Blue Steel Shadow

Su Xiao stood still, Dragon Slayer Flash in hand. The venue fell into dead silence.

"Gulp."

The sound of a difficult swallow broke the stillness.

Xiluo Luo stared at Su Xiao's back, her big, sparkling eyes practically glowing. It was clear she recognized him.

In her mind, a few tags automatically popped up above Su Xiao's head: 'Absolute Beast,' 'Ultimate Carry,' 'Big Shot'...

Xiluo Luo suddenly regretted not asking for Su Xiao's contact info earlier. If she'd known he was this strong, she would've begged him to take her along in tough Derivative Worlds, paying top price.

"Who are you? How'd you get in here?"

Gecko's earlier excitement was gone. His eyes locked onto Su Xiao as his Kagune quickly wrapped around one arm.

Gecko's Kagune was a Rinkaku, with the Rc Cell sac near his kidneys. Rinkaku ghouls had incredible regeneration, strong offense, but weak defense.

There were four types of Kagune: Ukaku, Rinkaku, Kokaku, and Bikaku. Each had its pros and cons, with no fixed form—they took shape based on the ghoul's imagination.

Gecko's Kagune looked the way it did because of his habits and combat style.

"Who am I? Hmm~, you can call me Byakuya. Nice Kagune you've got there. I'll take it."

Su Xiao activated Shadow of Law Destruction and triggered Blue Steel Shadow for the first time. His mana dropped by 2 points immediately, then continued draining at 2 points per minute.

Once Blue Steel Shadow was active, he felt a certain energy stir inside him—his mana.

The mana circulated through his body, undergoing a strange transformation into a new kind of energy.

This energy traveled up his arm, then spread to Dragon Slayer Flash in his hand. A layer of blue light coated the blade's surface. If you looked closely, tiny blue-white arcs of electricity flickered across it.

That wasn't lightning. It was mana converted through some kind of power output, forming a new energy—the core of Blue Steel Shadow.

Blue Steel Shadow was a toggle-type active skill. After activation, it consumed 2 mana per minute. That didn't sound like much, but if he fought continuously for an hour, it'd cost 120 mana. Luckily, he had 153 mana total—enough to sustain it.

The advantage of having plenty of mana was clear: it gave him the stamina for prolonged fights.

With Blue Steel Shadow active, each of Su Xiao's attacks burned 10 mana from the enemy.

That might not seem like much, but if he landed several cuts, the mana loss would be crippling.

Imagine this: after a fierce battle, both sides are about to unleash their ultimate moves—but the enemy suddenly realizes they have no mana left. How despairing would that be?

And Blue Steel Shadow didn't just drain mana; it dealt equal true damage.

Su Xiao had once asked Reincarnation Paradise what true damage was.

The answer: damage that ignores everything. No matter how tough the enemy's defense, they'd still be cut.

Su Xiao rolled his shoulders, then stripped off his shirt, baring his upper body.

He had a habit of taking off his shirt during fights. It made his senses sharper—maybe it was just in his head, but it was his habit.

With 13 Strength, 13 Agility, and 12 Intelligence, Su Xiao wanted to test what kind of combat power these stats gave him.

Don't think Intelligence was useless in melee. Raising Intelligence didn't just boost spell damage and mana—it also improved perception, which was a huge help in close combat.

"Alright, let's test it on you. You look thick-skinned—shouldn't break apart too easily."

Su Xiao stomped the ground and dashed toward Gecko. His 13 Agility made him faster than anyone else there.

Gecko only saw a blur before Su Xiao's face appeared right in front of him, along with a long blade glowing azure, swinging toward his neck.

The angle of that slash was vicious. Koshiro's teachings had sharpened Su Xiao's swordsmanship considerably.

Gripping the blade with both hands, Su Xiao's strike was about to land on Gecko's neck. Ghouls had incredible regeneration, but losing their head would still kill them.

In that critical moment, Gecko roared. Blocking with his arm was too slow, but his Kagune was close to his neck. It wrapped around instantly.

"Thud."

The sound of a blade cutting flesh rang out, but no blood appeared.

Su Xiao's slash hit Gecko's Kagune. Rinkaku wasn't known for defense, so he cut right through it.

Gecko's face twisted beneath his mask. What kind of cutting power was that? If he wasn't mistaken, the guy was using an ordinary weapon, not a Quinque made from Kagune.

Run. He had to run. This human was too strong. Forget him—even an SS-rank ghoul would get chopped into mincemeat.

Just as Gecko tried to retreat, a searing pain erupted from the wound on his Kagune. Then, some energy inside him started burning—his Rc Cells.

As the Rc Cells burned, Gecko felt an agony he'd never experienced before.

Even with his pain tolerance, he let out a scream. The true damage from the mana burn had kicked in.

Su Xiao's Blue Steel Shadow, on the surface, burned the enemy's mana. But what about a creature like a ghoul that had no mana?

The answer: it burned other energy. The principle was that Su Xiao's mana was converted into a special energy.

That energy clung to his weapon. When he struck an enemy in melee, it invaded their body and triggered a devouring reaction with their internal energy, resulting in mana burn.

If the enemy had no mana, the special energy would devour with other energies—like Rc Cells, chakra, psychic power, or spiritual pressure.

Compared to mana, the devouring rate for other energies was lower, dropping from 10 points to around 7–9.

Having your internal energy burned was excruciating. Beyond the true damage, the intense pain itself was a huge hindrance in battle.

Blue Steel Shadow's skill description read: After activating (Blue Steel Shadow), each melee attack consumes 10 mana from the enemy and deals equal true damage. The enemy will suffer intense pain from the mana burn.

Previously, Su Xiao hadn't paid much attention to the 'infliction of intense pain,' but seeing Gecko's expression now, he understood that the sensation was far from pleasant.

The moment Gecko's scream rang out, Su Xiao's second strike was already upon him.

The blade sliced through the air, emitting a dreadful wail as its sharp edge carved a wake through the atmosphere.

"Schlick."

An arm and half an ear flew off simultaneously. Su Xiao's second slash was also aimed at Gecko's head.

But Gecko sacrificed an arm to block Dragon Slayer Flash for an instant, then jerked his head sharply to the side, barely avoiding decapitation.

In just two strikes, Gecko was half-dead—his Kagune severed, his severed arm lying on the ground, his combat power reduced by at least fifty percent.

The beautiful Rize felt her scalp crawl at the sight, and inwardly wailed, Are all humans in Ward 20 this strong?

Without even using a Quinque, he could face a Ghoul head-on—no, this wasn't a confrontation at all, but one-sided slaughter.

Rize's first instinct was also to flee, but a pair of sharp eyes had already fixed coldly on her.

"And where do you think you're going, Rize Kamishiro?"

Thanks to Banana QoQ and Maple Wind Drift for the ten-thousand-coin tips. I haven't even gone on the shelves yet and I'm already in debt for chapters. Should I be happy, happy, or happy?