Oooooooommmmnnâ
The world around Robin⊠froze.
Every particle of smoke hung motionless in the air. The trembling ground fell into absolute stillness. All sound vanished, leaving behind a deafening silence.
Everything âevery shape, every shadowâ turned into a monochrome canvas, as though the world itself had become an unfinished painting.
"..Heh~"
Robin let out a small sigh before taking flight, gliding effortlessly toward Baithor. It didnât matter how many times he used Spacetimeâ every single time, it gave him this same eerie sensation.
A feeling of complete detachment from reality.
"..."
Suspended in the air before the colossal serpentâs chest, Robinâs golden eyes fixated on a single point.
Through the dense, viscous mass of energy, nothing was visible at firstâonly the swirling purple liquid coursing through Baithorâs body. There were no distinct landmarks, no clear shapes. To any ordinary observer, it was an unbroken sea of violet.
But to Robinâs eyes, it was different.
At that moment, a significant portion of Baithorâs chest was outlined in a radiant golden glow.
âTsk~ This is exactly why I didnât want to use Spacetime from the start.â Robin clicked his tongue in frustration, his mind racing with calculations. âI need to find a solution to my combat styleâŠâ
He had found Baithorâs heart.
It was right there, just a step away. Yet, despite its proximity, it remained nothing more than a gelatinous mass. If he struck it now, it would simply reform itself, unaffected.
Even before Baithor had transformed into this monstrous state, if Robin had used Spacetime and attempted to attack this weak point, how would he have done it?
How could I have even struck it?
That was his biggest weakness.
He had no destructive attacks in his arsenal.
"I hope my calculations are precise enough this time⊠otherwiseâŠ"
He extended his spear forward, pointing directly at the heart.
Oooooommmnnâ
Black and white lines started coming out of his hand, these lines moved in perfectly straight paths, but whenever they reached a certain length, they would abruptly bend âforming sharp anglesâ before curving once more, continuing their erratic yet deliberate motion.
Until, finallyâŠ
A massive cube took shape.
"Pfft!"
Robin coughed up a mouthful of thick blood, his body convulsing from the immense strain. But he didnât stop.
His trembling hands steadied themselves on the spear.
And slowlyâŠ
He pushed it forward.
Distortion.
The monochrome world rippled violently. The space around the cube bent and twisted as if it were a heavy stone sinking into a still pond.
At last, the cube reached its target âBaithorâs heartâ and began to engulf it.
Shooâ
Robin exhaled sharply and let go of his spear.
The very moment his fingers left its surfaceâŠ
The spear lost its colors entirely, turning into a suspended, motionless relic, frozen in midair.
Then, with both hands, Robin pressed against the monochrome cube.
And he pushed.
"Ekkhhk!"
His vision blurred.
His golden eyes began to bleed.
His entire body contorted, writhing under an unbearable force.
At that moment, he felt as though he were standing at the bottom of the ocean, crushed beneath an unfathomable weight.
He couldnât breathe.
He couldnât move.
Yet stillâ
Oooooommmnnnâ
The cube shifted slightly backward.
And the little void it left bahind⊠turned into a pure, abyssal black.
"AhhâŠ" Robin gasped, feeling the weight on him intensify.
But he kept pushing.
"MOVE!!!"
OOOOOOOOOOOOOMMMMMMMMNNNNNâ
At last.
The cube âalong with a piece of Baithorâs bodyâ was dislodged from its place.
A large deep, gaping void was left behind in its absence.
A void so blackâŠ
So absolute...
It was as if an artist had taken a blade to his own canvas, cutting out a piece and setting it asideâ leaving behind a hole of pure nothingness.
"..." With his eyes now a blend of gold and deep crimson, Robin stared at that spot as if it were the most precious thing in existence.
Crack...
Barely a second had passed since Robin had removed the cube and created that void when it began filling itself back in automatically. But this time, when Robin focused on that area within Baithorâs massive body, he couldnât pinpoint anything anymore. The spacetime had repaired itself... yet it did not restore what was lost from Baithor.
His gamble had worked. He had successfully sealed Baithorâs heart within a separate dimension!
But nowâŠ
Robin lowered his gaze to the cube in his trembling hands, his thoughts racing. What was he supposed to do with it? He had spent so much time considering this while watching from beneath the rubble, yet he still hadnât arrived at a definitive solution.
Should he store the heart in a spatial ring? No, the pocket dimensions inside those rings were fragileâ easily shattered. Should he deactivate his spacetime seal and throw the heart far away before Baithor could react? But what if separating the heart made no difference to Baithor at all?
What ifâ
"Pffftâ!"
A violent cough interrupted his thoughts as Robin spat a massive mouthful of blood onto the cube. His vision blurred, his body trembled, and the pain that had been festering inside him surged all at once. His eyes, once burning with divine clarity, now struggled to stay open. Explore more adventures at NovelBin.CĂŽm
"I... have toâ"
Before he could complete his sentence, his body gave out.
Fwshhhh...
Robin plummeted from the sky like a lifeless puppet, the glowing markings on his body flickering and fading. The moment his back slammed against the scorched battlefield, a deafening pulse of energy rippled outward.
"ROBIN BURTON!!"
Baithor roared, his voice shaking the very air. His massive tail lashed downward with a force that cracked the ground.
BOOOOM!
SssssssâŠ
The ground beneath Baithorâs tail instantly corroded, melting into vapor, and thenâ vanishing entirely as if erased from existence.
"Hmm?"
Baithor furrowed his brow. He had expected to hear a scream, a cry of agonyâ anything. But there was only silence.
"Where⊠where did you go?"
He twisted his massive frame around, scanning the battlefield with a sharp gaze. Then, finally, his eyes locked onto a figure sprawled motionless behind him.
There lay Robin.
His body was barely moving, blood leaking from his mouth, nose, and ears. His golden eyes, once piercing and fierce, now remained open yet unfocused, gazing up at the dome above. His chest rose and fellâ he was still breathing, but barely.
Baithor hesitated.
"What⊠happened to you?" he muttered, his voice laced with confusion.
Just a moment ago, Robin had stood before him, exuding confidence, even issuing commands as if he had everything under control. And nowâthis?
Rustle.
Baithor turned fully to face him, his curiosity overpowering his caution. He opened his mouth, about to repeat his questionâ
And then, it hit him.
A sudden wave of weakness surged through his entire body.
His strength âhis overwhelming, monstrous powerâ was fading.
His vision darkened at the edges. His usually razor-sharp thoughts felt sluggish, as though trapped in molasses. His muscles stiffened.
"What⊠what is this? Robin Burton⊠what have you done?!"
Baithor wanted to move, he wanted to crush Robin, to do something. But he found himself frozen. His instincts screamed at himâ something was missing.
A piece of him, something vital, was gone.
Slowly, as if guided by an unseen force, Baithor lifted his gaze to follow Robinâs empty stare.
And thenâ
He saw it.
Suspended in midair, floating against the backdrop of the burning sky, was a sight that should have been impossible.
A mass of flesh and blood, pulsating ever so slightly.
A heart.
Baithorâs mind lagged for a moment, struggling to comprehend what he was looking at. It was encased in something transparent, an invisible cubeâno, a prison. From the way droplets of blood splattered against its unseen walls, it seemed like a glass container, an unbreakable cage.
"That⊠that thing looks like⊠like the heart of... a serpent-type beast."
The realization dawned on him like a slow, creeping nightmare.
His pupils contracted.
"No..."