Varian tried to calm his racing heart and assess the situation.
There was a small but important detail that caught his eye.
'The marking!' Varian glanced at the corpses of the clones.
All of them had three strange tattoos on their forehead—the sign of a Level 9. Plus, there was a star symbol as well. It was the unique mark of an Abyss Ruler — the equivalent of a Sovereign.
He turned his gaze back to the Abyssal that stepped into the spaceship and observed its surroundings.
Varian's eyes narrowed as he observed the Abyssal's forehead.
'There are no marks at all!'
There was no Abyssal without a marking. Till date, not a single such Abyssal was found.
Even baby abyssals that were yet to reach level 1 would have a faint mark on their chin.
"Hey ghost, what's his original strength?" Varian asked in his mind.
The ghost's voice was incredibly low as it answered "L.. level 7 peak."
"What? Maybe he's a Stronger sovereign?" He tried to laugh it off.
"Master, the clone was incredibly exhausted. Its dropped power level is Level 7 peak. Its original power level should be much higher." Its voice trailed off.
Why was it calling him Master? It wasn't a suitable time. There was an urgent thing to do.
Varian clenched his fist and glared at the final clone.
The clone wasn't even glancing at Varian. His eyes were fixed on the Curtail Formation.
'Stall it. Do something. Anything' He yelled.
'We'll lose! You can't win against a peak Level 5.' The ghost replied, in a trembling voice.
'Just do it!' Varian stated and rushed to his enemy.
He closed the distance and raised his fist to take the initiative. But boy, did he underestimate the difference in strength.
The Abyssal clone, a few feet away, blurred and Varian saw a shadow flash by.
Boom!
Like he was struck by a sledge hammer, Varian's bones cracked and he was shot into the distance.
"Fuck!" Through his blurry vision, he cursed and crashed to the ground.
The green light covered his body, and Varian rushed back to the Abyssal Clone.
[+80 Xp
Body Path (Enhanced) Level 4: 680/1000]
Bang!
Bang!
A few explosives blasted towards the Abyssal clone and engulfed it in fire and smoke.
Poisonous purple smoke was released, and the Abyssal Clone paused for a moment.
It turned towards the guns on the distant walls, and its eyes turned red.
'We can't overpower it.' Varian punched at the Abyssal clone's back.
It side stepped and evaded his attack. The clone elbowed Varian in the gut.
"Son of a—" Varian cursed as he sucked in a cold breath. Blood poured from his mouth and all his ribs broke.
However, he clung to the Abyssal clone's back and kept punching it.
The Undead formation showed its magic and healed him.
[+60 Xp]
[Body Path (Enhanced) Level 4: 720/1000]
Boom!
Boom!
The Abyssal clone reached for the guns on the wall and punched them to pieces.
Then, with a lightning speed, he grabbed Varian and raised his fist.
Whoosh!
Varian raised his arms to block the punch.
Crack!
His arms snapped like broken twigs and he was sent flying.
The green light flashed on him, and the crippled arms were instantly healed.
[+60 Xp]
[Body Path (Enhanced) Level 4: 780/1000]
[+20 Xp]
[+20 Xp]
[+20 Xp]
[Morpher Path Level 2: 120/200]
His strength rose significantly, but Varian knew it was useless. Even if he advanced to level 5, he couldn't win this monster.
Not now, at least.
The Abyssal clone's eyes were set on the Curtail formation and was about to rush in the direction.
Then another round of fire opened.
This time, the space around the Abyssal Clone tightened and loosened in an instant.
Crunch!
The space seemed to shatter like a mirror. The Abyssal clone's body walked out of the shattered space with light injury and kicked at the strange formation on the wall.
Varian racked his brains. There was no solution.
'Unlike the previous clones, this clone has a function of detecting the biggest threat. So formations are the best targets.'
'If it's a ridiculously strong, I can teleport and run away… right, teleport!' Varian clapped.
'Move the curtail formation to the entrance of the spaceship.' He dashed to the Abyssal Clone.
The clone just destroyed the final offensive of the spaceship.
'If I move it, it'll be damaged.' The ghost ship was concerned.
'Or we'll die here, dumbass!' Varian cursed and bear hugged the Abyssal Clone.
'If you don't want to do it, give me the control.' He tightened his grip in an effort to slow down the clone.
Crack!
Crack!
Varian's body shook as his bones broke continuously. His blood didn't stop flowing.
'This…' As the green light healed him, the Abyssal tried to swat him away.
Varian didn't loosen his grip. Each time he was severely injured, the green light reverted him back to peak.
The clone paused for a moment and then shifted its gaze towards the undead formation.
It was annoyed enough by Varian and judged its mission to be delayed by him. So it changed its target.
At the same time, Varian heard a click and was granted the control over two formations. It was as if he developed telekinetic powers and was able to move them with his thoughts.
New information appeared in his mind and told him that moving them would damage them.
In addition, their speed wasn't enough to escape the Abyssal clone's blow.
"Fuck it. " He cursed and kneed the Abyssal clone as it sprinted to the Undead formation.
The Abyssal Clone used its arm to block off his attack, even though its speed was affected by his strike.
Meanwhile, Varian used his new authority and pushed the curtail formation to the entrance of the spaceship.
'To the entrance. Full speed.' He yelled as the Abyssal clone raised its fist at the Undead formation.
'My darling formation! I'll avenge you!' He vowed and jumped back. Without looking back, he ran towards the entrance.
Bang!
Crunch!
The formation was crushed, and Varian sighed in regret. The green light was no more.
Whoosh!
The space ship shook, and the surrounding scenery changed.
Absolute center of Core Zone. Periphery of Core Zone. Boundary of Core and Inner Zone.
The Abyssal Clone turned back and observed Varian and the formation.
He rushed to the Curtail formation. It was the one final obstacle.
His speed was much higher than Varian and he easily caught up with Varian.
Without giving him any thought, he rushed to the formation.
The scenery outside continued to switch.
Periphery of Inner Zone. Boundary Zone. Outer Zone. Boundary!
The white barrier appeared again.
The Abyssal clone reached the formation.
Varian used his authority and pushed the formation to the entrance.
'Cross the barrier.' He ordered.
Whoosh!
The Spaceship crossed the white barrier, and an infinite dark expanse appeared in sight.
Varian had no time to spare for the beautiful sight.
He was still a moment away from the Abyssal.
The Abyssal was about to attack the curtail formation.
Varian channeled his space power and poured everything to slow it down.
Creak!
Creak!
Creak!
The Abyssal Clone's arms broke his space block like it was nothing, but Varian was already behind it.
'Open the entrance!' He yelled in his mind.
At the same time, the Abyssal's fist descended to the formation.
The entrance opened, revealing the harsh and unforgiving Inner space.
Putting everything he had, Varian punched at the back of the Abyssal Clone as its fist was about to connect with the formation.
The Abyssal Clone realized what was happening and turned back to counter Varian at the last moment.
Boom!
Boom!
Varian was sent flying hundreds of meters due to the punch, but due to the clone reacting only in the last moment, it was not a complete punch.
On the other hand, the Abyssal Clone took a full-blown punch to its chest and was pushed back ten meters with the curtail formation in its hand.
But the entrance was only six meters away.
Whoosh!
The moment the Abyssal Clone was thrown into the Inner Space, two things simultaneously occurred.
The entrance was closed.
The formation was crushed.