The underground hall fell silent.
Green liquid continued flowing through the transparent pipes.
A low rumble came from deep within the facility.
It was as if some colossal creature were slowly awakening.
Lucian and Viper stood dozens of meters apart.
Neither of them moved.
Yet the air had already begun to change.
Viper slowly rose to his feet.
Green light spread along his arms.
The metal floor beneath his feet began to melt.
Like wax under extreme heat.
It slowly collapsed.
A corrosive aura rapidly spread in every direction.
Even the temperature inside the underground hall seemed to begin changing.
"Do you know?"
Viper suddenly spoke.
"Many people think my ability is poison."
He lowered his head and looked at his palm.
Green liquid slowly flowed across it.
"But it's not."
The next second—
Boom!
The entire hall suddenly shook.
Dozens of streams of green liquid simultaneously burst from the pipes.
They lunged in every direction like living snakes.
Metal.
Walls.
Equipment.
Everything they touched began rapidly corroding.
Harsh, piercing sounds continuously echoed through the air.
"My ability…"
"Is erosion."
Boom!
A torrent of green liquid suddenly surged toward Lucian.
Like a breached dam.
It covered the entire passage.
Yet—
Lucian remained standing where he was.
He did not dodge.
He made no defensive movement.
He simply raised his head slowly.
The next second—
Azure light illuminated the area.
Beneath his feet,
a faint ripple slowly spread outward.
Like a stone dropped into a still lake.
Azure particles began spreading outward.
The green torrent entered the area.
Then—
It changed.
The originally thick green liquid rapidly began losing its color.
As if something were diluting it.
It became lighter.
Fainter.
And finally returned to its normal color.
The corrosive reaction disappeared.
The toxicity disappeared.
The erosion stopped.
The hall fell silent once again.
Viper slowly narrowed his eyes.
For the first time, a serious expression appeared on his face.
"I see."
He spoke quietly.
"It isn't defense."
"It's alteration."
Lucian did not answer.
He simply took one step forward.
The azure field continued expanding.
The green in the air was gradually disappearing.
Viper suddenly smiled.
"How interesting."
The next second—
Boom!
Hundreds of streams of green liquid erupted simultaneously.
The entire hall was completely transformed into a green ocean.
Walls melted.
The floor collapsed.
Chunks of the ceiling continued falling.
Countless streams of corrosive liquid surged toward Lucian from every direction.
There was no blind spot.
No opening.
It was as if the entire space itself were attacking him.
Yet—
Lucian remained calm.
The azure light continued spreading.
Like flowing water, it covered everything around him.
Green.
Azure.
The two colors continuously collided.
Continually intertwined.
Continually swallowed one another.
From a distance,
the entire underground hall seemed to have been divided into two worlds.
One side was green.
The other was azure.
Viper continued releasing his ability.
The green became increasingly dense.
Yet around Lucian,
the azure became increasingly stable.
It was not being suppressed.
Instead, it continued expanding.
Whenever the green liquid entered the azure field,
it rapidly became transparent again.
The toxicity disappeared.
The corrosion disappeared.
The erosion disappeared.
Everything seemed to be redefined.
The smile on Viper's face gradually disappeared.
He began increasing his output.
Numerous pipes simultaneously exploded.
Green liquid continued pouring out.
The air became filled with an increasingly dangerous presence.
Yet—
It remained ineffective.
Lucian slowly advanced.
One step.
Then another.
His footsteps could be clearly heard.
The azure field continued pushing forward.
Like an unstoppable tide.
Viper frowned for the first time.
Because he realized—
His ability was weakening.
It was not being blocked.
It was becoming ineffective.
The corrosive liquid that had once been capable of effortlessly melting armor—
Once it entered the area around Lucian,
it actually became ordinary liquid.
The toxins capable of eating through human bodies—
They simply lost their effect.
This was not suppression.
It was rewriting.
The ability itself was being altered.
Viper suddenly raised his right hand.
A rumble came from deep within the underground hall.
The next second—
Dozens of massive metal blast doors simultaneously rose.
Large storage chambers hidden inside the walls slowly opened.
Green mist began spreading outward.
