Death... and me



Jumping between trees, rocks, and other surfaces, Rean, Roan, and Luan continued making their way forward. On multiple occasions during the journey, Rean and Roan felt like Luan asked them to go in completely different directions. But in the end, Luan told them that they had never deviated from the path even once. They were following the flow of expanding space perfectly as far as Luan's eyes could see.

Nevertheless, one thing was certain. Rean and Roan didn't end up seeing any familiar places on their way. That at least meant they were not moving in circles.

*Roar!*

'Death Style, Third Form, Three Claws of the Dragon!'

Roan's three White Scythes fell down on the back of a monster that looked like an eight-legged lizard. Unfortunately, the lizard's eyes seemed to be able to see which one was real before it used its tail to block the main White Scythe.

*Swish, Swish, Clang!*

Though the lizard was able to block the most dangerous attack from Roan, the other two scythes still carried around 70 to 80% of the original's Power. With that, they penetrated into the lizard's back, causing the lizard to scream in pain due to the Light Element infused in the attack.

However, the lizard didn't suffer a fatal injury. It used its legs to latch on one of the many decaying trees in the surroundings before propelling itself into the air. Just like the first attack, this lizard also had good control over space, which helped it move even faster.

*Bang!*

As soon as the lizard jumped, a huge hole appeared in the tree, piercing through it and showing the other side. There, one could see Rean's surprised expression. "That's quite impressive. I was using my Light and Divine Sense bending skills to keep myself invisible. But even with that, this guy noticed my attack from behind the tree and dodged it."

However, Rean smiled right after. "Sadly, you aren't the only one expecting your enemy's next move."

The eight-legged lizard didn't understand Rean's words. Yet, seeing Rean's smile made it feel chills all over its body. Before it could react, Roan appeared above it as his scythe came straight at it.

'Death Style, Death Scythe!'

Because the lizard's attention was robbed by Rean's Stellar Piercer attack, it didn't notice Roan ahead of it. The worst part was that Roan knew exactly where it was going to dodge. 

*Roar!*

It didn't have the time to defend this time, so all it could do was gather as much Dark Element and Space Power as possible, trying to increase the defense around its neck. That was its only choice, as Roan's scythe was already right in front of it.

Unfortunately for the lizard, that last-second measure only helped little against the outcome. After all, that was Roan's strongest attack. It carried a lot of Rean's Light Element, the strength of his Star Body, as well as his Space Power. Not to mention that the White Scythe could gather both Light Elements and Space Power on its own.

*Swish!*

*Splash, splash!*

The head of the eight-legged lizard was eventually separated from its body, with both of them falling into the dark swamp water. Yet, it was at that moment that Rean and Roan saw something quite different.

*Shua...*

The swamp itself seemed to come to life, and its water threw itself into the lizard's body through the injury after its head was cut off. For a moment, Rean and Roan could see the painful look in the lizard's eyes before they turned completely dark. 

In Rean's eyes, it looked like the swamp was absorbing all of the lizard's blood and flesh. Not long after, its Demon Core broke apart as its skull and bones were the only things that remained.

Seeing that, Rean took a deep breath. "That was quite brutal. Not only was it sucked dry, but the lizard's soul was also taken by the swamp."

Roan landed on Rean's side with a dark expression. "The lizard was inside the swamp water when it attacked us. How come it didn't affect the lizard earlier?"

"They adapted to it," Rean answered. "That's why we can't tell when they're close to us. The creatures in this swamp somehow evolved so that they couldn't be seen by the swamp itself. That's also why we can't tell when these beasts are near us."

Luan, who was once again brought out of the Dimensional Realm, also added some information. "Their bodies can also conceal their spatial displacement. Our natural spatial perception should be able to see anyone near us who has reached a level where they can control space. But even then, we can't see shit. The demon beasts in this place, however, seem to still be able to feel ours. That's why it noticed when Uncle Rean attacked it from behind the tree."

Rean and Roan nodded after hearing that. "Seems plausible."

Rean then had an idea. "Perhaps I can use their skin to achieve a similar effect. That'll definitely help us out a lot in this place, especially since they're getting stronger the further we go inside. This lizard was already as strong as an average Late StageVoid Tempering Realm Demon Beast."

Roan had nothing against it. "Then, we'll capture the next beast before its body touches the swamp water." He then caught Luan's body with his Divine Soul Power and jumped away. Rean, too, did the same thing.

*Crash!*

"Seems like we'll get our hands on some skin earlier than we expected," Rean's smile grew large as he looked at the place they were standing a moment ago. There, another Eight-Legged Dark Lizard that was slightly larger than the one that attacked them tried to kill them. 

Sure, it had concealed its presence perfectly until now. However, it wasn't as if it could move out of the swamp water without causing any disturbances whatsoever. Not to mention that the size of its body didn't help that much. For Rean and Roan, the lizard was far from sufficient to be considered a dangerous enemy.

"Let's go!"

Without wasting time, Rean and Roan launched themselves back into battle.