Chapter 590: Heavenly Retribution

Phantom had only one weapon - his Nexus. Sure, the Nexus itself wasn’t always an axe or a spear, something that was a well-known weapon it could be a piece of armor or jewelry.

Sometimes the weapon was the First Order like it was for Adam with his needle, but he also had Nexus.

Then, where did Fromund’s hands get another weapon from?

"What...?" Adam’s eyes went wide.

The incomprehension was evident on Adam’s face, he had never seen anything like this before since Fromund’s weapon had completely changed. Instead of a massive hammer, he now had an equally massive sword in his hands.

’Wait... My gauntlets also have an effect that doesn’t require activation, something like a passive ability...’

The white energy from his needle traveled in waves through his Nexus.

’But... To have the weapon completely changed, that’s the first time I’ve seen that. It’s not just an improvement, it will greatly affect his fighting style. But, apparently, besides lava, that’s the only function of his Nexus.’

Thump. Thump. Thump.

The last, loudest heartbeats dispersed throughout the arena, with a powerful stream of steam trailing off Fromund’s body.

Then, his heart returned to normal, the artifact stopped working as Fromund couldn’t withstand the heat even more.

Crackle.

A distinct crunch came from Fromund’s shoulder, he slowly kneaded.

"Agh, I didn’t think it would get to this point so quickly, but... There’s nothing that can be changed now, is there?"

With a kind smile on his face, Fromund swung his sword, resting the blade on his shoulder, allowing everyone to get a proper look at his new weapon.

Adam’s right eye with an amber grid narrowed, examining Fromund’s sword as if under a microscope.

The blade of the sword was rough and uneven as if it had been a randomly melted piece of metal exposed to the heat of a volcano rather than the work of a skilled blacksmith.

The tip was not pointed, it was square, which was rare for swords as it made thrusting attacks impossible with such a weapon.

’I see... It’s still his Nexus.’

Black, almost imperceptible streaks deepened by only a few millimeters and covered the entire blade, somewhat like the furrows of solidified lava that the hammer had.

Adam couldn’t see any other unique features, it was a very rough weapon, from the edge of the blade to the hilt, but one thing was obvious:

’Though it’s not a hammer, the power of his attacks would remain the same, given the size of the sword. If it were a small light blade it would be different...’

A bright gleam ran down the blade, the same one that came from Fromund’s smile.

’But... The only thing that’s changed is the type of his attacks - from crushing to slashing. Whereas before, on a successful hit, he’d smash me to the ground, now he’d just cut me in two. It’s the same as before - one attack and I’m dead.’

At that point, Adam was too absorbed in thinking about what Fromund was now capable of, failing to notice the most obvious difference between a sword and a hammer.

His Operator was not so reckless.

"The stones... Wasn’t that part of the hammer?"

Silvana’s voice trembled slightly, she was sure of her words but didn’t understand how it happened.

"The stones were not a mere shell, for after the destruction Fromund had almost nothing left in his hands until... the flames melted everything..."

"You’re right."

Arayna giggled coyly, glad that Fromund didn’t wait long to show off his sword at the most opportune moment.

"Agh...?"

"I was a little scared, as Adam’s attacks were much stronger and faster than I expected and it seems Fromund was as well. However, when it became too dangerous, his Nexus showed itself." Arayna explained with a slight wave of her hand.

Biting her lip, Silvana frowned heavily.

"Damn, now I understand why he hasn’t used his Nexus abilities yet. Ignition with increased temperature was only part of it - hidden weapons are the real power of his Nexus."

Arayna didn’t comment on her words in any way this time, directing her gaze to the fight.

An unusual shiver went through her body, clutching her heart, but not from pain or fear, but from the feeling that something major and good was about to happen.

’Oh... Right, if he does this then all’s fair...’ Arayna thought.

...

Step.

Fromund stepped forward and... just stabbed his sword into the ground, not intending to use it soon.

Adam raised an eyebrow.

"Hmm? Don’t you want to try out your new weapon? I’m sure I can destroy your sword as well."

In response, Fromund only shook his head with a bitter smile.

"Here."

Then, he pointed to Adam’s right eye, looking at the threads covering his body.

"You used your Second Order. Not that you don’t have the right to do so, but I want to as well, or it doesn’t seem fair."

"Fair? Fromund, we’re in the middle of a fight and I’m not going to wait any longer. I gave you enough time last round."

With those words, lightning flashed before Adam’s eyes as he rushed forward, intending to attack Fromund right now.

But...

Trrrrrrrrshhhh.

Adam stopped abruptly, raising a cloud of dust high up.

The cause was simple Fromund’s action - he raised his right arm high up.

There seemed to be nothing strange about it, but Fromund never did anything like that before and it looked like he was trying to reach for something or attract some object to him.

Adam’s eyes were running from side to side, trying to figure out what Fromund was going to do. His instincts wouldn’t let him continue his attack until he was sure it was safe and wouldn’t turn out in defeat.

"Hey! Adam! You’re looking in the wrong place!"

A powerful voice caught Adam’s attention, forcing him to look at Fromund.

"Come on, I’m giving you a clue. My hand is pointing right where you should stare."

It was wrong to trust the enemy, but... Adam already realized by Fromund’s bright smile that no one was going to trick him.

He slowly directed his gaze upward.

"No way..."

Adam’s eyes went wide, goosebumps ran through his body in waves and his instincts screamed at him to run as far away as possible.

A massive, round object cut through the air currents and headed toward the arena, burning brightly with scarlet flames.

A fiery meteorite appearing out of nowhere was going to crash into the arena in the next few seconds.

And... hardly anything could survive in such a small area.