Reborn as an Extra Chapter 590: Fighting Inside An Unstable Wormhole! Part-2.
Previously on Reborn as an Extra...
The cube of possibilities had gone completely berserk, offering little aid in locating Raika, much less his master.
'Yet his inability to vanish within the wormhole turns into a real edge...'
Such a surprising handicap landing on Raika was the last thing Rio had anticipated.
Rio's struggle against Raika stemmed chiefly from the fact that Raika regenerated swiftly from every injury inflicted upon him and could phase in and out of being whenever he pleased.
This ability served as an ideal foil to Rio's wide array of fighting methods and moves, all designed to handle diverse foes effectively.
Though Rio possessed an enormous collection of techniques, not a single one proved effective against Raika, who was indeed an utterly strange entity.
Having clashed with Raika for what felt like an eternity, Rio had long realized the futility of attempting to slay or obliterate him, since nothing affected him in the slightest.
'Still, how can I retrieve Liam from his clutches without devising a method to deal lasting injury to him?'
Rio had experimented with every power at his disposal, yet he remained incapable of inflicting any enduring harm on Raika.
Lacking the means to cause lasting wounds, Rio found himself unable to deliver a solid strike to Raika or the hovering sacred lyre that held Liam's soul!
As Rio grew increasingly baffled about his next move, he abruptly detected the sudden vanishing of Liam's soul presence and energy from Raika's lyre!
Furthermore, the once-radiant lyre of Raika lost its glow in an instant, with fissures spreading across its surface as though assaulted by some ferocious force that wrecked it terribly right away!
"What!?"
"What!?"
In that instant, both Raika and Rio stood utterly stunned, forgetting their ongoing battle entirely!
Though they continued plummeting through the wormhole, neither spared a moment to notice amid the shock!
Shock etched across their features as they stared at the suspended lyre!
"What have you done to Liam's soul!?"
Rio at once assumed Raika had tampered with Liam's soul, but astonishingly, Raika appeared equally stunned.
"T-this... I have no clue! What occurred!? His soul is gone!?"
Rio's calm returned upon witnessing Raika's stunned expression, sparking an idea in his thoughts.
'Could Ellie be the one behind this?'
While locked in combat, Rio had tasked Ellie with devising a strategy, but their plunge into the wormhole severed his link with her!
Rio remained clueless about Ellie's actions or the method she used to free Liam's soul from Raika's control.
One fact stood clear now: Raika's defeat was sealed!
This fight against Raika involved more than just Rio! Ellie had been involved right from the outset!!
True to his promise, Rio kept Raika occupied flawlessly, ensuring Raika never once targeted Ellie!
Raika hadn't even viewed Ellie as part of the conflict, fixating solely on assaulting Rio or bickering with him!
With his attention locked entirely on Rio, Raika stayed oblivious to Ellie's schemes and preparations, dismissing her as too feeble to influence the fight.
He had gravely misjudged Ellie's capabilities!
His underestimation arose from her inaction throughout, and he instinctively ignored her due to her apparent frailty and lack of offensive power!
For the first time, fury and irritation twisted Raika's features!
"I will slaughter that cursed woman!!!"
Only after a prolonged delay did Raika grasp the situation!
His sluggish response allowed Rio to close the distance swiftly!
In his former life, Rio had dealt with swarms of mosquitoes and airborne nuisances as major annoyances.
Upon arriving in this realm and gaining command over elementals, Rio crafted a technique specifically to counter such pests!
It went by the name 'Mosquito Repelling Wind'!
Curious about its uniqueness? The secret lies in its sheer simplicity—that's what sets it apart!
Rio stealthily approached Raika's flank before slashing his blade downward with immense power, sending the gathered wind elementals hurling Raika's form away like a shot from a gun!!
This blade art excelled at generating gusts of wind strong enough to hurl any beast miles away from Rio without ending its life!
"It's clear to me now... you can't summon multiple projections simultaneously, and your link to the original form snapped the instant you entered the wormhole!"
"That's the reason you attempted to ascend earlier—you can't phase out and rematerialize beside Ellie anymore, since you can't rely on your main body to erase you!"
Tracking proved impossible within the wormhole; consequently, the primary entity couldn't pinpoint the location of Raika's projection!
Not only was Raika unable to vanish, but his tie to the core body had been severed as well!
This implied,
'The 'World Authority' he employed against me has ceased functioning!'
Rio had observed this during Raika's recent strikes!
Raika had abandoned world authorities, instead manipulating diverse elementals to disrupt the wormhole's stability and force Rio and himself out!
However, Rio thwarted that effort with spatial disturbances!
Up to this point, Raika had battled Rio using only his own projection!
As a mere duplicate, he ought to have created additional replicas if desired, yet he refrained!
This revealed that even Raika faced constraints, unable to shatter the world's laws with impunity.
Whoever empowered Raika might be a formidable existence, but evidently not beyond the world's inherent laws!
They had granted Raika tremendous strength, including a fragment of their authority!
Replicating another Raika with equivalent finesse and might was utterly impossible!
"I won't allow you to escape here and return to her!"
Rio had deduced Raika's predicament fully, realizing that to confront Ellie, Raika must return to the wormhole's origin or emerge from it.
Once outside, reconnection with the main body would enable him to warp to Ellie's location by phasing in and out of reality.
But Rio resolved to prevent exactly that!
Previously, Raika had barred him from aiding Liam, but now Rio would bar Raika from reaching Liam and Ellie to shield them!
"Tch!"
Noticing Rio obstructing the return path, Raika gritted his teeth and charged at the wormhole's barriers!
Yet Rio wasn't foolish; he acted without delay!
"Take this! You pesky mosquito bastard!!"