Sora, Kara, and Salim did not hesitate. At the exact same moment, they burned a drop of Blood Essence. The effect was immediate. Their auras expanded explosively, their power rising at an unprecedented rate.
Salim was the first to act.
He raised his hand, and golden light erupted from his palm, flooding the battlefield. The very air around them trembled, reality itself bending to his will.
The familiar Korean landscape wavered, dissolving like an illusion. In its place, a new world emerged.
The scent of olive trees filled the air, and a salty breeze from an invisible sea drifted through the battlefield. The ground cracked, reshaping into Neo Carthage's golden soil, its landscapes stretching into the horizon.
And then—
A crown materialized above Salim's head. His presence changed. Gone was the relaxed, easy-going young man they had known for a while. In his place stood King Salim, the ruler of Neo Carthage.
His eyes seemed to be glowing, and his entire body radiated golden energy. The soft golden aura clashed against the red fumes rising from his skin, born from the Blood Essence burning within him.
Sora smiled as he felt the surge in his friend's energy.
'His power... This is far beyond what I expected from him.'
As Salim tapped on a ring in his hand, golden figures emerged around him.
'His royal guards?' Sora thought.
The eight players that appeared had distinct classes, and high talent. Each of them had been handpicked by their King, and from the expressions on their faces, Sora could guess how proud of their duty they were.
'Four women, four men and their classes are quite varied. And they're all level 180! And none of them feels like a weakling. Not bad, Salim!' Sora noticed.
On the side, Kara was silent. Unlike Salim, her body emitted no bloody fumes.
The power from burning her Blood Essence wasn't leaking from her body like her friend. She was controlling it, shaping it into something else.
Sora's eyes narrowed as he watched her. Her sword trembled, absorbing the overflowing energy. A low sound resonated from the blade as if it were alive, feasting on the raw power she was offering.
'I've never seen her like this... Her eyes even turned blood red.' Sora clenched his fist.
Behind her, a massive ghostly figure began to materialize, looming over the battlefield.
Sora exhaled slowly, instantly recognizing the technique.
[Sword Manifestation][Description : Summons an ethereal swordsman, an extension of the user's mastery, which fights alongside them. It is immune to conventional attacks.Special effect:: Each attack bypasses traditional defenses, directly cutting through the enemy's life force.Warning : Extended use of this skill places an immense burden on the user. If overused, the manifestation weakens, draining the user's life force in return.]
The ethereal swordswoman floated behind Kara, ripping apart most of the [Veils] Sora had summoned. Her facial features were still obscured by a veil and a conical hat. Her aura sent a chill down his spine. However, he immediately noticed something different about the ethereal swordswoman.
'Her robe is blood red, and she reeks of bloodlust, unlike the last time when she looked serene and otherworldly...'
His grip on his weapon tightened.
'What's this strange effect?'
He had seen Kara unleash this terrifying ability on the 8th floor of the Tower—a technique that devoured her energy at an absurd rate, but in exchange, made every attack absolute.
'Sensible choice. Against this many enemies, speed isn't enough. She needs raw, overwhelming power.'
Sora felt the urgent calls from his familiars and turned his gaze away from Kara. There was no point in resisting—they had already seen everything. With a thought, he summoned them.
Netsu and Hiyoko materialized beside him in their combat forms, both standing at level 191. Without exchanging words, they glanced at each other, immediately understanding what needed to be done.
Sora locked onto the figure rushing towards them. His [Veils] were being torn apart, shredded as if they were nothing but mist. But he was ready.
He hadn't only spent the last moments watching his allies transformations. He had changed to his [White Dwarf] form for a while.
'Abbott Nel? Wasn't I supposed to fight Norj?'
"That dark elf really thinks I'd let you fight him... I didn't come all the way here to watch!" The demon laughed.
Sora wasted no time.
In an instant, he moved away from his allies, ensuring the battle wouldn't implicate them. They were strong, but dragging them into his fight would only limit their chances.
