Free Web NovelChapter 30: Black Iron Tier 5
Laira looked at Ethan for a long while.
She wanted to tell him to stop.
To tell him to rest.
To use all her flame to burn away the Void Fire tormenting him.
But she knew Ethan was right.
The Void Fire wasn’t an ordinary wound. It had embedded itself deep into his arm, like a curse mark left by something higher. Relying on her flame alone, even with [The Sun-Fire Divine Seal]’s empowerment, could only suppress it temporarily.
To survive, Ethan had to grow stronger.
Not later.
But right now.
Laira drew in a very faint breath.
Then, she held Ethan closer to her chest, letting his body lean against her. Her dragon wings spread open behind her, covering the two of them in a layer of dark red shade. The flame from the back of her right hand kept coiling around Ethan’s left arm, bit by bit neutralizing the purple-black glow smoldering away.
Laira said clearly: "Ethan, I’ll hold it back. You just absorb."
Ethan nodded.
He reached his right hand toward the remaining crystals.
The Heaven’s Gate within his body kept channeling.
The next rank F crystal dissolved.
Then the next.
Energy kept pouring into Ethan’s body. The raw crystals, which inherently contained Void impurities, were no different from poison to ordinary low-tier Awakened. But Ethan’s Heaven’s Gate was like an invisible grinder, forcibly breaking them down, filtering out the impurities, then converting the usable portion into a purer stream of energy.
Even so, the process wasn’t pleasant at all.
Each time new energy entered his body, the Void Fire on his left arm reacted. It flared up, bit into Laira’s flame seal, then tried to spread along the energy channels toward Ethan’s shoulder.
Each time, Ethan hurt to the point his whole body trembled.
But each time, his body also grew a little stronger.
One crystal.
Two crystals.
Five crystals.
Ten crystals.
Each crystal turned to dust in Ethan’s palm.
The energy channels within his body gradually expanded. The Heaven’s Gate, which had only been cracked open when he first left the Abyss Tower, was now more stable. The stream of energy passing through the channels was no longer weak like at the start. His muscles were washed clean by each wave of new energy, his bones giving off a very faint numbing sensation, like every invisible crack was being filled with molten metal.
Ethan sensed the change.
His breathing was no longer as chaotic as before.
His vision became clearer.
The grip of his right hand was stronger too.
Even his pain tolerance had been pulled up to a new level.
The Void Fire was still terrifying, but it was no longer like something that could swallow him whole at any moment.
Ethan said in a low voice: "It’s weakening."
Laira immediately asked: "The flame?"
Ethan replied: "Not vanishing. But my body endures it better. It’s not spreading as fast as before."
Laira looked at his left arm.
Indeed, the purple-black streaks that had been creeping up his upper arm had been forced to a stop. Under the coordination between her flame and the energy within Ethan’s body, the purple-black glow began to contract bit by bit. It still stubbornly clung to the burned-black forearm, but no longer easily passed his elbow like before.
That finally made Laira let out a very faint breath.
But Ethan didn’t stop.
He knew Black Iron tier 3 still wasn’t enough.
Still too weak.
If the Void Fire was truly connected to the Eye of the Void, suppressing it at this level couldn’t make him safe. He needed to keep pushing his body higher. Each tier he rose was a new line of defense. Each portion of energy absorbed was a little more chance at survival.
Outside the ruined building, the Bronze roar from before was drawing closer.
The ground trembled faintly now and then.
Something was moving through the street covered in vines.
Laira noticed that fluctuation. freeweɓnøvel.com
Her amber-red eyes grew slightly cold.
But she didn’t leave Ethan.
Ethan heard the sound outside too.
He said: "How far is it?"
Laira replied: "Not close. But coming."
Ethan nodded. "Then before it gets here, I have to finish absorbing."
Laira looked at him. "I can go out and kill it."
Ethan shook his head. "No. If you take your hand away now, the Void Fire will flare back up."
Laira didn’t refute it.
