Ex rank talent Awakening: 100\% Dodge rate-Chapter 291: METEOR VS SHADOW

Undead rushed toward the Marquis with relentless fury — dire wolves snarling, humans moaning, ogres thundering, goblins screeching. Cain threw every last corpse in his arsenal at the variant. A massive tide of rotting flesh and cursed bone, numbering over five hundred, surged toward the enemy like a black tsunami of death.

"I’ll keep him busy! Prioritize rescuing them!" Cain barked over the cacophony, his voice sharp and commanding.

Brian nodded once, jaw clenched, eyes locked with purpose. Without hesitation, he sheathed his sword into his inventory — he needed his hands free, not for battle, but to carry his comrades. The dead could not be allowed to remain dead.

"Finish this, Alexander. You’ve taken too long."

Augustus’ voice cut through the chaos, low and irritated, the tone of a disappointed god.

The variant nodded slowly.

A pool of blood expanded beneath him, seething and churning like a living thing. In one hand, he still held Chris by the neck. Without warning, his grip tightened with a sickening crunch — snap!

He tossed Chris aside like discarded trash, the boy’s limp body slapping against the stone with a thud.

"Chris!"

Brian’s scream tore from his lungs, guttural and raw, rage boiling beneath his skin. But despite the fire in his chest, he forced himself to stay calm. His hands trembled, not from fear, but restraint.

He moved to save Dual Blade next — but he was far, far too late.

The blood beneath the variant surged like a living ocean, tendrils of crimson shooting out. Spear-like spikes erupted upward, impaling Dual Blade through the chest, piercing his heart with deadly precision.

The light faded instantly from Dual Blade’s eyes.

Chris.

Dual Blade.

Gone in an instant.

Brian stopped in his tracks, breath hitching. His soul ached. But there was no time — not now. His grief would have to wait.

While Cain’s undead army distracted the variant, Brian gathered the lifeless bodies of his teammates, his steps heavy with sorrow and urgency. He raced toward the healer, blood smeared across his armor, heart numb.

"Can you resurrect them?" he asked, eyes burning with need.

The healer’s hands glowed faintly. "Yes... but only two. If I bring them back now, I won’t be able to revive anyone else. Not today."

"I understand," Brian replied quietly, then firmer. "Do it. I’ll end this — quickly."

His words were ice, his eyes even colder.

He turned from his fallen comrades, each step weighted with determination. Sword back in hand, he marched forward, aura surging.

"Abyss, withdraw your undead. I’ve got this."

Cain’s voice replied sharply, "What are you trying to do?! Don’t throw your life away!"

Brian didn’t flinch. "It’s fine. I know exactly what I’m doing."

If the heart was unreachable...

If a precise strike wouldn’t work...

Then he would obliterate the enemy.

"Everyone, step back!"

The command rang clear, slicing through the battlefield. The team fell back instinctively, understanding the gravity of Brian’s words.

He gripped his sword tight, the runes along its blade glowing faintly.

Then, in a whisper:

"Heaven’s Fall."

A rift opened in the sky.

The heavens answered.

A massive celestial body — a cleaved meteor engulfed in flame — descended like divine punishment. The air screamed, shockwaves rippling outward. The temperature soared. A miniature sun plummeted toward the battlefield, unstoppable.

Silence.

Every gaze lifted to the sky, breath stolen, hearts frozen. Even the variant, ruthless and proud, stared upward — momentarily shaken.

"You just had to force my hand, didn’t you?"

Augustus sighed, almost regretfully. Then, bitterly: "Fine."

Darkness surged from him — thick and heavy, ancient. Not his power, no. It was drawn from Rebecca, from their twisted link forged through resurrection. It sapped his mind and burned through his stamina, but it gave him what he needed.

A curtain of darkness rose from his hands, stretching wide, swallowing the sky.

The world watched — helpless.

Meteor versus shadow.

Fire against void.

Light against abyss.

Minutes passed.

Then... nothing.

The meteor... was gone.

Swallowed whole. Extinguished.

"No..." Brian whispered, disbelief hollow in his chest. "How...?"

His legs wobbled. His knees buckled.

Augustus, though breathless, stood tall. His chest heaved, sweat dampened his brow, but a cruel smile tugged at his lips.

"Child’s play," he muttered.

Brian collapsed.

Riddled.

Blood bullets tore into him from nowhere — thighs, arms, legs. The sharp sting of cursed blood digging into his flesh, his HP rapidly draining.

"Tsk. Soul Shield!" Cain growled.

He swapped with an undead instantly, a spiritual barrier springing up just in time to deflect another barrage. He caught Brian in his arms, panting.

"Damn it, Brian! You zoned out in battle?! What are you, a child?!"

Cain’s voice was venomous, but beneath it was fear. He didn’t even turn his head — his eyes stayed fixed on Augustus and the variant, reading every twitch.

Then Cain dropped, blood blooming from his back.

"How?!"

The bullets... had struck from behind.

Dark portals.

They had begun appearing — rippling black holes forming in midair, connecting space from front to back. A network of angles and death.

"You all... be careful of those dark holes materializing around—urgh!"

Aaron dropped too, one hand clutching his ribs, blood seeping between his fingers. He had seen it — the bullet entering one hole and exiting through another — but his body hadn’t been fast enough.

He hit the dirt, teeth gritted, agony radiating from his gut.

And in that moment, as pain numbed his limbs, reality set in.

He was the observer — the tactician. The one who should be countering shadow slaves. But he had no power, no speed, no experience.

He had barked orders from the shadows.

While others bled and died.

Now he lay broken, realizing just how pathetic he had become.

A flash of light.

Chris and Dual Blade — returned from death — stood side by side.

The glow of resurrection faded, but something else took its place: power.

Eight arms unfurled from Dual Blade’s side — monstrous and majestic. The limiters of time released their grip on him, and with each additional limb came exponential strength.

Four hours had passed.

Each arm added doubled his power again.

From 4... to 8... to 128× power.

His aura rippled like a tidal wave. The battlefield trembled beneath his steps. The time for hesitation... was over.

And vengeance had found new arms.

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