195. Monster Knight (II)

Zane took a heavy breath.

Rivers of essence gushed into him. Core Monsters had so much to give. It all merged into an ocean with him at the center, soaking in the light….

𝕃𝕖𝕧𝕖𝕝 𝕦𝕡!

𝔼𝕤𝕤𝕖𝕟𝕔𝕖 𝕃𝕖𝕧𝕖𝕝 𝟚𝟘𝟘 -> 𝟚𝟘𝟙

A week ago he would've thought it a wealth of essence. But now he needed far more essence than before. He had to feed his Core. It felt like shoveling fuel into a high-powered furnace.

These Core Monsters felt suddenly weak, watered down to him. This was inferior essence, nothing like his own… it could not sate him. There had been maybe twenty or thirty of the Monsters—it wasn't enough.

He looked around, took in the damage he had wrought. He nodded, satisfied.

All the humans, he was pleased to see, had survived. They looked rather stunned by the whole thing.

Even Zane was a little surprised. He didn't think the world would rip that easily. He wasn't even sure how it happened.

This world seemed to have trouble holding him. Even when he stood nearly at rest—just keeping the engine of his core stoked and churning—the air gave little protests. Micro-tears rippled out around him.

He remembered this was an E-grade planet. He was pretty sure he had outgrown it. He was ready for the next grade up.

He was ready to graduate to the Superdungeon. Eager to.

Everything here felt suddenly kind of breakable.

There was only one thing he wanted to break right now.

He frowned. His jaw clenched.

He turned and looked to a certain distant peak. To the clouds wreathing the tip of it…

"Is that the one?" he asked Eze.

Slowly, Eze nodded.

He grunted. Then—carefully—he scooped Reina up around the waist with one arm, held her tight to him, almost chest-to-chest. She made a little surprised noise before she settled into him and clung on. He always found her surprisingly easy to scoop. She had a small waist but her body curved well to either side of it—she made for pretty secure holding.

He knew she wanted to help, and her healing powers could come in useful. Just in case.

He didn't feel he was going to need it though.

Right now he was still high off the thrill of the fight—off the feeling of untamed power coursing through his limbs, tingling at his fingers. His heart was still thumping strong in his chest. He looked to his hands. In that moment he felt like he could crush anything he put his heart to.

He asked Reina if she felt comfortable—she nodded quickly.

Then he kicked off. Launching for Heaven's Peak.

***

Again he underestimated his power. He meant to make it there in bounds—but one kick shot him up like a rocket. He blasted hundreds of feet in the air, winds shrieking—Reina pressed her face against his chest, closed her eyes, and clung on tight. Strands of her hair fluttered into his face as they flew.

He landed as gently as he could on an in-between mountain, took most of the shock in his legs. And launched off again.

This time he shot through the thick cloud layer. For a few seconds, all he saw was white. He was lost in the fog.

Then he broke through. Felt sunlight on the side of his face, the crisp coldness of the air, brushing down his arms…

And there was Heaven's Peak. Thrusting out of the clouds. It was as grand a mountain as Zane had ever seen, stacked high with dense slabs of snow, of ice, of granite. Proud, a beacon throwing back reams of rising sunlight, shining with a natural majesty—the sort of thing old-timey artists might devote their lifetimes to trying to capture in painting without ever managing it.

There was some mysterious quality to the place that couldn't be described, only felt. Something that trembled the heart, that struck you when you looked at it…

𝕐𝕠𝕦 𝕙𝕒𝕧𝕖 𝕖𝕟𝕥𝕖𝕣𝕖𝕕: 𝔻𝕦𝕟𝕘𝕖𝕠𝕟: ℍ𝕖𝕒𝕧𝕖𝕟'𝕤 ℙ𝕖𝕒𝕜 (???)

He landed a few hundred feet beneath the peak. And let Reina down. It took her a moment to catch her breath. Her heart was going very fast. But when she took a deep breath and looked up again, she'd firmed up. She looked determined. Ready.

Together they marched for the peak.

You have entered:

𝔽𝕚𝕟𝕒𝕝 𝕃𝕒𝕚𝕣

𝔽𝕚𝕣𝕤𝕥 𝕠𝕗 𝔼𝕒𝕣𝕥𝕙'𝕤 𝔾𝕒𝕥𝕖𝕤 𝕥𝕠 𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝔾𝕣𝕒𝕧𝕖𝕪𝕒𝕣𝕕 𝕠𝕗 𝕃𝕠𝕤𝕥 ℝ𝕖𝕒𝕝𝕞𝕤 (???)

