Apocalypse system: I have unparallel comprehension-Chapter 70 - Blast

"Do you want to know the downside?" Kale smiled.

Far away was a raging wave of energy blast coming at the two direction. Dante wiped the sweat from his forehead and gave a slow nod.

His hands shaking.

"I can’t use it too much. And when I am in the state of mirage, my body can’t interact with anything. If I used for too long, I will be forgotten by everyone as well. Pretty nasty skill right?"

"What about those blast and double archers stuff?" Dante asked, lifting up his chin.

The ring on his hand was burning hotter with each passing movement. He jerked his hand and grinned his jaw.

"Ah those. Those are the result of my profession." Kale answered. "You need to move. If you dodge right now, you can at least kept your life."

He adviced. It was a pretty kind gesture from Dante’s view. But he needed to such thing. What his heart was calling was the knowledge he would gain by talking with Kale.

So, he shook his head. "I have my plan."

"Alright, I won’t give you advice no more. For now on, you and I are the enemies. Don’t take into your heart. I don’t want to kill you." Kale sighed.

"My profession is called Arcane Lawyer. It is complicated to condense my power into a few words but I will try my best for your sake."

"Before I come to this place, I was a contract lawyer. So, my ability is based on that. It is strange, right? Class is the result our current action and Profession followed our past."

Kale paused, taking in a breath. He then continued his speech.

The entire time, Dnate didn’t mutter a word. He was like a dry sponge absorbing the information from Kale’s mouth.

"I can use my contract to bind people into my will."

Dante’s eyes widened as he continued to listen to Kale explanation.

"I am sorry." At the end, Kale said. His eyes softened and his hands clenched a fist. But resolve overcame his heart and he maske it away, throwing his feeling to the dark abyss.

The energy blast was now coming near, only a few hundred meters away from their place. The ground shook and the air trembled under the incoming presence of the blast.

The binding light of the blast was strong.

There was no sound except the raging phenomenon.

Kale activated his skill and his body became translucent, his limbs and body became see through.

Slowly, he was seeping into the fabric of the world.

Dante’s Hunter skill peered toward Kale and saw the full potential of the skill. It was most likely a step lower than his Grade-8 skill.

But it was still strong.

If he could use it well, Dante suspected that he could sneak attack on him.

But right now, his worry was mostly on how he could survive the blast.

’How did he get this amount of mana?’ Dante asked himself. With no answer, he could only speculate.

Dante pushed back the thought and absorbed the energy he created into his body. After placing the energy inside his mana core, he felt relaxed.

The hard part of his plan was done. Now he just needed to lay down his pieces.

Dante stood in the middle of the explosion and extended his hand, welcoming the blast head on.

Kale stared at Dante and frowned.

Dante closed his eyes and channeled every bit of mana around his body. He parted his mana into two parts.

The first part, he used it to reinforce his body, imbuing it with a body strengthening energy. He didn’t have a name for that energy but it got the job done.

Due to him being one with his concept, the process of transforming mana into specific energy became more smooth.

Anyhow, he stood firmly and ready for the blast to come.

As for the other part, he prepared to heal himself.

It was a simple and stupid method he conjured up. Nevertheless, he didn’t doubt himself.

He had already seen how Kale manipulates energy. And his own mana manipulation was top notch.

His knowledge of Kale and his mana manipulation will be the key to this fight.

The blast came.

The first thing Dante thought was the heaviness behind the blast. He expected it to be hot like the sun. But the sheer weight behind the blast was unexpected.

He pushed his feet deeper into the ground.

Dante’s body, like the world itself, had decided to fall forward.

His reinforced skin split. Bones screamed. Dante’s left hand shattered on contact.

Fingers bent backward at impossible angles, snapping one by one with dry, wet cracks. The shock climbed up his arm, pulverizing muscle and turning joints into useless meat.

His right hand followed.

Knuckles burst. Skin peeled away. Blood vaporized before it could spill.

Dante screamed, but no sound came out. The blast stole even that.

Heal.

