The red light in Luther Kinwise's right eye, wrapped in black pus, grew even more intense. With an astonishing upward roar, Kinwise swung his right hand and once again assumed a forward-diving posture.
But this time, he did not charge forward with flames and heat. His body actually vanished into thin air, then appeared directly in front of Shade.
"What?"
With no time to dodge, Shade could only raise the two-handed greatsword in his right hand and brace the blade from behind with his left.
Clang!
The enormous right hand swatted Shade away as though he were a fly.
Above the sea of fire, the Moonbeam Greatsword shattered from the tremendous impact, turning into specks of silver light that scattered through the air. Shade, suspended in midair, fell backward with his hands and feet pointed forward.
After rolling across the ground, he had no time to get up before immediately rolling sideways through the sea of fire, avoiding the massive black hand that smashed down where he had been.
While his opponent slowly raised his arm again, Shade scrambled to his feet and summoned the Moonbeam Greatsword once more. Gripping it with both hands, he slashed twice at the black pus before him, then immediately retreated on his toes.
"Doctor! How can he use Space Movement?!"
He shouted at the top of his lungs.
"He is the master of the dream. Anything he does is normal! But don't worry. After we entered, I used Thaumaturgy to make the dream's rules closer to those of the Reality World. He is not a Ring Arcanist, after all. He won't display anything more outrageous, and he can't use Space Movement often!"
Doctor Schneider's voice came from somewhere on the left side of the 1st Floor, almost directly above Shade's head.
"Detective, do you