𝕋𝕙𝕚𝕤 𝔾𝕒𝕥𝕖 𝕥𝕣𝕒𝕟𝕤𝕡𝕠𝕣𝕥𝕤 𝕪𝕠𝕦 𝕥𝕠 𝕒𝕟 𝕦𝕟𝕤𝕡𝕖𝕔𝕚𝕗𝕚𝕖𝕕 𝕗𝕝𝕠𝕠𝕣 𝕠𝕗 𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝔾𝕣𝕒𝕧𝕖𝕪𝕒𝕣𝕕 𝕠𝕗 𝕃𝕠𝕤𝕥 ℝ𝕖𝕒𝕝𝕞𝕤, 𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝕗𝕚𝕟𝕚𝕤𝕙𝕚𝕟𝕘 𝕕𝕦𝕟𝕘𝕖𝕠𝕟 𝕗𝕠𝕣 𝕒𝕝𝕝 𝕚𝕟𝕥𝕖𝕘𝕣𝕒𝕥𝕖𝕕 𝕡𝕝𝕒𝕟𝕖𝕥𝕤. 𝕎𝕙𝕚𝕔𝕙 𝕗𝕝𝕠𝕠𝕣 𝕪𝕠𝕦 𝕖𝕟𝕥𝕖𝕣 𝕚𝕤 𝕕𝕖𝕥𝕖𝕣𝕞𝕚𝕟𝕖𝕕 𝕓𝕪 𝔽𝕒𝕥𝕖. 𝕎𝕙𝕚𝕔𝕙 𝕗𝕝𝕠𝕠𝕣 𝕪𝕠𝕦 𝕖𝕩𝕚𝕥 𝕝𝕚𝕜𝕖𝕨𝕚𝕤𝕖. 𝔼𝕟𝕥𝕖𝕣 𝕒𝕥 𝕪𝕠𝕦𝕣 𝕠𝕨𝕟 𝕡𝕖𝕣𝕚𝕝.

𝕋𝕙𝕚𝕤 𝔾𝕒𝕥𝕖 𝕒𝕕𝕞𝕚𝕥𝕤 𝕠𝕟𝕖 𝕡𝕒𝕣𝕥𝕪 𝕠𝕟𝕝𝕪. 𝕆𝕥𝕙𝕖𝕣 𝕡𝕒𝕣𝕥𝕚𝕖𝕤 𝕞𝕦𝕤𝕥 𝕖𝕟𝕥𝕖𝕣 𝕥𝕙𝕣𝕠𝕦𝕘𝕙 𝕠𝕥𝕙𝕖𝕣 𝕘𝕒𝕥𝕖𝕤.

Zane paused. Was that the name of the Superdungeon—the Graveyard of Lost Realms? He wasn't sure what to make of the question-mark grading. Reina was frowning at it too. But she was not really in analyze mode. She was too focused on the fight ahead. She did think it didn't sound like a normal dungeon… it almost sounded like they would enter, and exit, through a small chunk of this 'Graveyard'. And the word 'transport' made it sound like a portal to somewhere else to her. The whole thing made it sound like somewhere other than Earth.

They decided to deal with it later.

The closer they got, the more destruction they saw. Scorch marks scattered on the mountainside. Ravines streaming down the mountain, going deep into the crust... It was evidence of Irina's last stand. The Minotaur had exerted such force against her it had not only overpowered her Godbeast Bloodline—with ease. It had shattered the mountain beneath too.

Reina tried not to look at it, though her anxiousness did jump. She tried to just focus on him. On his power, rather than its power. She felt more at ease.

They both shared the same belief. When Zane's power and this Minotaur's came together, it would be Zane coming out on top.

Soon they saw the capstone up ahead. Shattered. They saw reddish light streaming from beyond—the same light they'd seen in the vision, the light going out of the Gate…

They rounded a final bend, circled an outcropping of icy boulders. And stepped up onto the plateau of the peak.

And there. Sitting on the edge of those ancient runed stone stairs. Sharpening the edge of his axe with a stone—an edge blistering with black lightning...

𝔸𝕤𝕥𝕖𝕣𝕚𝕠𝕟 (𝕄𝕠𝕟𝕤𝕥𝕖𝕣 𝕂𝕟𝕚𝕘𝕙𝕥)

𝔼𝕤𝕤𝕖𝕟𝕔𝕖 𝕃𝕖𝕧𝕖𝕝 𝟚𝟝𝟝

The Minotaur was even bigger in person. And the subtle aura it gave off... the fight hadn't even begun and Zane could tell this was no ordinary Monster.

