"Ashflame Lightning Core: Heaven's Fall!"
BOOOOOOM!!!
The phantom of Ryker's fist crashed downward, compressing the air so violently it shattered layer by layer like panes of glass! Yet, the blood-red Vanguard didn't even flinch. It merely rotated its body slightly, summoning a phantom crimson shield that absorbed the apocalyptic kinetic force of the punch completely!
"The first strike—failed?" Ryker's pupils contracted sharply.
The System's rapid notification confirmed his fear:
[Missed "Core Nen Barrier".]
[Adaptation Failed. Plunder path invalid.]
"Lightning Flame: Chain Leap Step!"
Ryker forcibly aborted his current momentum. He instantly ricocheted off the air itself, splitting into five distinct lightning clones that completely surrounded the Vanguard. Simultaneously, he triggered the fused trait [Shadow's End Slaughter Array].
Every single clone carried the terrifying, high-frequency cutting power of the array. A storm of ash-blue slashing lights crisscrossed the sky, desperately trying to force the enemy to reveal its weak point.
SWISH—!
In the blink of an eye, the blood-red Vanguard clapped its hands together and threw its head back. The massive blood-flame wings behind it violently flared outward!
"Judgment: Purifying Severance."
A completely silent, invisible slash abruptly manifested in reality.
Before anyone could even react, several jagged, crimson spatial rifts tore all five of Ryker's lightning clones to absolute shreds! Ryker's true body barely managed to retreat half a step, but the invisible slash still tore a horrifying gash straight through the armor plating over his chest.
[WARNING: Lightning Core structural integrity dropped to 83%.]
[Trait "Combat Reversal" has entered Cooldown.]
Ryker's expression turned incredibly grim.
Every single time this entity attacked, it felt as though it had perfectly calculated the absolute limit of his reaction speed. Even worse... it felt like it was reading his future movements!
"An enemy like this... I have to break its rhythm."
Gritting his teeth, Ryker activated [Administrative Remnant: Data Rewrite]!
A surge of data-stream lightning covered his left eye, generating a highly advanced tactical overlay. Hundreds of probability lines projected outward from the Vanguard's trajectory, mapping its potential movements. Among them, three specific lines were highlighted in glaring red as the likely locations of the "Nen Delay Core"!
"Found you."
In the next microsecond, Ryker pushed his Lightning Core into full detonation!
"Wrath of the Thunder God: Triple Thrust Rend!"
He didn't try to brute-force a punch this time. He flattened his hands into spear-hands, his fingers acting as hyper-lethal blades. Following the projected data trajectories, he launched three consecutive, surgical thrusts aimed directly at the highlighted core locations!
The first thrust was deflected by the crimson shield. The second thrust was parried off-trajectory. But the third thrust—
SQUELCH—!!!
His lightning-wreathed spear-hand plunged directly into the Vanguard's chest, the piercing edge of the Lightning Core shattering a razor-thin, almost imperceptible Nen barrier!
The Vanguard's movements violently shuddered!
The System flashed with a blinding pop-up:
[First Consciousness Node Struck!]
[Plunder Privilege Activating...]
[Trait Decryption Successful: S-Rank Trait — "Mirror Barrier Synchro-Reaction" (Replicates target's techniques as delayed phantoms)]
"Good stuff!"
Ryker didn't hesitate. He instantly threw the new trait into the fusion engine, splicing it directly with [Combat Reversal]!
[Trait Fusion Successful: S+ Rank — Phantom Mirror Chain-Breath]
[Description: Reads the enemy's subconscious action-intent 0.8 seconds into the future, enabling automatic evasion and executing a derivative counter-attack at 2x speed.]
"Let's see you dodge this!"
Ryker thrust both palms forward, his dual lightning phantoms perfectly synchronizing with the Vanguard's subconscious movements. The sheer, predictive speed of the assault actually forced the blood-red entity to briefly retreat!
And that microscopic backward step was instantly flagged by the System.
Second Core Location — The Dorsal Pivot!
"Lightning Rend: Backlight World-Severance!"
Ryker spun his body in a complete 360-degree arc, transforming himself into a high-speed, rotating lightning buzzsaw!
The strike tore straight through the Vanguard's illusory cape. The lightning-flame blade carved directly into a pitch-black "Nen Core Node" embedded in its spine!
KABOOOOOM!!!
The System vibrated violently in Ryker's mind:
[Second Core Struck!]
[Plunder Privilege Upgraded!]
[Hidden Trait Unlocked: "Reversed Authority: Decree of Fatal Severance" (S+ Rank)]
"This ability..." Ryker's mind reeled in absolute shock.
It was a conceptual, rule-level skill. An incredibly rare, god-tier ability that could forcibly interrupt a target's active Nen technique cast!
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