Another blast of kinetic energy sends the monster crashing through multiple buildings. But it seems that I was unable to kill it, even with the sheer amount of kinetic energy I collected, it not being concentrated enough because the sheer amount is hard to control.

I grab the severed limb as it falls, and when the guardian rushes at me again, flames burst forth from me, dispersing on its skin.

The guardian disrupts my anchors, and my kinetic energy seems to be having less of an effect, the monster changing its barrier to counter it.

My control falters, and the falling buildings move again, falling at normal speed, the deafening sound of crashing debris filling the area.

I avoid the growling Veil Guardian and use [Regalia] to envelope my body in a suit of armor and absorb another blow. Mana flows through me, and I use the kinetic energy I’ve gathered to strengthen my body even more.

I create a sword out of mana, imbuing it with [Resonance], as it collides with the guardian's remaining sword arm.

Its blade cuts through my weapon easily as if it wasn’t even there, and slices into my shoulder before I can blast it away with the remaining kinetic energy from the orb.

I absorb some thermal energy from the other orb, and the wound starts healing.

Not giving me more time, the monster reaches me, slashing at me again, and I dodge to the side, as a slash removes a chunk of the falling building we’re standing on. I attack it with its own arm, and the monster dodges, a deep groan I can feel in my chest reverberating through the air. It screeches and follows me as I jump from building to building, its attacks causing huge amounts of damage to each.

It continues to disrupt my anchors, and even my [Mana Domain] is restricted. Its gravity skill also continues to put pressure on me, and I feel black mana inside of my body depleting and inscriptions on my skin disappearing.

The entire time, part of my mind, with the help of my eyes' trait, continues to examine the monster, its mana, and the way it tracks me and disrupts my external skills.

When the monster tackles me, I let it happen and use [Infusion] to infuse the armor around my body with thermal energy. Golden flames fill the armor, turning me into a burning figure, and the Veil Guardian screeches, as its skin burns and one of its eyes is damaged.

Using the opportunity, I once again slash with its severed arm, and the monster dodges once more. In exchange, its blade pierces through my leg, and the only thing that saves it is the black mana boosting my movements.

I avoid another stab and try to keep it from tackling me. Flames compress and blaze ahead like a laser, burning a hole into its eye. The attack blinds the damaged eye but still doesn't pierce deep enough to kill it.

For a short moment, the gravity affecting me increases, and immobilizes me, even with my strengthened body, and the monster reaches me, burrowing its teeth into my leg.

I push it away, and another laser-like attack of golden flames burns its chest close to its heart as the monster shifts its body. The Veil Guardian takes a moment to chew on the chunk of flesh it tore out of my leg, all the while looking at me with its single eye. A memory of a group of three people being eaten alive flashes through my head.

Landing on the road, I roll away, but once again, the monster holds my body with extreme gravity and reaches me in a split second. Ignoring my armor, it burrows its teeth into the same leg it bit before, and then, while I'm unable to move, starts gnawing at it.

The gravity disappears, but the monster holds me, its teeth lodged in the bone of my shin.

It starts eating me alive, a hateful expression in its eyes.

[Redistribution] activates, and I transfer all the thermal energy I have into kinetic and bolster it with some of my mana. My thermokinetic heart beats, compressing it all.

Looking at the monster, I send all that kinetic energy into my leg, and as the monster gnaws at it, I make it explode inside its mouth. The Veil Guardian gets thrown away, a geyser of blood exploding into the air.

My leg is gone, up to the middle of my thigh, destroyed by my own attack.

I push myself back up, and I feel black mana disappear from my body, depleted as the aftereffects catch up to me.

With a deep growl, the monster stands up again, half of its face turned into a bloody mess, none of its teeth remain, as its blood drips. Yet, the monster remains combat capable, very much so.

[Tether - lvl 28 > Tether - lvl 29]

Finally, my skill pierces through the monster's attempts at disruption with the help of my eyes, and shooting a last weak attack at the monster, I teleport.

I reappear at one of my older anchors that is barely active, close to crumbling after days of staying there. With my body depleted of black mana, I finally have some mental capability to do so and create a small black orb near where I am. Leaving it behind to remove my tracks, I teleport to another anchor. I repeat it multiple times, and then inside one of the smaller buildings on the edge of the city, I fall to the floor.

Thermal energy flows through my body, healing it as much as possible with the help of passive abilities and fighting against the severe aftereffects of the fight.

I examine the sword arm of the monster I still hold, but I find no markings on it, and none of the monster's mana remains in it after I disrupt it multiple times. Being separated from its owner and purged of mana, the body isn't quite so extremely durable, so I remove the flesh, leaving me with the blade.

Voidsteel Slicer (Epic): The Voidsteel used in this blade is renowned for its vibration-absorbing qualities, allowing the wielder to cut with unmatched precision and sharpness. The Voidsteel ensures the Slicer is nearly indestructible, effortlessly cutting through almost any material.

