each side, twisting like ancient blades carved from bone. Its armor was deep black, dull and scarred, shaped not by design but by carnage, welded into its body as if the demon itself was a weapon forged in war.

It carried a greatsword longer than a man, serrated and crude, dragging behind it like a guillotine chained to its arm. Each movement it made left gouges in the ground beneath, the sword screaming a low metallic scrape as it carved through stone.

As it stopped at the edge of the destruction, its glowing eyes swept over the battlefield, and it growled in a voice thick, broken, and twisted with barely-human syllables:

"...Cap...ture..."

A low, rattling command, more instinct than thought.

And across from the towering monster, standing amid fractured earth and flaming debris, was Leon Kael, his form bloodied and battered, but unbowed.

His once-pristine combat armor was torn and scorched, plates shattered and hanging loosely, exposing the deep, fresh wounds carved into his flesh. Yet his eyes remained steady, ice-cold and burning with unrelenting purpose.

Around him and his squad, a faint astral glow shimmered in the air, a spectral upper torso of a celestial warrior, translucent and divine. This was Astral Ascent, an art he’d retrieved from his family’s collection, intended as a foundation for the personalized style he planned to create.

"A-rank..." Leon muttered under his breath, eyes narrowing on the demon’s overwhelming aura.

His teammates were down but alive. Adrian, barely standing, had clearly absorbed and reflected some of the blast with his Full Counter talent, but much of the force had still passed through, his armor cracked, as his breathing became ragged. Eleanor, shielding Eden and herself with a last-second barrier, knelt in pain but was stable. Eden gripped his staff with trembling hands, a small trickle of blood running down his temple.

Leon didn’t hesitate.

"Can you move?" he asked sharply.

Adrian exhaled through clenched teeth.

"Just barely."

"I can." Eleanor nodded.

"Yes." Eden’s answered.

"Good. That will make things easier."

Adrian was confused.

"Leon you can’t possibly be thinking of battling that thing "

Leon’s eyes didn’t leave the demon.

"That’s the only option, unless you plan to die here."

"And besides it’s not the first A rank I will be fighting."

He opened his talent page with a flick of his hand. As he did, his screen flashed.

[Stress-Induced Multiplier Gained: ×4]

A cold grin pulled at Leon’s lip. The earlier explosion hadn’t just wounded him, it had triggered his ability in full.

That was why he could withstand most of the attack: he had burnt 4,000 attack points to supercharge his aura, amplifying his art and deflecting the assault, now he had only 4000 attack points left.

"Let’s use it well."

Without hesitation, he burnt all of them into Speed.

[Speed: 694 >>> 160,694]

A blistering surge of energy exploded through his body, blood vessels lighting like circuits beneath his skin, raw power crackling across his limbs.

Earlier, he had burnt 4,000 into Aura to supercharge Astral Ascent, a boost so high it tanked the explosion meant to kill them all. But now?

Now it was time to move.

Before anyone could even breathe, the A-rank demon vanished from its position with a crack of displacement.

BOOM!!!

It reappeared right in front of Leon, its massive greatsword raised high, momentum carrying a mountain’s worth of killing intent. The demon’s red eyes flared with feral hunger as it brought the blade down to cleave Leon in half,

The battle had begun.

And this time, Leon didn’t have the upper hand.

As the demon materialized in front of Leon with frightening speed, its monstrous greatsword already mid-swing, Leon’s instincts screamed, but his reaction was already in motion.

"Astral Ascent—Block!"

The glowing, astral construct behind him, a warrior’s upper body forged from condensed aura, crossed its arms at his command, intercepting the downward slash in a radiant clash of energy and steel.

But that was the first mistake.

The force behind the strike wasn’t something Leon had anticipated.

CRRAAAAAAAACK!!

The sheer power of the demon’s blow didn’t just get blocked, it transferred through the construct, erupting in a shockwave that launched Leon like a ragdoll skyward. His body blurred into the air, breaking through clouds of dust and wind, and for a brief second, he was weightless, caught in the aftershock of underestimating a monster.

The demon didn’t wait. It didn’t even look at his squadmates, they weren’t what it was after.

With a guttural snarl and zero hesitation, it leapt after Leon, the ground beneath it cracking like an earthquake. Mid-air, it swung its greatsword again, another devastating arc aimed at the construct still trying to shield its master.

The blow connected with a BOOM, and the construct was driven into the ground, slamming into the earth with Leon barely shielding himself behind it. Debris exploded outward, carving scars across the battlefield.

Dust clouded everything.

But Leon wasn’t done.

He coughed blood, his military armor shredded, wounds across his chest and back throbbing from the earlier hit. The world blurred, his thoughts jumbled, but then he focused.

"This... this isn’t like the Cerebrus."

That beast back at the selection had just evolved into an A-rank, it was still unstable, and learning how to use its body.

But this creature?

Its movements were clean. Calculated and Precise like a trained warrior.

"This thing isn’t just A-rank... it’s pushing S," Leon muttered, the hairs on his neck rising.

"It got the jump on me at the perfect time."

At this point, Leon was losing control of his strength. His multiplier wasn’t even half of what it had been against the Cerberus, and his attack points weren’t at full capacity. Plus, this demon was far stronger than the Cerberus.

Everything was working against him.

And it felt like the universe itself was laughing, throwing sand in his eyes, stomping him into the dirt, and spitting into his mouth.

But Leon?

He didn’t break.

He smiled.

"Let’s see how far I can push back."

The construct, battered but still obeying his will, raised its arms again. This time, Leon willed them to cross over, right over left, as their form began to pulse with unstable energy.

"Astral Cannon..."

The arms glowed, then fired, a searing aura beam lanced through the sky like a divine judgment, crashing into the charging demon mid-flight.

BOOOOOOOM!

The explosion rocked the sky, blasting the demon backward and forcing it to spiral away, snarling in rage. It landed roughly, its armored frame skidding across the earth before it roared back up to its feet, eyes burning with blood-red fury.

Leon’s eyes drifted to his squadmates.

Adrian, Eleanor, and Eden were moving, limping and bloodied but retreating toward the edges of the impact zone. They were getting clear.

He could have fled. If he were alone, he would’ve dumped everything into speed and escaped long ago.

But Leon Kael wasn’t a coward.

"Only a weak leader leaves their squad behind," he whispered, adjusting his grip on his blade.

"And I’m not weak."

The demon steadied itself, steam rising from its scorched chest as it raised its greatsword again.

Leon knew this was only the beginning. His body ached. His aura was fraying. His construct was nearly shattered.

"Let’s just hope someone from the base shows up soon..."

But until then?

Leon Kael would stand.

And the demon would bleed.

Because even when the odds were stacked and the universe spat in his face, Leon never backed down.

The creature roared again, charging like a storm reborn.

And the battle raged on.