Mana surged, stitching flesh together in frantic threads. Bone realigned. Skin crawled back into place.

Then shattered again.

Heal.

Again.

Again.

Each cycle burned deeper into his mana core, draining it faster than he could tolerate. His vision dimmed, flashing white and black in rapid succession.

Not enough. His mana pool plunged.

The blast didn’t weaken. If anything, it pressed harder, grinding him down centimeter by centimeter.

Dante’s teeth clenched until blood filled his mouth. His eyes snapped open.

He didn’t have enough mana so he needed to absorb the energy into himself. The thought cut through the pain like a blade.

Dante opened his mana core. The blast didn’t just hit him anymore. It poured in.

Raw, violent energy flooded into his core like molten iron, tearing through its walls. His veins burned blue. His heart seized.

He nearly lost consciousness. But he controlled.

Minute adjustments. Conceptual alignment. Burning his concept, Will of the world to fullest.

The incoming energy twisted, forced to obey. What once tried to erase him now bent, slowed, filtered through his understanding.

His shattered fingers stopped breaking.

Healing surged again but stronger this time.

Skin regenerated faster than it was destroyed. Bones reforged denser, tighter, layered with mana like invisible armor.

Dante dropped to one knee but he did not fall.

Kale stared. Even in his mirage state, disbelief crossed his face.

The blast roared, tearing chunks out of the battlefield, but at its center stood Dante bloodied, smoking, trembling and still standing

His hands were barely human now. Veins glowing. Fingers half-formed, half-mana. Every breath scraped his lungs raw.

But his mana core... was fuller than moments ago. It was not stable or safe and every time he tried to touch it, it hurted.

Dante laughed hoarsely.

"That... really hurts."

The blast finally thinned, its power consumed, dispersed, or spent. When it ended, Dante collapsed forward onto his hands newly healed, still shaking.

He dragged in air like it was water.

Across from him, Kale fully rematerialized, staring with narrowed eyes and something dangerously close to awe.

"...You’re insane," Kale said quietly.

Dante lifted his head, blood running down his chin, grin crooked and feral.

"Yeah," he coughed.

That made Kale uneasy. His bow was destroyed by the blast. Not just his bow, everything around them was destroyed.

The previous beautiful white forest was now a flat ground.

Kale lifted up his hand. The air warped.

No spell circle. No chant. No visible construct. Just pure reinforced hands.

His fingers curled, and the space between them compressed as if the world itself acknowledged the intent behind the strike.

Kale was like Tendo, a gifted human being. But not as absurd as the Prodigy.

Dante barely had time to react.

Kale stepped in.

A palm slammed into Dante’s chest. There was no explosion, just a thud so heavy it felt like he was punched by Thomas.

Dante’s ribs folded inward. His body lifted off the ground and flew backward, carving a trench across the flattened earth before crashing to a halt.

He coughed.

Blood spilled freely this time.

His mana surged instinctively to heal but the moment it touched his core, pain stabbed through his spine. The absorbed energy inside churned violently, refusing to be shaped.

"Tch—!" Dante tried to push himself up.

Kale was already there.

A knee dropped toward Dante’s head.

Dante twisted at the last second. The impact missed his skull and instead smashed into his shoulder.

His arm bent sideways with a sickening crunch.

Dante screamed.

Kale pulled back and punched a straight jab.

Dante crossed his arms to block. The impact shattered both forearms at once.

The force drove him to his knees, the ground spider-webbing beneath him. His vision blurred, ears ringing violently.

Another hit followed. Elbow. Shoulder. Gut. Each strike was precise, efficient, merciless.

Dante lay there, breathing raggedly, fingers twitching.

For a moment, it looked over. Then, he laughed.

Blood pooled beneath him. Bones remained cracked. Muscles screamed.

Kale’s eyes narrowed, looking at Laughing Dante.

Dante slowly pushed himself up using one arm, the other hanging uselessly at his side.

"I can’t use mana," Dante rasped. "Not properly."

He lifted his head. His eyes were clear and focused.

"But I don’t need to."