The tide of primal symbiotes launched themselves at the two intruders. They had no defined form, just writhing masses of living darkness, but their intentions were clear: to annihilate. They screeched and hissed, their pseudopods elongating into makeshift claws and beaks. It was a frontal assault, primitive but overwhelming in number.
Jinwoo reacted instantly. His shadow army emerged from his own shadow, thousands of spectral warriors materializing in an instant: black-armored knights, dark mages, fearsome beasts, and at their head, Beru, Igris, and the rest of his generals. He didn't summon his entire army, just a fraction enough to form both a defensive wall and an offensive force.
"Forward!" Jinwoo ordered, his voice echoing with authority over the discordant chorus of symbiotes.
The army of shadows met the black tide. The knights' swords sliced through the symbiotic matter, which writhed and reformed. The mages' dark spells clashed with the symbiotes' corrupted energy. Beru and Igris leapt to the forefront, their legendary combat instincts unleashed against this new form of darkness.
Jinwoo himself drew his dagger, his figure moving with astonishing speed and precision. His style was direct, brutally effective. He slashed, stabbed, and dodged, each movement designed to maximize damage while minimizing risk. He found that his shadow-infused attacks were particularly effective against symbiotic matter, causing it to dissipate more quickly than physical blows.
Meanwhile, Cid Kagenou moved through the fray with insulting ease. He didn't command an army; he was an army himself. The symbiotes tried to surround him, latch onto him, consume him. But they simply couldn't touch him. His speed was so extreme that he seemed to teleport from one place to another, leaving the attacking creatures flailing in the air.
Cid thought: The first confrontation. The basic assault units of the 'Ultimate Cult'. Their 'techniques' are primitive: mass assault, immobilization attempts. They're easy to read. I must demonstrate the combat efficiency of a Level 7 Agent against low-level threats.
When a symbiote managed to get dangerously close, Cid didn't use his sword (which remained sheathed most of the time). Instead, a simple touch, a subtle but concentrated energetic pulse from his open hand, and the symbiote would dissipate into a harmless mist of residual dark energy. It wasn't an explosion; it was more like dismantling the creature's energetic structure at a fundamental level.
A group of symbiotes attempted to merge to form a larger, denser mass. Jinwoo sensed the threat, but Cid was already there. He appeared right above the bubbling mass and, with a casual downward sweep of his palm, released a minute amount of his destructive energy. Not the "I Am Atomic" that could vaporize cities, but a microscopic, barely visible "I Am Atomic," focused with absolute precision. The large symbiote mass didn't explode; it simply collapsed inward, imploding into itself until it was gone without a trace.
Cid thought: Using 'Zero Point Energy Implosion' Level 1. Perfectly calibrated to neutralize concentrations of low-level enemies without excessive collateral damage. Subtlety in destruction.
Jinwoo watched the ease with which Cid moved and fought. It was unreal. His own fighting was intense, coordinating his army, using his own skills to contain and destroy the black tide. But Cid... Cid seemed to be taking an extremely dangerous walk. He dodged effortlessly, his "attacks" minor touches or gestures that erased the creatures from existence. He showed no strain or effort.
The dynamic was clear: Jinwoo, the seasoned warrior and tactician, used his strength and his army to create a battlefront, stem the tide, and methodically annihilate it. Cid, the phenomenon of incomprehensible power, moved across the battlefield like a ghost, eliminating key threats or concentrations with silent and devastating efficiency, using skills Jinwoo could barely comprehend.
The symbiotes kept coming, replacing the fallen, their numbers seemingly endless. But they were met with an unstoppable wall of shadows and an immaterial, invincible force moving through their ranks, disabling them from within.
Cid thought: The persistence of the enemy units is remarkable. A tactic of attrition. The Cult always relies on numbers. But the quality of the Allied Organization Agents outweighs quantity. I must keep the Designated Asset's perimeter clear of critical threats.
He moved to cover a flank of Jinwoo's shadow formation that was under increased pressure. With a burst of speed, he neutralized dozens of symbiotes in seconds with a series of quick touches, clearing the way for Jinwoo's shadow knights to advance.
The first wave of base symbiotes was finally contained and destroyed. The dark matter floor was filled with the creatures' dissipated energy, a kind of dark, steaming "blood." Relative silence returned to the twisted landscape, but the psychic oppression and sense of being watched remained.
Both men stopped, Jinwoo's army retreating back into their shadow. They had passed the domain's first welcoming test.
Jinwoo sheathed his dagger, his breathing a little heavier than Cid's. He looked at his companion, the masked figure who seemed as unfazed as ever. This "Level 7 Agent" was... more than he had anticipated, even after the Nexus and the demonstration in his world. His power was absurd, his combat method, surreal.
Cid nodded to himself, assessing the outcome.
Cid thought: First phase of combat infiltration completed. Low-level resistance neutralized. The Designated Shadow Asset proved efficient against these types of threats. A good initial synergy. Now, we must proceed. The next threat is likely to be... more sophisticated. The 'Cult' always scales its defenses.
The Battle at the Heart of the Abyss was over, for now. They had overcome the core guardians of the threshold. But the true infiltration and the deepest horrors of Knull's domain had only just begun.
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