Something about its aura felt very, very old to him. Like a creature out of an ancient myth.

What bothered Reina was that Irina Volkova had gotten so little out of the beast. It had killed her almost entirely with brute strength. They hadn't seen what it was truly capable of—not even its Skills.

And it had to be capable of a lot more than just raw power. It barely looked like it broke a sweat when it killed the World #1…

Zane tried reading it with Sage Mind—getting a deep analysis. And was surprised to find he hit some kind of wall.

It was the first time this had happened.

He could still get a read on its feelings, though.

There was a brooding weight to its calmness, like the calmness of a boulder.

The Minotaur looked up.

It smiled hideously. Its teeth were like tombstones, its eyes dark empty voids.

𝕀 ℍ𝔸𝕍𝔼 𝔹𝔼𝔼ℕ 𝔼𝕏ℙ𝔼ℂ𝕋𝕀ℕ𝔾 𝕐𝕆𝕌. It rumbled. 𝔼𝕍𝔼ℕ 𝔸𝕊 𝕎𝔼 𝔽𝕆𝕌𝔾ℍ𝕋. 𝕀 𝕂ℕ𝔼𝕎. 𝕊ℍ𝔼 𝕎𝔸𝕊 ℕ𝕆𝕋 𝕋ℍ𝔼 𝕆ℕ𝔼 𝕀 𝕎𝔸𝕊 𝕊𝔼ℕ𝕋 𝕋𝕆 𝔼𝕏𝔼ℂ𝕌𝕋𝔼.

Zane stepped slowly closer. Narrowing his eyes at the creature. Feeling it out, getting a better read on it with Sage Mind. Its intents, its feelings…

Once he felt deeper into its aura he saw it was wider than his own, even—though it was much less deep.

Still. This thing's Core was not like those of the Monsters below. Everything about it that they could gather. Its Bloodline. Its Essence. Its Law. It was like a World Ranker compared to a mere mortal.

An Elite among Monsters.

It stood. Drew up to its full height. Ten-odd feet of rippling muscle.

And its Bloodline began to pump through its body. Awakening... its aura began to rise.

𝕋ℍ𝔸𝕋 𝔼𝕏ℙ𝕃𝕆𝕊𝕀𝕆ℕ. 𝕀𝕋 𝕎𝔸𝕊 𝕐𝕆𝕌. 𝕐𝕆𝕌 𝔻𝕀𝕊ℙ𝔸𝕋ℂℍ𝔼𝔻 𝕋ℍ𝔼 𝔾ℝ𝕌ℕ𝕋𝕊.

Zane stayed silent. Tensed. Ready.

It shrugged.

𝕀𝔽 𝕐𝕆𝕌 ℍ𝕆ℙ𝔼 𝕀 𝕎𝕀𝕃𝕃 𝔽𝔸𝕃𝕃 𝕃𝕀𝕂𝔼 𝕋ℍ𝔼𝕐 𝔻𝕀𝔻. 𝕀 𝕄𝕌𝕊𝕋 𝔻𝕀𝕊𝔸ℙℙ𝕆𝕀ℕ𝕋 𝕐𝕆𝕌.

It snorted. Plumes of smoke left its fat nostrils. ℍ𝔸𝕍𝔼 𝕐𝕆𝕌 ℂ𝕆𝕄𝔼 𝕋𝕆 𝔽𝕀𝔾ℍ𝕋 𝕄𝔼 𝕃𝕀𝕋𝕋𝕃𝔼 𝕆ℕ𝔼?

Its eyes were set ablaze—and it let its aura out.

𝔻𝕆 𝕐𝕆𝕌 𝕋ℝ𝕌𝕃𝕐 𝔹𝔼𝕃𝕀𝔼𝕍𝔼… 𝕐𝕆𝕌 ℂ𝔸ℕ 𝕎𝕀ℕ?

It hit Zane like a hot summer wind. Buffeting him with a wide-ranging, fast-moving pressure on him, howling around him…

The Monster bellowed, a sound that trembled the grounds, sent cracks shivering between Zane's feet.

And its aura skyrocketed.

It unleashed the full breadth of its powers for all to see. Towering to the high heavens... A miasma of darkness, of crackling lightning, tainted the air. Stifling. It was an unbridled strength. It was a certain overbearing pride. A primal Bloodlust, a bloodlust that a sea of corpses could never sate... That Core aura told you everything you needed to know about this creature. It laid its soul bare—proudly bare.

