ALL NOVEL Chapter 124: 123. Surging Against Despair
A surge of thunderous wind blasted through the village square, rustling torn flags and sending rubble skittering across shattered cobblestones. The Knight of the Abyss stood like an obsidian titan in the red-tinted gloom, sword humming with arcs of dimensional lightning. Above it, the Herald—still bleeding black flame from its cracks—hovered at a respectful distance, watching with a dark fascination. Both seemed intent on crushing the battered defenders in a single, decisive blow. Across the plaza, Naruto, Sasuke, Sakura, Ryusei, and Minato braced themselves, eyes fixed on the looming threat. Their breath came fast, their chakra reserves near the edge, but the fierce light in their gazes refused to wane.
From far behind the lines, squads struggled to hold off waves of slavering monstrosities that still prowled the ruined streets. Every jutsu launched lit the night in a chaotic strobe, exposing glimpses of battered Leaf shinobi fighting tooth and nail. Though many fell injured or exhausted, none withdrew. The synergy of Time, Void, Light, Shadow, and Space energies had turned the defenders into a formidable bulwark, but the Knight's arrival threatened to unravel all they had accomplished.
The Knight stabbed its colossal greatsword into the ground, conjuring a localized dimensional quake. Black fissures raced outward, warping the ground into a pit of collapsing stone. A handful of defending shinobi, caught off-guard, tumbled into the swirling maw of negative energy. An instant later, Minato flickered into place, stamping a seal that partially sealed the rift, halting its spread. Those who had fallen were safe—for the moment—but the Knight let out an amused rumble and drew the sword free again, arcs of black lightning lashing over the blade.
Naruto advanced, forging a new Rasenshuriken that shimmered in and out of temporal sync. The fierce swirl created a tangible wind that rattled nearby debris. He could sense Kurama's concern thrumming in his chest, but he offered a grin. "We're not beaten yet," he said to no one in particular, the words more to steady himself than anything else. With a yell, he hurled the swirling sphere at the Knight. A corridor of distortion trailed behind it, testament to the advanced synergy of Nine-Tails chakra and Time manipulation. The Knight raised its sword, meeting the projectile head-on. For a brief second, time contorted at the point of impact, the Rasenshuriken carving a deep gouge into the Knight's armored shoulder. The creature hissed in pain but retaliated by channeling a devastating wave of negative force that sent Naruto skidding across the courtyard, boots sparking on stone.
Sasuke appeared in a blur of gravitational warp, following up with a downward slash. Void lightning etched from his blade, fracturing the space around the Knight's elbow. The armor squealed as it contorted under the gravitational pressure. The Knight jerked free with a snarl, and black flames ignited along its sword in a fearsome display of raw dimensional power. It swung wide, unleashing a semicircle of shrieking darkness that forced Sasuke to fold space around himself. He warped away, reappearing behind Naruto, chest heaving. Despite the near miss, a glimmer of savage determination danced in his eyes.
Sakura seized the moment. She darted in, illusions of starlight swirling around her fists. Her first blow collided with the Knight's flank, unleashing a flare of brilliance that made the courtyard flash like midday. A second punch hammered the Knight's knee. Had it been any other foe, the monstrous strength and illusions would have shattered bone. Instead, the Knight staggered but remained upright, letting out a guttural roar. It swung its blade in a vicious upward arc, catching Sakura's illusions mid-strike and dissipating them in a burst of dark sparks. Sakura recoiled, grimacing at the jarring impact on her wrist, but she refused to retreat, steeling herself for another round.
Ryusei hovered overhead, bending time so that each second stretched out, scanning for an opening. He saw it in the slight quiver of the Knight's damaged shoulder, a weak spot forming from repeated hits. With a swift motion, he froze local time around that joint while weaving a lance of swirling Time and Void energies in his other hand. He released it, the lance flickering in and out of reality as it shot downward. The Knight sensed it too late, letting out a wrathful bellow as it twisted aside. The lance gouged a ragged chunk of armor from its side, spraying flickers of black flame that dissolved midair. It reeled, staff dripping fiery arcs that scorched the ground. Yet still it did not fall.
