My 100th Rebirth a day before the Apocalypse novel Chapter 963

His thoughts immediately went to Kisha. Rising to his feet, he moved toward her, only to find her sitting cross-legged, calm amidst the chaos, while the table and chair she had been using earlier were blown several meters away, along with her magic parchment.

Luckily, Kisha had the habit of always capping her ink before continuing with her inscription; she had long feared knocking it over during her inscription. That precaution prevented the Dragon's Blood ink, which was incredibly expensive and volatile, from spilling on the unfinished Teleportation Scroll and potentially triggering an explosion from a failed inscription.

Her foresight meant that even as the air surged violently, blowing away the table, chair, parchment, and quill, the ink remained unscathed, and she could continue focusing on her end, her meticulous habit saving her from disaster and overthinking.

Feeling the surge of energy gathering around Kisha, Duke stayed perfectly still a few meters away from her, his senses sharp as he guarded the area to make sure no one came close enough to disturb her.

This wasn't the first time he had seen her like this, far from it. It had happened so many times that he already knew the drill. And yet, no matter how familiar the scene became, the worry in his chest never faded.

He knew how extraordinary Kisha was. She grew stronger at a pace that left even him breathless, and he pushed himself just as hard so he wouldn't fall behind, so she wouldn't end up needing to protect him instead. 𝙛𝓻𝒆𝓮𝒘𝙚𝙗𝒏𝙤𝙫𝓮𝒍.𝓬𝒐𝙢

But moments like this, when Kisha willingly placed her life on the line just to break through and grow stronger, always made his heart lodge itself in his throat.

He couldn't get angry at her for it, though. It's not as if she could choose when breakthroughs came. Plans always shifted, and no matter how much she prepared, she could never predict the sudden changes triggered by forces outside her control, just like now.

"Hang in there, baby…" Duke murmured, his voice soft as his eyes fixed on Kisha's pale, sweat-soaked face. He could tell she was struggling, fighting to keep the raging energy inside her under control.

The surge was so intense that it created gusts of wind, swirling around her like a miniature storm. Her hair floated weightlessly, purple lightning crackled across her skin, and thin streams of steam rose from her body.

But what worried him most was the nature of the energy itself. It wasn't spiritual energy, nor was it aura. Duke recognized this energy all too well; this was the same mysterious power that had surfaced when she nearly died last time, when her veins bulged and burst one after another and droplets of blood appeared as two energies clashed violently inside her, each fighting for dominance.

The memory made his stomach twist. And now, seeing the signs again, he feared the same nightmare was about to repeat itself.

What frustrated Duke the most was knowing he couldn't do anything, nothing but watch. All he could do was stay alert and make sure no one came close enough to distract her, because even the slightest disturbance could shatter her concentration and ruin everything she was trying to achieve.

So he lowered himself to the ground, sitting cross-legged in front of her, and began drawing spiritual energy into his own body.

If Kisha was pulling mana from the environment to form her third circle and permanently expand her mana pool, then she needed absolute focus; she had to draw only mana, including mana with elemental properties, without accidentally pulling spiritual energy that might clash violently inside her.

By cultivating spiritual energy himself, Duke could divert some of it away from her, preventing it from interfering with her process. In a way, they were cultivating together, and it was beneficial for both of them, especially now, when Kisha's body was like a magnet, drawing in every type of energy around her.

Forming the third circle required far more mana than she currently possessed, and the bottleneck was far more difficult to break through than the previous two.

Kisha felt her mana circle rotating steadily around her mana heart, spinning like a perfectly aligned wheel. The third circle was nearly complete; she could sense it. All she needed to do was keep the flow of mana steady… and not allow anything to disturb the formation.

But then she suddenly coughed up another mouthful of blood. Her spiritual energy had begun circulating on its own, swirling around her dantian, rushing through her meridians, even brushing dangerously close to her heart.

'Not good…' Kisha's expression tightened. She needed to separate her mana from her spiritual energy immediately. If they mixed again, two completely different energies with vastly different properties, they would collide violently inside her, just like last time. And this time, the consequences could be far worse.

He furrowed his brows but instinctively took a few steps back; the force of the energy was building into something like a storm, overwhelming even from a distance.

'What's happening?' he murmured, his gaze tracing Kisha's face. Sweat drenched her features, yet she no longer looked as pale as before. That small sign of strength gave him a sliver of reassurance.

He stayed patiently where he was standing, no longer sitting cross-legged in meditation. Now, his sole focus was to guard her. If he tried to meditate amidst such turbulence, it could backfire; his own spiritual energy might be disrupted by the pull of the storm, causing more harm than good.

Even Bell and Zeus had been alerted by the intense energy condensing in the area, so they both rushed toward Kisha, but neither approached recklessly. Bell stopped the cannonball-like dog, which was as big as a bear, from charging forward.

"Zeus, do not come inside, or Master will get hurt," Bell warned through their mind link.

"But… Master…" Zeus whined, eager to get closer, but the thought of Kisha being harmed halted it in its tracks. It lowered itself to sit on its hind legs beside Duke, and it also decided to stand guard.

Bell perched calmly atop Zeus's head, closing its eyes as if unconcerned, but in truth, its senses remained fully alert, monitoring Kisha's situation and ready to react at the slightest sign of danger.

Not long after, it felt as if the wind had suddenly exploded, nearly throwing Duke, Zeus, and Bell several meters back, even though they were already keeping a safe distance from Kisha.

Thick steam erupted alongside the gusts of wind, and streaks of lightning zipped through the charged air. Zeus's fur bristled on end from the static, while Duke remained unaffected, as his own affinity for lightning shielded him.