No wonder that World Ranker Team had paled. It was easy to be overwhelmed by the sheer force of its spirit.

But Zane Walker was not so easily moved.

His heart did not wither at the sight of it—it sped up, thumped harder. He grew more eager. His Core was like some great lion hearing a rival's roar—and yearning, seething, to respond with its own…

He unleashed his aura. Everything he was. His power. His soul. His will. It all poured out of him.

And it was a sight to behold.

And the two auras surged. Broke against each other, clashing feverishly—rising higher and higher, farther, blowing out against each other—two auras so strong the very fabric of reality struggled to hold them both—it was like seeing two great heavenly bodies side-by-side in the sky…

And then. Just like every other time Zane's aura had gone head-to-head with another—

Zane began to dominate.

It was an eclipse of body and soul. For though that Minotaur had a great deal of power in its aura—it couldn't hold. It lost ground. And soon it could no longer be denied. Its aura covered a great space. It might have shone farther... but in this first duel before the duel, Zane's power burned brighter.

The Minotaur just stared at him. Slobbering a little, choking a little. Its bull's mouth working, like it was chewing on a hard-to-swallow cud.

Then it began to laugh. A staccato grunting sound. It snorted.

𝕊𝕆 𝕋ℍ𝕀𝕊 𝕎𝔸𝕊 ℕ𝕆𝕋 𝔸 𝕎𝔸𝕊𝕋𝔼 𝕆𝔽 𝕄𝕐 𝕋𝕀𝕄𝔼 𝔸𝔽𝕋𝔼ℝ 𝔸𝕃𝕃. 𝔸𝕋 𝔽𝕀ℝ𝕊𝕋 𝕀 𝔹𝔼𝕃𝕀𝔼𝕍𝔼𝔻 𝕀𝕋 𝕎𝔸𝕊 𝔸𝔹𝕊𝕌ℝ𝔻 𝕋𝕆 𝕊𝔼ℕ𝔻 𝕄𝔼! 𝔼𝕍𝔼ℕ 𝔽𝕆ℝ 𝔸ℕ 𝕌ℝ-ℙ𝕃𝔸ℕ𝔼𝕋… 𝔹𝕌𝕋 𝕐𝕆𝕌 𝔸ℝ𝔼 ℕ𝕆 𝕆ℝ𝔻𝕀ℕ𝔸ℝ𝕐 ℕ𝔸𝕋𝕀𝕍𝔼. 𝕎ℍ𝔸𝕋 𝔾ℝ𝔸𝔻𝔼 𝕆𝔽 ℂ𝕆ℝ𝔼 ℍ𝔸𝕍𝔼 𝕐𝕆𝕌 𝔸ℂℍ𝕀𝔼𝕍𝔼𝔻, 𝕐𝕆𝕌ℕ𝔾 𝕆ℕ𝔼? ℍ𝕀𝔾ℍ-ℙ𝔼𝔸𝕂?

Zane stayed silent.

ℝ𝔼𝕄𝔸ℝ𝕂𝔸𝔹𝕃𝔼. ℕ𝕆 𝔹𝔸ℂ𝕂𝕀ℕ𝔾. ℕ𝕆 𝕊𝔼ℂ𝕋. 𝕐𝔼𝕋—𝕐𝕆𝕌 ℍ𝔸𝕍𝔼 𝔸ℂℍ𝕀𝔼𝕍𝔼𝔻 𝔸 ℙ𝔼𝔸𝕂 ℂ𝕆ℝ𝔼 𝕎𝕀𝕋ℍ 𝕋ℍ𝔼 ℙ𝕀𝔻𝔻𝕃𝕀ℕ𝔾 ℝ𝔸𝕎 𝕄𝔸𝕋𝔼ℝ𝕀𝔸𝕃𝕊 𝕆ℕ 𝕋ℍ𝕀𝕊 𝔹𝔸ℂ𝕂𝕎𝔸𝕋𝔼ℝ ℙ𝕃𝔸ℕ𝔼𝕋…

It considered him more closely.

