Ex-Rank Awakening: My Attacks Make Me Stronger - Chapter 292

Chapter 292: EX 292. The Plan
Lancelot’s eyes widened, disbelief flickering across his usually calm face. “A… Rank 7?” he muttered under his breath.

The weight of that realization settled over him like a storm cloud. Every record, every report, every experiment carried out in the past three years screamed that what he was seeing was impossible.

The corruption that plagued Pandora followed strict progression patterns. After an environmental tether manifested, it spawned a corruption cluster and those clusters always began weak. Rank 1, sometimes Rank 2. A Rank 3 was considered a nightmare, but even then, growth took time, sometimes weeks even months.

If left unchecked, a cluster would evolve, its creatures mutating and their strength increasing until even containment became meaningless. That was why sealing corrupt beasts had always been a temporary measure. The corruption didn’t die. It just waited, festering, until it surpassed whatever power had sealed it.

But this?

This cluster hadn’t even existed for three days. And yet, standing before them was an abomination exuding a presence equal to Rank 7, a power that could raze fortresses and erase armies.

Lancelot’s grip tightened, a rare chill running through his spine.

‘If this isn’t even the guardian… then what in the world is the guardian’s true power?’

He opened his mouth to suggest they retreat, before the impossible devoured them whole, but the air around them shook.

A crimson light bled into the sky, spreading in veins of fire across the entire city. Within seconds, the glow fused into a vast dome that sealed them in completely. The hum it emitted wasn’t just energy, it was sentience. The barrier pulsed like a living heart.

Lancelot’s expression darkened as he felt the magnitude of what surrounded them. His senses, honed from countless battles, reached out instinctively, and recoiled in shock.

“This… is the guardian,” he whispered.

No mistake. The energy flowing through the crimson dome was not corruption. It was control, ancient, perfect, suffocating control. Power so vast his own aura crumbled beneath it.

The golden-haired guard’s shoulders slumped slightly as a deep, quiet frustration burned in his chest. He turned toward Leon, ready to apologize, for not being enough, for leading them into what might well be a death trap.

But then he met Leon’s eyes.

And froze.

Leon’s gaze wasn’t one of fear or defeat. His blue eyes burned, not recklessly, but with that dangerous calm of someone already plotting the next move. There was no surrender there. Only calculation.

That look said this isn’t the end; it’s just the next wall to break.

Lancelot exhaled through his nose, a wry smile ghosting his face. “And here I am panicking,” he murmured to himself.

He straightened, resolve returning to his stance, and asked, “Leon… what do you suggest we do?”

The silence that followed felt like the world itself was waiting for his answer.

****

Leon’s eyes narrowed as he stared at the golden figure approaching from the far end of the ruined street. The creature’s movements were measured and arrogant. Every step it took sent faint ripples through the corrupted ground, and Leon could feel the power radiating from it like heat from a furnace. It wasn’t just strong, it was alive in a way that bent the very air around it.

Then there was the dome. That crimson barrier above the city pulsed faintly, its rhythm matching the creature’s heartbeat. Leon didn’t need to understand its structure to know what it meant, this thing wasn’t the source. It was a puppet, and something far stronger was pulling its strings.

He exhaled slowly. The emperor hadn’t told him anything about “guardians” or the deeper rules surrounding clusters, but that didn’t matter. A threat was right in front of him, and threats were meant to be erased.

Leon turned to the golden-haired lieutenant beside him. “How long do you think you can hold that thing?” he asked, his tone calm but weighted. He didn’t say win, both of them knew that wasn’t an option.

Lancelot’s gaze stayed fixed on the creature. “Fifteen minutes,” he said after a pause, his voice steady but low.

Leon studied him for a beat, then spoke again. “How long can you really hold?”

“…Twelve,” Lancelot admitted.

Leon’s mind adjusted instantly. ‘Nine then’, he thought. Always assume worse. “That might do.”

Below them, the grey abominations shifted restlessly, waiting like animals for a signal. The golden brute had been formed from the black ones, but dozens of greys still filled the streets, enough to cause chaos if they intervened.

Leon turned to his teammates. “Racheal. Adrian.” His voice was clear, cutting through the night. “Keep the others off Lancelot. Don’t let a single one near him.”

Racheal twirled her bow, a smirk touching her lips. “No problem.”

Adrian slammed his fist against his shield. “We got this, Captain.”

Leon gave a small nod at their confidence. “Good. I’ll send four clones to assist you, use them however you need. As for me…” His gaze went back to the golden creature, its faceless head now tilting slightly, sensing their intent. “I’ll land the finishing blow.”

Both Racheal and Adrian froze, their expressions faltering. “Trust me. The plan only works if we all give it everything.”

Lancelot glanced sideways at him but said nothing. It wasn’t that he doubted Leon, he simply didn’t see another way. The commander had entrusted this mission to the boy for a reason, and if Leon Kael said he’d end it, then that was the plan.

Adrian tightened his grip on his weapon. Racheal’s bowstring hummed softly as she drew an arrow of pure light.

Leon lifted his hand, and with a flicker of black light, four shadowy duplicates split from his body, landing silently across the battlefield. Each radiated faint traces of his aura, enough to trick lesser monsters into believing they were the real deal.

“Positions,” Leon said quietly.

The team moved. Lancelot’s aura flared gold as he stepped forward to meet the advancing brute. Racheal and Adrian shot off toward opposite flanks, each followed by two of Leon’s clones.

And Leon…

He remained still for a moment, standing on a roof above the corrupted city. The wind was heavy with ash and blood, the crimson dome humming overhead like a living heart.

And in the next moment he pulled up his status panel.

****

A/N:

I always wonder why whenever an opponent of the protagonist becomes an ally, they suddenly seem to become weaker.

This doesn’t have anything to do with the story, though — it’s just a question. ^^