Chapter 154: Moving To The Last Battle, Ryujin Kazama’s Rage!

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Riven felt it clearly — the massive amount of new power he had just gained. He said no words at first. He simply stood in silence and stared at his transformed form. His skin had grown noticeably grayer... he had truly become half-alien now.

Or rather...

"It feels oddly... normal to me?"

Something deep within him was resonating with this mutation far more strongly than he had imagined. This was not just the result of his Authorities or the System assisting him. All of this somehow... originated from within himself.

"Who... who am I?"

For the first time in a long while, Riven began to seriously wonder what exactly he was, where he truly came from, and what secrets surrounded his birth. His entire life he had lived with the simple knowledge that he was born from his mother — a kind woman who had died far too young — and his father, the President of Claymore Enterprises.

He had several siblings. He was a Claymore by blood. And yet... why did it feel as though something important had always been hidden from him?

A small tear fell from his eyes. It resembled liquid mercury more than normal human tears. The sudden realization that he might never have been a pure human struck him with a strange sense of relief... mixed with deep existential dread.

"Willheim..."

He knew.

Willheim had known about him all along. The old man had known that there was something unusual about Riven and had even gone as far as to steal samples of his blood!

"I’ll find the answers eventually. Just wait."

He slowly forced his body to return to its original appearance. The half-alien form still consumed both mana and psychic power to maintain, so it was not something he could remain in forever... which also gave him a small sense of relief. At least for now, he was still human.

His Physique had also reached Level 4. Elisa was likely already enjoying even greater physical growth within her own body because of their shared link. Although she might not fully regain the ability to walk even at Level 10... he was certain the cure Label had created right here would help her significantly.

One thing was certain, though. She would likely no longer need much assistance moving her wheelchair, and she would probably be ready to enter Gates with him again soon. He wanted to help her grow stronger. Even if she remained in a wheelchair for now, he would find ways for her to begin re-leveling once more.

The poison that had been forced into her seemed to have completely sealed her true power, reducing her back to low stats and Level 1. He had never experimented with the idea of helping her level up while she was still in her current sealed state, unable to channel her old skills or Authorities... What would happen if they tried?

Even more intriguing — what would happen once that ancient sealed power finally unsealed itself and then combined with everything she could gain from this point forward? Elisa... could finally reach the realm beyond SSS Rank — L Rank! No, perhaps she could go even further than that.

"Sorry for scaring you," he said to the group. "That was weird, right? Keep what you’ve just seen a secret, will you?"

"Uh, yes," Kagehisa nodded, still slightly shaken. "Damn... you feel so much stronger now... How am I even supposed to catch up at this rate?"

"Just level up a lot," Riven answered with a small smile, patting the ninja’s shoulders. "Alright! Let’s move. Noir, bring us there. You’ve already eaten your fill, right?"

"WOOOF!"

Noir suddenly grew into a giant, elephant-sized black wolf. Beautiful starry lights shimmered across his dense black fur. His eyes gleamed with a fierce gold-red light, and his tail seemed to melt away into a small swirling black nebula.

He had already evolved. His rank had grown once more, and he was slowly beginning to channel more and more of the power of his ancestry and bloodline as Fenrir’s son.

"Let’s go. Kagehisa, lead the way."

The ninja nodded firmly. Everyone leaped onto Noir’s broad back as the giant wolf rushed across the mountains and wilderness, moving far faster than any of Ryujin’s remaining familiars could follow through the skies.

"Tsk! They’re approaching faster and faster. What do they think they’re doing?!"

Within his great castle — which was still protected by three layers of spiritual barriers and guarded by over a thousand Yokai and other mutant soldiers he had stationed as his final line of defense — Ryujin groaned in fury and smashed his fist into the floor.

The familiars he had sent out, crimson crows controlled through his spiritual arts, were constantly being shot down by Riven’s long-range psionic attacks. He had no reliable way to track their movements any longer.

Yet he already knew more or less the full extent of the destruction that had occurred.

"Willheim left! That damn old man betrayed me! Ugh, after I invested so much into his research! Father gave me so much money specifically to create even more advanced forms of the Yokai Serum, and now this happens?!" he groaned in pure rage. "The giant specimen that could have served as the clan’s ultimate guardian is dead too...! My precious Mana Reactor is gone! Aaaagggh! Riven Claymore...! You damn son of a bitch!"

As he continued to groan in fury, he looked into the distance. Where the tower had originally stood, a small portal still remained open in the sky — the only remaining way out of the Spiritual Realm.

He could probably still fly there using one of his remaining familiars and escape...

However.

"Ugh, I can’t do that! I simply cannot!"

Ryujin knew deep down that he could not abandon the Spiritual Realm. It was one of his family’s most precious treasures. His father would never forgive him if he returned to Japan empty-handed and without even securing the Spiritual Realm that had been gifted to him. Thus, he had no choice left but to stay and fight to the bitter end.

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