𝕀𝔽 𝕐𝕆𝕌 ℍ𝔸𝔻 𝔹𝔼𝔼ℕ 𝔸𝕃𝕃𝕆𝕎𝔼𝔻 𝕋𝕆 ℝ𝕆𝔸𝕄. 𝔹𝔼𝔼ℕ ℙℝ𝕆ℙ𝔼ℝ𝕃𝕐 ℕ𝕌ℝ𝕋𝕌ℝ𝔼𝔻. 𝕐𝕆𝕌 𝕄𝕀𝔾ℍ𝕋 ℍ𝔸𝕍𝔼 𝔸ℂℍ𝕀𝔼𝕍𝔼𝔻 𝔾ℝ𝔼𝔸𝕋ℕ𝔼𝕊𝕊 𝕀ℕ 𝕋ℍ𝕀𝕊 𝕌ℕ𝕀𝕍𝔼ℝ𝕊𝔼. 𝔸 𝕋ℝ𝕌𝔼 𝕋ℍℝ𝔼𝔸𝕋 𝕋𝕆 𝕄𝕆ℕ𝕊𝕋𝔼ℝ𝕂𝕀ℕ𝔻…

It gave a deep-throated sigh.

𝔹𝕌𝕋 𝕐𝕆𝕌 𝔸ℝ𝔼 𝔽𝔸ℂ𝕀ℕ𝔾 𝕄𝔼. 𝕀 ℍ𝔸𝕍𝔼 𝕃𝕆𝕊𝕋 ℂ𝕆𝕌ℕ𝕋 ℍ𝕆𝕎 𝕄𝔸ℕ𝕐 𝕎𝕆𝕌𝕃𝔻-𝔹𝔼 𝔾ℝ𝔼𝔸𝕋𝕊 𝕀 ℍ𝔸𝕍𝔼 ℂℝ𝕌𝕊ℍ𝔼𝔻 𝔹𝔼𝕋𝕎𝔼𝔼ℕ 𝕄𝕐 𝔽𝕀𝕊𝕋𝕊… 𝕀ℕ 𝕋ℝ𝕌𝕋ℍ. 𝕀 𝔼ℕ𝕁𝕆𝕐 𝕊𝕃𝔸𝕐𝕀ℕ𝔾 𝕋ℍ𝔼 𝔾ℝ𝔼𝔸𝕋 𝕆ℕ𝔼𝕊 𝕋ℍ𝔼 𝕄𝕆𝕊𝕋.

It licked its lips. It was telling the truth. Zane could feel a new eagerness smoldering in that black heart. A hunger.

𝕄𝕐 ℕ𝔸𝕄𝔼 𝕀𝕊 𝔸𝕊𝕋𝔼ℝ𝕀𝕆ℕ 𝕋ℍ𝔼 𝔼𝕏𝔼ℂ𝕌𝕋𝕀𝕆ℕ𝔼ℝ! It boomed. It thumped those two plates of muscle it called a chest. 𝔾𝕌𝔸ℝ𝔻𝕀𝔸ℕ 𝕆𝔽 𝕋ℍ𝔼 𝔽𝕀ℕ𝔸𝕃 𝔾𝔸𝕋𝔼𝕊! 𝕀𝕋 𝕀𝕊 𝕐𝕆𝕌ℝ 𝕆𝕎ℕ 𝔾ℝ𝔼𝔸𝕋 𝕄𝕀𝕊𝔽𝕆ℝ𝕋𝕌ℕ𝔼 𝕋𝕆 𝔽𝔸ℂ𝔼 𝕄𝔼 ℍ𝔼ℝ𝔼. 𝔸𝕋 𝕋ℍ𝔼 𝔹𝔼𝔾𝕀ℕℕ𝕀ℕ𝔾, ℝ𝔸𝕋ℍ𝔼ℝ 𝕋ℍ𝔸ℕ 𝕋ℍ𝔼 𝔼ℕ𝔻…

Its massive fists clenched tight. Its eyes shone blacker and blacker—𝕋ℍ𝔸𝕋 𝕃𝕀𝕋𝕋𝕃𝔼 𝕀ℂ𝔼-𝔾𝕀ℝ𝕃 ℍ𝔸𝔻 𝕋ℍ𝔼 ℍ𝕌𝔹ℝ𝕀𝕊 𝕋𝕆 𝔽𝕀𝔾ℍ𝕋 𝕄𝔼. 𝕐𝔼𝕋 𝕊ℍ𝔼 𝕎𝔸𝕊 ℕ𝕆𝕋 𝔻𝔼𝕊𝔼ℝ𝕍𝕀ℕ𝔾 𝕆𝔽 𝕄𝕐 𝕋ℝ𝕌𝔼 ℙ𝕆𝕎𝔼ℝ. 𝔽𝕆ℝ 𝕐𝕆𝕌…

It stomped a foot. Snorted, like a bull about to charge—𝕀 𝕎𝕀𝕃𝕃 𝔾𝕀𝕍𝔼 𝔼𝕍𝔼ℝ𝕐𝕋ℍ𝕀ℕ𝔾!

