Chapter 120: Breathtaking

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A figure crashed through a building, instantly destroying it as another followed right behind.

The first figure, Ghost Rider, no longer cackled as he looked at his cracked fist, which healed at a visible speed. The injury had disappeared in no time, but it disturbed the mad man that Edward was still physically stronger.

He wasn't given any time to think though as Edward landed next to him, and his leg this time barrelled toward Elias, causing a sonic boom from the speed and power.

Again, the Ghost Rider was sent flying through another building as even in his maddened state he understood that without any weapon, he was too weak compared to Edward.

At the same time, the blue Hellfire seemed to intensify as Elias got a little stronger, while his mind eroded a little more.

Edward, who felt the change, cracked a grin as he asked, "You didn't think I used my full power against you before, right?"

The Ghost Rider was enraged as he grabbed the bat from his back and swung it toward Edward. A blue fireball materialized before the bat in mid swing, and was sent flying toward Edward at great speed.

Unfortunately, Edward only grabbed the fireball, successfully stopping it. He could feel the skin of his hand darken and his Spirit shake at the flame's power. The flame could actually threaten him a little, so he decided to take care of it right away.

Edward circulated his Chi as he blew on the fireball, which was forcefully snuffed out by his Chi, and said, "Impressive, that was perhaps the weakest fireball I ever saw."

Elias roared in anger as he stopped using his flames, and once again rushed at Edward for a close quarter combat, making Edward smile. He was too easily manipulated.

Bringing out Aeglos, Edward countered Elias' swing by a powerful stab, completely overpowering the Ghost Rider as the shock of their incredible strengths sent the surrounding rubble flying, alongside with Elias.

Seeing Elias so easily handled, Edward couldn't help but be disappointed. He had used his full powers against the previous Ghost Rider at the last moment, and instantly defeated him because there was a more urgent matter.

Here though, he had some more time, and he expected a more exciting fight from the transformed Ghost Rider, but he was very disappointing.

His raw strength may have gotten better, he was still weaker than Edward at his full power, with him using the might of his entire body in every attack, alongside with Chi, Spear Aura and reinforcing magic on his body.

Elias was also much worse in terms of skills compared to the Ghost Rider, he fought like a child.

Bored by the fight and disappointed to be bored, Edward walked toward the Ghost Rider, who was stepping away, his fright lessening the power of the Hellfire in him.

But as Edward got dangerously close to him, the Hellfire, which seemed like it was being snuffed out, suddenly roared with power as Elias let go of his bat, and used his bony hand as a spear to stab at Edward's heart.

Elias was jubilant and excited as he saw his hand pierce through Edward's chest, but then stupor took over as the image of Edward disappeared, revealing this was only an after image. Before he could process the information though, a powerful kick smashed into his skull, sending him flying as his skull was cracked.

Edward felt like rolling his eyes at the Ghost Rider, who tried to take him by surprise. He used it a little less now that he had many other powers, but Edward's first ability was his Chi Sense, and it had saved his life more than once.

Facing the primitive Ghost Rider, reading his intent was way too easy, Edward was almost starting to feel bad for him.

He decided it was time to stop waiting for a sudden power up, that was really all the Ghost Rider had to offer, and although disappointing, Edward still had hope in Sefako.

But man plans and God laughs.

As he approached the Ghost Rider, Edward felt other presences next to the Ghost Rider, two of them.

Elias had been sent flying through several buildings from the kick, and finished his flight into a house, destroying a good part of it in the process.

The kick had been so powerful that the Hellfire had been truly rattled this time, and Elias felt some of his thinking capacity come back as panic settled in. Serenity was truly out of his league, if he didn't find something quick then he was dead.

But it was in the middle of his panic that he spotted two people next to him, a young mother and her daughter, both shivering in fright as they looked at him.

A wicked grin came to Elias' cracked skull as he had found his way out, and tried to grab them.

His hand was stopped by a barrier though, and his grin receded as he punched the barrier. A few cracks appeared, while the young mother's nose started bleeding.

Elias felt his panic come back at full force though as he desperately hit the shield, and cracks spread throughout the shield as the mother's face paled.

It was at that moment that they entered Edward's Chi Sense, and he felt the weakening Chi of the mother, as well as the fright of the little girl, who saw her mother spit out blood as she was starting to fall unconscious.

At that moment, Edward felt a rage he had only felt once before, back in Hell.

