BXBX NOVEL Chapter 102: Descent Into Abyss
"Damn, this is crazy," Ronaldo muttered. "They are just popping out of nowhere these days, and this one is so fucking big."
*Cracke…Zoom!*
Rin vanished from the ship as her Lightning Spark wings crackled with lightning.
Although she flew with her fastest speed, she was still a bit slow as Erix had initiated his strongest attack, releasing Death Metal Meteor, a unique skill he made that consumed both mana and his Undead energy.
Moreover, he had even enhanced it using external metal given to him by Duke Khroll for maximum attack.
The goal was to destroy that giant crystal in one shot before it could produce its reactive powers upon getting attacked.
*BOOOOM!*
The max-powered Windfury Cannon shot the Death Metal Meteor from as high as ten kilometers in the sky, and it came crashing down exactly like a meteor, straight toward the giant Abyss Nexus Crystal.
Everyone was impressed at the power and magnitude of the attack because Metal Affinity was rare. Many people had other elemental affinities, but none in the Yorik Kingdom had Metal Affinity, so only Erix could pull a feat like that.
Rin flew towards Erix, who gradually descended while his attack only took four seconds to crash down and hit the crystal.
The speed of the meteorite was nine times the speed of sound at max right before it crashed into the Crystal, creating a defeating boom along with a loud bang as the Abyss Nexus Crystal instantly crashed all over.
"ATTACK!"
Duke Khroll shouted in a loud voice reverberating everywhere over the canyon as hundreds of people ranging from level 90 to level 117 attacked, though only fifteen people were above level 100 among hundreds, and the max level among them was at level 117, who was none other than Duke Khroll.
Everyone attacked the almost-broken Abyss Nexus Crystal, filled with fighting spirit and adrenaline.
But the same couldn't be said for Erix.
He abruptly stopped his descent, dread filling every fiber of his being.
His pupils expanded, and his gaze glued to the Nexus Abyss Crystal. For him, time started moving slowly in his mind as he saw all those projectiles coming close to the crystal while the Abyss Nexus shone faintly in a dreadful black hue.
In that single millisecond, a wave of darkest dark purple arose from its button and shot upward, a ray of pitch black with a dark purple hue that shot towards Erix in an instant.
Erix produced a thought to escape and dodge, but his body or powers didn't keep up with his thought.
That part of the second felt long yet short as that ray from Nexus washed over Erix within a second.
Erix looked at his body but saw it was perfectly fine.
However…his Life Orb had hit 0.
"Erix!!"
Erix turned to Rin, a flicker of joy instantly filling him up, but that was gone soon as he realized his situation.
He looked at his body again as it finally showed the effect of that ray attack from Abyss Nexus Crystal.
His body showed black cracks all over before his consciousness blurred.
"Erix!" Rin shouted again, dread filling her up as she saw Erix getting attacked.
She appeared before him with potions in her hand and poured them over his cracked body.
"Rin…This is not real…right?" Erix spoke, his gaze blank, while otherworldly pain finally assaulted his sense, but his brain could not register it. It was dead.
He was dead.
*Crack…*
"No, no, no, no…." Rin repeatedly uttered while tears were streaming down her cheeks as Erix's body started breaking down. "Don't die!"
His gaze was already empty as not an ounce of life or soul remained in his disappearing body that turned into motes and vanished.
Rin's gaze became inanimate and her mind empty, except for the overflowing despair manifesting in her.
She opened her mouth, trying to shout, but a huge lump seemed to stop her from uttering anything while tears continued to stream from her eyes.
The despair in her stopped everything else within her, especially the joy of living.
Her dreams, the future she envisioned, and everything of her was already bound with Erix forever, but he…was no longer alive.
And then she fell, her wings vanished, and chaotic and volatile mana whirled around her.
"Erix! Rin!"
Kenshin and Sameira flew up towards Rin, shock inside them could not be described as they also saw Erix getting attacked.
When Kenshin and Sameira neared the falling Rin and were going to catch her, something happened that made them feel that the entire sky had come crashing down on them.
They…failed to catch Rin.
Like a bolt of lightning, Rin crashed into the ground as she screamed with red eyes oozing blood and brandished her Blade Eater around her amidst hundreds of Abyss Servants and Abyss Slaves as lightning and thunder roared in rage.
"RIN!!"
Kenshin shouted while Sameira instantly turned around and flew down.
'Don't do that, Rin! Please,' Sameira thought as her eyes became teary.
Kenshin also flew down as he roared and punched in the sky while facing it to propel himself as he shot even faster and passed by Sameira.
Duke Khroll and others had also seen the attack, but he had given orders to attack, and most of the people's attention was on releasing their skills, not the instantaneous abyss attack that hit Erix.
Kenshin crash landed tens of meters away from Rin and rushed towards her direction while Sameira released an attack to clear the path.
Duke Khroll and a few others also rushed toward them to help, as their reactions were worrisome.
'Who is she? And what the hell just happened?' Duke Khroll thought as he rushed towards Kenshin, surrounded by Abyss Servants blocking his path.
But Kenshin was in a raging state, attacking everything around him to reach his daughter.
Sameira was close to him as she also unleashed her attacks on monsters surrounding her and coming to attack.
But being surrounded by such monsters, they were also receiving injuries.
When Duke Khroll finally used a powerful attack to push away Abyss Servants and arrived behind Kenshin, his heart turned heavy.
"RIN!!!"
Kenshin roared with red eyes as he saw his daughter lying on the ground, pierced by black tendrils and other attacks of Abyss Servants.
He kneeled before her, feeling his heart twisted by the dagger of despair.
Rin's vitality had already hit zero.
"No…Rin…" Sameira lip's trembled, her eyes bloodshot as a raging storm manifested around her, forcefully sucking all Abyss Servants and Abyss Slaves as they were shot high before getting blown away.
"Get them and leave from here!" Duke Khroll shouted as he and his college quickly used barriers around Kenshin and Sameira before taking them away. At the same time, Duke Khroll blocked the monsters' attacks and obstructed them by releasing his mighty Earth and Ice attacks.
…
However, death was not the end in Labyrinth Tower.
[As you have died on the first floor of a Labyrinth Tower, you will be plunged into the Abyss Realm, losing all of your powers and starting from level 0 but retaining skills, concepts, and affinities you have learned, comprehended, and awakened.]
[If you die in the Abyss Realm, you will truly die. But if you survive, reach level 201, and manage to enter a Cosmic Faction, you can return to your native world.]