Minato dashed between illusions cast by Anon's shadow squads, forging intricate seals that pulsed with advanced space-warping arrays. He sought to trap the Knight in a dimensional bubble, but the Knight, though wounded, retaliated with a swing that sundered half the courtyard. Cracks snaked outward, forcing Minato to abandon the seal or risk being consumed by the earth's collapse. The Knight let out a triumphant snarl, black flames flaring anew across its broken armor as if feeding on the local dimensional chaos. The swirl of negative lightning at the tip of its blade coalesced again, threatening a fresh wave of unstoppable force.
The Herald, still looming above with black fire bleeding from its fractured form, cackled in malicious amusement. "You strain to harm the Knight of the Abyss, yet it stands unbroken. Try harder, mortals, or perish in this half-fused dimension."
Naruto closed in again, forging a second Rasenshuriken, each blade crackling with reversed seconds that crackled like static. Sasuke advanced at his flank, sword sheathing itself in arcs of gravitational lightning. Sakura circled from the left, illusions swirling around her fists in starry brilliance. Ryusei prepared a temporal fold in one palm while forging a concentrated void sphere in the other. Minato formed a fresh cluster of sealed kunai that glowed faintly with spatial anchors. Together, they lunged in a choreographed assault, each trusting the others to maintain the synergy they had honed in endless battles and months of advanced training.
The Knight pivoted, black lightning radiating from the joints in its armor. Each wave of the sword conjured walls of negative energy, warping the village's battered ground. Illusions from Anon's squads feinted behind, creating phantom clones of the five shinobi to distract. True to its cunning, the Knight struck only at the real threats, ignoring illusions unless forced. A swirl of swirling time-laced energy hammered its upper torso. Another slash of Sasuke's blade raked down its shoulder, but it refused to fall. It roared, unleashing a radial blast that knocked the five back in a thunderous shockwave.
Naruto planted his heels, nearly losing his Rasenshuriken's stable form. Sakura slid next to him, arms trembling from the toll of repeated illusions and massive hits. Sasuke coughed, ignoring the trickle of blood at his lip. Minato's breathing was ragged, and Ryusei's aura flickered unevenly around him. The Knight advanced, sword raised high, arcs of negative lightning dancing menacingly around its limbs.
"Yield," the Knight boomed, voice echoing through the battered plaza. "Spare yourselves further humiliation. The Leaf will burn, and your dimension will kneel to the Abyss."
Minato stepped forward, forcing calm into his voice. "The Leaf does not kneel."
Sasuke, eyes flaring dangerously, added, "We've come too far to kneel to anyone."
Naruto's grin was wild, defiant. "We'll stand 'til our last breath, believe it."
The Knight snarled, letting its sword hum with building power, flickers of black lightning intensifying. The battered five shinobi braced themselves, summoning every fragment of synergy they had left. If the Knight launched another cataclysmic strike, they would need to answer in kind. A hush wrapped the square as the swirling red sky flickered overhead. This hush felt like the pivot point of the entire siege—a final plunge into unstoppable violence.
In that taut silence, a single voice rang out across the gloom: "Stand together! Support them!" The Leaf squads had forced a brief lull in their own battles, illusions, gravitational pulses, and time-lock jutsu bottling the lesser fiends. Shinobi from every corner took aim, channeling long-range synergy. Rasengan variants, Chidori arcs, illusions of mesmerizing brilliance, gravitational singularities, and beams of starlight coalesced overhead. With a mighty roar of solidarity, the squads unleashed their combined barrage at the Knight's flank.
Snarling in surprise, the Knight pivoted to deflect. That opening was all Team 7 and Minato needed. Naruto and Sasuke formed their attacks in unison, illusions from Anon's squads further disorienting the monstrous foe, while Sakura lashed it with a prismatic punch of radiant might. Ryusei froze a crucial fraction of time around the Knight's legs. Minato, seizing the moment, hurled seal-anchored kunai that pinned the Knight's momentum from multiple angles. The entire synergy hammered into the Knight in a cascade of swirling, multi-typed destruction.
With a roar of pain, the Knight of the Abyss buckled, armor fracturing further, black flame spraying outward. Though not vanquished, it reeled, stumbling in a display of surprise and rage. Overhead, the Herald hissed in displeasure, red eyes narrowing in fury. The battered defenders had found a fleeting advantage. In that precarious second, hope dared to flicker again beneath the blood-red sky.