Reborn as an Extra Chapter 583: Raika and The Lyre of Faith. Part-6.
Previously on Reborn as an Extra...
‘Earlier, when miasma coursed through him, his whole form radiated an aura just like that from a demonized soul or a fiend itself...’
‘Yet now, channeling mana, his presence emits the pure essence typical of awakeners untouched by miasma’s corruption...’
‘How could such a thing even occur?’
Deep shock and utter confusion gripped Rio’s core, though his expression stayed utterly blank.
Even Rio, master of both miasma and mana, couldn’t purge their lingering traces from his form so swiftly!
Each time Rio tapped into mana or miasma, heavy residues and pulses clung to him and his surroundings, refusing to fade quickly.
Raika’s display stood in stark contrast.
He embodied a true mana wielder and a true miasma handler simultaneously!!
Switching to mana, only its ripples emanated from him! No hint of miasmic traces lingered, suggesting he’d never touched any miasma-based technique!
‘Could there be two of him?’
The oddity pushed Rio to wonder if twin Raikas, identical in looks but wielding distinct powers, assaulted him.
‘I must strike once to unravel this enigma’s true nature...’
Rio’s gaze sharpened as he unleashed his blade in a blur of velocity.
Rio mirrored Lia’s famed feint, pretending a sweeping cut only to unleash a ferocious thrust packed with devastating force!
“Ohhh~ Deep in my spirit, I sense you’re finally unleashing your full might~”
To Rio’s astonishment, Raika countered with Lia’s lion-claw strikes, deflecting the thrust and sending Rio’s sword veering off course amid those fierce waves echoing her technique.
Rio’s blade tip slammed into the earth after the miss, triggering a colossal blast that gouged a vast pit while shards scattered wildly!
Without a breath’s delay, Rio harnessed the local earth essence to forge enormous iron lances rivaling five-story towers, leaping airborne to widen the gap from Raika.
Rio hoisted his sword skyward before slashing downward at Raika, propelling scores of colossal iron lances hurtling toward him quicker than any projectile!
Those massive steel shafts served not as Rio’s prime assault; instead, he extended his sword intent to scan for mana or miasma pulses nearby, seeking clues if Raika had ‘vanished’ yet again.
Next, Rio invoked the ‘Golden Thunder’ exclusive to dragons, replicated during his dragon valley journey, and unleashed torrents of it across leagues of terrain.
Channeling the behemoth spears as conduits, Rio directed those potent, dense golden lightning strikes in a total saturation assault; no spot escaped, obliterating all in view!
The confining barrier lay in ruins, twisted irreparably.
A depression spanning scores of kilometers scarred the earth as countless tons of rubble erupted outward, pulverized into powder!
Just the enormous sealed portal and Ellie beside it remained untouched, shielded by the potent cleansing spell enveloping that towering mound.
Beyond that mound, the vast enclosure’s every corner lay utterly ravaged.
‘That mound’s fierce purification bars teleportation nearby, and Raika lingered too distant to sprint there physically...’
‘Reaching that haven demanded a desperate dash... yet he never attempted it...’
Hovering aloft, Rio deployed his sword intent and found no trace of Raika anywhere.
‘Confirmed... no ‘Teleportation’ or space-time power at play... this defies all norms...’
Rio had chosen ‘Golden Thunder’ to probe for space-time arts in Raika’s maneuvers, given how it embodied the ‘thunder’ law.
Upon mimicking it from the dragon princess, Rio recognized its rarity in channeling a ‘world’ law directly!
His ‘Limitless (X)’ gift and blade mastery let Rio bend the ‘thunder’ law into his own arsenal.
A ‘world’ law’s emergence renders teleportation and swift relocation arts nearly futile nearby, stirring chaotic spatial ripples.
Through golden thunder, Rio sealed off teleportation or any rapid shift technique.
Rio possessed alternatives like miasma and spatial arts for disrupting space, but they lagged in pace and potency.
Golden Thunder ranked among Rio’s swiftest, most effective tools, outpacing even ‘physics’ and ‘cosmic’ principles at times.
“You hoard far too many techniques, don’t you, Rio Flash?... I can’t fathom how you mimic powers tied to the ‘world’s’ ‘Laws’ so effortlessly...”
As Rio anticipated, Raika emerged untouched by the onslaught and lightning barrage.
He materialized before Rio, as if taunting his failure to connect despite the frenzy.
‘No illusion, no teleport, no hiding or stealth, and no motion skill either...’
Rio locked eyes with Raika, unmoved by the sneer twisting his features.
His visage held steady and blank as he resumed his guard.
‘More trials await... I’m piecing it together now...’
Sensing the intensity in Rio’s stare, Raika’s grin faded, his grip tightening on the lyre.
“You truly captivate, Rio Flash... Witnessing your helplessness only fuels your surge and rapid evolution...”
“I truly covet your liberation from this ‘world’s’ ‘laws’... ah~ Time for me to commit fully, lest I dishonor you, eh?”
A grave expression settled on Raika’s striking visage as he released the lyre he’d clutched till then.
The instrument hovered unsupported, radiating a gentle white glow.
Soft echoes of incantations and hymns emanated from the luminous lyre, drawing a scowl from Rio.
He observed the lyre’s pale glow seeping into Raika, triggering urgent warnings in his mind, so Rio lunged without pause.
Propelling forward, Rio denied Raika any chance to empower himself and unleashed a mighty technique.
With every ounce of strength, Rio blurred toward Raika at velocities mimicking instant relocation.
In a heartbeat, he materialized at Raika’s flank and lashed out with his sword in a torrent of velocity and might.
The assault’s raw velocity and vigor disrupted mana and miasma flows; such a blow could slay a top S-rank on contact or maim an nascent SS-rank caught unaware!
Yet to Rio’s dismay, Raika lifted a hand and pinched the sword mid-arc between two digits!
A shock front rippled outward, fracturing the heavens, yet Rio’s blade remained pinned fast in Raika’s right hand’s grip.
“Spare me the soul-based powers...”
Ere Rio could respond, Raika drove a fist into his gut, evading every barrier!
Disregarding sword intent and shadow robe safeguards, he hurled Rio with cataclysmic force against the enclosure’s edge!
Space-time tore asunder, spawning enormous fissures racing everywhere!
The colossal barrier trapping Ellie crumbled instantly!
Miasma surged from every side as Rio hurtled outward, crashing scores of kilometers distant into a vast miasmic, tainted lagoon!
“Ugh!... cough! Cough!”
Briefly, darkness claimed Rio before he clawed back awareness.
Rio drew on the lagoon’s miasma to mend his wounds while hacking up gouts of blood.
Gazing downward, a fist-wide void pierced his abdomen, crimson spurting like a geyser.
‘Such raw might... an enhanced take on the power... Link employs!...’