Chapter 189: The Secret Technique Unleashed

  To some extent, there isn't much difference between Crimson Denizens and Fme Haze.

  If there is a distinction, it lies in the fact that Crimson Denizens require a vast amount of Power of Existence to ensure their continued presence in this world.

  In contrast, Crimson Lords form contracts with Fme Haze, whereby the tter dedicates everything they have—past, present, and future—to the Crimson Lord.

  In return, the Crimson Lord bestows their immense power upon the Fme Haze, allowing them to wield strength originally belonging to the Crimson Lord.

  In a way, the retionship between a Fme Haze and a Crimson Lord is somewhat simir to that between a Jinchūriki and their Tailed Beast in Naruto.

  However, unlike the forceful sealing process in that series, Crimson Lords willingly seal themselves within their Fme Haze hosts and enter a dormant state.

  Their power is simply too overwhelming; if it were to be fully unleashed, a Fme Haze unable to withstand it would be instantly reduced to ashes.

  And the gun in Farigani's hand was a relic designed to break this seal and forcibly awaken a Crimson Lord.

  He was certain that if he struck the Fme Haze before him, the powerful Crimson Lord—Astor—would manifest in this world.

  The girl before him, however, would be destroyed, unable to bear the overwhelming power.

  After that, Astor would inevitably leave to prevent his presence from disrupting the human world.

  This fleeting moment would be the perfect opportunity for Farigani to put his pn into motion—allowing Marianne to be resurrected.

  But...

  "Cng!!"

  The bullet did not hit Shana as Farigani had anticipated.

  Instead, just before it struck her, a transparent, eggshell-like barrier suddenly emerged, enveloping the girl.

  The bullet, fired from the relic, rebounded off the barrier and was deflected away, shattering Farigani’s st hope.

  "Whew… Just in time."

  Behind Shana, Alex let out a sigh of relief, wiping the sweat from his forehead.

  He had no idea what that gun was, but his Future Sight had shown him clearly—three seconds from now, Shana would be struck, triggering a massive explosion.

  He didn’t know exactly what would happen, but it was obvious that it wouldn’t be anything good.

  Luckily, as a Padin, Alex had developed the good habit of keeping his invincibility ability ready at all times.

  Seeing the situation turn dire, he had acted immediately.

  Fortunately, he made it just in time.

  "I need to upgrade this Royal Cross Sword Technique into a permanent skill once I have enough dimension points.

  Say what you will, but invincibility is always useful… at least as insurance."

  "I won't accept defeat so easily!"

  At that moment, Farigani let out an enraged roar.

  With his remaining right hand, he discarded the revolver and picked up the bell that had fallen to the ground, swinging it forcefully.

  "Cng!!"

  A series of chimes rang out, reverberating like sound waves in all directions.

  Upon hearing the sound, Alex and Shana's expressions changed slightly, and they instinctively halted.

  Just now, they had both felt an abrupt shift in the atmosphere around them.

  It was an eerie sensation—difficult to describe, but suffocating.

  It was akin to the feeling before an earthquake, a volcanic eruption, or a tsunami.

  People might not be able to detect anything directly, but they could instinctively sense the impending catastrophe.

  That was the kind of premonition Alex and Shana were experiencing at this moment.

  "Boom!!!"

  Suddenly, an enormous whirlwind of bluish-white fmes erupted from Farigani's location, shooting straight into the sky.

  The violent surge of air was so intense that even Alex and Shana were forced to retreat in disarray.

  Everything else on the battlefield—objects, buildings, and even people—was sucked into the vortex and mercilessly torn apart before being flung away.

  "What's happening?!"

  "Farigani is absorbing Power of Existence in massive quantities!"

  "Impossible! He’s absorbing it way too fast! Even a Crimson Lord shouldn’t be able to take in Power of Existence at such a speed!"

  Upon hearing Astor’s response, Shana’s eyes widened in shock.

  Crimson Denizens needed to consume Power of Existence, but the process required time to digest.

  A more fitting analogy would be cooking a meal—absorbing Power of Existence from humans was like preparing ingredients, processing them, and then consuming them for energy.

  This was also why Crimson Lords often employed Rinne as intermediaries, akin to chefs preparing the energy for them to consume efficiently.

  But… there was always a limit!

  Even a Crimson Lord couldn’t absorb Power of Existence at such a rate!

  Soon, Astor provided the answer.

  "He’s not drawing Power of Existence from humans—he’s drawing it from torches!"

  "What?!"

  Shana was stunned.

  If it was from torches, then this absorption speed made sense.

