MARVEL: GAMER PATH - CHAPTER 282 (Patreon)

[Alex Walker POV]

I was the first to move, dashing quickly at Knull, who remained unmoving, as I delivered a powerful punch to his face using [Serenity] as knuckle-duster, the impact of my attack resonating throughout the empty void of space, distorting his face under my fist. 

“My turn,” Knull muttered, swinging All-Black at me in a horizontal manner, grazing my armor as I ducked under the attack, making me frown. Discovering All-Black could extend its perceived range of attack.

However, Knull didn’t stop there, continuing his assault with a series of attacks, each one directed and calculated.

Keeping my focus on him, I skillfully dodged every attack thrown at me, weaving through the blows with grace, methodically directing my attacks towards his limbs, striking at every opportunity as soon as it came.

“Is this your plan?” Knull taunted, our attacks clashing together. “If it is, so far I’m unimpressed!”

“I didn’t come here to impress you, I came here to kill you,” I spat, using [Holy Barrage] to blast him away.

But much to my unexpected shock, Knull swung All-Black at my light-based attack, having his weapon devour my spell, empowering his weapon as he disappeared out of sight at a frightening speed. Normally, following such speeds would be a slight problem for me, but thanks to [Thought Acceleration] I was able to follow his movements quite easily.

Turning around just in time to catch a huge ball of black energy, the size of a moon that Knull had fired at me with All-Black, using my own energy and adding to it with his own to create the attack. 

Taking note that All-Black was possibly able to consume all types of energy-based attacks, I carefully shifted his attack upwards using [Fundamental Force: Gravity] to do so.

“Not bad,” Knull complimented with a monstrous smile, The Necroblade quivering under his grasp in sheer excitement. “Now, now, don’t be impatient. You will get your fill soon.” He whispered, his last comment being directed at his weapon, who simply quivered even more.

If energy attacks won’t do, I guess it was time to mix things up. Deciding to test All-Black, on what it could or not absorb, I created a zone of subatomic decay around Knull, to test a theory, using the skill [Fundamental Force: Weak Force] to do so, making the King in Black cough blood in confusion before breaking into a fit of laughter.

“You figured it out already. Impressive,” Knull complimented again, blood dripping from his mouth as he offered me a cruel sadistic smile.

So my theory was correct, The Necroblade can’t absorb energy without physically interacting with the source. Not only that but Knull’s reaction time to what he can’t see it’s abysmal.

That opens a whole new path of possibilities.

“My turn,” Knull muttered without even bothering from moving from the zone of decay, as he raised All-Black high above his head charging it with an obscene amount of energy, before bringing the blade down towards me with a quick motion, launching several black energy blades at me.

Feeling there was something strange about this attack, I used [Precognition] above [Thought Acceleration] to get a peek of what I was dealing with, discovering his attack would follow me for an undisclosed amount of time until they hit me or were destroyed.

I could work with that.

Taking a defensive stance, I used [Decoy] before changing the shape of [Serenity] to a more adequate form, destroying each attack Knull sent my way, matching his own energy blades with my own, both in size and power.

However, as I was swinging [Serenity] to block his increasing number of attacks, Knull closed the distance between us as I was blocking one of his attacks, taking this small opening, to drive The Necroblade through my stomach, like a knife through warm butter. 

“It’s over…” Knull muttered into my ear, his voice soothingly disturbing, like a mad man’s lullaby, or the calling of a murderer, as he pushed All-Black deeper into my body. Inside my body, The Necroblade squirmed, trying to explore its newest victim before absorbing it. However, as All-Black tried to do that, Knull found himself frowning and his blade unable to go through his intended purpose. “What is the meaning of this?”

“So that’s how your weapon absorbs energy and mass,” I commented, blasting Knull from the back using [Lumen Cordis] moments before I dissipated my decoy, one I had previously deployed to gather more information about his weapon, which is why the decoy had not even tried to dodge or escape as The Necroblade plunged into it.

“I underestimated you. Again,” Knull muttered, his body regenerating from the blast as he spoke. “This only shows how much of a threat you are, and how necessary it’s for me to kill you.”

“I’m sure you have your reasons,” I replied, darting towards him.

“I won’t underestimate you again,” Knull sneered, darting towards him. Swinging his weapon at me, hitting once again another decoy that crumbled and shattered under All-Black like glass, as the real me moved around using illusions to keep myself hidden. “Is this your new strategy? Running like a coward?!” he grumbled.

“Yep,” I exclaimed, in an unabashedly pretentious tone as Knull dealt with the decoys, before breaking the illusion that kept me concealed, using [Serenity] to slice through Knull’s arm, the one holding The Necroblade, before using [Holy Nova] to blast The King in Black away.

Effectively disarming Knull, in more ways than one.

“Well there goes that idea,” I sighed, trying to negate All-Black’s existence, but failing. Perhaps I could store the weapon in my inventory? 

I mused at that idea for a tenth of a second thanks to [Thought Acceleration] eventually deciding to grab The Necroblade to try and put it on my inventory, but like before, where I had tried to negate the blade, I found myself being unable to store it. 

Feeling the blade thirstily trying to corrupt me, the very moment my hand had made contact with it, its attempts having no effect whatsoever. Which in turn made All-Black immediately change its approach. 

To a more aggressive one, trying to absorb my energy, and kill me in the process.

I sighed in disappointment, opening a portal to the furthest corner of the universe before tossing The Necroblade in it. If negating it, and storing it hadn’t worked, perhaps separating them would do the trick.

“I see,” Knull hissed with a laugh, his body fully healed from my previous attack. “You wanted to separate me from All-Black, a clever yet futile endeavor,” he added, his right arm spasming like it had done before when our battle began.

So separation was also a no-go.

“Noted,” I replied, taking note of his energy increasing. I fucking called it, he wasn’t going all out before.

[Knull - All-Black - LV 3659]