Alex stood firm, his grip tightening as he faced the colossal being before him.
Even against an immortal entity like the Hatred Demon, an abomination with no visible weakness, he believed victory was possible.
All he needed was [World Cleaver] to begin.
A sharp chime echoed.
[Start!]
The eerie neutrality of this domain unsettled him.
Despite belonging to the Hatred Demon, it strangely abided by structured rules, even presenting a battle panel to announce the start of the fight.
But this sense of fairness did nothing to ease Alex’s unease.
His entire body trembled, not from fear, but from a deep, primal instinct screaming at him.
This was different from every battle before.
This was the end of the line.
A blur of motion.
Slash! Slash! Slash!
The Hatred Demon wasted no time on words.
It lunged, its massive claws cutting through the air in relentless succession.
Each strike carried devastating force, empowered by [Cleave], leaving afterimages in the space they passed through.
Yet, the [Crown of Calamity] responded instantly, its black tendrils surging forth, weaving into thick shields that absorbed the onslaught.
A clash of raw power and unyielding defense began, neither side relenting, locked in what seemed like an endless deadlock.
Then, amid the chaos, the Hatred Demon spoke.
“I want you to know something, child.”
Its voice carried an unsettling calm, contrasting its frenzied attacks.
“In this form, I have unlocked two additional skills.”
A statement meant to break his spirit.
A declaration that Alex hadn’t even witnessed the full extent of its strength.
Alex remained silent.
His lips didn’t move, but his eyes, those cursed, golden eyes, trembled slightly.
Because he knew.
[TRUTH.]
His [Cursed Eyes of Destiny] confirmed it.
The Hatred Demon wasn’t bluffing.
Every word it had spoken since the beginning of this fight had been absolute truth.
“So why not surrender?” the demon continued, the abyss-like hole in its face twisting in something resembling amusement.
“You are already one of the strongest mortals to ever exist.
There is no need for us to oppose one another.”
Alex’s expression darkened.
[Truth.]
Even that, even those words, were true.
The [Crown of Calamity] pulsed against his head, speaking directly to him.
[We can fight forever, but we will eventually lose.
The Hatred Demon will overpower you.]
“Shut up,” Alex growled under his breath, his fists clenched so tightly they trembled.
He locked eyes with the dozens of glowing orbs embedded within the demon’s face, trying to find something, anything, that could prove it was lying.
But there was nothing.
A deep, hollow chuckle rumbled from the demon.
“Well, not that it matters.”
It swung its claws faster, pushing the tendrils back with overwhelming force.
“Once you fall, you will become part of me.”
[Truth!]
Alex’s heart pounded against his chest.
That, that terrified him more than anything else.
What did it mean?
Would the Hatred Demon consume his very being, absorbing his power and surpassing even the gods?
Or worse… would he remain conscious, trapped inside this monster, forced to watch as it destroyed everything he had fought to protect?
No. He wouldn’t allow it. Not now. Not ever.
Fwish! SLASH!
A violent tremor shot through the battlefield as one of the black tendrils, one of the Crown of Calamity’s shields, was torn apart.
Alex’s breath hitched.
That had never happened before.
The tendril reformed almost instantly, but the fact remained, the Hatred Demon had broken through.
“Did you see that, child?”
The demon laughed, its voice laced with cruel amusement.
“Only the strongest survive.”
[Truth!]
“And in this place, the strongest is ME!”
A piercing, nightmarish laughter erupted from the abyss in its face.
It was so deafening that Alex instinctively clutched his ears, his skull throbbing from the sheer force of it.
[TRUTH!]
His mind screamed at him.
His instincts told him there was no path forward, that his strength was insufficient.
So he did the only thing that made sense at that moment.
He closed his eyes.
The world around him didn’t vanish.
He could still hear the brutal slashes of the demon’s claws, still feel the crushing weight of the domain pressing against him.
But he needed to do this.
‘I trust you, Crown.
Don’t let it kill me.’
[We won’t.]
And with that final thought, Alex let go.
The next time he opened his eyes, he was no longer on the battlefield.
He was inside his own mind.
The vast white void stretched before him, but something had changed.
Crimson light, deep, sinister, was spreading across it like a disease, overtaking more space than before.
‘It’s growing faster,’ Alex thought grimly.
‘Too fast.’
He still didn’t know what would happen when the crimson consumed everything, but he had no time to dwell on that.
He was here for one reason.
“ANGEL OF THE BLADE OF DESTINY!”
His voice echoed across the void.
“WHERE ARE YOU?!”
Silence.
His heart pounded.
He had activated [World Cleaver] minutes ago.
By all rights, it should have manifested by now, yet it didn’t, as if something was stopping it from appearing.
But this was terrible news for Alex, for he knew that surviving any longer would be extremely difficult.
Yet right as he thought about that, a glowing panel appeared before him.
[The Hatred in the air is slowing my descent, Master. I will come, but you must endure.]
A rush of relief flooded Alex’s chest.
He could communicate with it.
That meant—
“How long?” he asked.
[I do not know.]
BAM!
Before he could respond, the [Blade of Destiny] materialized before him, its golden radiance shining brilliantly, cutting through the crimson overtaking his mind.
“The blade…” Alex muttered, taking a step closer.
[It is I, Master.]
His eyes widened.
“Wait, you’re the angel?”
[Yes.]
“…Huh.”
So the angel wasn’t some divine entity summoned when needed.
It was the blade itself. The very essence of the skill.
That was… good to know, and Alex vowed to remember that in case he needed that for later.
But that only left one question, and Alex’s expression hardened as he faced the radiant weapon directly.
“Then tell me,” he said, “How do we win this?”
Without [World Cleaver], he had no chance.
It was his only path to victory.
In response, the angel finally manifested, its ethereal form gripping the sword tightly.
[Master,] it said, its voice steady, [You already know the answer.]
Alex’s brows furrowed.
“And that is…?”
The angel smirked.
[Just do what you always used to do until now, you will figure it out on your own.]
Before Alex could demand a clearer answer, the angel thrust the blade forward—
And suddenly, he was ejected from his own mind.
His eyes snapped open, observing his surroundings: the battlefield, the Hatred Demon, the Crown of Calamity’s tendrils, shredded and barely keeping up.
But most importantly… He had seen it.
The angel was coming.
That was all the confirmation he needed.
He still didn’t fully understand what the angel meant.
He didn’t know what he had been doing all this time that he needed to do again.
But it didn’t matter.
The Hatred Demon was right in front of him, and whatever it was, he would do it.
Alex slapped his cheeks, the sting grounding him.
“Alright.”
His voice was steady.
“I’m going for it, Crown.”
[We will protect you.]