The situation had flipped into a stalemate in the blink of an eye.
Owen stood outside the danger zone of the lightning dome, his hair slightly standing on end from the intense static in the air. He looked at the fortress of lightning with a heavy sense of pressure. The roar of a thousand lightning bolts circulating within thundered like a raging storm. It wasn't just a defense... it was a declaration of a death zone that permitted no trespassers.
To test its severity, Owen picked up a nearby piece of sharp metal wreckage and threw it into the dome with all his might...
CRACKLE!
The moment the metal scrap entered the radius, a dozen bolts of lightning shot out and struck it in mid-air, burning it red-hot in an instant! It was a confirmation that charging in without any protection was true suicide.
'Damn it! It created its own fortress! If I get any closer, I'll be roasted alive for sure... but if I don't go in, I can't accumulate any more heat... There has to be a way... a way to get past its defenses...'
Countless thoughts raced through his head, but instead of sinking into the pressure, Owen forced himself to calm down and began to "observe." He moved slowly around the edge of the dome, his enhanced eyes focusing on every detail of the frantically dancing lightning.
And then he saw it... the "rhythm" of the lightning erupting from the floor wasn't random... it was "synchronized" with the pulsing glow of the "blue energy core" on the iron beast's chest! Every time the core flashed... the lightning on the floor would erupt with exponentially greater force.
A thought shot through his head like a lightning bolt!
'Wait... it's not directly creating a lightning wall... The lightning isn't striking from the air... it's erupting from the floor! It's using the warehouse's steel floor as a conductor! The energy from that core is sent into the floor first, then erupts into the air to create the lightning dome... That means... if I can protect myself from the electricity coming from the floor, I can get inside!'
That thought made Owen think back to his brutal training with "Nova." He recalled the image of her creating an emerald-green "Mana Armor" to envelop her body, and his own near-death pain as he tried to do the same... until the final second of training... the second he had stumbled and crawled until he was almost unconscious... but had managed to squeeze out all his power and successfully create "Mana Armor" to envelop one of his "arms" for the first time!
Suddenly... what he had once thought was an "incomplete success" had now become the single "key" to solving this situation! He didn't need to create a full-body armor... he just needed "armored boots" to act as an "insulator" against the electricity from the floor!
But Owen knew well that maintaining Mana Armor required a massive and continuous amount of mana. It was a huge gamble...
'It's a race... between my mana running out... and the heat energy I have to accumulate... Let's see who runs out first!'
He stepped back, stood still, and closed his eyes for a moment to focus on circulating all the mana in his body to flow and gather at both his feet... A few seconds later, his eyes opened again. They were filled with a fierce determination, and both his feet were now enveloped in a faint red light, the color of his personal mana... It was an incomplete Mana Armor... but it was his only hope right now.
The faint red light from the Mana Armor shone slightly, a contrast to the dark metal floor and the flashing blue sparks before him. Owen took a deep breath. The strong, burnt smell of ozone stung his nostrils, but he paid it no mind. He gathered all his courage...
And took the first step into the lightning dome.
SZZZZZZZZ!
A sound like red-hot iron being plunged into water hissed around his feet. Blue sparks from the floor swirled around the Mana Armor like a swarm of hungry snakes. They coiled around his ankles, trying to find any way to seep in, but they couldn't penetrate to harm his skin in the slightest. It proved that the Mana Armor had successfully acted as an "insulator" against the electricity from the floor!
Confident now, Owen shot forward!
He used his top speed to circle the slow iron beast, using the Mana Armor on his feet to skate across the electrified metal floor, like a skater performing a dangerous routine in the middle of a lightning storm. His main goal was to "dodge" all the primary attacks and find an opening to counterattack to accumulate energy for his gauntlets.
The iron beast, seeing its prey invade its territory, grew even more frenzied. It roared until the warehouse trembled before swinging its massive claw at Owen relentlessly!
CRASH! CLANGGG!
Every time its attack missed and slammed into the floor or the warehouse wall, a large amount of sharp metal debris would shatter and fly out like shrapnel, shooting at Owen from all directions like a hail of bullets.
