Rise Of The Infinite Sovereign-Chapter 443: Shadows

"Right. You feed on energy" freёweɓnovel.com

Venom drips from Ezra’s tone, but no reply is given.

Yet, Ezra could feel it. These creatures-multiple in number-aren’t mindless beasts in any capacity.

They were specifically and systematically hunting him, probably to absorb his energy, though he couldn’t be sure yet.

In any case, the trial requirement for him is most likely to defeat these creatures, which Ezra believes is proven by the fact that he was blocked by a barrier and forced to take the crystal ball at the start.

Still, the environment of this third section surprised him the most.

’To think the third section would be an area of complete darkness, I’m astounded’

Even while thinking this, Ezra lay still with his eyes closed as he stretched his senses to the maximum, waiting for the next attack.

Already, he could sense something, probably one of those creatures nearby, but it wasn’t making any moves, which funny enough, puts Ezra in a worse predicament as he now expend more energy keeping an eye out for any sudden movements from this creature.

For the main part, Ezra lies in this fighting stance because he intends to test whether this area of perception he laid out by maximizing senses is enough to fight and most importantly, win against these elusive creatures.

Yet half a minute had passed and he had not received the attack he awaited.

Just as he would loosen his stance to take a break, the awaited events occurred.

With his hair standing and instincts ringing, Ezra inhales and holds his breath, his grip around Skyfall tightening as he clears his mind, heightening concentration.

Then...it happens.

The creature, with exemplary speed, runs right into Ezra, materializing itself to cut its prey.

But this time...

*Clang!

Ezra deflects the creature’s claws, almost flawlessly.

A smile coming onto his face as he did, he had reached the starting line necessary to defeat these beasts.

More than that, during the short confrontation, Ezra took note of a slight quiver from the attacker right before they clashed.

From this, another theory forms within Ezra’s mind.

Just in time, another claw aims for him.

Rather parry, Ezra tosses the crystal ball into its line of movement, opening his eyes to ascertain the visage of the beasts attacking him.

Here lay a being formed from darkness, a shadow of sorts whose claws extended in Ezra’s direction with its face unrecognizable from its body lest two swirls to identify as its eyes.

At this instant, the swirling eyes seem to bore into his soul, brimming with malice and hunger.

Ezra clenches his fist around Skyfall, feeling its cold weight as a comforting reminder of his own power.

All this happening in seconds.

The shadow reached the proximity of the crystal ball, but unlike Ezra’s expected, it doesn’t avoid it, but instead swipes at it, trying to cut it apart.

*Scraaa

Resisting such sharp claws, the core is sent rolling, tumbling out of the vicinity.

’What?’

And while Ezra could stop it in its tracks, he didn’t dare take his eyes off the shadow lunging towards him.

Though its body blends in exceptionally well with the environment, Ezra is able to pinpoint and parry approaching attacks through vibrations in the air, saving him from another cut.

In this instant, they clash

Parrying the first exchange, Ezra goes on the offensive, but the opponent simply flees, leaving him befuddled.

Remembering the crystal ball, Ezra takes to a sprint, reaching the crystal ball in moments as it had stopped a meter away.

Examining it, Ezra finds that the beast’s claws had dug deep into the crystal, but were unable to penetrate its skin.

Unfortunately though, a small piece of it had been chipped off, creating a small gap for the essence within to seep out of.

A close look sees the essence seeping out being rapidly absorbed by the environment.

....!

Alarmed, Ezra immediately inducts the crystal ball into the sovereign universe, leaving him in utter darkness.

Taking a fighting stance, Ezra stays on the lookout for the next attack, but as he extends his range of his senses...

’Shit!’

One of them had reached striking distance.

Without leeway to parry with Skyfall, Ezra instantly leaps backwards to avoid being gorged.

Then, he lets off a ball of fire towards the shadow, illuminating the surroundings and more importantly, he clearly witnesses as the shadow becomes disoriented.

Its form distorts as it hurriedly backs away, dissolving into the ground.

The ball of flame dies out at the same time, the energy infused within it sucked out completely.

Landing, Ezra quickly fixes his balance, his vigilance peaking.

That attack had corrected a misconception of his.

’The crystal ball wasn’t a beacon guiding them to me. It was a shield to keep away’

And with that shield now gone...

Ezra involuntarily shivers, he could already sense the beasts gathering.

Another thing Ezra realizes from the last encounter is that it isn’t just his senses that are helping him spot these creatures, but that his darkness affinity also plays a big part in it too.

Unfortunately, the environment doesn’t discriminate.

Even when conjuring darkness with his energy, it is still being absorbed, so Ezra braces himself, preparing for the inevitable attack by taking out the latter of Skyfall.

With the crystal ball no longer in his hands, there is no reason for him to keep fighting handicapped.

’Speaking of which’ Ezra thinks. ’The essence within the crystal ball is leaking out’

’If I don’t end things here quickly, a good amount of the essence will be lost’ he realizes.

"Hmmm...

’Should I just go and absorb its essence and then come back...?’

After a few seconds, Ezra shakes his head lightly.

’No. I don’t want to leave’

Ezra finds himself smiling, showing that even though he lay in mortal danger, his confidence and joy for battle never left.

To this, Ezra shakes his head at himself, feeling incredulous at such a discovery.

’Unbelievable. I’m unbelievable’

Regardless, he quickly regains his wits, and sure enough, he could sense the creature’s having gathered.

Though it is hard to gauge their exact number, Ezra estimates there are three or four in number.

