Starting With SSS-rank: I Get A New Skill Every Livestream-Chapter 96: Overwhelming

Amanda was on the verge of collapsing.

Watching her beloved carve through those creatures with such ruthless grace made her knees weak. Heat pooled in her chest, and lower abdomen leaving her breath uneven and her thoughts scattered.

This was unfair... why was she not the only one allowed to witness this side of him?

With Layena, however, things were different.

She was undeniably stunned, almost entranced by the way Kyle fought. Yet beneath that awe, something sharper stirred in her mind.

’That much magic... that technique, that precision, the way he never panics... there’s no doubt he could rival me in a fight... no, he might defeat me.’

And that alone marked him as a first-grade Nightwalker.

Being one herself, Layena understood the weight that rank carried. And yet, someone this strong, this experienced... had remained completely hidden from the organization?

"How is he... perceiving their attacks so precisely?" she whispered, barely audible.

Amanda huffed, pride swelling in her chest at her lover’s strength.

Still... she would be lying if she said she wasn’t shaken.

She knew Kyle was an exceptional archer. She knew he had trained in self-defense during his early years.

But this... this was something else.

The way he targeted every vital point, the way he remained aware of every incoming threat, reacting with calm precision as if time itself bent around him... she simply couldn’t keep up.

’And he said he awakened recently...’

Amanda exhaled slowly, a faint, dangerous smile tugging at her lips.

In a real fight, he would completely overpower her... but somehow, that thought only made her heart race faster.

"Khruuuugh!!"

A giant burst out of the rift and lunged at Kyle without warning.

Amanda’s breath hitched.

Layena stepped forward instinctively, ready to throw herself back into the battlefield despite her trembling legs.

But their worry proved unnecessary.

Kyle used the creature’s own momentum against it. He stepped onto its charging body, ran along its massive frame, and released an explosive arrow that tore through its arm.

The limb blasted apart.

Before the creature could even process the loss, Kyle had already landed behind it. His back faced the two women as he drew his bow once more.

"W-What..." Layena’s voice broke.

Amanda’s eyes widened.

They both saw it.

Raw Genesis.

This... wasn’t something anyone below special grade should be capable of.

They had witnessed what true control over primal Genesis looked like. Their commander was proof of that.

And now... as Kyle pulled the string, golden energy coiled around his body, flowing into the bow like a living force.

The giant staggered, instinctively retreating.

It knew.

"L-L-Layena... look..." Amanda whispered, grabbing her shoulder and pointing toward the rift.

The ghouls guarding it...

They had taken cover behind it.

They were hiding.

The reason was obvious.

Layena’s jaw slackened. Amanda’s face drained of color.

But Kyle didn’t hear them.

He released the arrow.

What followed...

...was beyond staggering.

.....

"W-What!!"

Ethan skidded to a halt, panic surging through his voice.

Clara clung to his back, equally shaken.

They had just cleared every monster lurking behind the resort and were rushing toward the frontlines.

And then...

They saw it.

A massive phoenix soaring through the sky.

It had no physical body.

A phoenix forged entirely from Genesis.

Its colossal form burned with silent majesty, its presence alone enough to freeze them in place. 𝗳𝗿𝐞𝕖𝘄𝗲𝕓𝗻𝚘𝚟𝕖𝐥.𝚌𝕠𝕞

"Ethan..." Clara muttered softly.

He didn’t respond. His mind was too overwhelmed, too drowned in shock to process anything around him.

Clara clicked her tongue and knocked against his head. "Ethan! Ethan! Ethan!"

"Huh? Yes, yes, let’s go!" He snapped out of it, realizing how foolish he had been to just stand there and stare.

Every second wasted here was another second Amanda and Layena remained in danger.

He gritted his teeth and pushed forward, hoping that perhaps a high-ranking officer had already arrived and wiped out those grotesque creatures.

His steps felt heavy, not because of Clara on his back, but due to sheer exhaustion.

Those majins... they were nothing like the ones they had faced before.

Stronger. Faster. Far more lethal.

It was as if they had been carefully selected, refined into a superior batch designed specifically to hunt them down.

In his attempt to clear the monsters from the rear, he had pushed himself far beyond his limits.

But if it meant those two were safe... it would all be worth it.

"Huh?" Clara was the first to react.

What caught her off guard... was the silence.

There was no chaos.

Nothing at all.

Ethan’s eyes widened, his steps slowing as he stared ahead at the resort’s front yard.

For a moment, he would have called it a dream. The entire rift incident felt like something torn straight from a nightmare.

And yet...

The ground told a different story.

Deep fractures split the earth. The stench of blood hung thick in the air. That lingering sense of Absence still clung to the surroundings.

Every scar, every mark...

...proved that a massive battle had taken place here.

"But... where are the rifts? And the ghouls? Last I saw, there was an entire army... where are they?"

Clara voiced the very question circling in Ethan’s mind.

But he had no answer.

"Ah," he gasped suddenly, spotting two familiar figures in the distance. Without another word, he rushed toward them.

Clara, however, remained distracted. Her eyes swept across the battlefield, searching.

For that rogue one.

She hadn’t told Ethan about it. And that was intentional.

She knew him too well. She knew how deeply he despised that being. If he had known he was here, he might have abandoned everything just to hunt him down.

’I hope... he wasn’t behind all this,’ Clara prayed inwardly.

"How are you two?" Ethan called out as he approached, oblivious to Clara’s thoughts.

But the moment he got closer, his heart sank.

Layena looked terrible.

Dried blood clung to her cheek, her clothes stained deep red.

A surge of panic rose within him. He was just about to shift Clara off his back and carry Layena to the medics when she spoke first.

"I’m fine... better now. I’ll get treated later."

Ethan hesitated.

He didn’t fully believe her. Not after seeing her like this.

But Layena wasn’t someone who spoke lightly about her own condition.

So, after a brief pause, he chose to trust her judgment.

Clara couldn’t hold back her curiosity any longer. "Who caused all this?"

Layena answered without hesitation, "It was the rogue one."

Ethan froze.

Clara’s eyes widened, realization crashing into her with a wave of cold terror.

He... wiped out an entire army?

And she had charged at him so recklessly earlier!

Amanda, on the other hand, struggled to keep her expression steady. Fear and frustration twisted inside her, barely contained.

Has she... realized who he is?

No... that couldn’t be it. Right?

Ethan stepped closer, his voice tightening. "Layena... is it...?"

Layena met his gaze. She didn’t take long to respond, shaking her head.

"No. Your guess was wrong. It’s not him."

Ethan frowned.

If Layena said so, then there was no reason to doubt her. She had no motive to protect someone like Kyle.

Which only left one question lingering in his mind.

That who... was that rogue Nightwalker?

°°°°°°°°

A/N:- Thanks for reading. I hope the battle scene of the whole arc, especially including Kyle wasn’t boring.

His power level should be clear by now.