Reborn as an Extra Chapter 586: It’s My ’Path’! Rio Vs Raika. Part-2.

Rio's sword clashed against Raika's fist countless times in endless repetition while the two of them sped through the terrain at blistering velocities.

In one instant, their skirmish erupted close to the damaged cage, and the next moment, they found themselves tens of kilometers distant, unleashing a torrent of different techniques and abilities!

Dozens of altered beasts were drawn in by the chaos of their clash and the thunderous noise it produced, yet the majority fell victim to the stray blasts and perished immediately.

A handful of formidable creatures and malevolent spirits endured briefly before serving as shields to dodge incoming strikes.

The terrain spanning several dozen kilometers around the fractured cage lay in ruins, scarred by enormous spatial rifts from their confrontation, while the hardened miasmic crystal coating on the surface cracked open in every direction!

It felt as if apocalypse had descended; the heavens tore asunder, the weave of space-time fractured like brittle shards, and the earth split and fissured across numerous spots!

"You are not understanding it now, but I am sure you will understand it all in the future! Rio!"

The fight had stalled into a deadlock right when Rio adjusted and started countering Raika's assaults, realizing that Raika was merely a 'Projection.'

Rio no longer sought to outright demolish the projection but shifted to unwavering defense.

He aimed to avoid injury and preserve his mana reserves as much as he could, all while stalling for time.

The core purpose behind this was to occupy Raika fully with himself and prevent him from heading toward Ellie.

Furthermore, Rio's primary goal at present was to reclaim Liam's soul by any means necessary.

However, that task was turning out to be immensely challenging.

Similar to Raika's form being a projection, the lyre itself was also a projection!

Rio attempted it repeatedly, yet he failed to smash or dismantle that relic to free the soul trapped within, as it vanished and reformed alongside Raika each and every time.

"Stop talking to me. I do not care what you want to say. Just return Liam and disappear..."

Responding in his typical flat tone, Rio hoisted his sword over his shoulder and then slashed downward.

Having battled for countless hours, Rio had fully acclimated to Raika and even devised a potent technique that could specifically counter 'Projections,' something impossible for him earlier.

Rio's 'sword intent' represents a force that can disturb and meddle with the application of the world's other 'laws' and 'phenomena.'

Sword Intent serves as a fiercely aggressive power, with its assault potential aimed at unsettling natural forces and every sort of phenomenon.

Rio detected the link tying the projection's creator to it and severed that bond by scrambling the surrounding phenomenon along with the influence of nature's 'laws' in a targeted zone.

The ability drained a colossal quantity of mana on its initial activation, but through repeated applications, Rio grew remarkably adept and slashed the mana cost down to a ridiculously minimal amount!

As Rio's slash sliced through vacant space, Raika's form fractured and disintegrated instantly.

This technique interacted straight with the world's 'laws,' allowing it to function without needing a solid strike on Raika's figure.

"How many times will you use that on me! It’s useless!"

Despite the prior projection's destruction, a fresh one materialized immediately without any hitch!

'Just how much energy does the other side possess... This is becoming truly irritating...'

This marked the initial occasion Rio experienced such frustration from a foe.

Raika proved relentlessly tenacious and virtually indestructible!

The entity summoning this projection appeared to command boundless reserves, and regardless of how often Rio pulverized and eradicated Raika, he reformed on the spot as though utterly unscathed.

Raika wasn't merely vexing; his strength was formidable as well!

He remained unscathed after hours of nonstop combat, with every injury mending nearly instantaneously each time, whereas Rio couldn't claim the same resilience.

Rio's body was now marred with injuries everywhere.

Beyond the initial lethal blow that pierced his abdomen, Rio had endured multiple elemental assaults of various kinds.

Rio brushed away the blood from his partially scorched visage while channeling healing elements throughout his frame.

'I am really bad at healing magic... I might have to take some lessons from Riya when I return back...'