The demon followed. He made no attempt to stop him—if anything, he seemed to find amusement in Sora's decision.
The moment Sora touched the ground, a presence appeared behind him.
His grip tightened around his sword as he raised it just in time to block a massive strike from above.
A loud noise echoed as his blade met resistance. The force of the impact pushed Sora back. He landed, sliding several meters in the air before regaining his stance.
'A headbutt? He really tried to hit me with his forehead?'
He expected at least a wound, but Abbott's skin was flawless. There wasn't even a scratch.
Abbott didn't wait for him to attack and jumped forward, closing the gap instantly. Sora met his charge, swinging his sword in a an attempt to cut him. His weapon clashed with his opponent's body again, shockwaves rippling outward, flattening the terrain around them.
After the first exchange, Sora felt something unexpected.
'My strength is similar to his?'
Abbott was level 260. Yet, here they were, trading blows, and Sora wasn't being overwhelmed.
'Maybe… we have a chance.'
A plan formed in his mind.
'If we can create the right conditions in this chaos, we can probably escape...'
They exchanged hundreds of blows in rapid succession before Sora made his move. He poured everything into a single, powerful swing.
Abbott dodged at the last moment, his expression betraying slight surprise.
But then— His head snapped toward the battlefield behind him.
Five of his allies had vanished because he dodge the sword strike. His expression darkened.
A small, cruel smile spread across his face, but his eyes burned with something else.
"You're looking down on me so much that you're entertaining the idea of killing my allies during our fight?"
His smile turned into a grin as he chuckled. "Ralph Eden… you're bold."
Then, the smile disappeared.
"Tell me, what do you know about our racial trait?"
Sora remained silent, using the moment to cool his body down.
'Burning my Blood Essence is making my energy harder to control… Add [White Dwarf] on top of that, and I have to spend massive amounts of Mental Power just to stay in the [Zone]…'
'I can't let this fight drag on.'
Abbott didn't seem to care for his silence. "The power of demons comes from the same source. The Last Demon God."
His voice was calm. "To be precise, it comes from the blood he has left behind. I will save you history lesson. The more of his blood we have, the stronger we become. The higher the concentration, the higher our status within our race is."
He paused, then smirked. "And can you guess what my status is?"
Sora exhaled. "Are you a Demon Lord? Or perhaps an Archdemon?"
Abbott's smirk deepened. "So you do know about our hierarchy."
"But I'm neither."
"I am a Demon King."
"Demon King Abbott Nel."
Sora feigned surprise, but his mind was elsewhere.
'Kara and Salim seem to be doing fine…'
Abbott saw through him.
"You really are clueless, aren't you?"
His smile disappeared. And his body began to change.
His entire presence changed, the air around him growing thick and heavy, as if the world struggled to contain what was about to be unleashed.
"These damn rules and limits..." Abbott growled.
Sora tensed at the mention of limits, 'Don't tell me he's referring to level 300 limits?!'
His veins pulsed with dark energy, protruding faintly beneath his skin. His golden hair, once flowing freely, began to turn dark. The slits in his eyes expanded, turning his blue eyes yellow.
Sora's instincts screamed at him.
Something ancient was awakening before him.
Abbott's body stretched, his already huge frame growing even more imposing. The tattoos covering his arms and chest changed, turning white and glowing.
Then, blackened veins began spreading from his fingertips up his arms, as if corruption was taking root in his body. Similar veins spread from his upper legs to his chest. These veins seemed to be headed to his heart.
"Thank you for allowing me to test my new body... It seems that it's still lacking to unleash the power of my bloodline. But this should be enough to deal with you."
"You're about to witness the difference between the human race… and a raced blessed by the remnants of a god," Abbott declared.
Then, he inhaled. And exhaled.
As the world trembled, a shockwave pressed against Sora. He tried to resist, but his body gave out, and his knees slammed into the ground.
'This wasn't even an attack.' Sora understood.
Abbott had simply breathed.
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