Chapter 958 Burn Brightly
\'Alright, let\'s try this.\' Ritsuka thought. He grabbed the blade and took a breath before twisting it. The space around them shimmered.
"Let\'s go." Lee Seng tapped Evan. He looked down and jumped.
\'W-what\'re we gonna do?!?\' Evan asked running after Lee Seng.
\'Ritsuka, Evan, I\'m putting my trust in you guys!\' Lee Seng telepathically told them. He flew out of the shadow space, summoning Diminished Sun. Lee Seng pointed his head forwards and smiled.
\'Crap!\' Evan jumped out of the shadows and threw his hand forward, catching 004 mid-motion. \'I don\'t know what else to do here!\' Flames escaped Lee Seng\'s mouth, lighting up his core. Gold and silver energy exploded around him, surrounding him in traditional Fox Spirit clothes while the sword took on a more pristine look.
"Devouring Flames!" Lee Seng slashed the sword against 004\'s back, lighting it on fire. Evan sailed into the sea of darkness, plunging into Ritsuka\'s realm.
"I thought I was gonna die!" Evan gasped. Ritsuka continued to move the space as black fire scattered across the empty space.
"Grah!" 004 screeched, pushing Lee Seng backwards.
\'Wind: Flying.\' Lee Seng scrawled the rune, slashing it. He hovered in mid-air watching 004 turn his attention onto Lee Seng. The tendrils lashed outwards towards Lee Seng, ripping the space around them in purple energy.
"Argh." Evan jumped out of the shadow space and halted the move. Tinier eyes sprouted on 004\'s back, revealing who the culprit behind his frozen attacks. The Failed One roared as he tried to break out of it.
"Wisp Eater." Lee Seng extended his right hand out and showered the Failed One in gold and silver wisps. The wisps landed on the frozen Failed One\'s tendrils and energy and began to eat away at them. 004 howled in pain as the kinetic hold broke. Beams of light exploded out of the Failed One\'s body, randomly firing everywhere.
The beams collided against Lee Seng and Evan, forcing them backwards as the space grew even more unstable. Rocks spilled from the all around them while the Failed One\'s size grew larger.
"Your death shall be my wish!" 004 shouted. The Failed One whipped around and took one look at Evan. Evan froze in place, suspended from the laws of gravity.
\'Crap.\' Ritsuka thought. He had moved himself to watch Evan. \'I can\'t get to Evan at this rate!\' Ritsuka pushed the space towards Evan.
"That\'s where you are." 004\'s large eye shifted slightly to look directly at Ritsuka. "I was wondering where you were." 004\'s eye pulsed, freezing Ritsuka in place.
\'How did he know? I thought they wouldn\'t be able to tell.\' Lee Seng thought to himself. He pulled the wisps back into him and launched himself forward.
"I haven\'t forgotten about you." 004 spoke. The entire space distorted and many eyes began to sprout from thin air. "I am the one who sees all! Nothing will escape my sight!" The entire space became 004\'s eyes. Everywhere Lee Seng looked, there was only the sight of 004 staring back at him.
Lee Seng\'s core burned brightly. Flames enveloped him as the eyes began to continuously berate him with paralyzation effects. Lee Seng grunted as he tried to nullify the effects to no avail.
"Now die!" 004 screamed. The eyes all lit up, firing lasers in random directions. A hand flew out, pulling Lee Seng into it and disappearing. The lasers flew past, missing their target.
Lee Seng landed on the floor with Evan frozen in place behind him. Ritsuka grunted and looked out of the safe haven.
"That thing is going to kill us if we don\'t do something soon." Ritsuka told Lee Seng. Lee Seng stood up and watched as the Failed One\'s large eye followed them.
"He\'s watching us." Lee Seng observed.
"Yeah, he knows where we are. There\'s only a matter of time before he tries to get us out."Ritsuka warned. Lee Seng nodded and turned to Evan. He touched Evan, releasing him from his paralyzation.
"W-what happened?" Evan gasped.
"No time." Lee Seng turned to watch 004 fire beams straight for the group.
"Come out before I make you!" 004 shouted. "I see everything! I know everything that\'s happening! I will adapt. I will overcome. And we will become the top! You will all die like your father!"