Its concentration was far beyond anything before.
This was no longer liquid.
It was a true poisonous cloud.
The entire space was rapidly covered in green.
Visibility began to drop.
Even the air seemed to become viscous.
Viper stood within the green mist,
his figure barely visible.
"Do you know why no one dares to hunt me down?"
His voice came from within the poisonous fog.
"Because they can't even get close."
Boom!
The poisonous cloud expanded.
Its speed was astonishing.
The entire hall began being swallowed by green.
The surfaces of the walls developed countless corrosive marks.
The steel reinforcement in the ceiling became exposed.
White smoke continuously rose from the floor.
The underground facility was being corroded by the very poison it had created.
Yet—
Lucian did not stop.
The azure light continued spreading forward.
The instant the poisonous mist touched the azure field,
it began to change.
Dark green.
Light green.
Transparent.
And finally—
It disappeared completely.
As if it had never existed.
The boundary between the two colors continued moving.
The green advanced.
The azure advanced as well.
But every time they collided,
the only thing that disappeared was the green.
Viper fell silent.
He waved his hand again.
Boom!
The ground suddenly split open.
Hundreds of pipes rose simultaneously.
Every nozzle opened.
Countless streams of green liquid shot into the air.
Then fell like torrential rain.
Covering the entire hall.
Corrosive Rain.
It was one of the most dangerous area weapons in the Ability Weapon System.
There had once been an entire armed unit completely melted away within one minute.
And now—
The green rain curtain covered the area where Lucian stood.
Massive amounts of liquid continued falling.
Yet several meters away from Lucian,
they began losing their color.
They became transparent.
Then hit the ground.
And lost their effect.
Drip.
Drip.
The liquid continued falling onto the floor.
Dense sounds of water echoed throughout the hall.
Like ordinary rain.
Viper slowly clenched his fist.
For the first time.
For the first time, something like this had happened.
His ability had not been suppressed.
Nor had it been countered.
It was being corrected.
As if some force were telling the world—
These toxins should not exist.
This erosion should not exist.
And so—
They disappeared.
Far away,
high on the mountain,
Crow remained seated there.
The monitors continued flickering.
Green.
Azure.
The two fields occupied the screens.
He watched quietly.
No movement.
No expression.
Only his gaze paused slightly.
On the screen,
Lucian took another step forward.
Just one step.
Yet the azure field expanded once again.
The green area began retreating.
For the first time,
Viper took a step backward.
It was extremely slight.
But it had truly happened.
Crow's gaze slowly fell upon Viper.
He remained silent for a long time.
He said nothing.
Inside the underground hall,
the rumbling continued.
Large amounts of equipment had already become overloaded.
Many control consoles began sparking.
Warning alarms continued blaring.
[WARNING]
[TOXIN STORAGE AREA OVERLOAD]
[WEAPONIZED CORE OUTPUT ANOMALY]
[STRUCTURAL STABILITY DECREASING]
Red warning lights continued flashing.
Yet Viper acted as if he had not noticed any of it.
His gaze remained fixed on Lucian.
More precisely—
On that azure field.
It seemed like a completely different world.
Stable.
Quiet.
Without poison.
Without corrosion.
Without erosion.
Even the air had become clear.
But his green world—
Was being swallowed bit by bit.
Disappearing bit by bit.
Lucian moved forward again.
The distance continued shrinking.
Twenty meters.
Fifteen meters.
Ten meters.
The azure light had already covered the center of the hall.
Large amounts of green liquid continued losing their effects.
Continually becoming ordinary liquid.
Continually falling to the ground.
Viper slowly lowered his head.
He looked at his own palm.
The green light was still flowing.
But it no longer carried the same oppressive force as before.
Because he suddenly realized—
He was losing something.
Not power.
But the meaning behind that power.
The air fell silent once again.
The green field still existed.
But it was no longer as unstoppable as it had been at the beginning.
Meanwhile, the azure light surrounding Lucian had become increasingly stable.
Increasingly clear.
Increasingly vast.
As if it were taking control of the entire space.
And for the first time,
Viper truly realized—
Lucian was not fighting him.
Lucian was denying him.