Dark Magus Returns

Chapter 1610: A Way Of Victory

Liam slammed the masked man’s face into the ground with a terrifying force, one created from a combination of his own Qi and the Qi he was now using to fuel the nanobots inside his body. The instant the impact happened, the power behind it was so overwhelming that even Liam felt it vibrate through his bones. It didn’t feel like his strength anymore. It felt like something beyond him, something amplified to a level he had never touched before.

Still gripping the back of the masked man’s head, Liam didn’t hesitate. Red energy gathered rapidly in the palm of his free hand, forming a glowing cluster that pulsed with heat and pressure. Then he released it point-blank.

The blast disintegrated the Cerebus member’s head almost instantly. Flesh, bone, and energy dissolved all at once, leaving almost nothing behind, only the floating mask itself. Yet even with nearly no physical structure for Liam to hold onto, the Cerebus member continued to move.

The man’s half-vanished body jerked suddenly as a streak of light energy pulled itself back together. The Cerebus member leapt backward, escaping Liam’s grasp. As he retreated, the particles of his head began reforming, glowing strands reassembling piece by piece.

It startled Liam for a moment.

His opponent was regenerating, again.

’He’s moving faster than before,’ Liam thought, eyes narrowing. ’And his strikes are even stronger. What is this? Is he evolving in the middle of the fight?’

The Cerebus member himself felt shaken. His breaths were heavy and frantic behind the mask. He knew very well how many times he should have died already, how many times Liam’s attacks should have ended him completely. If it weren’t for his body’s current unique state, he would have vanished long ago.

Fear rushed through him in waves, almost taking control. He had to force himself to stay calm.

I can still live, he reminded himself desperately. I can survive this. I can survive him.

Meanwhile, Liam stared down at his hand in awe. Even he couldn’t fully comprehend how his body had just moved, how he had known where his opponent would be, how his mind had processed the speed, how his muscles had reacted as if guided by something more precise than instinct.

But then the glowing blue text of the system appeared with a sharp warning.

[You have successfully used your energy source to power the nanobots in your body.]

[You have achieved a unity between your Qi and your nanobots, giving you explosive strength.]

[Warning: Using your Qi as an energy source to power the nanobots while also using Qi for your attacks will deplete your energy twice as fast.]

Liam exhaled slowly as the message faded.

It confirmed exactly what he was feeling.

His Qi was draining rapidly, far faster than normal. He didn’t possess a monstrous amount of Qi like the true prodigies out there. He wasn’t a genius who had worked for years on cultivation. Far from it.

Most of his victories had come from relying on items, like the All Cutting Sword, or the sword that could copy attacks. Both were weapons powered by external forces, not by Liam’s own internal Qi. Even the system itself had carried him a long way. Liam knew exactly how much he had relied on "cheats" compared to other people.

But he didn’t feel ashamed.

’If people knew the truth and said I didn’t earn my power... who cares?’ Liam thought, a small smile tugging at his lips. ’A level of luck is also something to consider in this world.’

Still, that didn’t solve his actual problem.

How was he supposed to defeat an opponent who quite literally could not die?

Even with the new system functions, the man in front of him simply reformed every time Liam destroyed him. It felt less like fighting a person and more like fighting a force of nature, something that returned again and again no matter how much damage was inflicted.

But while Liam struggled with that question, the Cerebus member regained his confidence. His body finished reforming, and with renewed resolve, he charged forward.

Light energy erupted in his hand, condensing into the shape of a glowing sword. He sprinted across the rubble, closing the distance between them with frightening speed, and thrust forward with intent to pierce.

Liam reacted instantly.

From one hand, he summoned the All Cutting Sword. From the other, he conjured a sword made entirely of pure red energy.

As the Cerebus guild member swung down, Liam moved. The All Cutting Sword sliced straight through the golden blade of light, severing it with ease. Simultaneously, Liam’s red energy sword cut directly through the center of the Cerebus member’s torso.

The masked man’s body split cleanly in half. Both sections flew apart before crashing into the broken ground below.

When Liam turned around, he wasn’t surprised in the slightest to see the familiar sight of the Cerebus member’s body pulling itself back together. Energy strands dragged the halves back into place, reshaping them until he stood once again, whole and glaring.

"It’s a bad idea to try going up against me when it comes to swordsmanship, you know!" Liam called out.

"Damn it!" the Cerebus member snapped, fear flickering beneath his anger as he remembered the sensation of being sliced in half. It was a feeling he couldn’t shake, a memory of death that clung to him stronger than all the others.

"You really think you can keep this up?" he yelled. "Trying to kill something that can’t be killed, again and again?!"

But then he stopped.

Because Liam wasn’t responding.

Liam was raising his hand instead.

Blue system text appeared once more.

[The system is able to make use of the items you have at its disposal.]

[We have used the earring to give your nanobots the attraction and repelling feature.]

[Collecting a way to victory. Calculation has been made.]

[Victory has been determined to be possible.]

Liam’s expression shifted into one of confidence, calm and unwavering.

"I’m sorry," Liam said, lowering his raised hand just slightly. "But I’m going to trust the words of my system a lot more than you. And she just told me that she has a way of beating you."

****

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