Easton's mental attack surged like a net cast wide—sweeping outward, fast and brutal. The nearest blood-winged bats jerked in midair and plummeted, twitching on the forest floor like puppets with their strings cut.

But it only made things worse.

The surviving bats saw the fallen and let out a chorus of sharp, shrieking cries. Their eyes blazed crimson with raw fury. In the next breath, they launched themselves forward like a wave of knives, teeth, and muscle.

Easton was done.

His body was shredded—long, jagged gashes marked his flesh where bat claws had carved through. Blood soaked his clothes, and his Force had long gone unstable. Through the chaos, he caught one last, unforgettable sight through the frenzied flapping wings.

A blood-winged bat fluttered gently onto a branch not far away… then shifted.

In a shimmer of warped air, its form melted—flesh rippling, bones rearranging—and Axel appeared in its place.

Still holding the Saint Sea Twig.

Easton's mouth dropped open. His brain froze. "What the fuck…"

The bats? They didn't even touch Axel. One by one, they soared past him, like he wasn't there at all.

Axel stood calmly, his expression unreadable.

Easton's horror tipped into disbelief, and finally into madness. "Axel! I'll fucking kill you—!"

But no one heard his last words. Because the swarm closed around him, and his voice drowned in the storm of wings and ripping flesh.

Axel, reverted to human form and popped a Breath-holding Pill into his mouth. The mental shock earlier had disrupted his transformation, he stood still.

Minutes passed.

The forest had grown quiet again—eerily so. Only a faint green shimmer flickered where Easton had been.

"Huh?" Axel blinked, then grinned faintly.

"Something's left behind?" The light solidified into two crystals.

"A life crystal," Axel muttered. "Haven't seen a red one in a long time."

Easton had gone down fighting. He'd managed to kill five blood-winged bats during the chaos—damn impressive under those circumstances.

But in the end, they were all part of Axel's haul.

Axel tucked the Saint Sea Twig and the life crystal into his Space Capsule, exhaled, and transformed once again. His wings flared open as he flew silently from the Cloud Vine Forest.

......

Outside the forest, Axel perched on the upper branches of a towering tree. Sunlight pierced the canopy, casting shifting shadows across his face. "Damn… that was a haul."

He let out a slow whistle and laid out the glowing crystals before him.

Eight life crystals. All from level-4 awakened beings.

One from the War Academy incident. Three from the Holy Light Organization. Three compressed from his own cultivation. And now, Easton's.

He didn't count the red one yet.

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He also had several beast crystals, a precious Saint Sea Twig, and—somehow—the Kensington hot spring ticket Victor had given him.

Axel chuckled.

"Now let's see what this one gives me…"

He picked up the red crystal. Its surface pulsed faintly—almost like it was breathing. The moment he touched it, his mind slipped into introspection.

> New Skill Acquired: Mental Barrier > Negates all mental damage below 1500 Force. > Reduces incoming mental damage above 1500 Force by 50%. > When targeted by awakening skills that exceed the user's original mental power, reduces total damage effect by 20%.

A soft gasp escaped his lips. Another high-level awakening skill.

Axel had envied Easton's psychic abilities. They were deadly, nearly impossible to see coming, and even harder to defend against.

"That bastard didn't drop the skill I wanted… but this?" Axel's fingers curled slightly, his eyes flickering with light. "This'll do."

"I feel like I've gotten tougher and more resilient."

After gathering his supplies, Axel decided not to leave just yet.

The Abyss was exactly a rare place, the environment here—high up in this treetop with the Heavenly Spirit Tree—was rare. With so many Life Crystals in hand, it was the perfect place to stay put and keep compressing his Force.

"Appreciate it, little one," he muttered, patting the trunk.

The Heavenly Spirit Tree gave off a steady, refreshing aura, helping Axel absorb the violent Force that rushed in from outside.

Nine days passed.

When Axel finally opened his eyes, his body crackled like frying beans as he stretched, and a surge of pure, refined Force rippled out from him.

......

Meanwhile, deeper in the Abyss, a sharp screech ripped across the forest. A massive black bird with a wingspan of more than ten meters dove toward two fleeing figures.

Gabriel and Jorvan.

"I told you to leave it alone, you idiot!" Jorvan barked furiously, holding Gabriel under one arm while swinging his staff at the Blackwinged Dragonbird chasing them down.

His face was twisted in rage and panic.

Gabriel looked wounded emotionally. "Brother, I haven't had meat in forever. I just wanted an egg, I need the nutrition!"

Jorvan wanted to slap the brat back into his mother's womb.

"That's not a fucking chicken egg! Even the other mutants in the forest wouldn't touch it. Couldn't you figure that out?"

"Brother… you really can't beat this thing?" Gabriel asked, eyes wide.

Jorvan shot him a glare sharp enough to cut stone. This damn kid! Of all the things he could've snatched, it had to be a Blackwinged Dragonbird egg.

This particular mutant was among the deadliest in the Abyss—its body was like steel, its claws could shred boulders, and worst of all, it was highly resistant to poison. Jorvan's Awakened Talent, *Poison Master*, was almost useless here. Instead of playing to his strengths, he was forced to rely on his Original Instruments, channeling raw Force just to keep the thing at bay.

On top of that, the Abyss was unstable. The Force here surged like a storm, and if he didn't stay focused while absorbing it, he risked mutating himself.

All of this added up to one thing: they were fucked.

"I could fight it, sure," Jorvan snapped, "but what about you? With that tiny body of yours, one swipe from any mutant and you're meat paste!"

Gabriel shut his mouth, sulking.

"At this rate, we'll have to retreat early," Jorvan muttered, bitterness edging his voice as he dodged another strike. If it weren't for the crushing murderous aura deeper in the Abyss, he would've already broken through to a Level 5 Awakener.

......

Back at the treetop, Axel surfaced from his inner vision.

Physique: 3089/3188. Force: 3328 (409)/3345. Spirit: 3015/3076.

After compressing his Force, the space in his Original Pool had expanded. His total Force had risen again—this time even surpassing his physical strength.

"Only four hundred points compressed…" Axel frowned. Still, the surge of Force in his veins felt incredible. If he weren't stuck in the Abyss, he would've unleashed everything just to see the damage he could do.

"The date of departure is getting close. No point rushing now."

Just as he stood, a powerful fluctuation rippled through the air. Someone strong—heading his way fast.

Axel climbed to the highest branch, narrowing his eyes.

"Jorvan? He's… being hunted?"

He spotted the massive shape chasing them. His pupils contracted.

"A Blackwinged Dragonbird…"

Jorvan fought desperately, layers of poisonous mist pouring from him to slow the beast. But the Dragonbird's wings flared, scattering the poison as if it were nothing, and it pressed forward, unrelenting.

"So Jorvan's talent is Poison Master."

Against a human, Jorvan's venom would've ended the fight ages ago. But against this creature, he was on the back foot.

The three of them—two men and a monster—were barreling right toward Axel's position. From a distance, Jorvan spotted him first.

"Axel!"

Gabriel blinked. "Axel?"

Jorvan didn't waste another second. "What the hell are you standing there for? Run!"

With Axel's current strength, throwing him into this fight would only add another body to bury. Even carrying Gabriel was already a pain—one more would be impossible.

"Run, Axel! Get the fuck out of here!" Gabriel flailed like a panicked fat chicken in Jorvan's grip.

But Axel didn't move.

His gaze flicked past them, toward the Cloud Vine Forest behind.

"With this much noise, the Bloodwinged Bats will definitely be alerted."

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