This time, his speed surpassed all others. A dark mana aura surrounded Nolan's entire body and held him aloft as if gravity no longer affected him completely. Each swing of his sword felt light yet carried a terrifying pressure.
Eclipse Cleaves shot out in a flurry, slicing through the gravitational waves pressing down on the surroundings. The next moment, Black Moon spun and split the Gravity Sphere Aura in two, causing the pressure to collapse and dissipate.
He twirled the sword's hilt in his hand with an almost mechanical motion. With another swing, Nolan slashed through the giant red sphere before him—for the second time—without hesitation.
His brown eyes locked on a single point.
The only presence he was aware of was the man with the immense mana aura before him.
He didn't hear Julian's voice.
He didn't feel Selena's anxious gaze.
His mind felt empty and quiet as if the world around him had been separated by an invisible layer of nothingness.
Nolan planted his left foot in the air and used it as a springboard to launch forward. His black sword collided with Charlie's hand, enveloped in a dense red mana aura.
"Brat—" Charlie growled angrily. "You dare put me under pressure!"
A fist charged with gravity hurtled toward him.
But he had anticipated it.
The fist struck the back of his sword, flinging Nolan's body away. Despite the force of the impact, he didn't fall. Instead, his body remained suspended in the air, spinning slowly, before regaining its stability.
Expressionless.
Without hesitation.
This time, Nolan unleashed Black Moon directly at Charlie.
The gravity wielder raised his hand, and a red mana aura condensed and pressed against the rapidly spinning black disc. A massive pressure converged, attempting to crush Black Moon from within.
But something felt wrong.
Black Moon's speed didn't slow.
Its rotation actually became more stable and increasingly sharp.
Charlie focused his full attention on the attack.
That was the opening.
Without a sound or warning, Nolan was behind the man. The sword in his hand slowly rose, enveloped in an unsteady, pulsating aura of dark mana. This technique was still in its infancy, and even Nolan hadn't fully grasped its limits.
But his instincts took over.
For a moment, a thought flashed through his mind: He thought about the stories he'd seen on Earth—about instant power, systems, and MCs who became invincible without paying a price.
But this was different.
The power he now held didn't feel free.
Something was slowly eroding inside him.
Nolan swung his sword.
[Black Crescent: Severing Arc.]
A thin black arc streaked through the air. Though not as large as Eclipse Cleave, its edge was razor-sharp—fast, precise, and merciless.
The arc pierced Charlie's defenses.
In an instant, the man's body was slashed in numerous places. The wounds opened almost simultaneously, and blood splattered before he could comprehend what had just happened.
Charlie staggered back, his aura trembling violently.
His vengeful gaze fixed on Nolan, who was hovering in the air.
Nolan paid no attention. He attacked Charlie again with Black Moon. However, just as Black Moon began to form, a voice boomed from the sky.
"Sentinel Master Boy, you are truly audacious."
The voice sounded like a woman's. Nolan was about to turn toward the source of the voice when a giant stone sword came hurtling toward him.
Nolan raised the back of his own sword to block the attack. The giant sword wasn't just heavy, though; it also radiated an immense aura of mana. Nolan couldn't withstand it. His body was pushed and slid downward, crashing into the snowy ground and causing it to tremble. A cloud of smoke and snow flew into the air.
At the last second, however, Nolan had put up a shield, preventing the attack from being immediately fatal.
A woman with long black hair and dark circles under her eyes appeared in the sky. She wore a tight black outfit under a long, flowing robe. Nolan didn't recognize her, but she looked down at the injured Charlie and bowed slightly as if she were important.
"How could you, Charlie, be defeated by a Sentinel Master?" the woman asked coldly.
Charlie clenched his fists tightly; anger and humiliation filled his face.
Nolan, on the other hand, remained steadfast. He would not let go of anyone who approached—anyone with a strong mana aura.
He prepared to attack again with Black Moon.
Suddenly, however, all the mana in his body was drained. His vision blurred, the sound in his ears faded, and his senses dulled.
Nolan clutched his throbbing head again. This time, the pain was palpable. Unlike before, he now fully realized the agony.
Through his blurry vision, he saw a giant sword hurtling toward him once again.
But before it could hit him, a giant water dome appeared and blocked the sword.
Selena had activated her protective magic. Despite his injuries, Julian stood beside her, supporting her nearly collapsing body.
Nolan wanted to say something, but he couldn't speak. His consciousness had just returned from a momentary blankness.
All he could hear were Selena's screams and a thunderous roar that shook the air.
The water dome finally shattered. A giant sword struck the surrounding area.
Nolan could no longer see anything.
Everything went black.
***
Andes Palace, Andes Region
Charlie clenched his fists so tightly that the veins on the backs of his hands stood out. He sat in an iron chair, staring at the cylindrical tube on the table—the Healing Tube—which still emitted a faint glow. The wounds all over his body were slowly fading, but the shame etched in his chest hadn't lessened at all.
He had been defeated by a sixteen-year-old Sentinel Master boy.
Even more embarrassing, the boy could only resist because he had consumed a mana energy ball, which allowed him to temporarily advance to Sequence 5. The reality remained the same, though: Charlie Sheer, a Sequence 7 Ultimate Sentinel, had been soundly beaten by him.
If not for Lady Hela's intervention, Charlie was certain that the next attack would leave him seriously injured.
His gaze shifted out the palace's large window into the frigid air of the Andes region. In the front courtyard, three tall pillars stood upright. Three young Sentinel Masters were tied securely to each of them.
They were left without coats, wearing only the uniforms and robes he had discarded.
The snow continued to fall slowly, and the cold wind bit his skin. Watching them freeze to death brought him a small sense of satisfaction—a substitute for the pride he had lost on the battlefield.
The Andes Palace itself was not spared. The Snake Goddess Organization's attack on this region had destroyed several of its buildings. Its subordinates—the Dark Sentinels and the Daemon race—had also suffered heavy casualties. Furthermore, Medusa, the leader of this region, was an Early-Stage Sequence 9 Extreme Daemon.
However, the Tiger Guild's counterattack was no less brutal.
Charlie vividly remembered Georgia, the Tiger Guild leader, leading a direct attack on the palace. They were ultimately repulsed only because Miss Hela arrived in time to assist.
"If the Aurora Association or the other Guilds come here..." Charlie muttered, a crooked smile tugging at the corners of his lips. "They'll only come to retrieve their captured Sentinels."
He coughed softly. The healing process wasn't complete yet.
"As long as Lady Hela is here, they won't be able to stop anything."
The entire Andes Palace was now surrounded by a massive barrier—an energy dome that emanated from a tall tower on the outskirts of the fortress. At its peak, a black crystal sphere belonging to the Daemon race emitted a faint glow, repelling any external attack.
But suddenly—
CRACK!
A loud cracking sound echoed through the air.
Charlie looked up and saw the tower cracking from the center, his eyes widening. The black crystal sphere dimmed at its peak, then shattered into countless pieces.
The protective tower collapsed.
With that, the protective dome surrounding Andes Palace shook violently, cracking and completely disintegrating.