Chapter 42: The Chase
Liam suddenly awakened on the man's shoulder, only two or three minutes after being knocked out.
He tried to move, and immediately realized he couldn't. His entire body was locked in complete paralysis, every muscle and meridian sealed tight.
Only his mind remained fully awake, sharp and calculating despite the blade still buried in his chest.
"So… where do you plan on taking me to?" Liam asked, his voice calm and steady, betraying none of the alarm he felt.
"You're a tough one," the voice replied, smooth and almost amused. "Lucky for me I blocked your aura points."
Liam quickly turned his inner senses inward. Yes, the man had sealed his main aura points with brutal precision. But the new channel he had forged to his brain during the cultivation session was still active, untouched and secretly flowing.
Immediately, his mind released several frequencies of silent echo waves.
The picture formed in his head with perfect clarity. The figure holding him was huge and burly, built like a mountain of raw muscle. His eyes were wild, glowing with beast-like ferocity. Long black hair covered his left eye, giving him a savage, untamed appearance. From him, Liam sensed solid Gold-rank strength… but his deeper instincts told him the truth: this man was far stronger than that rank suggested.
Liam tried to twitch his toe experimentally. Nothing moved. The paralysis was absolute.
The figure laughed, a low, rumbling sound that echoed through the dark tunnel. Liam's mind raced, calculating every detail while staying outwardly calm.
"Anki," Liam called silently to the blade still gripped firmly in his palm.
Anki replied instantly. Right now I can use mind-type attacks, but I need my body freed.
"There is a way," Anki continued, voice tense, "but afterward you will be as good as a regular human for a while."
Liam didn't waste time. "Do it now. We do not have the luxury of time."
Immediately, like a pulse of dark lightning, the blade sent abyssal flows of energy surging into Liam's sealed aura points.
"Abyssal Damnation."
The technique ruthlessly cut off his lower aura points in one stroke, severing the normal flow and rendering his dantian temporarily useless. The backlash was excruciating, but it also shattered the stranger's paralysis hold.
Liam pushed himself off the man's shoulder with raw physical strength. He was still mid-air when the figure turned his head slowly, gaze cold and predatory.
In one fluid motion, Liam stretched his left arm upward and grabbed the hilt of the blade still embedded in his own chest. He yanked it free with a wet, sickening sound.
"Abyssal Wave!"
He activated the technique, sending heavy frequencies of dark energy surging toward the unknown figure in a wide, invisible arc.
The man let out a light, surprised scream as the wave hit him. "This child can use mental attacks," the figure wondered in pain.
"Abyssal Mind!"
Liam followed up instantly, driving the figure's consciousness deep into the abyss for a split second. Anki hummed in shock inside the bond. "How the hell did he do that?"
Without wasting time, Liam moved. "Even if I can't access aura right now, my agility won't decrease," he told himself.
He knew the demonic training he had received from Madam Helga. His body slouched low, moving like a madman, limbs loose, center of gravity shifting unpredictably.
Every step was a calculated burst of pure physical speed and precision.
"My injuries are taking time to heal," Liam thought, already feeling the wound trying to close around the damage.
"Child, you have about 40 points stored. Would you like to allocate them now?" Anki asked.
Liam smiled in deep joy. "Yes. Invest all 40 points into Comprehension!"
Anki didn't complain. He did as he was told. "Allocated all 40 points to Comprehension: 140."
Immediately, Liam felt a profound type of calm understanding flow into his mind, crystal clear, almost divine. Everything became sharper. The flow of energy, the structure of techniques, the weaknesses in movement, all of it clicked into place like pieces of a puzzle he had always known but never fully seen.
"Haha… I see. So I can use it that way."
He channeled the new comprehension through his brain, shooting it outward like a wave of invisible tentacles. The technique formed instantly in his mind, a skill born from pure insight.
"Abyssal Jump."
He performed it.
The wild figure instantly closed in, his fist wrapped in energy, his eyes closed but his movement precise.
From every corner where the darkest shadows gathered, the tentacles connected. Liam increased his speed greatly, slouching close to the ground, dodging the attack.
Immediately he took a leap forward like a smooth projectile, his body blinking through patches of darkness in rapid, unpredictable bursts.
Each jump left behind a faint black ripple, propelling him deeper into the punishment grounds at terrifying speed.
"I have never seen such techniques in my entire Abyssal lifetime," Anki wondered aloud in the bond, stunned by the fluidity and creativity of Liam's movement.
The mysterious figure watched for a moment, then gave chase. His steps were brutal and fluid at the same time, a perfect, cinematic blend of raw power and graceful lethality.
He moved like a predator that had hunted for centuries, closing the distance with frightening ease.
"You will be following me deep within, below the 5th floor," the figure said calmly as he pursued.
"What does he mean by 5th floor?" Liam wondered silently.
"The 7 depths to this punishment hall," the man continued, voice carrying easily despite the chase. "None has ever made it to the seventh floor. But you, a mere Silver rank who should have stayed on the first floor, have been deemed worthy by me for far worse punishment."
He laughed. Liam felt a deep, ominous aura rolling off the figure like a tidal wave.
"Anki!" Liam sent mind waves into the blade he still gripped firmly.
Child, don't think of anything silly now, Anki warned immediately.
But Liam still spoke. "Is there a way we can jump into the abyss?"
If Anki had a face he would have appeared pale.
"I can, but after that… then what?" Anki asked in shock.
"If we are caught by that bastard again, I will be in for it."
Liam made a firm resolve to himself as he could feel the unknown figure's presence still giving chase. "Hahah with your regenerative talent, I can torture you till my soul contents, ooh sweet torture!!"