Fortunately, Rio wore a legendary shadow robe, or the mounting harm might have already defeated him, forcing a retreat and the abandonment of his objective.

"You do know that you won’t last too long like that in front of me, right?... hehe~ Take my advice, Rio, become my friend, and accept the ’Path’ I am suggesting!"

"Become a ’Hero’! What’s the loss in that!? Why can’t you understand!? Why are you so hell-bent on your stupid, ambitionless ’Path’ of being ’Ordinary’!?"

Rio met Raika's gaze directly upon hearing those statements, and a faint grin crept onto his features.

"Only I am allowed to say that my ’Path’ is stupid; others are not qualified to say that..."

Rio recognized that he thrived best in a serene existence.

He lacked the fit for becoming an impassive instrument of devastation wielding uncontrollable might and ruinous force.

Rio yearned for normalcy, which drove him along the 'Path' guiding him toward a joyful, unremarkable life.

Yet Raika urged Rio to forsake this 'Path'; he pressed Rio to discard his aspirations for contentment and pursue the 'Path' of a 'Hero.'

Should Rio yield, he would forfeit his humanity foremost, lose his affection for Lia, and transform into a thrall willing to safeguard humanity at any cost, including slaying his dearest.

Rio rejected that fate; he had never desired it.

Displacing the miasma, the scant mana lingering in the spirit realm surged toward Rio at tremendous velocity and bolstered him immensely!

Rio's mana reserves topped off completely, and every wound mended within mere seconds!

Raika's eyes bulged in astonishment as he felt Rio's presence intensify and thicken right then.

"B-bulsh*t!! How is that possible!?"

Rather than steering Rio from his 'Path,' Raika's declarations backfired entirely!

They propelled Rio deeper into his 'Path' and even clarified his 'Path' more profoundly! Granting him a fresh surge of strength!

"You are so stubborn!!"

Clenching his teeth in fury, Raika pointed his finger skyward and declared.

"I will beat this stubbornness out of your mind! Don’t think I will let you off the hook so easily!"

"I will break every single bone in your body! I will break you! I will torture you, and I will force you to the point you will be begging for mercy!"

A gigantic sphere of violet energy formed above Raika's finger; it spun at ferocious velocity, and the space-time continuum twisted and distorted wildly merely from that colossal violet sphere's emergence.

"YOU WILL UNDERSTAND WHAT IT MEANS TO DEFY MY WORDS!!!"

Rio drew in a steady breath as he touched down on the earth and assumed his position.

His gaze held no trace of feeling, mirroring his expression, and he entered a profoundly serene and concentrated mindset at that juncture.

The enhancement from the 'world's' 'laws' sufficed to dispel all doubts from Rio's thoughts, leaving him genuinely 'calm' and 'emotionless' now.

His sword intent expertise had at last surpassed the 99 percent mark, hitting 99.99%, drawing him nearer to total command of 'Perfect Sword Intent.'

Rio understood that feats once beyond him were now within reach.

Rio had drilled through hundreds of thousands of repetitions and succeeded in forming the tiniest intermediate-grade miasmic crystal previously.

But circumstances had shifted now.

Rio's command of miasma and his command of sword intent had ascended to unprecedented heights.

Any 0.1% gain in proficiency beyond 99% sword intent mastery signified a fresh tier.

With every 0.1% proficiency rise, the strength gain rivaled that of 75% mastery in a legendary technique.

And Rio had vaulted straight to its peak.

Rio's grasp of sword intent delved so profoundly that he neared 'Perfect Sword Intent' in that instant.

Armed with such might, even as a mere intermediate S-ranker, Rio could forge a high-grade miasmic crystal right there.

He aimed his sword's point heavenward and formed the high-grade miasma crystal instantly before.

"If this doesn’t work, It’s my loss..."

Both Rio and Raika's assaults detonated simultaneously, with the dual forces smashing together at ferocious momentum!!