She knew Ethan was right.
Her flame was currently the most important layer of suppression. If she left, relying on Ethan’s current strength alone, the Void Fire would very likely take advantage of that moment to spread again.
Ethan reached out to pick up a rank E crystal.
Laira frowned. "Rank E again."
Ethan said: "Need to be faster."
Laira looked at him, then slowly nodded. "I’ll keep you conscious."
Ethan replied faintly: "Alright."
The Heaven’s Gate within his body expanded.
The energy of the rank E crystal was far stronger than rank F. When the gray-green gas was drawn out, the whole room felt like a current of cold wind swept across it. The purple-black threads mixed in the energy were also thicker, more vicious, flaring up the Void Fire on his left arm violently the moment they entered Ethan’s body.
Boom!
A small burst of air pressure exploded around Ethan.
His burned-black left arm trembled.
The cracks on the surface of the wound blazed with purple light.
Ethan let out a low growl in his throat, but his right hand still gripped the crystal tight, not letting go.
Laira immediately raised her flame.
The sun seal on the back of her hand shone dazzlingly. Her red flame turned into small rings, pressing hard against Ethan’s arm. The Void Fire gave off a sharp hiss, frantically resisting, but this time it couldn’t easily spread upward.
Because Ethan’s body was stronger than before.
His Heaven’s Gate was devouring energy at a faster speed.
The energy channels within his body could withstand greater pressure.
His bones, muscles, and flesh were all being forged by the new energy.
The rank E crystal shattered.
Then the second one.
Then the third.
The aura around Ethan rose bit by bit.
Finally —
Boom!
A wave of air burst out from his body, blowing away the thick layer of dust on the ground.
[Congratulations on leveling up successfully.]
[Level: Black Iron tier 4.] freewebnovёl.ƈom
[Congratulations to Laira on leveling up successfully.]
[Level: Black Iron tier 4.]
The moment he stepped into Black Iron tier 4, Ethan felt his entire body was like it had been pulled out of an invisible layer of mud.
Before, the Void Fire had been like a knife continuously embedded in his bones.
Now, that knife was still there.
But the force driving it in had weakened.
The pain still burned, but it no longer made his consciousness about to shatter. His left arm was still seriously incinerated, but the purple-black glow had been forced to contract below his elbow. The part of his upper arm that had just been reached before gradually lost its purple glow, leaving only a few faint burn streaks like hot scars.
Ethan let out a trembling breath.
His idea had been confirmed a second time.
Each time he leveled up, his body grew stronger.
Each time his body grew stronger, the Void Fire weakened a little.
Not because the flame truly vanished.
But because its vessel, him, was no longer as easily incinerated by it as before.
Ethan said hoarsely: "Keep going."
Laira looked at him. "You’re already at Black Iron tier 4."
Ethan replied: "Not enough."
Outside the building, that roar grew closer.
A large black shadow swept past the gap between the vines outside the window. It didn’t attack immediately, but the Bronze fluctuation was clearly lingering around this area, like a hunting beast that had caught the scent of blood.
Laira looked outside.
Her amber-red eyes flashed with killing intent.
Ethan said: "Laira, don’t get distracted."
Laira turned back to look at him.
Ethan picked up the last crystals.
Most of the rank F ones had been absorbed. Only a few rank E ones and some small incomplete crystal fragments were left. To an ordinary person, this was already a decent amount of resources. But to Ethan right now, they only had one meaning.
Survival.
He placed all the remaining crystals in his right palm.
The Heaven’s Gate trembled.
This time, Ethan no longer absorbed them one by one.
He forcibly drew all the remaining energy into his body.
Laira immediately changed color. "Ethan!"
Ethan said through gritted teeth: "Hold me down."
Laira understood his meaning.
She didn’t keep trying to dissuade him.
