NOVEL WEB Chapter 281: Whispers of Divinity
He drew his fist back, his dorsal muscle tightening to the limit as the creature's palm collapsed on him. Fiery tongues erupted, then swirled into a blazing dark sphere around his knuckle. He crouched, his eye fixed on the slithering tentacles about to lash on him.
He knew he would suffer, but he would make the creature taste agony like never before in exchange.
As the first tentacles whipped around his legs, his fist whistled in an uppercut as if propelled by a cannon.
BOOM
It met the creature's palm with a deafening explosion.
A cloud of blood burst from his arm, shattered bones drilling through the skin as he muffled an agonising groan.
Then, a new wave of agony erupted as slimy tentacles coiled around his legs, shattering the bones and constricting the flesh until it blasted open like balloons.
"RAAAH!" Unable to hold the pain in, his voice thundered as he shoved all his essence into the sphere.
As if to answer, the flames roared under the pale palm, a defiant rumble that counteracted its pressure for a split second. Then, the fiery tongues shifted as they pushed back, a thumb appearing first, then fingers until it turned into a fist larger than the creature's.
He heard it hurl curses and watched the skin turn dark as the fiery fist jerked the hand back in a wide arc. But the most important part was its head. Carried by the momentum, its gaping eye sockets were facing the sky—as he had planned.
Without wasting a second, he cleaved the tentacles, mangling his legs. Stumbling a few steps before the bones reformed and the muscles recovered, he stomped on the creature's clavicle and propelled himself up.
Like a missile, he landed on its cheek and slid into the giant's left eye. Then, using his sword as a grip, he secured himself as he passed through the eye canal.
Meanwhile, the creature brought its second palm to the first. Distracted by the strike, it used its own flames to snuff the fiery fist before it snapped its head down, scanning its clavicle for Adam.
"Show yourself, ant!" The creature roared. "I swear on my glorious past name that you won't find a second of rest in the abyss. Your fate is mine, and so are your flesh and blood!"
However, it brought a finger to its cheeks, dark blood splashing down.
"Inside?" Its remaining eye trembled on its wing as it shook its head with all its strength.
Inside, Adam strained his arms to endure the tremors as he punched the nerves and bones in his path, causing a river of blood to flow behind him.
Amplified by the skull, the creature's voice clawed at his ears each time he plunged his blade to move forward. He clicked his tongue, genuinely annoyed. Why was it fussing so much? Had he not endured much more than it did? So much for an ancient being...
He sighed as another layer of flesh exploded before his eyes, revealing the creature's brain.
"What is this?" He frowned at the dark energy swirling around the intricate folds and seeping outside. But what drew his attention was the golden sheen hidden underneath. Why was it there? How did the creature generate... divinity? No, there was more to it—as if it converted itself into darkness to protect its core.
"The aureole?" He leapt off the wall of flesh, into the brain cavity as he pondered. Was it an ancient god? He shook his head. It was too weak for that.
'An angel who adapted to the abyss?'
It would make sense since it wanted to regress. But honestly? It didn't matter to him. He'll get more information with the kill notification. So, he raised his blade and smirked.
"Gods or angels, I'll kill you all, anyway."
His blade whistled, his arm blurring in a flurry of lethal slashes. Blood and brain matter melded, a dark tide rising and crashing against his body. But he continued to hack the giant organ, each strike seemingly scarring space itself.
He felt the tremors as the creature dropped to its knees and heard it curse with twice the fervor as if begging for its life was beneath it. And he understood. Mercy didn't exist in the abyss—only survival or death did. And he would be the first to deliver it to this talkative bastard.
As if to match the curses' intensity, he raised his hand overhead. His scarlet blade clanged softly in his grip before he hurled it at maximum power.
"HUMPH."
In an infernal blur, it pierced the brain like paper before a dull sound echoed as it lodged itself in the opposite wall of the skull.
"ARGH!"
He lost his footing as the creature trashed one last time, leaving a final ominous presage.
"Don't think it's over! Even if I'm discarded, you'll meet the real me one day, and trust me, he won't give you a peaceful death!"
Then, silence claimed its rights as he rose to his feet and walked out. As for the warning? He wouldn't mind offering the mysterious real him the same death.
Outside, he checked his notification out of curiosity. After all, it was the first time he had ever seen something like that.
[You have defeated the tier 7 level 88 boss: Eldritch horror born from Baal Peor's discarded body. You have gained 10.000.000 experience points.]
Read exclusive adventures at empire
"Baal?" His eyes narrowed into slits. What was the demon king doing here? No... it had a second name. Same family, or was Baal a title? It was also possible that Baal once lived in the abyss and discarded his body to escape with some drastic spells.
He sighed, not knowing what to think about the information, but just thinking about this bastard and remembering all the troubles he had gone through made him grit his teeth. So, he put the mystery aside for now and swiped to his level-up notification and a third that made him raise a brow.
[Congratulations: You killed fifty bosses with the Chaosbringer, triggering its upgrade!]
Arcane, divine, demonic, and chaotic energies flared from the blade as its appearance shifted slightly. The metallic flames around the guard gathered around the base of the blade, adding sky-blue, green, and dark colors to it. The guard itself shortened as if to adapt to his one-handed style while the engravings pulsed brighter than ever.
Intrigued by the change, he opened its panel to check on the differences before his eyes widened.
Name: Chaosbringer
Rarity: Mythical-??? (upgradable)
Level requirement: 80/100
Stats:
Strength: +20% of base strength
Agility: +20% of base agility
Energy Resistance: +60%
Attributes:
Divine Blade: +50->75% damage to undead, demons, and infernal entities.
Infernal Edge: +50->75% damage to celestial beings, holy wards, and divine creatures.
Chaos Mediator: Grants immunity to energy disruption.
"Twenty percent..." But that was just the tip of the iceberg. "The abilities duration doubled, too."
More importantly, it had reached the traitors' equipment level and could still evolve after he killed a hundred bosses.
"At least you won't betray me." He gazed at the blade, his hand trembling around its grip. "Let's climb to the divine rank together."
Since he was on his interface, he touched the creature's stiff corpse, prompting two new notifications to appear.
[Six thousand units of abyssal essence converted to chaotic, demonic essence.]
[Promotion quest accomplished. Channeling the gods' authority to break the tier barrier.]
The soothing sensation of breaking his shackles overwhelmed his body as he felt his cells tremble and rise to the Demon Duke tier. Enjoying the rare comfort, he switched to his stat panel and distributed his points.
Name: Adam
Race: Draconian Lord
Affinity: chaotic, demonic energy
Talent: A grade (Upgradable): I'm a gamer!
Job: Forsaken Lord
Class: Chaos Druid
LVL: 73->80
Exp: 2.200.000/13.500.000
HP: 99.810/99.810
Vitality: 4.883->9.491 (+490)
Strength: 4.883->9.491 (+1898)(+375)
Agility: 4.883->9.491 (+1898)(+375)
Chaotic demonic essence: 8.700->14.700
Free attribute points: 13.824->0
Items: name change ticket, Parchment of Absolution, city relocation ticket, Chaosbringer, AoE Card, Excalibur's scabbard, Vampire's Predator Long coat, Magical cube, Masamune, Blade of Dawn...
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AN: He was lvl 79 before the fight, so the increase in points is everything he got since his banishment (lvl 73->80).