As the enhanced purgatory flames burned through the corrupted curse power, the highly detailed Wolf Head devoured the bits and pieces of the Undead Pharaoh’s Curse that wasn’t corrupted. There wasn’t much neutral curse power, but it was enough to empower the Wolf Curse.
The Cursed Seals, active and inactive, shuddered violently as the curse power surged through the Wolf Curse. It swallowed the Undead Pharaoh’s power, weakening him considerably.
In the meantime, the World Serpent continued paying attention to the Staff of Epos. The World Serpent continued draining the Ancient Artifact, ensuring that the Undead Pharaoh couldn’t access it properly.
As more and more curse power entered the World Serpent, a third Serpent Seal began shimmering. Michael felt a sudden surge of power spread through him, but that didn’t help him feel more alive. He still felt like his body was on the verge of tearing apart. It was a terrifying feeling and much worse than most of the things he’d gone through since his War Rune manifested.
Even Archangel’s Grace was not enough to help him at this point. It was barely enough to keep him alive, with the serpent armor fixating his body parts where they belonged.
Michael swallowed hard, but his expression changed dramatically. He grasped the Aethyr Spear tightly and let his emotions lead him once more. The Undead Pharaoh had to be eliminated right now!
The Wicked Spear Arts’ purple hue washed over Michael. Mots sparkling purple and golden shot in all directions, only for a suctioning force to pull them to the tip of the Aethyr Spear’s blade.
His power surged, and he kicked the ground when he felt that the time was ripe. He lunged forward and shot through the golden Wolf Head, which split up into two large heads to make space for him. The Undead Pharaoh pinpointed Michael and released its Curse in a straight line at him. An eerie beam of greenish-dark power shot toward Michael, who lifted the Aethyr Spear in response.
He was barely fast enough to move and pierce the eerie cursed beam with the Aethyr Spear. The beam and blade tip collided, and the impact force pushed Michael to slow down. The corrupted curse power threatened to flood Michael as the Aethyr Spear managed to split the beam thanks to the WIcked Spear Arts’ tremendous power.
An uncontrollable sensation of greed, the desire to kill, and fulfillment filled Michael to the brim; they joined Michael’s chaos of feelings and enhanced the Wicked Spear Arts. But that was not all. Michael chose to add enhanced purgatory flames to coat the Aethyr Spear while also shrouding the blade’s tip with Qi and several Enhancement Layers.
Michael’s energy was sucked dry near-instantly, but he wasn’t worried in the slightest. His spear burst through the eerie cursed beam, splitting in several parts while burning the corruption left within the curse power. The Undead Pharaoh didn’t expect Michael’s attack to grow this powerful. He also didn’t expect to lose control of the Staff of Epos and that his curse power would be weakened to such an extent.
He underestimated Michael’s Curses…as well as the youth’s power.
Michael burst through the curse beam and appeared before the Undead Pharaoh, his eyes glowing vibrant golden. The last thing the Undead Pharaoh could see was a reflection of his bony skull and the azure flames flickering brightly where his eyes were supposed to be.
A single thought flashed through the Undead Pharaoh’s mind as Michael’s Aethyr Spear thrust forward, its power amplified by the Wicked Spear Arts’ full power, enhanced purgatory flames, Enhancement, Qi, and the Wolf Head’s Extraction.
‘I am not supposed to be alive.’
The Aethyr Blade’s tip pierced cleanly into the center of the Undead Pharaoh’s core.
The Undead Pharaoh could have responded in time, but the thought that flashed through his mind slowed his reaction considerably.
He realized what was happening only after the Aethyr Blade managed to dig deeper into his Core. The Aethyr Spear cut deeper and deeper until thunderous cracking noises resounded through the throne hall.
As the Aethyr Spear cut deeper, Michael felt his power deteriorate. He felt weaker and weaker as the last bits of power left him. His vision grew hazy, and his legs threatened to cave in. His arms trembled violently, and he began wondering whether he would die here or if the Undead Pharaoh would die first.
His attack was working, but it wasn’t like Michael didn’t sustain any injuries. The Wolf Curse and World Serpent noticed Michael’s deteriorating condition and suddenly pushed forward. It looked like they’d been holding back before, only to move forward with more power than before.
More curse power entered the World Serpent and the Wolf Curse, invigorating the Seals engraved deep into Michael’s body, mind, and soul.
‘Are they finally going all out?’ Michael wondered weakly, only to realize that his thoughts were nonsense.
They weren’t even close to going all out. The Wolf Curse couldn’t strain Michael even further by unleashing more of its sealed prowess. It had already drained too much of Micahel. Any more, and Michael would die – not that he was far from succumbing to his wounds and the strain put on his entire being.
The World Serpent could probably use more of its power rather easily. It wasn’t entangled with Michael as closely as the Wolf Curse. If the World Serpent wanted, it could leave Michael’s body entirely, exposing its majestic—and humongous—body to the cosmos.
But was that really what the World Serpent wanted? First, was it necessary for the World Serpent to use more of its power? Would that help Michael grow strong enough to deal with his problems?
Michael didn’t think it would be good if the World Serpent helped him too much. He didn’t want to rely on the World Serpent. It would transform into a crutch, just like relying on his Soultraits. Fortunately, he managed to use the Wicked Spear Arts with most of its power.
He gritted his teeth and pushed the Aethyr Spear deeper into the Undead Pharaoh’s core. Their combined effort and the sudden increase in their attacks’ intensity were enough. Their tactic worked.
The cracks spreading through the Undead Pharaoh’s core spread further and dug deeper. It took one last push to shatter the Undead Core with a thunderous bang.
The Undead Pharaoh was about to be eliminated, but it wasn’t done resisting yet. Bony spikes manifested all around Michael. They rotated around their axis with horrifying velocity and shot toward Michael with tiny explosions as the Undead Pharaoh’s bony body collapsed.
The bony spikes pierced into Michael from everywhere, catching him by surprise. He hoped the serpent armor would be strong enough to block the bony spikes.
He didn’t want to die.
[Consider this a thank you for the additional curse power. This was a tasty feat!] The World Serpent hissed quietly.
Suddenly, the serpent armor grew more resilient as the World Serpent used more of its power to reinforce it. The bony spikes that had managed to pierce the serpent armor before, their tips digging deep into Michael’s body, were suddenly stopped.
A burst of greenish curse power erupted from the serpent armor, crushing the bony spikes.
They were ground to powder before they landed on the ground.
A moment later, Michael finally got the confirmation that the Undead Pharaoh was dead.
A gigantic energy influx flooded Michael.
It was stronger than any energy influx he’d ever received.
Unfortunately, Michael was not in a good condition. The energy influx smashed into him, nearly killing him on the spot.