The dragon wings behind her spread wider, covering the two of them in red firelight. Both her hands held Ethan tight. The flame from [The Sun-Fire Divine Seal] surged to the point the whole room was dyed dark red. The crystals in Ethan’s palm all shattered at once, the gray, green, and purple-black energy swirling into a small vortex, pouring straight into the Heaven’s Gate.
The pain erupted.
The Void Fire on his left arm immediately counterattacked more violently than ever before.
The purple-black glow blazed.
The cracks on Ethan’s arm glowed like a spiderweb.
But Ethan didn’t retreat.
The Heaven’s Gate within his body expanded to its current limit. The raw energy was crushed layer by layer. The impurities were forced out as wisps of black smoke. The usable portion of energy poured into his body like a flood, forging his bones, blood, muscles, and every smallest energy channel.
One beat.
Two beats.
Three beats.
Ethan’s body trembled violently.
Then, his aura rose again.
[Congratulations on leveling up successfully.]
[Level: Black Iron tier 5.]
[Congratulations to Laira on leveling up successfully.]
[Level: Black Iron tier 5.]
The moment the notification appeared, Ethan felt the world before him brighten a little.
Not actual light.
But the feeling of his body being lifted to a new tier.
His breathing was steadier.
His heart beat more powerfully.
The blood in his body felt like it had heated up, no longer weak like before. The energy channels had expanded noticeably, making the Heaven’s Gate channel much more smoothly. The chaotic sensations of pain in his head were gradually separated out, becoming distinct streams of information he could endure.
His left arm was still ruined.
His hand was still gone.
The forearm was still burned black.
But the Void Fire had weakened.
The purple-black glow that had stubbornly crawled up his upper arm was now forced back down below his elbow. It still smoldered in the charred forearm, still not extinguished, but no longer as vicious as before. Like a wild beast locked in a smaller cage, still snarling, still dangerous, but temporarily unable to tear apart the iron cage.
Ethan raised his head.
Cold sweat covered his forehead.
His face was still deathly pale.
But his eyes were far brighter than before.
"That’s it."
Laira looked at him. "What?"
Ethan replied hoarsely: "Leveling up can suppress it. As long as my body is strong enough, the Void Fire can’t carelessly incinerate me."
Laira looked at his left arm.
She sensed it too.
The purple-black flame was still there, but no longer spreading. Her flame could finally keep it stable, without needing to continuously strengthen like before. This proved Ethan wasn’t just consoling himself. His idea truly worked.
Laira lowered her head and held him tighter.
"You did it."
Ethan closed his eyes for a brief moment.
Then opened them again.
"It’s only temporary."
Laira said clearly: "Temporary is enough. As long as you’re alive, I’ll find a way to help you extinguish it completely."
Outside the window, the Bronze roar rang out again.
This time, very close.
A colossal shadow slammed hard into the outer wall of the building, making dust and fragments of concrete fall down in a shower.
Boom!
Laira slowly raised her head.
Her amber-red eyes, which had just been full of worry, immediately turned cold.
Ethan looked toward the broken window too.
The energy crystals on the ground had all been absorbed.
Contact with the Academy had been cut.
The Void Fire still hadn’t vanished.
But he was now Black Iron tier 5.
Laira was Black Iron tier 5 too.
The situation was still dangerous.
But no longer as hopeless as before.
Ethan braced his right hand against the ground and slowly stood up.
Laira immediately steadied him.
"You don’t need to stand."
Ethan looked at the black shadow outside the window, his voice still hoarse but far calmer. "I need to get used to my new body."
Laira was silent for a brief moment.
Then, she smiled.
The smile no longer held panic.
But the dominance and free-spiritedness from the very beginning.
"Then stand behind me."
Ethan replied: "Yeah."
Outside, the Bronze monster roared again.
Laira raised her right hand.
The [Sun-Fire Divine Seal] mark on the back of her hand blazed bright.
A dark red flame slowly blazed up.
Laira said coldly: "How convenient, the crystals just ran out."
The corner of Ethan’s mouth lifted slightly.
"Then let’s get more."
