Tartarus and Nyxtharion had a mundane talk.
[Shadow Core (Shadow Element Concept): 98.03% → 98.13%]
The memory ended and a new memory appeared.
It same. Tartarus sat on the throne, half of his body covered by shadows. The portion of his body turning into a statue seemed to have increased.
They spoke again about normal things. Like the life on Floor 1. The behavior of monsters.
[Shadow Core (Shadow Element Concept): 98.13% → 98.43%]
The memories kept changing. All of them were normal conversation of Tartarus and Nyxtharion.
[Shadow Core (Shadow Element Concept): 98.43% → 98.56%]
[…(Shadow Element Concept): 98.56% → 98.78%]
[…Element Concept): 98.78% → 98.81%]
[…Concept): 98.81% → 99.35%]
[…99.35% → 99.84%]
The memories ended.
“Did you receive what you wanted, Neo Hargraves?” the dragon questioned.
“I got the most of it, yes,” Neo answered.
After talking to the dragon, Neo looked at the Floor 2 below.
He raised his hand and summoned a Fabled rank monster capable of flight. The eagle-shaped shadow summon had three thin tails, and eight eyes.
It was the size of moon.
Neo sat on top of it. A force of power was summoned by the monster, and it wrapped around Neo, acting like a seatbelt.
[Telekinesis (Rank: Stage 2, Mastery: Expert): +3%]
[…Stage 2, Mastery: Expert): +4%]
[…Expert): +2%]
[…]
[Telekinesis (Rank: Stage 2, Mastery: Expert) total: 100%]
By the time they reached the dimensional barrier over Zone 4, Neo had copied the Telekinesis Spell.
“Seeing it like this, it’s clear that the higher rank I have, and the higher understanding of the element I have upon which the Spell is based, the faster I can copy it.”
Neo broke through the dimensional barrier, and he was greeted by a collapsing world.
It was engulfed in flames, corpses, and weapons.
“Trokota, The Eternal War World,” Neo muttered.
If he could devour the Protector here, his copy percentage of Shadow Core would reach 100%.
But…
“The Protector here is alive, just chained because it was too strong and the Grand Expeditions were not able to kill it.
“And since it’s alive, Tartarus would empower it.”
Just as Neo had spoken, a crack resounded through the world, as if something was freed.
The flames surged, and reached for Neo.
They weren’t normal flames.
They burned the clouds. The dirt. The space between atoms.
And they reached for him.
Neo’s eyes narrowed as the torrent of crimson fire roared toward him. He raised his hand and used Hell’s Descent.
Jet-black chains shot from the air itself, latching onto the fire, trying to seal its path.
But the flames ate them.
The chains melted—no, dissolved. Like they’d never existed.
A thunderclap echoed across the sky.
The warlord of Trokota stepped forward.
“High General Baryon Flamejaw.”
He was clad in molten armor. Each breath he exhaled lit the horizon ablaze. His sword, a jagged slab of burning stone, hummed with titanic energy.
“You’re not from this world,” Flamejaw growled. “You broke into Trokota. Now burn with it.”
He lifted his sword. The world shuddered. Firestorm swept the sky.
Neo vanished.
In the blink of a thought, Neo reappeared above him, Death Sword drawn, powered by Death Sword Firmament.
He was trying to end the battle quickly.
Twelve sword slashes rained down from the heavens, carrying the stillness of death. They fell like judgment.
Flamejaw didn’t flinch. He laughed.
“BURN.”
One sweep of his blade and Neo’s attacks exploded.
The fire surged upward, crashing into Neo like a rising sun.
Neo crossed his arms, a barrier forming—
It melted. The fire slipped through his Adamant Aegis. It licked his skin.
And it burned him. It burned his Eternal.
Neo’s eyes widened.
“What…?” he muttered. “What kind of flame is this?”
A single clash was enough for Neo to realize that Flamejaw was already strengthened by Tartarus.
Flamejaw hurled a pillar of flame.
Neo crashed into the charred plains below, carving a canyon.
He rose. Bleeding, yet Calm.
“O Legion of One Thousand, O Harrows of Pain, O Blight of Sky.
“Come.”
The earth ruptured. One thousand shadow beasts emerged. Each with fangs, blades, and wrath.
Flamejaw snarled.
“You summon filth to face me?”
He raised his sword. Flames rushed forward in a tidal wave, engulfing the army, melting them.
Neo tightened his grip around his sword, and he activated Harmony (Awakened) – the ability of Obitus – for the first time.
Then, he used the healing ability he gained from the Protector of Zone 1.
Green energy shimmered and flowed into the Shadow monsters inside the flames.
The Shadows healed from within the fire.
Their wounds sealed mid-burn. They charged again, climbing Flamejaw like ants over a titan.
Shadows weren’t supposed to heal, not by Holy or Life element this easily. But Harmony (Awakened) allowed Neo to heal beings with Dark-type energies.
It made his army Immortal.
Neo appeared behind him. Sword raised.
Steel met fire. Sparks scattered. Neo and Flamejaw vanished into a blur of movements.
Every clash sent shockwaves that cracked the crust of Trokota.
Flamejaw’s fist caught Neo’s jaw. Neo’s blade slid across his ribs. Fire exploded. Death imploded.
Neo soared back, and raised his hand once more.
Ethereal World-Devouring Roots
From the emptiness beneath, roots tore through the land.
Colossal, spectral, and endless.
They were the unique ability of Protector of Zone 1 that allowed her to suck everything from the otherworlds.
The roots coiled around the flames. They drank the world. They drank the fire.
For the first time, Flamejaw grimaced.
The roots latched onto him. His flames surged, but the roots fed on them.
Neo descended, shadows and red lightning dancing around him.
“Thanks for helping me train with my new abilities.”
He raised his sword, empowered by Death Sword Firmament and the boost of Ethereal World Devouring Roots.
“You can rest now.”
The Grim Reaper’s blade fell.
The sword cleaved through Flamejaw’s fire.
Through his armor.
Through everything.
Silence.
Then, Flamejaw dropped to one knee. His flames dimmed. The ground beneath them fractured, then cracked open in a spiral of dying embers.
At the last moment, clarity returned to his eyes.
He raised his head, and looked at Neo.
The reaper who had come to reap the Sinner’s life.