Crackle. Crackle. Crackle.


    Cracks began to appear in the mirror as the runes glowed brightly. At the same moment, a massive stream of energy erupted from the mirror, quickly transforming into a violent lightning bolt with ayer of jaws.


    ''He reflected my own attack back at me!'' Wain inwardly eximed as he swung his arm.


    He created a wall of darkness that split into several dark ghosts with eerie jaws. They pounced on the lightning but were instantly destroyed by the jaws of the lightning.


    ''Fuck! It didn''t just repel it, the lightning became stronger because of the energy of the artifact!'' Wain''s eyes went wide as he thrust his sword out in front of him.


    He had an indestructible weapon, but each defense cost him arge amount of energy, too, he always got some of the damage that went through the sword to him, so he had to minimize the damage.


    ''Can you handle it?'' Wain hastily asked while channeling energy into the dark sword beforehand.


    ''Sure. It''ll be difficult, but if you give me enough energy I can handle it, too, the three jaws on my de will seriously help me in absorbing energy.'' dius said in a calm voice with a serious expression.


    Tremble. Tremble. Tremble.


    Momentster a lightning bolt collided with the tip of the sword and waves of energy streamed down the de, trying to reach Wain. However, the three jaws on the sword quickly began to devour the energy. They couldn''t handle the full amount, but it was enough for Wain to reach only 1/10th of the power of the entire attack.


    A wave of pain went through his body as he shuddered from the powerful electric shocks. Wain felt as if he had been electrocuted, but considering how strong his body was, it hardly did him any meaningful damage.


    Crackle. Crackle. Crack.


    Wain crunched his bones, stretching as if he''d been asleep for a very long time.


    "Damn... Where did you find so many amazing artifacts? If someone else were in my ce, that mirror would be thest thing that one would see." Wain said in a careless manner while shaking his head from side to side.


    "Hah... I''ve been collecting these artifacts all over the world. I''ve researched information on every famous merchant, abandoned treasure house, and so on, however, it''s still not enough." Virion uttered in a calm voice with an ice-cold look.


    "What''s wrong? Do you think twelve artifacts won''t be enough to exhaust me? Too bad... You should have prepared better and found at least thirty artifacts." Wain muttered with a mocking smirk on his face.<novelnext>  </novelnext>


    "No... it''s not about quantity at all, it''s about quality... I may have twelve artifacts, though there are only nine left already, but they certainly won''t be enough to deal with your one." Virion said as his gaze drifted to dius, "Your sword cannot be destroyed. You''re lucky to be heir to the Nameless King, otherwise, you would never have received such an incredible weapon."


    Wain fell silent as he stared at dius and an unusual coldness appeared in his eyes. Wain realized that in Virion''s words was true since he had done nothing to obtain probably one of the greatest artifacts ever. This sword became his faithful partner, simply because it was the will of fate.


    ''Fate...? Damn, I can''t shake this unpleasant feeling that everything was already decided beforehand... I''d give a lot to make sure it didn''t happen, but I can''t give up my Beyond, Forms, and especially dius so easily...'' Wain muttered internally withplicated looks as his aura began to gradually weaken.


    ''Wain... You shouldn''t be thinking about that right now. Those thoughts only disturb you, especially during one of the most dangerous battles of your life.'' The Abyss Artist said in a serious voice as his blue eyes grew deeper, ''I''ll answer your questions after the battle if that makes you feel better, so for now, concentrate on not dying.''


    ''Yeah... You''re right. Virion is a dangerous opponent, I must not be distracted for a moment.'' Wain inwardly muttered with a slight nod of his head before looking at his opponent.


    He actually had a few seconds to attack Wain, but Virion couldn''t risk it either, so instead, he decided to prepare to use the next artifact.


    "I''ve used three artifacts already, so this will be my fourth. I admit you''re pretty good as you''ve only made a few attacks, but it won''t be that easy this time." Virion said in a serious voice as he extended his arm forward.


    A strange orb headed toward him that waspletely covered in creepy tentacles, slowly moving from side to side. At the same time, two lightning beasts began to act as they stood behind Virion and ducked slightly, preparing to attack.


    "Hmm... Do you think another artifact can do me any harm? Even my enhanced attack couldn''t do me any serious damage, so it''s just pointless." Wain said in a careless manner as he shrugged.


    "Well... All of my artifacts have a Legendary Rating, but that doesn''t mean their power is the same." Virion uttered with a deadly expression before channeling energy into the strange orb.


    Tremble. Tremble. Tremble.


    The sphere began to emit shockwaves as if there was a powerful explosion inside every second, then there was a shrill scream like the roar of a monster from nightmares. The tentacles on the sphere opened slightly as if trying to reach out and the space around Virion trembled.


    Crackle. Crackle. Crackle.


    Behind him, many red portals opened from which the tentacles appeared. More and more of them appeared by the second until they were at their limit and pointed their tips at Wain.


    ''What an unusual artifact... It doesn''t look like any monster, but these tentacles have a powerful aura... Each one is on the edge of the Fourth Chronicle... as well as these lightning beasts...'' Wain inwardly muttered as he prepared for battle, gripping his sword hilt tightly.