Beyond the Apocalypse
Chapter 696: No longer bound by a class

Chapter 696: No longer bound by a class

The collision of claw and fist exploded with the fury of colliding meteorites, painting the sky in dark, churning hues. The very fabric of the battlefield trembled beneath the detonation. Vlad’s arm trembled under the pressure—raw, overwhelming force thundered through his bones.

"The power behind his claw... it’s monstrous!" Vlad winced, holding his ground as the shock faded. "My body hasn’t reached the Legendary Tier yet. Even after my evolution, I’m still behind in raw physicality. If it weren’t for Skin of Wrath, that claw would have shattered most of the bone in my hand and arm."

The realization flashed through his mind in an instant, underscoring just how deadly his opponent truly was. But he didn’t waver. No hesitation. His golden eyes ignited with intensity, and in a blink, he vanished—teleporting out of the impact zone.

Skin of Wrath not only increased Vlad’s strength but also magnified his control over the Law of Space, which he intended to use at full power. The goal was clear, appear behind Asuru and strike with the full fury of his Depravita might.

Given the short distance, teleportation should have been instantaneous. But something went wrong.

A delay.

A sliver of space felt unnaturally heavy.

"The Law of Ice," Vlad realized. "It’s freezing the very particles around me—slowing my movement, hindering my shift in space."

That split-second of distortion proved costly.

Before Vlad could fully rematerialize, Asuru spun around, his claws tearing toward Vlad’s chest with glacial force.

"BOOOOOOOOOOM!"

The impact sent Vlad hurtling through the air, crashing through several layers of cloud, the sky splitting behind him in a streak of crimson.

Despite the power of the claw, he twisted mid-flight and regained control. A shell of Depravita Aura had flared to life across his chest, absorbing the brunt of the attack like a divine sponge.

Hovering again, a thin smile curved across Vlad’s face as he placed a hand over his sternum. The Depravita Aura had held. He was still standing.

"Immortal body or not," he reminded himself, "I’m not invincible. Every wound I take costs energy. And if I drain my reserves, even my body won’t keep healing."

Across the sky, Asuru’s eyes glowed with a hatred that could freeze oceans. The Legendary Voroe’s claws gleamed with ice-laced blood as he launched forward once more, desperate to end the battle before his forces completely collapsed beneath him.

Vlad narrowed his eyes.

He would not let the enemy regain momentum.

Teleportation was too risky now—too unreliable under the dominion of the Ice Law. But his fists? His fists could still rend space apart. He surged forward, channels of Sundering Domain sparking along his arms and legs.

And then they met again.

Their melee erupted into a blur of violence.

Vlad’s fists, wreathed in Sundering energy, slammed into Asuru’s claws, each impact creating massive shockwaves that split the air around them. Blade strikes carved through frozen scales, while claws sliced across carapace and Depravita Aura alike.

Blood—blue and red—spilled freely into the sky.

Asuru’s left claw ripped through Vlad’s side, flaying the black armor and drawing a violent arc of dark blood. Vlad answered with a knee to the gut, then a spinning elbow that cracked ribs and sent fragments of bone flying. Ice reformed across Asuru’s wounds even as Vlad’s own injuries sizzled shut, his Depravita Aura burning energy like fuel in a furnace.

Asuru snarled and shifted his weight, spinning into a tail sweep. Vlad ducked and countered with a vertical uppercut, followed by twin palm strikes to the chest that sent tremors through the draconic’s internal organs.

For every move, there was a counter.

For every strike, blood.

Neither would yield.

They fought like avatars of elemental wrath—ice and darkness locked in brutal, brilliant conflict.

Then, without warning, Vlad stepped back and pressed his hands together.

"CRACK."

The sound echoed like a tectonic shift as if something immense had just fractured deep within the heavens. When he opened his palms, a black sphere hovered between them—small, dense, and impossibly heavy. Within its depths, specks of starlight clashed and collided endlessly, contained by the force of pure spatial collapse.

Asuru’s eyes widened, a rare flicker of fear crossing his face.

That was no mere ability. No martial art. No technique.

It was a spell!

"How?!" Asuru reeled. "He’s a warrior! How can he cast spells of this magnitude?!"

But the answer was beyond his reach. Thanks to Vlad’s evolution—and his Depravita Aura—he had surpassed the restrictions of class. He was no longer bound by a singular path. He was something new.

"Collapsing Space Energy Bomb," Vlad declared.

And with a flick, he hurled it forward.

The sphere expanded as it flew, growing hundreds of meters wide. It devoured light, twisted gravity, and sealed the surrounding space like a coffin. Asuru could feel his options evaporate.

"Damn it!" Asuru cursed under his breath. Desperate, he clenched his fists and opened his maw so wide it seemed to split his face.

"ZERO-POINT DRAGON BREATH!"

The Legendary Ability burst forth.

A tidal wave of frost, pure and absolute, roared from his mouth—an ocean of anti-heat capable of erasing entropy itself. He had hoped to keep it as a final trump card, but now he had no choice.

The two ultimate forces collided.

The collapsing sphere pushed forward, devouring everything, warping the very sky.

The dragon’s breath slammed into it, layer upon layer of cryogenic devastation slowing its advance.

Meter by meter, the sphere lost momentum.

Finally—it stopped.

The two forces canceled out in a churning storm of collapse and frost, ripping the atmosphere into ribbons.

Asuru gasped for breath, staggering in mid-air, his chest heaving. He had survived—but barely.

A tired, triumphant smile began to form on his lips—

And that’s when he saw it.

A golden beam of light, darting through the mist like a serpent, weaving in and out of debris, zig-zagging through the ruins of the failed spell.

It had charged midair, calculating its trajectory with godlike precision.

It dove down in a final burst of light—

—and struck Asuru directly in the chest!