Ex-Rank Awakening: My Attacks Make Me Stronger - Chapter 294

Chapter 294: EX 294. I won’t Fail
The golden man strode forward, its heavy footsteps echoing through the hollow city like war drums. Each step left shallow impressions in the cracked stone, the air trembling faintly from the pressure it carried.

Down below, Lancelot stirred within the crater. Dust and shattered rubble slid off his armor as he forced himself upright, the world tilting around him. Blood trickled down his cheek, the metallic taste bitter on his tongue.

He exhaled sharply, his ribs protesting the motion. “Tch… and I said twelve minutes.” His lips twisted in a grim smile. “At this rate, I’ll be lucky to last seven.”

The shadow of the golden brute loomed over him, its radiant form radiating a silent, oppressive authority. It didn’t rush. It didn’t need to. It simply walked, knowing its prey had nowhere left to run.

Then—

A ripple.

Lancelot froze, his senses flaring as he felt a sudden distortion in the air above. He turned sharply toward a rooftop some distance away.

There, Leon stood.

Void Blade raised high above his head, both hands gripping the hilt. His right arm shimmered with a black flame laced with silver-white arcs of force, the energy coiling up the blade like a storm waiting for release. Even from that distance, Lancelot could feel it. it was raw, contained destruction humming in the air and bending space around it.

The lieutenant’s breath caught. ‘So that’s what he was preparing…’

The golden man turned its head slowly, sensing the power. Its mouth split open, jagged teeth glinting under the dim light as it smiled, a twisted mockery of amusement. But then, for the first time, it frowned.

Raising one hand, the creature aimed directly at Leon. Golden energy began to pool in its palm, bright and violent, the atmosphere vibrating with the buildup.

Lancelot’s eyes widened. “No—!”

He shot out of the crater in a burst of black aura, the ground fracturing beneath him as he dashed forward. His spear snapped up, slamming against the golden creature’s arm just as the blast reached critical mass.

Crack!

The golden energy scattered in wild tendrils, dissipating harmlessly into the sky.

“It’s me you’re fighting,” Lancelot snarled, spinning his spear and planting his feet.

The golden brute tilted its head slightly, that unreadable, eyeless face somehow conveying pure contempt. Even without words, Lancelot understood the message clearly—I’m done playing with you.

The lieutenant didn’t care. He tightened his grip, black star energy flaring around him once more. “Then come,” he whispered under his breath, his stance firm and unwavering.

He lunged forward, every muscle screaming in defiance, ready to buy Leon the time he needed—no matter the cost.

****

Meanwhile, chaos unfolded across the ruined district.

The sky pulsed faintly under the crimson dome as Rachel and Adrian fought side by side, their bodies moving through waves of grey brutes that refused to relent.

These creatures were stronger, denser, faster and more vicious than anything they had faced before, but with Leon’s clones darting across the battlefield, cutting and blocking in perfect sync, the balance tilted just enough for them to hold. They didn’t need to win. They just had to stall.

Rachel planted her feet on the cracked pavement, her breathing sharp and steady. She drew back her bowstring, the arrow shimmering with a deep, burning crimson. A cluster of hulking brutes charged from the left, one of Leon’s clones barely keeping them contained.

“Crimson shot,” she whispered.

The arrow sliced through the air, then detonated.

BOOM!

A burst of red flame engulfed the largest brute, its head evaporating in the blast. The shockwave threw the others off balance, buying Leon’s clone a precious moment of freedom. It dashed forward immediately, moving to assist Adrian’s side.

Rachel lowered her bow for a heartbeat, her emerald eyes lifting toward the rooftop where Leon stood. The sight stole her breath.

Even from here, his figure looked… heavy, as though the air around him had thickened under the weight of whatever power he was calling upon. The black and silver energy coiled around his blade like a storm restrained by sheer will.

‘Will he be alright?’

Leon looked calm, too calm. But through her Saint-rank Talent: Clairvoyance, Rachel saw what others couldn’t. His life force wasn’t stable. It flickered, bending against the violent energy he was merging with. Like a candle trying to survive a gale.

Her hands tightened on the bowstring, the thought gnawing at her chest. Then she exhaled, steadying her heart. ‘No… he’ll be fine. He always is.’

She raised another arrow, its tip glowing, and fired again. Another brute dropped, its body erupting into dust before reforming seconds later, but it didn’t matter. Every second counted.

Across the plaza, Adrian slammed his shield into a charging brute, sparks flaring from the impact. Two of Leon’s clones flanked him, their coordination flawless, each movement designed to keep the grey monsters off balance.

Adrian gritted his teeth as another brute lunged forward, its fist larger than his torso. “Imperial Guard Art—Form One: Stoic Soldier!”

A golden light flared across his body, shaping a radiant barrier over his armor. The brute’s punch crashed into his shield, shaking the ground. Full Counter activated, as the reflected force blasted outward, staggering the monster.

Adrian used the opening immediately, twisting his body and ramming his shield into the creature’s gut. Before it could recover, one of Leon’s clones blurred past him, its blade singing through the air.

Slash.

The brute’s head rolled off its shoulders before its body could even fall. Adrian didn’t pause; he turned, spotting the next wave of monsters closing in. “Come on!” he barked, rushing forward with the clones beside him.

The battle raged on, Rachel’s arrows lighting the night like falling stars, Adrian’s shield gleaming gold against waves of grey flesh and above them all, Leon stood alone on the rooftop, the storm of destruction still swelling, waiting for the right moment to be unleashed.

****

The city trembled under the rhythm of violence.

Each collision rang like thunder across the ruined streets, but it wasn’t a clash, it was a beating.

The golden man had stopped playing. His movements, once calm and deliberate, had turned into a blur of ruthless precision. Every strike landed with the weight of pure, unrestrained power, a fist to the face, a kick to the gut, the sound of bones cracking echoing through the crimson-tinted air.

He didn’t stop. The creature’s expressionless face remained fixed in a mockery of serenity as he grabbed the lieutenant by the head, lifted him off the ground, and hurled him across the street. Lancelot hit the wall with enough force to shatter it, the debris swallowing him whole before the golden man appeared again, faster than the eye could track to continue the assault.

The lieutenant’s spear was gone, splintered into fragments scattered across the rubble. Blood ran from his mouth; his right eye was swollen shut. He could barely stand on his left leg, each breath a rasp of defiance. Yet he refused to fall.

He blocked what he could with battered arms, twisting his body just enough to lessen each impact, but even so, the power behind the golden man’s blows tore through him like waves against a sinking ship.

Still, Lancelot fought.

‘I won’t fail.’

Every second mattered. Every heartbeat bought time.

Another punch came, a brutal hook that connected with his ribs. Something cracked. The next moment, the golden man’s foot sank into his stomach, sending him crashing through another building.

Boom!

Dust rose and silence followed.

Lancelot lay half-buried beneath the rubble, vision blurring, body screaming in pain. His strength was gone, his aura flickering like a dying flame. But even through the haze of agony, a faint smile touched his lips.

He had done it.

Because from the rooftop above, through the dust, through the chaos, he could feel it.

A pulse of power unlike anything he had ever sensed before.

Leon was finally ready.