  Torches were nothing more than the remnants of people whose Power of Existence had already been consumed by Crimson Denizens.

  They were akin to mindless husks, lingering in the human world only to prevent noticeable distortions in reality.

  If Farigani was absorbing Power of Existence from torches, then he could do so at will, effortlessly.

  But the real question was…

  "Just how many torches has he created? What is he pnning?!"

  Feeling the immense Power of Existence converging around Farigani, Shana gritted her teeth.

  This was far beyond the normal intake of a Crimson Lord.

  The number of humans he had turned into torches must have reached the thousands—if not more!

  "With this scale… Could he be trying to unleash City Devour?!"

  "What's that?"

  Hearing Astor's words, Alex turned toward Shana, puzzled.

  Originally, he had intended to rush into the storm and drag that bastard out, but he quickly realized that was impossible.

  The tempest, composed entirely of Power of Existence, was like a massive whirlpool in the middle of an ocean—utterly impenetrable.

  This was a pure barrier of raw energy, unaffected even by dispelling magic.

  Worse yet, the storm was distorting space itself, preventing Alex from using teleportation.

  For now, all he could do was rely on the Fme Haze to come up with a solution.

  "That is a truly evil secret technique!"

  Hearing Alex's question, Astor quickly began expining.

  "You should know that when Crimson Denizens devour existence, reality becomes distorted. That’s why they create 'Torches' to neutralize and alleviate these distortions, giving the world time to repair these 'gaps.' However, if a distortion in a certain area becomes too massive for the world to fix, that entire region will be completely destroyed, turning into pure Power of Existence.

  For Crimson Denizens, this means an immense source of power..."

  In other words, it's like a system that crashes from too many bugs and has to be reformatted.

  "I get it. What do we do now?"

  "Farigani is unleashing City Devour. We must interrupt his ritual. But right now, he’s completely engulfed in an overwhelming amount of Power of Existence. We can't attack him, and even if we could, unless we remove him from this world, we won’t be able to sever the technique..."

  "Hmm..."

  Hearing this, Alex furrowed his brows and thought for a moment. Then, his eyes lit up.

  "Astor, let me confirm one thing. Both you and that Farigani—you're from the world known as 'Crimson Realm,' correct?"

  "That is correct."

  Though unsure why Alex was asking this at such a crucial moment, Astor still gave him a clear answer.

  "So, in other words, to this world, you are interdimensional beings from another pne. Is that right?"

  "...Yes, that is an accurate understanding."

  "Perfect."

  Hearing Astor's response, Alex nodded.

  "I have an idea that might solve this, but before that, I need you to help cut through this damn barrier made of Power of Existence. I need some time."

  "Cut through it..."

  Hearing Alex's words, Shana tightened her grip on her bde, staring intently at the raging vortex in front of her.

  "...Can I do it?"

  "When you first fought me, the fmes you unleashed were about the same level as this power."

  "Ugh..."

  Remembering that battle, Shana's expression changed slightly.

  Alex, however, remained unconcerned. He merely gripped his Void Bde tightly, keeping his focus ahead.

  "Then I'll leave it to you, Shana. Show me the power of a Fme Haze."

  "You don’t need to say it. I'll do it!"

  Shana knew this wasn’t the time to argue with Alex, so she merely replied coldly before dashing forward.

  Raising her bde high, she swung it down fiercely at the firestorm in front of her.

  "Whoosh—!"

  The bde cshed against the whirling fmes, forcefully tearing open a gap.

  But before Shana could push further, an immense counterforce surged forth, knocking her backward.

  "Ugh..."

  "I’m asking, can you do this or not? We don’t have time for warm-ups!"

  "Shut up! I don’t need you to tell me!"

  Hearing Alex's compints, Shana snapped back without even turning around.

  She tightened her grip on her bde, locking her eyes on the firestorm ahead.

  Taking a deep breath, she raised her sword once more and swung it forward with all her might.

  "Ssh!!"

  As Shana’s sword came down, the swirling inferno was split apart once more.

  But before Alex could act, the gap sealed itself again.

  At the same time, the intensity of the Power of Existence surged, filling the air with an ominous pressure.

  "This isn’t working. If you can’t do it, I’ll take over. Though, I might be cutting it close on time..."

  "Ahhhhh!!!"

  Hearing this, Shana let out an enraged shout.

  "Shut up, shut up, shut up!! I said I can do it!!"

  As her furious voice echoed, fmes erupted from her raised sword.

  The searing crimson fire instantly extended, forming a massive ten-meter-long bde.

  Lifting the fiery greatsword high, Shana brought it crashing down in a single, decisive strike.

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