The world around Edward cracked as his Royal Will spread out by itself, and the ground split open as he jumped toward Elias. The later gaped slightly as he felt Edward's Royal Will surround him, freezing both his body and mind from the sheer pressure.

Edward arrived next to Elias, and with eyes cold as ice he used the momentum of his run to grab Elias' skull and smash it into the ground.

The smash was so strong that every other person fighting felt the ground shake, believing it to be an earthquake for a moment.

As for Elias, his skull had been crushed into dust as a hole was smashed into the ground under his head. His hellfire, which contained the last vestiges of his consciousness, tried fleeing, but Edward grabbed it with his bare hand, and it was forcefully dissolved into his body.

The blue Hellfire tried attacking both his Body and Mind as it entered his body, but the Dragon Flame and the Freezing Crystal were in their home ground, and easily destroyed any form of resistance from the Hellfire as it was absorbed by them, strengthening Edward's Core and Spirit by quite a big deal.

His cold eyes remained on the corpse of the Ghost Rider for a moment before they warmed up as he looked at the family of two. Ever since he made his identity public, he took off his mask while fighting as Serenity, so he didn't want to scare them.

Looking at them both, Edward guessed what happened to them, and why they were still here. The girl was a normal human girl, but the mother had a power that allowed her to create a shield.

It should have awakened as the array was set by Sefako, and she unconsciously used it on herself and her daughter, making them stay in the city. Her shield also seemed connected to her Chi, so every bit of damage onto the shield weakened her Chi.

Before being a mean to fight, Chi was the lifeforce of a living being, and losing one's Chi meant dying. Edward's body was transformed by his cultivation and he could work with very little Chi thanks to this, which was why he didn't die when he Chi was depleted in his hardest fights.

However, this woman was not trained, and her body was untrained, so as her Chi was weakened, she began dying.

The shield, which had been barely standing, disappeared as the woman recognized Edward, and she fell unconscious. Edward couldn't help but be impressed by the woman, with how weak her Chi was she should have fallen unconscious a long time ago, but she stayed awake out of her sheer will to protect her daughter.

Edward crouched next to the fallen mother and the little girl. She looked like she was around ten, and tried to shake her mother awake.

Placing a hand on her head, the little girl turned to looked at Edward as he asked with a kind smile, "Tell me, what's your name?"

"M-Mary." the girl stuttered, doing her best to hold back her tears.

Edward slightly ruffled her hair as he reassured her, "That's a beautiful name. Mary, I'm here, so there is no need to be worried, I will save your mom, do you want to help me?"

Mary's eyes widened a little as she asked, "I… I can help mummy?"

"Yes, give me your hand. I'll need you to think of the happiest memory you have with your mother, it will give her strength."

Actually, Edward wasn't just reassuring the girl, he really needed her help. While talking to her, he was already infusing his Yang Chi into her body, revitalizing it, but her Spirit was also injured because of her efforts, and for that she needed to fight herself.

Edward could help but guiding her mind, but he didn't know her, so he would instead be projecting Mary's thoughts into her mind.

Mary nodded at Edward's instructions and gave him her hand as she closed her eyes and thought of the happiest moments with her mom.

As for Edward, he brought his hand to her mother's head as he connected their spirits together, and watched.

The mother's Spirit, which was cracked and left the Soul bare to the world, started mending itself as the mother's soul gave a faint warmth.

The cracks disappeared one after another, until her spirit was healed. However, it was still fragile, and she would need some natural time to heal.

Edward shook Mary's hand, making her open her eyes as she asked, "Is she going to be okay?"

Edward nodded, "Yes, she will be okay. However, she will still need to go to the hospital after this, to fully recover."

The girl's happiness seemed to fade away as she muttered, "But we don't have any money for the hospital…"

"Don't worry about that, I'll pay." She had been hurt in the first place because he had played with his opponent, so he took it as his responsibility to heal her.

Edward put a hand on Mary's shoulder and said, "There are still bad guys to be defeated, so I will need to go. Meanwhile, I want you and your mom to hide. Can you do that?"

Mary asked with worry, "Is it going to be dangerous?"

Edward shrugged, "A little."

"Then why do you go?"

"Why do I go?" Edward repeated the little girl's question, before answering with a grin, "Because I can!"

With a twitch of his hand, a strong shield was created around the house, and Edward stored the remains of the Ghost Rider before taking off.

He looked back once in the sky, and saw the little girl looking at him with stars in her eyes, making him laugh, "I know, I'm breathtaking!"