The only ability Neo could use in his current condition was the Death skill.
It was a simple skill with no complex underlying mechanism, unlike other Trait skills, and could be activated with a thought.
But it was useless for his current situation.
He could also use his Blessings, however, they were similarly useless to escape Space Lock.
“Where has your bravado disappeared?”
“I—”
Neo was smashed into the wall, and his words were cut short. He gritted his teeth. Normally, a physical attack of such level could never shake his mind.
However, he had currently divided his mind into two parts. One was busy holding back madness and running Happiness to maintain sanity.
The other part was being used as his main consciousness. It was weaker than the other consciousness and could be disrupted.
“Do not worry, vermin. I won’t kill you. I know it would not accomplish anything. And I won’t let you regress either.
“After all, it would take time for one of me to remember the pre-timeline, and there is no knowing what you would do before I remember.
“So, I will ‘end’ you here,” Nyxtharion #56 said.
You damned bastard. Neo used Intent to speak, knowing the dragon would not let him speak physically. It seemed to be intent on insulting Neo the same way Neo had done to him.
“It looks like you know what I am planning to do.”
Neo could swear the dragon smirked. He had seen ‘it’ inside the dragon’s memory.
Infinite Void Prison. A Concept that trapped the target inside an artificial infinite-sized dimension. As it was made from Void, Neo’s abilities would not work if he was trapped inside it.
He would lose access to all and any type of Elementals.
This ability was the reason Elder Dragon Nyxtharion the Evernight could defeat three Protectors alone.
Bitch, why is your main Concept from Void when your title has ‘night’ in it? Use Darkness.
“Your taunts are useless against I. You should stop trying such pathetic attacks.”
Nyxtharion #56 kept smashing Neo into the wall to disrupt him from focusing.
More wall guardian Nyxtharion were coming.
Infinite Void Prison needed three or more wall-type Nyxtharion to come together to be cast.
If not, the Concept of Infinite Void Prison could not be triggered.
“Soon, you will be—”
Fuck. Neo snapped after getting smashed again and again. From here whatever happens is your fault.
“What do you mean—”
Neo stopped holding back the madness and canceled the Concept of Happiness.
Mind-numbing pain drilled through him. He started to see hallucinations. His Intent Senses went haywire.
One moment he was hearing eldritch noises, the next the melody of a siren was soothing him, then the eldritch noises returned.
Nyxtharion #56 roared.
It thrashed around in pain, and its eyes became bloodshot.
The madness was encroaching into the hivemind through their connection with Neo.
It dropped Neo, no longer maintaining sanity.
The dragon punched and spewed flames in random directions. Its clawed hand dug into its forehead, while its tail wrapped around its neck, choking it.
Neo was faring better. He was at least not acting like a rabid animal.
Though, maybe he was not faring ‘better’ either. He could hardly stand straight. He had to actively churn his will to stop himself from harming himself.
Without the protection of Happiness, he felt as if his raw willpower was being tested.
I told… you… it’s your fault…
Neo slowly stood with the support of Obitus.
He was breathing heavily, and his limbs were trembling.
‘Fight.’
‘Ignore the madness.’
‘Ignore the pain.’
‘Kill your enemies.’
‘Devour them.’
Neo repeated the same words to himself like a mantra. He felt if he stopped, he would lose the sight of his goal and become a mad dog like Nyxtharion #56.
Just then, the dragon roared.
Void Elementals condensed around it into countless purple drills.
They shot in all directions randomly.
Neo, barely able to move, was stabbed in the shoulder. Purple veins appeared on the affected area.
His healing Blessing, Springblood, was unable to heal the wound.
[Voidfang Rain (Rank: Stage 2, Mastery: Savant) +0.1%]
More and more of the purple drills fell.
Neo was hit in the arm and torso. His Blessing weakened again.
[Voidfang Rain (Rank: Stage 2, Mastery: Savant) +0.3%]
The copy percentage notifications were nice, but they were dealing serious damage to Neo.
He took deep breaths, trying to ignore the pain and move while being affected by madness.
‘First, I need to stop that bastard from rampaging.’
Neo used the fourth Stage of his Blessing: Hell’s Descent.
While he could not use Judgement, he still had his hell and could summon it in battle.
Giant chains erupted from the ground. They wrapped around the limbs and neck of the dragon.
The dragon resisted the pull.
It roared in mad rage and struck Neo with its tail.
His body was smashed through multiple walls and hit the dimensional barrier.
He kept the chains active throughout everything and managed to make the dragon’s face meet the floor at a speed that cracked its skull.
Another roar came, and Neo felt his eardrums burst.
He stumbled.
Clenching his teeth, he took a moment to stabilize his balance before he returned to the dragon with slow, heavy steps.
The dragon clawed toward Neo, trying to kill him.
The madness had turned it insane. It couldn’t even talk.
Neo raised his sword.
‘If I can defeat it and devour it, I would become strong enough to fight the other wall guardians.’
‘It would make conquering Floor 1 easier—’
Suddenly, Neo felt a strange change in the hivemind.
A terrifying presence surged through the hivemind. It grabbed the madness as if it were an intruding virus and ate it in one gulp.
‘What was that—’
The madness weakened considerably, allowing Nyxtharion #56 to move.
It broke through the chains. Everything happened too fast.
A swift punch struck Neo, followed by powerful purple flames. The other wall guardian Nyxtharion were also able to move.
They swiftly honed in on Neo’s position, intending to finish him before the madness surged again.