newbobooks Chapter 223 -: 222 Invinciblity.
Chapter 223 -: 222 Invinciblity.
[35 Seconds Remaining]
The translucent message appeared before Crypian’s eyes once again, the glowing letters flickering faintly amidst the chaos of the underground chamber.
He did not hesitate even for a moment.
The instant the countdown appeared, Crypian pushed himself forward and rushed toward the transportation gate with everything he had left.
The blue portal pulsed violently only a few meters away, unstable waves of mana spreading across the stone floor as though the gate itself could collapse at any moment.
And in truth...his life depended on reaching it.
From the side, Prince Sebastian and Duke Rayene finally moved after Count Kalan’s furious declaration, but both men still carried visible hesitation in their expressions.
Neither understood what was happening anymore. One moment Crypian had appeared weak and half-dead.
The next, Count Kalan had attempted to murder him while screaming accusations of heresy.
"Lord Crypian, what is happening?!" Sebastian shouted, his voice echoing sharply throughout the underground chamber as he stared at the fleeing figure in disbelief.
"Why is Count Kalan trying to kill you?!"
Confusion and uncertainty filled the prince’s face.
Crypian gritted his teeth and continued sprinting toward the transportation gate.
"This dumb fuck has gone completely insane!" he shouted back without slowing down. "Don’t lis...."
Before the sentence could even finish...a violent pressure suddenly exploded behind him.
Count Kalan appeared at his back almost instantly, his bloodshot eyes overflowing with murderous hatred as he swung a brutal horizontal kick toward Crypian’s waist.
Thawak! The impact landed heavily.
Crypian’s body was thrown sideways out of the transportation gate’s path as though struck by a battering ram.
"Guh—!"
Pain surged through his ribs the moment he crashed against the stone floor, but Crypian reacted immediately and forced himself back upward before the count could properly capitalize on the opening.
Unfortunately....Count Kalan was faster.
This time, the count completely abandoned his weapons.
The earlier exchange had already told him enough. For some unknown reason, blades could not properly harm Crypian’s body. So Kalan no longer wasted time trying to stab him.
Instead, he used the one thing that required no steel.
His fists. The count lunged forward with terrifying speed, his movements sharp and efficient like a battlefield predator as his fist tore through the air toward Crypian’s sternum.
Yet Crypian was not someone inexperienced in close combat either.
The instant he saw the punch approaching, his mind moved immediately.
[Remaining Time: 1 Minute 59 Seconds]
The moment the skill activated, a strange warmth surged violently throughout Crypian’s body.
His senses sharpened instantly. The underground chamber seemed clearer and slower
Every muscle movement from Count Kalan suddenly became visible in terrifying detail.
Crypian twisted sideways at the last possible second and brought his palm down sharply against Kalan’s wrist.
Crack!
The incoming fist was knocked violently off trajectory.
Before Kalan could recover, Crypian stepped inward and drove an uppercut directly toward the count’s jaw.
Bang!
A horrifying creaking sound echoed through the chamber as Kalan’s head snapped backward from the impact.
The force was so brutal that the tip of his tongue was caught between his teeth and severed instantly.
Blood exploded from the count’s mouth.
A muffled growl of pain escaped him as fury twisted his already bloodshot face even further.
But despite the injury, Count Kalan did not retreat.
Instead, he threw another punch almost immediately, a vicious jab aimed directly toward Crypian’s chest.
Crypian ignored it completely.
Rather than backing away, he stepped forward into the attack itself before suddenly jumping upward and driving his knee downward with terrifying force.
Creak!
The knee collided directly against Count Kalan’s jaw. A sickening crunch rang out as the impact dislocated it violently to the side.
Pain shot through Kalan’s entire body like lightning. His vision blurred for a split second as he staggered backward across the stone floor, blood continuing to spill from his ruined mouth.
Yet Crypian refused to give him room to recover.
The moment Kalan lost balance, Crypian spun his body and launched another heavy kick straight toward the count’s stomach, intending to finish the fight immediately and throw him completely out of the path toward the transportation gate.
However...Count Kalan’s combat instincts were monstrous.
Even while overwhelmed by pain, the count forcibly stabilized himself and stepped sideways at the final instant, allowing the kick to barely graze past his body.
Then he moved. Fast enough to leave afterimages beneath the flickering blue light of the portal.
"What—?"
Before Crypian could properly react, Count Kalan had already closed the distance completely.
A heavy right hook came crashing toward his face.
Thawak!
The punch landed directly against Crypian’s jaw with terrifying force.
For a split second, it genuinely felt as though the bones in his face had shattered apart from the impact.
His vision spun violently. The entire underground chamber blurred sideways.
Crypian staggered backward before losing balance completely and crashing onto the stone floor, waves of dizziness slamming into his mind while the metallic taste of blood rapidly filled his mouth.
The warning appeared once again before Crypian’s eyes, the glowing translucent letters flickering faintly amidst the blue light flooding the underground chamber.
His chest tightened instantly.
Twenty seconds....that was all he had left.
The moment the countdown reached zero, the protection surrounding his body would disappear completely, and once that happened, a single properly landed strike from Count Kalan would be enough to kill him.
Crypian’s mind moved rapidly while he forced himself back onto his feet.