And in that moment... Owen activated [Avatar of Asura]!
Four translucent, dark red Asura arms appeared in the air around him with shocking speed, weaving patterns to "parry" the dangerous debris from his path. The sound of metal fragments hitting the Asura arms rang out, "Clang! Clang!" continuously like a rain of steel, but it couldn't slow Owen's speed in the slightest.
Not only that, but he also used these Asura arms to push off the floor or walls to change direction abruptly, or to launch himself away from an attack in a blind spot with amazing skill. It was an application of his power to increase his "agility" to the absolute limit! Owen dodged a claw that slammed down and caved in the floor before using one Asura arm to push off a warehouse pillar and launch himself forward, sliding beautifully and breathtakingly under the iron beast's arm to the other side!
And the most important difference... was that activating [Avatar of Asura] this time was seamless, just by thinking it. There was no lag or feeling of "squeezing" the energy out of an empty body like when he had F-Rank mana. He felt as if he were just moving his own limbs normally. The vast capacity of his B-Rank mana allowed him to fully concentrate on dodging and finding his timing, without worrying about his power running out soon.
The battlefield in the abandoned warehouse had transformed into a stage for a dance of light and color. The sound of clashing metal echoed like a distorted song. The blue light from the lightning dome cast their long, dancing shadows on the crumbling walls like phantoms.
Owen's attacks would happen in the "split second" the iron beast missed and was off-balance... the moment it swung its arm to the end of its arc or the moment it was slowly pulling an arm stuck in the floor back up.
Owen would shoot in like a shadow, using both his real hands, wearing the Gauntlets of the Sun God, to rain down punches on the iron beast before him!
THUD! THUD! THUD!
The dull sound of mana-packed fists hitting the thick steel plates created shallow dents and flying sparks. His punches didn't cause serious damage, but they were a "transference" of thermal energy to be accumulated in the core of the gauntlets, before he would launch himself back to maintain his distance before the enemy could recover.
The heat energy numbers slowly but surely climbed, because each time, he only had a few seconds to attack. It was a fight that required the utmost patience and concentration.
[[Fist of the Rising Sun] Heat Accumulated: 2550/6000 units]
[[Fist of the Rising Sun] Heat Accumulated: 2600/6000 units]
[[Fist of the Rising Sun] Heat Accumulated: 2650/6000 units]
The image of Owen's breathtaking dance around the iron beast continued. He dodged deadly attacks by a hair's breadth time and again, and countered with machine-like precision. The red light of his mana and the blue light of the enemy's lightning flashed across the abandoned warehouse, creating a scene of combat that was both beautiful and deadly.
Several long minutes passed... The dangerous dance continued.
[[Fist of the Rising Sun] Heat Accumulated: 3000/6000 units]
…
[[Fist of the Rising Sun] Heat Accumulated: 3500/6000 units]
…
[[Fist of the Rising Sun] Heat Accumulated: 4500/6000 units]
…
'Just a little more! Only 1500 units left!'
But as Owen was focused on his near-complete goal...
Flicker!
The faint red Mana Armor on his feet blinked for a moment before returning... it was a warning that made Owen's heart jolt.
He glanced down and saw that the once-steady Mana Armor was now wavering and noticeably more transparent...
'When... did I use this much mana!?'
The harsh truth slammed into his consciousness. Even with his B-Rank mana capacity, which was like an ocean... maintaining an "insulator" that had to constantly resist a massive amount of energy from the floor was like leaving a faucet running nonstop!
His time and his mana... more than half had been used... without him even realizing it!
GRRRRRRRRRRRR!!!!
But the iron beast also seemed to have reached its limit. It realized that its old attack patterns, powerful but slow, were no longer effective. It began the process of "adapting" once again!
Crackle! Sizzle! CRACK!
The blue energy core on its chest flashed violently, like a failing heart! The sound of short-circuiting electricity came from all over its body, followed by boiling steam that gushed from the joints. The steel plates all over its body began to turn red-hot from the rapidly rising temperature... as if being burned from the inside out!
It had entered a state of "Overload" completely!
