Chapter 239 : Second Gear

Words : 1103 Updated : Sep 27th, 2025

Cain's eyes widened as he saw the Sword Avatar generate sonic booms with its feet, moving across the room's ceiling at supersonic speed. Although Astral Wave Champion could move through the air using Air Walk, none of them could do it with such dexterity and speed, not to mention that the Sword Avatar was doing it using the same strength and energy pool that Cain's. Cain followed the movements of the Sword Avatar with his eyes, but while his mind could follow the enemy, his body was too late to react, and a sharp pain appeared on his back. "Ahhhh!" A scream of pain echoed across the room as the Sword Avatar punched Cain's back with so much power that it almost fractured his spine. That attack sent the human flying away and would have been much worse if not for this one redirecting all his Astral Wave to his back at the last second. Cain clenched his teeth and spat the blood on his mouth as he regained control of his body and sent a kick to the Sword Avatar that had lunged toward him. That kick landed on the Sword Avatar's chest, but once again, the vibrating mantle of Astral Wave drained most of its kinetic force. It did little damage to the Sword Avatar but pushed it back, giving Cain a few moments to regain his breathing and figure out what to do next. Cain's eyes grew sharp as he figured out that the only way to break the Sword Avatar's defensive layer would be by using Blood Hand, but the technique drained his energy very fast, so he had to be sure when to use it. He flashed forward, ready to exert so much pressure on the Sword Avatar that this one could not move freely, and then unleash a barrage of devastating attacks using Blood Hand. However, just as he was about to reach the Sword Avatar, the body of this one began to generate a humming sound before splitting into three identical figures. Such techniques could trick the eyes, but should not be a problem for someone like Cain with a powerful Ego Wave. Yet, Cain could not help but clench his fists since the humming sound also acted as a barrier against the red force field, forcing him to rely only on his sight. "The one on the left!" Luckily, Cain had an even more powerful tool to scan the enemy. The [Basic Scan Force Field] detected the real one, and Apex shouted the information into his mind. The three Sword Avatars flashed toward Cain but were slower than before. That technique seemed to put a lot of pressure on it, weakening its physical might. Cain hid that it knew the real one until they were right in front of each other. Then, the fingers on his right and left hands turned into blood gems, and he punched the real Sword Avatar with both fists! "¡Boom!" "¡Boom!" Each punch generated a small blast due to the immense power behind them and sent the Sword Avatar flying away while puking blood. The strength of Cain's fists managed to break through the vibrating Astral Wave. After being sent flying away for the seventh time, Cain felt he was losing consciousness, so he clenched his teeth and generated a field of Blood Lightning around his body. The Sword Avatar did not jump into the red lightning since Cain could not keep it for long, and there was no need to take unnecessary injuries now that the victory was clear. Cain puked a mouthful of blood as he attempted to regulate his breathing. A small smile appeared on his face as he saw his current state and knew there was only one way forward. "So be it." The red light in Cain's eyes reached its zenith as the speed and strength of his heartbeat skyrocketed. "THUMP!" Cain's entire body began to tremble and become redder, affecting even the sclera of his eyes. It was a truly fiendish appearance, no different from the depictions of devils in the Old World. He felt his blood surging with so much force that it immediately ruptured many of his vessels. Every second of this left severe internal damage, but it granted an overwhelming speed and strength in exchange. "Second Gear!" The Sword Avatar heard those two words, only to be sent flying away the next second, crashing against the room's wall. Shock appeared in its eyes as the speed of Cain overcame it! Second Gear granted Cain an instant acceleration that neared Mach 2, meaning two times the speed of sound! The Sword Avatar did not have time to analyze how Cain could do something like that, as the human was already in front of it, ready to unleash a new attack. It was too fast, so it only managed to raise its arms and focus its Astral Wave on them. Cain's hand fingers turned into blood gems as he fired punch after punch toward the Sword Avatar, ready to break this one defensive and then its skull. The Sword Avatar did not just take the onslaught quietly, as its Astral Wave began to vibrate with even more strength before unleashing an immensely powerful sound wave. Cain was surprised by that attack, and the sound wave made his eardrums bleed, disorienting him enough for the Sword Avatar could connect a straight blow to his chest, sending him flying away. Speed and strength were massively improved during Second Gear, but it did nothing to enhance defense. Actually, the intense internal damage endured by the second did any new damage Cain received much more severe. Cain regained control over his body very fast, but not before puking a mouthful of blood. His legs trembled but stood straight by sheer willpower. Time was of the essence, so Cain was ready to dash back into the fray immediately, but then he noticed how the Sword Avatar inhaled more and more air into its lungs. If just the Astral Wave could unleash such a powerful sonic wave, then one could only imagine what the Sword Avatar could do with a scream. Cain immediately transmuted the Astral Wave around his ears, making it a filter for sound waves, and used his Ego Wave to shut down his sense of hearing to prevent neural damage. After that, Cain flashed forward at full speed, but just as he was halfway to the Sword Avatar, this one stopped inhaling, and then he felt a sharp pain in his shoulder.

Chapter 239 : Second Gear

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