Alex took his stance, his breath steady as he faced his two opponents.
A battle against a god and his chosen warrior was not something he could take lightly.
He quickly examined their status windows.
[Lorien, Chosen One of the Abyss, Level 2000 (Divine)]
[HP: 50,000,000,000]
[Skills: ???]
As expected, their skills were hidden from him.
This was their domain, the depths of the Abyss, where everything worked in their favor.
Even the system itself refused to grant Alex the advantage of seeing their abilities.
He braced himself and checked the other status window.
[Varyn, God of the Abyss, Level 1000 (Divine+)]
[HP: 100,000,000,000]
One hundred billion health.
Even though Varyn was considered the weakest god of them all, the sheer number alone was terrifying.
It was clear that the moment Alex had crafted the [Abyss Key] and stepped into the [Seventh Layer], Varyn had summoned Lorien to his side.
The god could have fought alone, this was his domain, after all, but why take unnecessary risks?
Instead of being overconfident, he had made the smart choice and called for assistance the moment he could.
Gods weren’t stupid, after all.
‘We attack and overwhelm him slowly,’ Varyn instructed Lorien through telepathy.
‘Alright.’
Their goal wasn’t complicated.
They only needed to kill Alex once.
If they managed that, the Abyss could corrupt his body, turning him into one of its creatures.
From there, they could control him, force him to move against his will.
And if that happened… they would use him to find Kaelios and kill him as well.
Thump! Thump!
Lorien stepped forward, the sound echoing in the vast, dark space.
Alex’s entire body tensed. His grip tightened, his instincts screaming at him to be on high alert.
His vision was still compromised.
He couldn’t see the textures of the Abyss, only golden outlines marking the walls, the objects, and the two figures before him.
Everything else remained lost in the void.
Then, suddenly…
He saw movement.
Not from Lorien.
From Varyn.
But the god didn’t move his entire body, only his hands.
He extended them forward… and then—
Snap!
The sound cut through the silence.
The moment it did, everything shifted.
Alex couldn’t see the finer details of the world around him, but he felt it change.
The Abyss rumbled as reality twisted.
“Let’s fight in a real arena,” Varyn said, his voice smooth, confident.
The hallway behind Alex collapsed, the walls stretching outward, expanding several times over.
And then—
[You have entered the Abyss Arena.]
The space settled.
Alex stood in a massive, open battlefield.
Darkness stretched endlessly in every direction—no objects, no distractions, just an enormous circular arena enclosed by the walls of the Abyss.
And standing across from him…
Lorien and Varyn.
“Is he still blind?” Lorien asked, this time speaking out loud instead of through telepathy.
That was deliberate.
They wanted Alex to hear them.
“I’m not sure,” Varyn admitted with a shrug. “To be safe, act as though he isn’t. Though, I’d be surprised if he could see. I think it was mostly his instincts that allowed him to sense Morgathis.”
“Alright.”
Their auras flared, the sheer pressure alone enough to crush lesser beings.
Alex remained unfazed.
Summoning his undead army or fox spirits was out of the question, they would be corrupted by the Abyss the moment they appeared.
His vision was barely functional, and his spells were nearly useless in this space.
That left him with only a handful of things to rely on:
His [Dragon Bleeding Claws], his [Wings of Destiny], his [Abyss Flames], and his [Destiny Powers].
That was it.
But at least—
“I’m getting rid of him in ONE STRIKE,” Lorien roared as he dashed forward, summoning the [Abyss Scythe] in his hands.
His speed was absurd, the air itself distorting from the sheer force of his movement.
[Destiny Points: 138/150]
But Alex…
Didn’t move.
“I’ll take care of that guy.”
A deep voice echoed from the darkness.
From the shadows, a towering figure emerged.
The Undead King stepped forward.
“What the—?!” Lorien’s eyes widened, but he didn’t stop his charge. “I’LL SIMPLY CUT YOU DOWN TOO, THEN!”
He didn’t care.
If anything, this was better, cutting down the Undead King would only strengthen the Abyss as well.
“YOUR STATS AND LEVELS ARE WEAK!”
[Undead King, Level 1500]
[Rank: Universal]
The Undead King grinned, “People like you never learn, huh?”
Alex’s eyes narrowed.
Universal.
That was the highest possible rank for beings in Universal Descent.
Previously, the Undead King hadn’t been anywhere near that level.
At least, not to Alex’s knowledge.
But now?
He was standing at the peak.
A quick reminder of the ranks ran through Alex’s mind, Elite, Epic, Superior, Legendary, Mythical, Demigod, Divine, Universal.
Universal was the pinnacle.
And in his prime, the Undead King had been one of the strongest beings in existence.
His mere presence had been enough to wipe out entire legions.
The mystery surrounding his fall from power, his eviction from Undead Land, the collapse of his empire, didn’t matter right now.
What mattered was that Alex now had a far stronger ally than before.
The Undead King snapped his fingers.
From the ground, skeletal hands erupted.
“FUTILE!” Lorien snarled, cutting them all down in a single, clean motion.
But—
“Too slow.”
The Undead King chuckled as another skeletal hand grabbed Lorien’s leg.
Before the warrior could react…
SLAM!
The Abyss Chosen was smashed against the ground.
He tried to recover, but he wasn’t allowed to.
SLAM! SLAM! SLAM!
The skeletal hand swung him repeatedly like a ragdoll, slamming him into the arena floor again and again.
Lorien gritted his teeth, his scythe glowing as he prepared to cut himself free of the hold of the hands, but just as he was about to strike.
WHOOOSH!
He was spun around, then flung across the arena, crashing violently into the other side.
“…Maybe don’t attack recklessly?” Varyn sighed, rubbing his chin.
“I know…” Lorien groaned, pushing himself back up.
Meanwhile, Alex turned to face the Undead King.
“I didn’t even have a fraction of my power when you woke me up from my deep sleep,” the Undead King admitted, his grin widening. “But now that I’ve remembered… I’ll manage.”
He finally gave Alex a proper look.
“The name’s Astolf, by the way.”
Alex blinked.
That was the first time he had heard it.
Months had passed since their contract, and until now, the Undead King had never revealed his true name.
This meant he finally trusted Alex enough to share it.
“I can’t defeat the God of the Abyss,” Astolf admitted. “But I can handle his Chosen One.”
Alex nodded. “If you manage to kill him, Varyn loses half his power. Be careful.”
“Got it.”
For the first time, Astolf fully separated from Alex’s shadow, stepping onto the ground.
His skeletal frame loomed nearly four meters tall, a dark cloak wrapped around him.
His aura spread outward, thick and oppressive.
He turned to Lorien.
“I’M YOUR OPPONENT,” Astolf declared.
Lorien cracked his neck.
“I’M GOING TO MURDER YOU.”
“Try me.” Experience tales with My Virtual Library Empire
The moment the words left his mouth, the battle erupted.
[Astolf, The Undead King VS Lorien, Chosen One of the Abyss]
They clashed instantly, neither one wasting a second.
And from what Alex could tell—
Unlike him…
Astolf could actually see in the Abyss.
This was going to be interesting.