Ex-Rank Awakening: My Attacks Make Me Stronger - Chapter 381

Chapter 381: EX 381. Steps
Leon followed the Dowager through the thinning mist, his squad moving in a tight line behind him.

The world around them blurred in shades of pale white, each step sounding distant, as if the ground itself struggled to exist.

His eyes narrowed without warning.

‘What was that?’

A faint pulse crawled across his senses, vague yet sharp enough to leave a mark.

Leon had always trusted his gut, it never lied.

But this, this strange mixture of warning and invitation, felt like someone was tugging him forward while shoving him back.

He shook his head, unfazed.

‘Whatever it is, I’ll just hit it hard enough until it’s no longer a problem.’

A sigh brushed through his mind.

‘When will you outgrow this phase?’ Originus murmured, the ancient dragon’s voice carrying the weight of eras.

Leon didn’t bother answering.

Deep down, he felt the dragon had no idea what he was talking about.

Solving problems by smashing through them had worked every time so far. And if a method wasn’t broken, why fix it?

The group kept walking.

The mist around them thinned even more with each step, a sign they were moving away from the barrier, the place where the Dowager’s Law of Infinity was strongest.

The mist wasn’t natural.

It stretched space, turning short distances into light-years.

That was the power of Infinity.

Still, even a law like that had flaws.

Corrupt monsters sometimes slipped through gaps in the stretched space, following paths the law didn’t fully touch.

Every time they tried to push closer to the barrier, the Dowager had chased them back.

But now she was using one of those same flaws to guide Leon and his squad deeper, toward the core region.

Leon watched her back as they walked.

She never looked away from the path.

She had guarded the Hallow for three Pandorian years without rest.

Leaving her post, even for a moment, must have felt like spitting on her own sacrifice.

Yet she pressed forward.

Her steps were steady, but Leon could sense the tension beneath them.

Whatever waited ahead, she believed this risk might be worth it.

The barrier was only buying time.

Leon understood that much, it was like a calm before the storm, except the storm wasn’t approaching.

It was gathering strength to break the world.

They walked for a long stretch without a single corrupt monster appearing.

Eventually the last veil of mist peeled away, revealing open ground.

The Dowager stopped.

Leon halted behind her, and his squad followed. His breath caught for a moment as he looked ahead.

A hole dominated the landscape.

Not a chasm.

Not a pit.

A wound.

It looked as if a divine Rod had been hurled from the heavens, spearing straight into the earth and carving out a void so massive he couldn’t see the far side.

Even the visible edge near them seemed endless. The bottom disappeared into blackness, swallowing light whole.

The Dowager’s voice carried a grim, almost sarcastic curve.

“Welcome to the Hallow.”

****

The squad stood at the edge of the yawning abyss, and the scale of it finally settled in Leon’s mind.

When the Dowager had said periphery, she hadn’t been exaggerating.

The infinite barrier hadn’t sealed only the hallow; it had swallowed the land around it too.

It made sense now.

There was no way she could have lived inside the hallow itself for years, not even with her Law.

A warden didn’t sleep beside the prisoner. That would be suicide.

Leon exhaled and glanced at the Dowager.

“So… how do we get down?”

She turned toward him with a look that was somewhere between amusement and disbelief. Leon blinked back.

“What is it?”

“Based on the attitude you’ve shown so far,” she said,

“I assumed you wouldn’t think twice before running and jumping straight off the cliff without asking anything. It feels like something you’d do.”

Before Leon could defend himself, Adrian added with a small shrug.

“That does sound like something the captain would do.”

Eden nodded in agreement.

“Honestly, I was surprised when he asked to be guided here. I figured he’d just dive into the mist with zero hesitation.”

A vein twitched on Leon’s forehead.

He bit back the urge to glare at both of them.

‘I really need to teach those two a lesson one of these days.’

He pulled in a steady breath and forced his tone to calm.

“I’d rather not fly through a dark void full of who-knows-how-many abominations. I prefer walking on solid ground with fewer headaches.”

The Dowager stared at him for a beat.

“…”

She finally let out a slow exhale.

“You’re in luck, then. There’s a path like that. Follow me.”

Leon and the squad fell in behind her as she led them away from the cliff’s rim.

After several minutes of quiet walking, she stopped.

A staircase descended before them.

Where they had been standing earlier was nothing but the lip of the hallow, a sheer drop waiting to swallow anyone careless.

But this… this staircase descended cleanly into the depths, carved with impossible precision.

And somehow, it was still in perfect shape.

****

The Dowager’s voice carried softly through the thinning mist as she led them toward the staircase.

“After the great battle against the Beast God and Pandora’s alliance, the first human emperor, Julius, used the ultimate form of his art to end the Beast God completely and shatter his fortress, this hallow is what remained after that assault.”

Leon walked a step behind her, his attention fixed on the back of her robes as they moved.

She wasn’t telling a story for entertainment; he could feel the way she used her own voice to steady herself.

Whatever waited below those steps was enough to tug at even her iron nerves.

She continued,

“An altar was built here after that day. A memorial to honor the moment our people were finally liberated.”

A shadow crossed her expression.

In the dim light, the change was quick but sharp, visible even from behind.

“But it’s ironic,” she said quietly, “that something meant to be a symbol of hope became the cause of our greatest despair.”

A long exhale slipped from her, thin and weary, before she lifted her chin again.

Her gaze settled on the massive stone staircase ahead, that remained impossibly intact, untouched by time or war.

“This path leads to the memorial ground of the day Pandora was freed,” she said.

Leon felt the squad behind him grow still.

Even Adrian and Eden seemed caught by the weight in her tone.

The Dowager stepped aside, allowing them a full view of the towering descent carved into the earth itself.

She let the silence hang for a heartbeat.

Then, with a voice edged in solemn finality, she said:

“These are the Steps of Liberation.”