Building My SSS-Rank Universal Empire: From Trash to Cosmic Overlord-Chapter 178: Deconstruct

"Why are you trying to play a game of knight and monster? Come out and let’s fight, Sevrix," Vale taunted. His tower spun gently in the air, gleaming with red light in the cracks.

Sevrix’s voice filled the air, coming from all angles, twisted and sinister. "You want to fight me? When you cannot even fight those you left behind at home!"

Vale froze, then he smiled, even though nobody could see it. "They will get what’s coming to them. Everything is step by step, Sevrix. Right now, I am here, and I will deal with this place before I turn my attention to something else."

Sevrix laughed and appeared in front of Vale. "You? Return to deal with them? How naïve and stupid can you be? Do you think you can withstand the might of a small clan? I almost want to let you live just to see the helplessness in your eyes."

He dipped his hand into the small bag by his waist and brought out a hammer and a metal rod. By all standards, both appeared normal, but with his senses amplified by the tower, Vale felt the artifact like a beating heart directly on his face.

His instincts screamed at him, and his tower jerked back unconsciously. His thoughts were a whirlwind.

’.....what the... What is that artifact? It’s dangerous... Dangerous!... Is it a Chained Artifact...? No—don’t strike it!!’

Already, Sevrix had lifted the metal hammer and small rod, pointing them toward Vale and setting the hammer at the butt, getting ready to strike.

Without thinking, Vale shouted, "Infernal Wave!"

Suddenly, the space between them filled with scorching red fire that roared with crackling intensity. The area lit up with red light and heat, but the target wasn’t there—he’d disappeared again!

Vale gritted his teeth, and his tower vanished immediately, appearing some distance away—only to disappear again and reappear elsewhere. And again. He kept moving to keep Sevrix from locking onto him.

’....that shadow blink...!’

With his rank, Sevrix could use an advanced shadow blink. Not only did the distance he could blink expand, but he could also hide in the shadows for a while and even shadow-step personal items that weren’t on his person.

Vale made another law then. "Hiding in shadows is not allowed!"

The law he was using before disappeared, but at the same time, Sevrix was dragged out of the shadows by an invisible force—right beside Takoda!

He hadn’t been targeting Vale after all. He was after the most dangerous of his opponents. Although the Chief was weakened, he was still the most dangerous.

Vale realized this when he saw the man raise his hammer, ready to strike. But he must have underestimated Takoda because the man did a partial transformation so fast it was as if he had always been half Blightfur and half human.

His back was replaced by fur that stood on end. The fur glinted and exploded the moment Sevrix appeared. Thin, needle-like hairs blasted out with the sound of a sonic boom, sending Sevrix staggering back.

The attack pierced through his body as if he were made of paper, but instead of blood, shadows dripped from his wounds. The image of Sevrix collapsed, and the artifacts disappeared, melting into darkness.

’...shadow substitution... He wasn’t after Takoda... then...’

"Dominion!" Vale shouted immediately.

But before heat and light could blast out of him, he heard the sound of metal striking metal above him. And something hit him hard.

The tower spiraled through the air and fell, crashing to the ground with bone-shaking force.

Vale knew what the tower was feeling, even though he couldn’t feel it directly. His senses swept through the structure, and he understood what was wrong immediately.

The tower had been struck on the battlements by something that simply ate away the material at the top. It was as if the tower were a painting, and someone had smeared away part of it.

Another flood of information reached Vale. Now that it had been hit, the tower was doing everything to repair itself, sealing away the gaping hole at the top. But the place that was struck was where the tower absorbed essence from the air.

That meant Vale now had only his own essence to rely on, with only minimal amplification from the tower. No more using its abilities!

"This tower sure is sturdy," Sevrix mused. "Even I can only chip away at it... but then, I can just do it again and again until it’s gone." He frowned. "Dienro will have to settle for something else. If he’s not dead."

"Let me introduce you to my artifact. It’s called Deconstruct. I gave it that name. It’s a legendary artifact. What do you think?"

Just then, a stone spike jutted out of the ground beneath Sevrix, but he had already vanished. "Look at that! I can use my shadows again." He grinned as he reappeared.

’...I have to find a way to deal with him in one strike... A bigger Infernal Ball? The tower should help somewhat, but I have to be quick, or else...’

A hand made of stone rose out of the ground beside Sevrix, trying to catch him, but he dodged to the side where another hand was rising.

All around them, the ground shook, and more hands emerged, reaching for the man who was using shadow steps to disappear.

’...he’s trying to buy time for me to do something.....’Vale thought.

He began conjuring Infernal Balls around the tower, binding them in place. Two dozen fireballs, each as big as two human heads, floated in the air.

Then he started merging them, each flame swallowing the next, until they condensed into a small red orb that shimmered and illuminated the surroundings like a miniature star.

Sevrix must have sensed something was wrong. He tried to strike Vale with the hammer, but walls of stone and grasping hands blocked his path. Frustrated, he began blasting holes through them with Deconstruct.

But unknown to Sevrix, he was falling into Takoda’s trap, subtly led to where the chief was sitting with his back turned.

The moment Sevrix got close enough, Takoda rose to his feet and transformed fully into a Blightfur.