Lee Seng tightened his jaw and jumped out of Ritsuka\'s shadow realm. Lasers flew straight for Lee Seng. He swung his right hand, destroying the lasers in an instant. The eyes all pulsed, stunning him instantly. The screeches of the wisps echoed through the air as they pushed through Lee Seng\'s aura.
[Paralyzation has been nullified!]
"Tssss…." Lee Seng let out a sharp breath from his teeth. Flames brushed past his face. "You will adapt? You\'ll overcome and get to the top? Ha! Don\'t make me laugh!" Flames erupted from Lee Seng\'s body, whipping around him. They circled around, attaching and growing as the core in Lee Seng\'s body burned hotter.
004 watched as the air began to streak with heat. The dome of eyes he had trapped his prey in was now growing hotter.
"You puny human…" 004 growled. "You think this will affect me?!? You couldn\'t even burn me—" Flames filled every crevice of the eye dome. The heat exploded and eyes began to pop. Lee Seng let go of Diminished Sun, watching it turn to flames as he slowly raised his hand and pointed at 004. A concentrated beam of fire flew out, piercing straight through the large eyeball creature. 004\'s eyes widened as Lee Seng flicked his finger to the left. Another hole grew from 004\'s body. Lee Seng\'s finger whipped, carving more holes into the eyeball monster\'s body.
"I\'ll make sure every single one of you dies a horrific death." Lee Seng crumpled his pointed finger into a fist. "I\'ll set you free from your suffering. Devouring Flame!" Lee Seng blinked forward, piercing his hand into the pupil of 004\'s large body. The Failed One screeched. Black flames ate the monster from the inside in. Black flames billowed out of the small holes, covering it in fire.
Lee Seng pulled his hand out and shook the flames and blood off. He listened ot the sounds of shrieks as the eyes exploded.
"N-no! You couldn\'t! You\'re just a stupid human!" 004 shouted, going in for one last attack. Tendrils flew straight for Lee Seng, attempting to kill Lee Seng in the process.
"I\'m not just some stupid human." Lee Seng swung his hand at the monster. "I\'m a Fox Spirit. Get it right!" 004\'s tendrils ripped to pieces with a single swipe. Lee Seng punched with his right fist and watched the Failed One turn into burning flesh.
004\'s scream went on for a while until nothing but black flames and darkness were left. Lee Seng watched as a strange red-black energy came forth. Lee Seng reached for it and watched the System identify the energy.
[Failed One 004 Energy]
Lee Seng grabbed it and felt his core burn much stronger than before. He winced at the pai, feeling something move from within.
[/Keng\'s Egg/ has started to crack.]
"Argh…!" Lee Seng gritted his teeth, falling into the darkness below.
"Lee!" Evan pointed. "He\'s falling!" Ritsuka turned the space and rushed after him.
\'What\'s happening to me…?!?\' Lee Seng thought. A familiar energy came closer to him. He reached out for it and watched as a hand grabbed him and pulled him inside. Lee Seng tumbled onto the ground with Evan, letting out another yelp.
"What\'s happening?" Evan asked Lee Seng.
"Argh!" Lee Seng shrieked.
[Calis has been detected with a Failed One within him.]
Lee Seng lifted into the air, head and arms dangling, helplessly. Gold and silver energy covered the entire space.
[Teleportation has been activated. Warping in three… two… one!]
The trio flashed, dropping onto the stone ground. Lee Seng\'s body jerked forward, weaving through the tunnels.
"What the hell?" A Deimon gasped. Deimons\' heads exploded in fire as Lee Seng continued forward. He busted through a wall, feeling Calis\'s energy. It was faint.
"Heh…" Calis laughed weakly. He was chained against a wall all bloodied. "What took you so long…?" Lee Seng jerked to a stop, lifting his arm.
[Extracting Failed One 014: They Who Howls.]
"A-ahh!" Calis screamed. The black marks formed and with it, the Failed One\'s marks appeared. Lee Seng watched as the System extracted it and watched as his Merman ally passed out.
[Numbers 004, 009 and 014 have been extracted!]
[Combining Failed One energy orbs into one!]
[Devouring Twelve has activated!]
Lee Seng began to feel an intense pain flare throughout his entire body. He could feel himself succumbing to his own power.
\'W-what\'s happening…?\' Lee Seng asked before passing out.