Ex-Rank Awakening: My Attacks Make Me Stronger-Chapter 117: EX . Betrayal

The ash-swept battlefield slowly faded behind them as Adrian and Eleanor chased after Eden, their boots pounding the cracked dirt. The haze of war thinned the farther they ran, the noise of clashing steel and burning roars growing distant. A few stray demons crossed their path, snarling, and eager, but they were weak, barely more than an annoyance. Eleanor’s katana danced like flashes of silver light, and Adrian crushed skulls with precision, dispatching them in moments.

But Adrian’s sharp gaze kept flicking away from the enemies and toward the fading skyline. They were getting too far.

His brows pinched together as he called out, voice edged with suspicion, "How far is this place, Eden?"

Eden didn’t slow. "Just a little more."

The answer didn’t sit right. Adrian’s jaw tightened, his instincts gnawing at him like a warning he couldn’t name. The warzone was far behind them now, too far. They were practically alone in demon-infested land, and still Eden pushed forward with unwavering certainty.

Adrian opened his mouth again, frustration growing, but before he could speak,

"We’re here," Eden said, voice calm.

Adrian and Eleanor looked ahead, and stopped cold.

In the middle of the charred plains stood something unnatural. A jagged cave entrance, black and hollow, yawned before them. The ground around it was untouched by the chaos of battle, as though the land itself feared it. There were no corpses here. No ash. Just silence.

Adrian’s eyes narrowed. "What the hell is that? How did that even get here?"

He didn’t get an answer.

As Eden suddenly darted into the cave without hesitation, swallowed by the dark before either of them could react.

"Wait, don’t just run in!" Adrian shouted, but before his voice even echoed,

Eleanor sprinted in after Eden, not missing a beat.

"Damn it," Adrian growled, clenching his fists. He hesitated only a breath before diving in after them.

The moment his foot crossed the threshold, the earth rumbled.

Behind him, stone groaned and cracked. Dust spilled from the ceiling. And then.

Boom.

The tunnel collapsed in a violent roar, sealing the entrance in a rain of debris and dirt.

***"

The crash of falling rock echoed like a judgment.

Adrian leapt forward just in time, landing hard against the dirt as the tunnel’s entrance sealed with a deafening finality. Dust choked the air. And when it cleared, there was nothing. Just rubble and jagged earth. From the outside, it would look like the cave had never existed at all.

He was breathing hard, armor scratched, knuckles bruised.

"Shit," he muttered, eyes blazing as he turned and threw his shoulder against the blockage, once, twice, again. The wall didn’t even crack.

"We’re trapped," he said, voice low and taut.

Behind him, a stillness answered.

Adrian turned sharply.

Eden stood further down the tunnel, motionless, his form draped in shadow. His head was slightly tilted, as if studying Adrian like a curious specimen. The silence stretched too long. Adrian felt a cold ripple crawl up his spine.

"I told you to wait," he snapped, voice rising. "But you still rushed in with no plan, no caution, and now look where we are!"

Still no response.

Adrian’s instincts screamed at him. He reached for his communicator, flicking it on.

Fwoom!

A flash of heat burst past his face.

The communicator exploded in his hand, sparks flying, flames licking his forearm guard. He dove for cover, rolling behind a jagged rock jutting from the tunnel wall, heart pounding.

When he looked back,

Eden’s eyes were pitch black.

Completely.

No pupils. No whites. Just void.

Two fireballs hovered above his arms, pulsing with steady menace.

Adrian’s breath caught. His grip tightened on his sword and shield.

"It can’t be..." he muttered, the words tasting like ash on his tongue. "You’re... colliding with the demons?"

The fireballs flared brighter in reply.

Adrian threw his shield up, slipping into a low stance.

"Eleanor!" he shouted. "Contact Leon! Eden’s betrayed us!"

Silence.

He assumed she was still processing what just happened. Fair. It was a lot.

But this wasn’t the time for hesitation.

"I said contact him. There’s no room for emotion right now, do it."

Snapping out of her daze, Eleanor fumbled for her communicator, hands trembling.

"There’s... there’s no signal," she said quietly, voice weighed down by grief.

Adrian’s jaw clenched.

"Then we fight our way out."

Still no response.

He snapped toward her.

"Eleanor!"

She stiffened, breath caught, then gave a shaky nod. "Alright." Her katana slid free, silent and sure. Her eyes were wet, but she didn’t let the tears fall.

Eden finally moved.

Two fireballs exploded from his palms, cutting through the gloom with scorching heat. Adrian reacted instantly, swinging his shield in an arc, Full Counter. The flames bounced back, but Eden’s mastery over fire twisted the trajectory midair, dispersing the rebound into smoke and ash.

As the smoke cleared, Eleanor darted forward.

Her katana glinted as it came down toward him. Eden’s reflexes screamed as he conjured a spear of fire and flung it her way, forcing her to raise a barrier, blocking the attack as sparks crackled. She then spun on her heel and kicked Eden instead, her boot slamming into his chest and sending him crashing into the tunnel wall. The force making him to spit up black blood.

"Eleanor...?" Adrian whispered, stunned.

But she didn’t turn.

Adrian seized the moment, dashing toward Eden to finish it.

He never got the chance.

As Eden’s body lit with unholy power, the air itself distorting as demonic energy poured out. With a roar, he unleashed a dragon-shaped inferno. Adrian met it with another Full Counter, but Eden’s talent, Emberflow with it’s perfect flame control snuffed it out again, unraveling Adrian’s attack like smoke.

From the side, Eleanor saw her moment.

She surged forward. Her blade was steady. Precise. And just as it was about to sever Eden’s neck,

His eyes cleared.

"Eleanor..." he murmured, voice distant and Familiar.

A moment of hesitation, but that alone was enough.

As His pupils darkened again and a fireball slammed into her torso, exploding with a brutal whump. Her body hit the wall and slid down, motionless.

"No!" Adrian sprinted to her, crouching by her side.

She was still breathing.

He stood over her, shield raised, sword drawn. His back to the wall. His gaze locked on Eden, who stepped through the smoke like a phantom, fire curling around his fingers.

"What do I do now..." Adrian whispered to himself, eyes scanning for an opening.

Then,

A dagger pierced his side. Fast, silent and laced with something vile. His muscles seized as the poison took hold, strength bleeding from his limbs. He hit the ground hard, breath knocked out, face scraping against cold stone.

He looked up.

Eden stood over him.

And beside him, Eleanor.

Adrian’s heart dropped.

He barely managed the words, his voice slurred from the toxin.

"Why?"

Her answer was as cold as the stone beneath him.

"For revenge."

Then her foot slammed down on his head, and everything went black.

****

A/N: Damn I didn’t see that coming.