Then I glance at my leg which is missing a big chunk. The wound has already closed, and new skin covers it, and as before, when I tested it with my fingertip, the leg will grow back. Given enough time and enough thermal energy, my passive will be able to restore it.

Once again, I create a prosthetic made of dark blue mana connected to the stump of my leg. Part of [Focus] shifts to keeping it up and controlling it, and I try to rotate the ankle, and it moves as a normal leg should.

[Perception] warns me, and I try to teleport, but my [Tether] fails, disrupted. Instead, I create a spherical barrier around me, and crashing through the wall, a blade slashes through it, stopped only by the Voidsteel Slicer in my hand. The sheer force of the attack still sends me crashing through the wall and outside onto the street.

With a deep growl, the Veil Guardian lands on the road. The monster's movements are more careful than before, and it doesn't rush to attack. One of its arms is still missing, the blade held by me. There is still a hole through its chest caused by my first attack. Its skin is burned, and one of its eyes is blinded, with its face bearing deep wounds and jawbone gone.

It moves much quicker than I do, and I barely block the next attack.

The blades meet, and I absorb some kinetic energy from the blow, and then my trait activates again. The world of invisible mana opens up again, and I feel the strain on my brain. Even more now without black mana strengthening my body.

Ignoring it, I push through, disrupt the attempts that stop me from teleporting, and then use [Tether], teleporting to one of the anchors I left near where the first fight started.

My body sways, and I deactivate my trait. I feel blood in my mouth, and the prosthetic leg flickers and nearly disappears before I force myself to keep it up. Using the strength of my body, I start running in between the skyscrapers on the road covered in greenery. I use [Resonance] and strengthen my Mantle, keeping as much mana as I can inside my body.

[Resonance - lvl 41 > Resonance - lvl 42]

I enter one of the buildings near the fallen skyscraper and force myself to calm down.

My breathing slows down, and I absorb the movement of my heart, making the beating slow. The Mantle encompasses it all, and [Resonance] disrupts the tiniest particles of mana that escape my Mana Cycling. I disrupt the leg made of mana too. Lastly, I control the heat of my body as well, matching it to the rubble surrounding me.

From the sky, the monster falls, a crater created by the force of the impact. The silence is deafening as the Veil Guardian reaches the place where I appeared after the teleport. Its red eye looks around, full of calm hate and searching.

There are only two anchors left. One near my disciple and the other one near the old healer on the rooftop with the Vitalist.

The monster takes a few slow steps, searching, and looking. Its movements are just as sharp as before, even with the wounds I’ve inflicted.

A minute passes.

Two minutes pass.

The Guardian passes by the building I'm hiding in.

Three minutes.

It returns again, circles, and searches closer to the area where I am. The remaining arm twitches towards the ruins of the buildings where it all started, some of my mana still lingering in the air. After being hit by the attack, the cleanly slashed stone falls, adding to the pile of rubble.

Then the Veil Guardian changes its strategy. The monster stops where it stands, and mana explodes from it, encompassing a huge area. Some sort of domain similar to my [Mana Domain].

Within that sizable area, the gravity increases. And then again. The gravity keeps slowly increasing every few seconds. It causes more rubble to fall, and some weaker buildings tilt and crack. The smaller pieces of the skyscrapers fall from all this height. And the entire time, the monster waits. For a hint of mana. For a scream of pain.

The gravity increases even more, and another skyscraper nearby tilts, standing only on one leg, I crumple onto the ground under that force. I do not fight against it; I do not use mana other than to keep myself covered.

[Focus - lvl 44 > Focus - lvl 45]

The effect of the field isn't as strong as before because of the area it covers, yet it still weighs me down. It becomes harder to breathe, and I feel dizzy. The blood in my veins moves slower.

The field strengthens, and with it, my dizziness strengthens too. I can feel my heart palpitate. The guardian radiates more mana, and each breath takes extreme effort. Yet, I still do not use my mana to strengthen my body. I keep it all under control, not leaking it at all, not even a bit.

[Mana Manipulation - lvl 45 > Mana Manipulation - lvl 46]

My vision blurs and my body starts to tear. The intense gravity attempting to pull the flesh off my bones.

Bones all over my body crack and break. Dozens of them as my body gets pressed against the ground. The pain pierces through my body and reaches my mind.

There is nothing else, just a feeling of my body getting taken apart, the pain, and me controlling my mana. It feels like forever, and I barely even feel a few pieces of ceiling fall on my body, even though they mangle my muscles and break even more bones.

Out of nowhere, the pressure disappears, replaced by a deep groan, and then there is silence. The gravity is back to normal, and gradually even the sound of falling buildings disappears.

Even then, I lay there for hours. I do not heal my body, nor do I stop keeping my mana hidden. I just lay there, inside the half-broken building, somewhere under the rubble.

Only when I hear the rain falling outside do I allow my heart to generate thermal energy and let it activate the passive that heals my body.