Reborn as an Extra Chapter 590: Fighting Inside An Unstable Wormhole! Part-2.
Previously on Reborn as an Extra...
The possibilities cube was malfunctioning wildly, providing scant assistance in locating Raika, not to mention his master.
'Yet his inability to vanish within the wormhole turns into a key edge...'
Such an unforeseen weakness striking Raika caught Rio off guard.
Rio's intense struggle against Raika stemmed mostly from Raika's swift recovery from every injury and his freedom to phase in and out of being whenever he chose.
This setup formed an ideal foil against Rio's broad array of fighting methods and moves tailored for handling diverse foes.
Even with his vast collection of techniques, not a single one proved effective on Raika, who stood as an utterly strange entity.
Having clashed with Raika for ages, Rio had long realized the futility of attempting to slay or shatter him, since nothing seemed to faze him.
'Still, how can I rescue Liam from him without devising a method to deal lasting injury?'
Rio had unleashed every power at his disposal, yet he remained incapable of inflicting any enduring harm on Raika.
Lacking the means to cause permanent wounds, Rio found himself unable to deliver a solid strike on Raika or his hovering sacred lyre that held Liam's soul!
Right as Rio grew increasingly baffled about his next step, he abruptly detected the sudden vanishing of Liam's soul presence and energy from Raika's lyre!
Furthermore, Raika's radiant lyre lost its glow in an instant, fractures spiderwebbing across its surface like it had endured a savage force and suffered severe destruction all at once!
"What!?"
"What!?"
In that instant, both Raika and Rio stood utterly stunned, momentarily forgetting their ongoing clash!
Though they continued plummeting through the wormhole, neither spared a thought for it right then!
Shock etched across their features as they stared at the suspended lyre!
"What have you done to Liam's soul!?"
Rio at once assumed Raika had tampered with Liam's soul, yet Raika appeared equally stunned to his astonishment.
"T-this... I have no clue! What occurred!? His soul has vanished!?"
Noting the stunned expression on Raika's face, Rio quickly regained his composure, and an idea struck him.
'Could it be Ellie's doing?'
While battling, Rio had left Ellie to devise a strategy, but their plunge into the wormhole severed his link with her!
He remained clueless about Ellie's actions or how she extracted Liam's soul from Raika's control.
However, one fact stood clear now: Raika had been defeated in this fight!
This wasn't solely Rio's confrontation with Raika! Ellie had joined the fray from the outset!!
True to his promise, Rio kept Raika occupied, doing so masterfully that Raika never once targeted Ellie!
He hadn't even viewed Ellie as part of the conflict, fixating entirely on assaulting Rio or debating with him!
By concentrating solely on Rio, Raika stayed completely oblivious to Ellie's schemes and maneuvers, dismissing her as too feeble to influence the battle.
He had gravely misjudged Ellie's capabilities!
His underestimation arose because she never stirred from beginning to end! Subconsciously, he ignored her due to her apparent frailty and lack of offensive power!
For the first time, fury and irritation twisted Raika's features!
"I will slaughter that cursed woman!!!"
Only after a prolonged delay did Raika grasp the situation!
His sluggish response allowed Rio to close the distance swiftly!
In Rio's former world, mosquitoes and airborne nuisances posed major headaches.
Upon arriving in this realm and gaining command over elementals, Rio crafted a technique specifically to counter them!
It went by the name 'Mosquito Repelling Wind'!
Curious about its uniqueness? It's utterly ordinary, and therein lies its brilliance!
Rio stealthily approached Raika's flank before slashing his blade downward with tremendous might, unleashing wind elementals gathered on the sword that propelled Raika's form downward like a shot from a cannon!!
This blade art excelled so much that Rio generated gusts fierce enough to hurl any being far from him without ending their life!
"Now I see... you can't summon two projections simultaneously, and your link to the primary form severed the instant you entered the wormhole!"
"That's why you attempted to ascend earlier, since you can't phase out and rematerialize by Ellie—you can no longer request your core self to erase you!"
Within the wormhole, detecting anything proved impossible; hence, the original body couldn't pinpoint the projection known as Raika's location!
Not only was Raika barred from vanishing, but his tie to the main form had also been severed!
This implied as well,
'The 'World Authority' he wielded against me has ceased functioning!'
Rio had observed this in Raika's recent strikes!
Raika no longer employed world authorities, instead manipulating diverse elementals to disrupt the wormhole's stability, forcing it to expel both Rio and himself!
Yet Rio countered this with spatial ripples!
Additionally, up to this point, Raika had battled Rio using only his own projection!
As a projection, he ought to have created multiple duplicates if desired, but he refrained!
This indicated that even Raika faced constraints, unable to casually defy the world's laws.
The entity empowering Raika might wield great strength, but it clearly bowed to the world's inherent balance!
They had granted Raika vast might along with a fragment of their own authority!
Producing another Raika with matching finesse and potency was simply unfeasible!
"I won't allow you to escape here and return to her!"
Rio had deduced Raika's predicament, realizing that to confront Ellie, Raika must return to the wormhole's origin or emerge from it.
Once outside, he could restore his bond with the main body, then teleport to Ellie's location by fading in and out of existence.
But Rio resolved to prevent that!
Previously, Raika had barred him from aiding Liam, but now Rio would bar Raika to shield Liam and Ellie from harm!
"Tch!"
Noticing Rio obstructing the return path, Raika gritted his teeth and charged toward the wormhole's barriers!
However, Rio wasn't foolish; he acted without delay!
"Take this! You irritating mosquito bastard!!"