And to demonstrate the power it had just unleashed... all its red eyes fixed on a large H-beam that had once been a structural support for the mezzanine, which had partially collapsed from the earlier fighting.
It charged its red-hot body towards the steel beam, used both its arms to grab it tightly, before "twisting and tearing" it from the structure it was still attached to!
KRAKKKKK... GRIIIIIIIIIIIND!!!
The sound of metal being twisted until it snapped was deafening. Finally, the 5-meter-long steel beam came free in its hands, becoming a brutal and formidable giant club!
The situation flipped in an instant!
The iron beast, now as red-hot as steel fresh from a furnace, began to move with a noticeably increased speed. It was no longer walking, but "stomping" as it ran at Owen. It began to swing and smash the steel club with twice the speed and frequency as before. The attacks weren't more powerful... but they were "faster" and so "continuous" there was almost no room to breathe!
Owen's "predictions" of its attack patterns were now useless, because the rhythm and speed had completely changed. He was forced to rely on his raw instincts to dodge for his life. The once-graceful dance had now become a heart-pounding run for his life.
But Owen knew he couldn't back down! He had to take more risks. He had to use the split second after the steel beam had just swung past him to rush in and counterattack, even knowing his body might come into contact with the heat radiating from the enemy's body.
WHOOSH! THWACK! THWACK!
Sizzle! Owen's sleeve was instantly singed as he got close enough to land two punches. He had to quickly pat out the fire before rolling away to narrowly dodge the iron beast's counterattack.
[[Fist of the Rising Sun] Heat Accumulated: 4700/6000 units]
He didn't stop. He ran up the crumbling wreckage to create a new attack angle. His cheek stung as if seared by a hot iron from the radiating heat, but he endured it and countered again.
The fight had changed from a beautiful dance... to a brutal and painful exchange of blows!
[[Fist of the Rising Sun] Heat Accumulated: 5000/6000 units]
…
[[Fist of the Rising Sun] Heat Accumulated: 5350/6000 units]
…
[[Fist of the Rising Sun] Heat Accumulated: 5700/6000 units]
…
And finally... the long battle dragged both of them to the breaking point...
Owen stood panting, his body heaving, his lungs burning as if on fire. The mana that had once been like an ocean was now almost completely dry. Meanwhile, the iron beast was no different. Its processing system had been overworked until its logic core was completely damaged. It stopped swinging the beam with a "target"... and began its final, crazed, and truly "unpredictable" attack pattern.
It began to use the steel beam in its hand to "smash" the ground around it, frantically and without direction!
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
The continuous explosions were like cannon fire. The warehouse floor was punctured until it was riddled with holes. Metal and concrete debris flew in all directions like a hail of bullets. It was a perfect random attack... the final rampage of a mortally wounded beast!
Owen had to dodge clumsily amidst the devastated battlefield. He rolled away from a steel beam that slammed down just a hand's breadth from his body. Flying concrete fragments cut his cheek, drawing blood. He used the moment the steel beam had just been pulled up from the ground to rush in for the last attack in this set!
[[Fist of the Rising Sun] Heat Accumulated: 5950/6000 units]
'Just one more punch! Just one more punch!'
Owen stood panting amidst the frantic smashing. The red light on his feet flickered more and more frequently, like a candle about to go out. He had only enough strength for "one more punch"... and his mana was almost completely gone.
He waited for the moment... staring intently at the raging enemy... the split second the steel beam was slammed into the ground with all its force and was about to be pulled back up... that was the only "opening" he needed!
"Hyaaaaaaaaaa!!!"
He roared, throwing all his remaining strength into a charge like a red meteor! His body shot through the curtain of dust and debris in a straight line!
In the instant his final punch slammed into the enemy's abdominal armor...
Crack!
The Mana Armor on his feet "shattered" into a spray of red light at the same time! Owen's body convulsed as the residual electricity on the floor shocked him!
But even so... the clear blue system screen appeared before him... the one thing that confirmed his success in that instant...
[[Fist of the Rising Sun] Heat Accumulated: 6000/6000 units]!!!
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