The Rise Of The No. 1 Hunter-Chapter 149: CONCEPTUAL ABILITIES: DENIED
The shadows retreated, sinking back into the ground as the entity reformed several meters away, standing upright once more.
Its red eye burned brighter.
The air trembled.
Raito straightened, rolling his shoulders.
"…Alright," he said quietly.
"So brute force won't work."
He wiped a bit of blood from the corner of his mouth.
"If cutting you doesn't kill you…"
Purple mana flared faintly around his body—but unlike before, it was restrained. Controlled.
"Then I'll erase you another way."
The dungeon fell silent.
The creature tilted its head, as if amused.
And for the first time—
It spoke again.
"You are adapting."
Raito smiled.
"Yeah," he replied.
"That's what survivors do."
"Are you even aware this is a dungeon?"
Raito's voice echoed through the chamber as he faced the dark entity.
"If something like you existed outside," he continued calmly, "it would take multiple high-rank hunters—entire teams—to even stand a chance. A thing like you isn't meant to be fought solo."
The creature let out a distorted laugh.
"Well… well… I cannot be defeated."
Its voice overlapped itself, as if several beings were speaking at once.
"I do not believe you are still standing. All my enemies die. They always die. They perish. They die and perish. Die… and perish."
The air grew heavier.
"I am the Abase of the Sovereign," the entity declared.
Raito frowned.
"I don't understand half of what you're saying," he replied. "And you still haven't answered my question."
He tilted his head slightly, studying the creature.
"You remind me of something I fought before. A Shadow Stalker. They were better than you."
The red eye narrowed.
"They at least had form," Raito went on. "Three-dimensional shadows bound to a body. No smoke. No escape tricks."
He exhaled.
"But you?"
"…You're just annoying."
The moment the words left his mouth, Raito charged.
Mana surged through his legs.
[Movement Speed ×10 Activated]
The ground cracked beneath his feet as he vanished.
The entity reacted instantly, its body beginning to dissolve—
Too late.
In a blink, Raito appeared directly in front of it.
The creature's red eye widened.
Flash—!
Raito raised his dagger and drove it forward.
Straight into the eye.
The blade pierced.
He yanked it back just as fast.
Black smoke erupted violently from the wound, dispersing in all directions.
"…What the hell?"
The smoke wasn't blood.
It was poisonous shadow, hissing as it touched the air.
Before Raito could retreat—
A crimson blade materialized at his side.
Slash—!
The sword cut through space where his ribs had been a moment earlier.
Raito leapt backward, mana coating his skin at the last second.
The blade still grazed him.
Pain flared.
He slid across the dungeon floor and steadied himself, breathing hard.
"Tch…"
The entity reformed fully, its eye restored—yet dimmer than before.
"So your eyes are physical," Raito muttered. "Good to know."
The creature's voice echoed again, layered and distorted.
"You adapt. But adaptation leads only to despair."
Raito rolled his neck once and smirked faintly.
"Yeah? People keep saying that."
He glanced at the smoke still lingering in the air, watching how it recoiled from certain sparks of mana.
"…Pure darkness. Smoke-based body. Physical anchor limited to specific parts."
He raised his dagger again.
"Cutting alone won't do it."
Then he paused.
"…Would fire work?"
The dungeon trembled slightly.
The entity's shadow stretched unnaturally along the walls.
Its crimson sword lowered.
It dispersed—its body dissolving back into smoke.
Raito didn't look away.
The entity no longer held a shape. It became pure darkness, smoke drifting unnaturally, crawling along the ground, climbing the walls, seeping into every crack as though the dungeon itself had begun to breathe.
The shadows coiled, circling him.
Slowly.
Deliberately.
Then—
It moved.
The smoke surged forward. 𝘧𝘳𝘦ℯ𝓌𝘦𝒷𝘯𝑜𝑣𝘦𝓁.𝒸𝘰𝓂
Not as a wave—but as a flood, spreading in all directions, rushing past his feet, rising up his legs, wrapping around his torso, closing in from every side.
The air turned heavy.
Oppressive.
It felt like something was pressing directly against his skull—against his thoughts.
Raito's vision flickered.
At that instant, a translucent blue window snapped open before his eyes.
⚠ SYSTEM WARNING ⚠
[Hostile Entity Detected]
Enemy is attempting to侵filtrate the user's Nervous System.
Direct neural interference detected.
Immediate counteraction recommended.
"Tch—"
Raito clenched his jaw as a sharp pain shot through his head.
The smoke wasn't attacking his body.
It was invading him.
Cold fingers brushed against his spine. His limbs felt heavier, as if invisible threads were sinking into his nerves, trying to hijack his movements.
"So that's your method…" Raito muttered. "You're not killing the body."
"That was the wrong choice you just made."
Raito's voice was calm—but cold.
"I didn't want to use this. Not yet. Because once I do… the fight ends too fast."
His eyes narrowed.
"But you forced my hand."
A crushing pressure exploded outward from his body.
The system responded instantly.
⚠ SKILL ACTIVATION ⚠
[Absolute Suppression] — Activated
LP Cost: (-8,000 LP)
Effect:
• All enemy skills: FORCIBLY DEACTIVATED
• Skill reactivation: IMPOSSIBLE
• Conceptual abilities: SEALED
• Form alteration: LOCKED (Physical State Enforced)
The dungeon shuddered.
The smoke that had been flooding toward Raito's face suddenly froze—as if it had slammed into an invisible wall.
Then—
It collapsed.
The darkness fell to the ground like spilled liquid, splashing, writhing, losing cohesion. The smoke screamed silently as it was dragged back, compressed, crushed—
Until it reformed.
A man-shaped figure emerged from the shadows, kneeling, gasping.
Solid.
Physical.
"No—" the entity snarled. "What is this? Why—why can't I disperse?!"
Raito stepped forward.
"I warned you," he said flatly. "You tried to invade my nervous system. My organs. My core."
His dagger slid into his hand with a metallic whisper.
"So I won't show mercy."
The entity staggered back, panic finally surfacing.
"My skills—! They're gone! Did you do something to me?!"
"Shut up."
Raito vanished.
In the next instant, he was already in front of it.
He slashed.
The entity barely managed to raise its dagger—CLANG!
Steel screamed.
The entity countered with its crimson sword, swinging wildly.
Raito blocked it barehanded.