Now, they were coming towards him ever so slowly, perhaps searching for weaknesses or waiting for the perfect moment to strike?

Ezra felt it once again.

’They’re not mindless. They’re hunting me.’

From previous encounters, he had figured out the essence of these shadow creatures.

They moved through the floor, invisible and intangible until the moment of their strike.

Naturally hard to deal with, Ezra wasn’t going to give them time to attack at their own pace.

A small flame burst to life in his palm, which he promptly enlarged, casting a ray light across the ground to where he could feel the presence of moving beings.

In face of this, the shadows hesitate, their movements becoming erratic as they promptly scatter, each seeking asylum away from the light.

To this, Ezra counts their number just in time for the flame to die out, it’s energy siphoned.

’Four’

Again, Ezra makes another discovery.

’The larger the things I conjure with energy, the faster it’s absorbed’

Thus sealing his plan of rampantly throwing fire or shooting energy beams.

Although, perhaps that could work in close quarters.

....!

Spoken too soon.

Almost as the thought landed, Ezra catches the presence of a shadow within attacking distance.

’But how?!’

He could feel the shadows that scattered and none of them had gotten close.

So...

’There’s a fifth one!’

Regardless, he wasn’t standing around.

Without hesitation, Ezra infuses energy into the two swords and lets off a slash just as the shadow grazes his arm.

Tracing the dim light of the energy slashes, Ezra sees that they push the shadow by almost one meter before suddenly going poof, extinguished.

’What?’ Ezra is flabbergasted.

He had expected for those slashes to take care of the shadow..

But they hadn’t.

Ezra’s eyes narrow. ’The energy within the slashes was siphoned...but why didn’t it finish off the shadow?"

He had thought energy slashes or energy attacks themselves were the bane of the shadows, but this corrected that assumption.

’Then...are elemental attacks their weakness?’

Ezra’s mind races with thought as he formulates a new plan, a smile on his face at the realization.

The sharp sting from the shallow cut on his arm reminds him that the shadows wouldn’t wait for him to figure things out.

He clenched his jaw, focusing on the remaining energy within him.

This was going to be a battle of attrition, and the odds were stacked against him.

Just in time, A faint, almost imperceptible sound reached his ears—a subtle ripple in the air.

Ezra pivoted sharply, both blades of Skyfall drawn in a defensive arc.

The two swords glimmered faintly, their edges infused with the smallest amount of energy to prevent it from dissipating too quickly.

Clang!

A claw collided with his swords, the impact sending vibrations up his arms.

Ezra gritted his teeth, adjusting his stance to absorb the force.

The shadow recoiled, slipping back into the floor as if it had never been there.

"Not this time," Ezra growled.

He slammed one blade into the ground, sending a small burst of flames into the surrounding area.

The sudden light illuminated the silhouettes of the creatures, forcing them to scatter once more.

Four shadows darted away, but Ezra’s eyes caught a flicker of movement in the opposite direction—the fifth shadow had hidden itself well, waiting for the perfect ambush.

’I knew it,’ Ezra thought. ’They’re adapting.’

But so was he.

Ezra took a deep breath, calming the storm of thoughts in his mind.

With a flick of his wrist, he imbued his blades with fire once again, but this time, he didn’t release it immediately.

Instead, he allows the flames to ripple faintly along the swords, using them as both a light source and a weapon.

The effect was immediate.

The nearest shadow hesitates, its swirling eyes locking onto the flames with what Ezra could only describe as unease.

’They hate light, but fire disrupts them completely,’ Ezra realized.

He dashed forward, slashing with precision.

Infusing an unholy amount of energy into the weapon, the flames on Skyfall’s edge seared through the shadow, eliciting a soundless scream as its form distorted.

Unlike before, this time, the creature didn’t recover—it dissolved into the ground, leaving only faint traces of residual energy.

"One down," Ezra murmured, his breathing slightly off but his focus razor-sharp.

The remaining shadows circled him, their movements cautious yet predatory.

Ezra could sense that they were reevaluating their approach.

He didn’t give them a chance.

Channelling his energy, Ezra creates a small but bright orb of fire in his palm, its glow illuminating the area as the energy imbued into it is constantly sucked away.

The shadows retreat instinctively, but Ezra wasn’t letting them escape so easily.

With a sharp motion, he hurls the orb toward the largest concentration of shadows.

The resulting burst of light force the creatures to materialize, their forms writhing as the fire scorches the ground.

Ezra lunges forward, his swords cutting through one of the exposed shadows.

The flames dance along its edges, burning away the darkness until it is no more.

"Two."

Ezra’s movements became more fluid as he adapted to the battle, but his injuries also increased.

Plus, the shadows were adapting just as fast as he was.

So even when each clash revealed more about the creatures—how they moved, their weaknesses, and the best ways to exploit them, Ezra still found himself at a disadvantage.

However, his energy reserves were dwindling.

The oppressive environment drained him with every passing moment, and the constant need to use elemental attacks only accelerated the process.

’This can’t drag on,’ Ezra thought. ’If I don’t finish them soon, I’ll run out of energy entirely.’

The three remaining shadows seem to sense his fatigue and promptly take advantage of it.

They moved faster, their attacks now viciously coordinated.

Ezra finds himself on the defensive, parrying claw strikes from all directions.

A sudden sharp pain shot through his side as one of the shadows managed to land a hit.

Ezra staggers but doesn’t fall, retaliating with a fiery slash that forces the creature to retreat.