Bang!
The disheveled black-haired young man, his chest exposed, flew backward like a cannonball, plowing a deep trench through the ground behind him.
At last, after being driven back a hundred meters, Roa arched his body backward and planted both feet against the ground, forcibly steadying himself. The uncontrollable force raging within him made him spit out a mouthful of Reverse Blood, staining the loose dirt beneath his feet red.
The wounded young man casually wiped the blood from the corner of his lips and looked toward the poised figure before the cliff. A fervent glint appeared in his eyes, and instead of fearing her, he laughed.
"What are you laughing at?"
Arcueid walked toward him step by step, her eyes crimson as blood as she coldly demanded an answer. The air currents around her churned violently, making the short golden hair at the back of her head flutter without wind.
"You're too strong! Still as utterly unreachable as ever!
"I spent a full six hundred years and still failed to touch such a realm!
"Ah, incomparable power! The truth that touches the Root and the laws of reality! It's perfect—truly worthy of the lifelong wish I've pursued!"
Roa rose from the impact crater, slightly closed his eyes, and deeply inhaled the lingering scent in the air. In the tone he normally used to chant biblical verses, he sighed in rapture.
Then, the dissolute young man opened his eyes excitedly and stared intensely at the approaching Arcueid. His right hand lifted slightly, unconsciously forming an inviting gesture.
"Arcueid, look. We are the perfect match. As long as you're willing, we can trace the Root together and become the Adam and Eve of a new era!"
As the man spoke, his broken bones automatically reset themselves. Flesh buds visibly sprouted from