Grand Ascension-Chapter 62: We Meet Again

Makun lifted his head only to see Elias being propelled into the air by a punch.

Blood sprayed from his mouth as his body twisted mid-flight, crashing into a lamppost with a metallic clang. The post bent under the impact. Elias crumpled to the ground, gasping.

Makun recognized this disturbance. He had already seen this densification of particles before.

He slowly looked from Elias to the figure who stood where Elias had been.

Tall. Lean. His face sharp, while his eyes were as bright but old, as usual. He wore his regular dark coat that looked expensive.

"We meet again."

Zack York, Makun thought.

This was the very first man he had an altercation against in the mystic world, five days ago.

Had he searched for him for the book?

Makun gritted his teeth. He knew this guy was not weak.

He had gotten hit by Yime and stood up to charge back at her again, so he had thought he had a chance against her.

Also, by how strong the disturbance of Yime’s breakthrough was at the Pier Market, Makun knew that Yime was not just any type of practitioner.

She was very advanced.

What should I do? he wondered.

Stood where Elias was, was a surprised Zack York.

Wasn’t this guy just a routeless half-awakened practitioner last time he met him? Why was he radiating the Ashe of a second-grade Initiate already?

Is he really backed by a powerful backer?

Zack remembered the day of darkness and his eyes skipped a bit.

He could have tracked Makun from the beginning.

However, after getting dragged by the silver-masked guards from the market, and after having his vital energy sucked, he had difficulties feeling his mark on Makun, and he could tell Makun was not in the same area as him.

Best choice was the mirror. Attack him from a distance. However, that had ended poorly.

He had blacked out and lost too much.

More than he could afford.

He was a third-grade Adept, still had comprehensions of a third-grade, however he felt empty, hollow. The spiritual energy in his body far, far smaller than what it used to be.

And nothing he found in the different markets he went to could solve his problem.

The darkness had done him bad.

Before, he could have left the book, but now, he was going to have it no matter what.

He needed it.

That was why, as soon as he got to Naija City train station, he performed a ritual to perfectly trace his mark on the shoe Makun still had not changed.

He was led here by the mark, and had knocked Elias out as he saw him leading the way.

"Hand me the book and let’s leave it at that," Zack York said.

If it could end with him getting the book and leaving without doing anything to Makun, that would be perfect, because he would not attract the ire of whoever was backing him.

If he attacked Makun here, then Makun had to die for everything that transpired to stay silent.

"The book is..." Makun just realized he did not know where the book was.

"The book is not on me."

Makun was scrambling his head, thinking of a way to get out of this.

Should I run? What about the cha—

Swoosh.

Zack closed the distance in an instant, no hesitation, no warning. He did not care if Makun had the book or not. After pummeling him, he was going to get it.

His fist drove forward, Ashe flooding his arm, atoms compressing around his knuckles. It was as if he manifested iron on his fist.

Shhhhh.

The air screamed.

Makun was caught off guard, but his body moved before his mind caught up. He threw himself sideways, stumbling, threatening to fall, barely avoiding the strike.

Zack’s fist slammed into the brick wall behind him. The impact cracked the stone. Dust exploded everywhere while the entire wall shuddered.

Makun hit the ground hard, rolling, gasping. His Route Core pulsed frantically in his chest.

If he had not moved, he feared he would have finished in a situation worse than that of the wall.

What is his sub-route? he thought.

Maybe if he knew, he could counter it.

Zack yanked his fist from the wall and turned slowly. He had not expected Makun to dodge.

How could a second-grade Initiate have such reflexes?

"You are lying," Zack spoke, lifting his fist.

Makun scrambled backward, his mind running wild, his hand diving into his pocket. His fingers closed around the Phase Bastion Charm. He circulated his Ashe through it.

The paper ignited instantly, dissolving into golden light. A translucent barrier flickered into existence in front of him, shimmering faintly, humming with compressed spiritual energy. The charm had taken his Ashe and folded it outward, creating a dome of pressurized air so dense it felt solid.

Zack punched, with an arm full of Ashe.

BAM.

His fist connected with what felt like compressed air. The barrier absorbed the impact, then reversed it. The recoil shot back through Zack’s arm like a whip crack. His knuckles buckled while his elbow twisted. The force ejected him backward, feet skidding across the pavement.

He had been hit by his own strength by surprise.

Zack’s eyes widened.

Phase Bastion Charm.

Makun did not hesitate. He charged his body with Ashe, saturating his muscles, his nerves, his bones, and his new Ashe pathways. His Route Core pulsed violently. He lunged forward.

This is my chance.

He had to get Zack. His eyes, specifically.

By now, he had deduced Zack’s sub-route had to do with hardening. He had felt it. The way Zack’s fist compressed atoms, made them denser, turned flesh into something closer to iron. But Makun had no idea if Zack could only harden his hands or if that was something he could do for his whole body.

That was why he went for the eyes.

If such a power had a weakness, it was the eyes for sure.

Makun’s fist shot forward, Ashe fully charged in his hand.

He connected.

Puch.

Zack’s left eye burst.

Blood and fluid sprayed outward. The eyeball ruptured under the pressure, collapsing inward like a punctured grape.

ARGGGHHHHHH. Zack screamed.

His head snapped back even as he was propelled backward by the charm. His hands flew to his face, clutching at the socket, blood pouring between his fingers.

Shit. Shit. Shit.

Pain hit him hard. Blinding pain. Every nerve in his body was screaming with pain.

He had taken Makun for granted. The only fear he had was against his supposed backer.

However, he had not expected Makun to have a charm, or him to have so much Ashe.

How could he know Makun’s Route Core was not the size of a grain of rice like how it was supposed to be? It had even surpassed the size of a grain of bean and was the size of a hazelnut.

The amount of Ashe Makun had was nowhere near the amount of Ashe an Initiate practitioner should have.

Zack’s scream twisted into a roar. Rage had overtaken the pain. His remaining eye blazed with fury. 𝑓𝘳𝑒𝑒𝓌𝘦𝘣𝘯ℴ𝑣𝘦𝑙.𝘤𝑜𝑚

He circulated all his Ashe, every last drop, flooding his body with it. His fist hardened and every atom present around him compressed. His knuckles turned dark, almost black, as the density spiked beyond human limits.

Makun’s fist was still extended.

Zack caught it.

His hardened hand clamped around Makun’s wrist like a vice. Bones creaked under the pressure.

Then Zack drove his other fist into Makun’s stomach.

BANG.

BANG.