Free Web NovelChapter 336: Against the Titan Race
Adam flew low over the blood-dark surface, the faint pulse of Ouroboros’s Fang against his back syncing with his heartbeat. The cavern stretched on endlessly, the jagged walls occasionally reflecting the dim light from his compass. The needle remained steady, pointing forward.
Then the path ended.
A wall of solid darkness rose before him, smooth and featureless, stretching from the water’s surface to the lost ceiling above. It wasn’t stone—it was something denser, more absolute, as if the void itself had condensed into a barrier.
Adam landed on a small outcropping of rock, his boots splashing lightly in the blood. He stared at the wall, then down at the compass, then back at the wall. His brow furrowed.
"Where’s the path?" he muttered, his voice echoing in the vast emptiness. He took a few steps forward, reaching out to touch the barrier. His fingers met cold, unyielding darkness—solid, yet somehow not solid. Like pressing against the surface of still water.
Adam’s expression flattened. "Please don’t tell me you’re broken, compass. I just got you fixed."
He tapped the compass’s face lightly, as if that might jostle it back to working order. The needle didn’t waver. It remained fixed, pointing straight into the wall of darkness.
Adam let out a long, slow sigh. "This is a dead end. A dead end in a lake of blood. In a prison of darkness. Of course it is."
He reached out again, running his palm along the barrier’s surface. Nothing. No seams, no cracks, no hidden mechanisms. Just endless, impenetrable darkness.
His hand dropped to his side. "What if this is the path?" he murmured, the thought settling into his mind. "What if the wall itself is the door?" freёwebnovel.com
Adam drew Ouroboros’s Fang from his back. The blade hummed in his grip, the golden veins along its surface pulsing with light. He raised it, holding it before him.
The sword’s edge gleamed with a soft, golden radiance, the golden veins along its surface pulsing as if responding to the darkness before it. Adam studied the barrier, then the sword, then the barrier again. A slow, thoughtful smile spread across his face.
"Well, the description did say it could strike incorporeal beings and resist corrosion. Let’s see if it can cut through ’absolute darkness’."
He took a breath, planted his feet, and swung.
The blade cut into the barrier like it was parting water. The darkness rippled, then split, revealing a narrow passage beyond, its walls lined with the same smooth, absolute shadow, but now there was a path forward.
Adam’s eyes widened. "No way. It actually worked."
He stepped through the gap, the darkness reforming behind him as he passed. The passage stretched ahead, curving gently, and the compass needle continued to point forward.
Adam let out a low, impressed whistle. "Ouroboros’s Fang. You keep surprising me."
He sheathed the blade and continued walking, his footsteps echoing in the newly opened corridor. The darkness pressed in from all sides, but for the first time, it felt less like a prison and more like a path.
Adam stepped cautiously through the newly opened passage, the darkness pressing in from all sides like a living thing. The air grew heavier with each step, thicker, more suffocating, as if the void itself was becoming more concentrated.
"The darkness is getting denser," Adam muttered, his crimson eyes scanning the path ahead. "That’s why the path was blocked. The barrier wasn’t just a wall—it was the darkness itself, condensed to the point of being solid."
He continued forward, Ouroboros’s Fang still in hand, its golden veins pulsing faintly. The passage curved gently, and the walls seemed to shift slightly, as if the darkness was breathing.
Then he felt it.
A presence.
Adam’s muscles tensed, his Apex instinct flaring. He didn’t turn, he simply moved.
He threw himself sideways, Abyssal Step carrying him through a patch of shadow as a massive, shadowy claw slammed into the space where he’d been standing. The ground cracked, stone exploding outward.
Adam emerged from the shadow of a jagged rock, his eyes locking onto the figure that had attacked. A massive, hulking form—more shadow than substance, its body constantly shifting, its limbs too long, its head a featureless void with two burning red pinpricks for eyes.
The Abyssal Shadow Titan.
"Already knew you were still here," Adam said, his voice cold and flat. "I could feel you lurking."
The Titan let out a low, guttural roar that shook the ground beneath him. Its form swelled, shadows coiling around its limbs, ready to strike.
Adam’s lips curled into a sharp, defiant smile. "Is this the same place where I went to rescue Ignis? Or did you follow me here?"
The Titan didn’t answer. It lunged, its massive claws sweeping toward Adam’s head.
Adam’s Abyssal Step carried him through the shadow beneath his feet, emerging behind the Titan. His claws extended, dark energy coiling around his fingers.
"[Abyssal Claw]!"
He slashed across the Titan’s back, dark energy tearing through its shadowy form. The creature roared, its body flickering as it spun, its claws sweeping toward Adam’s chest.
Adam’s Apex Instinct flared. He twisted, dodging by inches, his body moving before his mind could catch up. The Titan’s claws passed through empty air.
But Adam’s senses caught something else.
Two more presences. Approaching fast.
His eyes snapped toward the darkness as two more figures emerged—taller than the first, their forms sleeker, more defined. One carried a massive bow of solidified shadow, an arrow already nocked and aimed at Adam’s heart. The other held a long, wicked spear, its tip gleaming with void energy.
Adam’s jaw tightened. "No... this is different."
He retreated a few steps, his eyes darting between the three Titans. The first one was already recovering, its form flickering as it repaired the damage from his Abyssal Claw.
’Two more? And they have weapons.’
The bow-wielding Titan drew its arrow back, its burning red eyes fixed on Adam’s chest. The spear-wielder shifted its stance, its grip tightening on the void-tipped lance.
The first Titan lunged again.
Adam’s mind raced. ’I can’t fight all three at once—’
The bow-wielding Titan released its arrow.
Adam’s Apex Instinct screamed. He threw himself sideways, Abyssal Step carrying him into the shadow of a nearby rock. The arrow embedded itself in the stone where he’d been standing, the impact sending a shockwave rippling through the ground.
The spear-wielder was already moving, closing the distance in a blur of shadow and void energy.
Adam emerged from the shadow behind the spear-wielder, Ouroboros’s Fang already in his grip. He swung the blade in a wide arc, aiming for the Titan’s neck.
The spear-wielder twisted, its weapon coming up to block. The clash of steel against void-silver sent sparks showering across the chamber. The spear-wielder was fast—faster than the first Titan, its movements precise, controlled.
"Tch." Adam gritted his teeth, pushing against the spear. "They’re not just brutes. These ones actually know how to fight."
He pushed off, putting distance between himself and the spear-wielder. The archer was already nocking another arrow, its burning eyes tracking Adam’s movements.
The first Titan rose again, its form fully healed.
Adam’s grip tightened on Ouroboros’s Fang. "Three-on-one, and they actually know how to coordinate." A cold, sharp smile spread across his face. "This is going to be fun."