Spells were useless. The difference between their realms was simply too vast.
Count Kalan stood at the peak of the Conversion Stage, while Crypian had not even fully stepped into the Spirit Core Stage of Bodily Ascension.
Any spell he cast would simply be crushed by the overwhelming difference in power before it could even function properly.
At the very least, Duke Rayene still had not joined the battle.
The duke remained standing near the transportation gate alongside Prince Sebastian, both of them still visibly conflicted as they watched the chaotic fight unfold before their eyes.
’No...this would not work.’
If things continued like this, he would die here. There was only one option left.
He needed to cripple Count Kalan within the next few seconds and force his way into the transportation gate before Invincibility disappeared completely.
Crypian inhaled sharply and steadied himself just as Count Kalan lunged forward once more.
The count’s face had become horrifying to look at.
Blood continued dripping from his ruined mouth while rage twisted his expression into something almost inhuman.
Without hesitation, he spun his body and unleashed a kick so violent that the air itself seemed to vibrate around his leg.
The attack tore directly toward Crypian’s neck with enough force to snap it instantly.
Yet....Crypian did not dodge, nor did he attempt to block. Instead, he stepped forward and deliberately allowed the kick to connect.
Or rather....attempt to connect.
The moment Kalan’s leg reached his neck, it passed directly through Crypian’s head without resistance, almost like striking a mirage.
Count Kalan’s eyes widened.
His momentum instantly collapsed the moment the kick failed to meet any resistance at all.
His balance shifted violently from the excessive force, leaving his body exposed for the briefest moment.
And that single moment...was exactly what Crypian had been waiting for.
His hand shot toward his waist instantly before pulling out a dagger no larger than his palm.
The count was already falling sideways from the broken momentum.
Crypian moved immediately.
[15 Seconds Remaining]
He stepped forward and threw a sharp jab directly toward Count Kalan’s face. Even while off balance, Kalan’s instincts remained terrifyingly sharp.
The count raised his arm mid-fall and blocked the punch instantly. But the jab had never been the real attack.
It was a feint. A battered smile slowly appeared across Crypian’s bloodied face the moment Kalan reacted.
Then...he slammed his forehead forward.
Crunch!
The headbutt landed directly against Count Kalan’s nose with a sickening impact.
Bone cracked violently.
Kalan’s head snapped backward as his vision went completely white for a split second, blood bursting from his shattered nose.
And Crypian did not waste even that fraction of an opening.
[9 Seconds Remaining]
With a furious roar, he drove the dagger directly toward Count Kalan’s chest.
However....the blade suddenly stopped midair.
An invisible layer of mana surrounded the count’s body, dense enough to physically block the dagger before it could pierce through his flesh.
A defensive barrier. But Crypian’s expression did not change. Because this was never an ordinary dagger.
The weapon had been enchanted beforehand with a specialized piercing spell designed specifically to penetrate mana defenses.
[7 Seconds Remaining]
"AAAAAHHHHHH—!!"
Crypian screamed through gritted teeth as he pushed harder with every ounce of strength left in his body. Cracks suddenly spread across the invisible barrier.
Shatter!
The protective layer broke apart like glass.
The dagger pierced through instantly. Count Kalan’s body jerked violently.
His eyes widened to their limit as the blade buried itself directly into his chest.
Yet Crypian did not stop there. With bloodshot eyes and trembling arms, he twisted the dagger viciously inside the wound.
Crack. The count’s heart shattered apart.
The furious light inside Count Kalan’s eyes disappeared almost immediately.
No scream escaped him...only a choked sound slipped from his ruined throat before his body collapsed heavily against the cold stone floor.
[5 Seconds Remaining]
Thud.
The count’s corpse twitched weakly for several seconds before finally becoming still.
Silence spread throughout the underground chamber.
Crypian remained standing above the body while breathing heavily, his chest rising and falling violently as blood dripped steadily from his torn clothes onto the stone beneath him.
His face had turned deathly pale. From the side, Prince Sebastian and Duke Rayene still had not moved.
At this point, both men had already recovered from their earlier shock, yet neither chose to interfere.
Count Kalan had attacked first like a man possessed.
And more importantly...Neither Sebastian nor the duke wished to damage their relationship with the Thorne family by making the wrong decision in such an unclear situation.
So they watched and allowed it to happen.
[4 Seconds Remaining]
Crypian slowly pulled the dagger free before staggering toward the transportation gate once again.
Every step felt heavier than the last. The effects of Invincibility were almost gone.
He did not even bother looking toward Sebastian or the duke anymore. There was no time left for explanations.
Only escape mattered now. [3 Seconds Remaining]
The blue portal rippled violently before him, unstable mana waves spreading across the underground chamber while Crypian limped closer.
His breathing grew rougher.
[2 Seconds Remaining]
Crypian finally reached the transportation gate. Without slowing down even slightly, he stepped into the portal.
His right leg vanished into the swirling blue light first. Then his torso. Then the rest of his body gradually disappeared into the transportation stream.
[1 Second Remaining]
Only his back remained visible outside the portal.
The countdown flickered one final time before the glowing words changed.
And at that exact instant...Something pierced straight through his stomach.
Chik!