Extra's Ascent-Chapter 105: VeilBourne Episode 3: The End Of It (i)

Kyle? He inhaled, relaxing his tendons that were beginning to stretch beyond normal from exhaustion.

His eyes wandered beyond the crowd, beyond the chaos, settling on a lone figure. Kyle’s gaze locked onto him, a silent exchange passing between them. It was as if he sought unspoken permission… and received it.

A single nod.

Permission granted.

Kyle stepped forward.

"To have brought me this far… I acknowledge your growth. The progress you’ve made in just two weeks is remarkable. But this… this is where it ends!"

Spatial Art by its very nature was never meant for offense. It had always been a support-class Art, one designed to bolster others, to provide cover, or to create safe passage in the thick of battle.

Those who specialized in it were trained to forsake the rush of the frontlines, to accept their place as the silent hands behind every victory.

But Kyle wasn’t like the others.

Through sheer ingenuity and boundless imagination, he’d pushed the boundaries of what was thought possible.

He didn’t just rely on Spatial Art as what it is predetermined to be. No, he? He redefined it. In his hands, the impossible became a viable technique. Something born of strategy, of vision, and of evolution.

His eyes narrowed.

"Breaker Orb."

At his command, five radiant orbs materialized behind him. Each one shimmered with translucent hues, swirling with layers of compressed energy. They hovered at waist level, orbiting Kyle like miniature satellites awaiting a directive.

Aldrich narrowed his eyes, activating his clairvoyance to scan the orbs.

Nothing.

No readings. No traceable signatures. They looked like harmless balls of light, decorative at best.

But Kyle wasn’t one for theatrics.

One orb detached from the formation and rocketed toward Aldrich, leaving the remaining four to circle protectively around its caster.

The projectile closed the distance at blistering speed fast enough to alarm, but not enough to escape Aldrich’s sight.

He didn’t move.

Instead, his mind calculated.

’What’s the trick?’

It couldn’t be just a glowing ball. There had to be a catch. An effect. A trigger of some sort.

Kyle wouldn’t just waste mana on sending a normal glowing orb his way.

’Could it be like my igniting arrow? The kind that explodes upon proximity?’

Now that would make more sense than just thinking of it as any normal orb.

If that was true, he could use it to his advantage.

Aldrich decided. He would let it draw near, close enough to erupt in his face and in that exact moment, use the explosion’s cover to switch places with the arrow closest to Kyle. From there, he’d have a clean shot, point-blank. A strike Kyle wouldn’t see coming.

It would ultimately damage Kyle more than imagined and a clearer picture of ending the duel can be drawn.

That was the plan. Clean. Calculated.

The orb screamed toward him, its glow intensifying.

Then came the screeching.

A high-pitched sound that grated against his senses, signalling imminent detonation.

He prepared himself.

Focused his mind.

Activated the technique!

BOOM!!

Too late.

Updat𝓮d from freewēbnoveℓ.com.

The explosion detonated with ferocity, the sheer force launching Aldrich through the air. His body slammed into the far wall, a sickening crunch following the impact.

Pain shot through his frame.

His skin smouldered. Arms were scorched. Even with his mana skin absorbing most of the damage, the burns were severe. His vision blurred, and the taste of iron filled his mouth.

Blood.

He coughed harshly, hunched over, his body trembling.

But still, he moved.

Mana coursed through him, channelling toward the burns and fractures. Slowly, agonizingly, his injuries began to knit together. Tissue regrew. Bones aligned. Skin reformed.

But there was a price.

A steep one.

His mana reserve, already dwindling plunged further into the red.

’No… no, no…!’

Panic crept in.

He could feel it, the strain of the second clover eye. The first one was manageable. But activating the second… it consumed mana at a monstrous rate. And with each healing done, each blink, each scan… the reserve bled out faster than he could contain it.

That last heal?

It might’ve been the final nail.

His breathing grew ragged.

He had minutes left if that. One more drawn-out exchange and his body would collapse under the weight of mana exhaustion.

’I need to end this… now!’

There was no more room for hesitation. One move. One final sequence. That was all he had left to win.

He reached for his quiver, his fingers brushing over the remaining arrows.

Too few.

Not enough.

’Damn it…!’

His gaze swept across the battlefield. Arrows were scattered everywhere, some embedded in the ground, others rolling freely.

A flicker of hope.

Those arrows gave him tactical mobility. He could still use the blink technique, still shift as long as he had line of sight and mana to spare.

But even that had become a gamble.

Reckless action could spell his downfall. One misstep, one wrong move, and it was over.

He needed clarity.

Strategy.

The explosion… it hadn’t just been about damage.

It had interfered with his blink.

That was the most damning revelation of all.

He’d tried to use the spatial exchange technique the moment the orb neared, but it hadn’t worked. The technique failed to activate.

’It disrupted my skill…? No doubt about it.’

If those orbs could tamper with spatial displacement…

Then blinking was off the table.

He clenched his fists, his jaw tightening.

That left him with raw mana. Physical skill. And pure grit.

’There’s still four more of tho—

His thoughts froze.

Another orb appeared behind Kyle, taking the place of the one previously used.

’He can regenerate them?!’

Fear crawled up his spine.

Kyle had turned a passive Art into a relentless offence, something the world had never seen. A weaponized spatial construct with utility, control, and regeneration?

This wasn’t just a fight.

It was a statement.

Aldrich stared down his opponent, battered but unbroken.

Kyle stood, calm as ever, four orbs dancing around him, silent yet screaming with threat.

Aldrich’s body ached, but his will refused to bend.

He had nothing left to spare.

Nothing left to lose.

But he could still fight.

He had to.

For survival.