Reams of black lightning surged down its body. Blasted through each of its muscles swelling them, pumping them full of essence—and the Monster began to inflate.

At the same time, it set its Bloodline on fire.

The first thing that became clear was just how much Bloodline it had. That Blood might be a lesser grade than Zane's—but the sheer quantity of it… it granted the Monster strange powers.

A ghostly image flickered over its head. A beastly avatar, like what Eze's Bloodline showed. But this one was far denser. Clearer, brighter, and it shone almost corporeal in the Astral Plane—a bigger, nastier version of this Minotaur, red-skinned, with horns sticking out of its mouth, jutting out of its head…

There was a resonance between its soul and Asterion's. An echo of very old souls. As though these were its ancestors, its heritage; it was somehow drawing power from the thousands of Minotaurs that came before it. Linked through history, through fate, by all that seething Blood..

It made the beast bulge even bigger. So big it was straining at the skin. Every last inch of it was packed full of raw, poorly restrained power—so much its body could hardly handle it. It was ready to explode.

It had made no empty boasts. This thing was not even close to being in the same league as those minions Zane had beaten. It could've crushed them all with one hand.

But Zane gave a grunt of his own. Stomped down. And his blood began burning too.

The might of the Titan Rhinoceros erupted through him. Bringing a ferocious power to his own muscles, making his aura explode, his body rage with his new Core essence. And his power towered to meet the Minotaur's once more—

𝔾𝕆𝔻𝔹𝔼𝔸𝕊𝕋 𝔹𝕃𝕆𝕆𝔻𝕃𝕀ℕ𝔼? The Monster Knight was stunned. Then it gave another bellow. A laugh shaking its whole body. 𝕐𝕆𝕌 𝔾ℝ𝕆𝕎 𝕄𝕆ℝ𝔼 𝕀ℕ𝕋ℝ𝕀𝔾𝕌𝕀ℕ𝔾 𝔹𝕐 𝕋ℍ𝔼 𝕊𝔼ℂ𝕆ℕ𝔻, 𝕃𝕀𝕋𝕋𝕃𝔼 𝔼𝔸ℝ𝕋ℍ𝕃𝕀ℕ𝔾. 𝔹𝕌𝕋 𝕐𝕆𝕌 𝔸ℝ𝔼 𝕊𝕀𝕄ℙ𝕃𝕐 𝕋𝕆𝕆 𝕃𝕀𝕋𝕋𝕃𝔼! 𝕋ℍ𝕀𝕊 𝕀𝕊 ℕ𝕆𝕋 𝔼𝕍𝔼ℕ 𝔼ℕ𝕆𝕌𝔾ℍ 𝔹𝕃𝕆𝕆𝔻𝕃𝕀ℕ𝔼 𝔽𝕆ℝ 𝕋ℝ𝕌𝔼 𝕄𝔸ℕ𝕀𝔽𝔼𝕊𝕋𝔸𝕋𝕀𝕆ℕ!

It crouched. All its muscles bunching, coiling, compressing… as though to charge.

𝕐𝕆𝕌 𝕂ℕ𝕆𝕎 ℕ𝕆𝕋ℍ𝕀ℕ𝔾 𝕆𝔽 𝕋ℍ𝔼 𝕊ℂ𝕆ℙ𝔼 𝕆𝔽 𝕋ℍ𝕀𝕊 𝕌ℕ𝕀𝕍𝔼ℝ𝕊𝔼. 𝕋ℍ𝕀𝕊… 𝕀𝕊 𝕎ℍ𝔸𝕋 𝕋ℝ𝕌𝔼 ℙ𝕆𝕎𝔼ℝ 𝔽𝔼𝔼𝕃𝕊 𝕃𝕀𝕂𝔼!

And it came at him like a freight train. Full speed. It kicked off so hard it was like hundreds of tons of dynamite going off at once, shattering the mountain peak, sending a good half of it avalanching down the other side—

Already it was upon him. Axe carving down chock-full of black lightning.

Zane let loose his Primal Roar. His body burned to the limits of its powers. And he threw up his Chain to greet it.

A Chain blazing with Stormfire. Powered by that unyielding, mighty essence at the Core of him.

An intense greed showed then in the Minotaur's eyes. A flaring bloodlust; its mouth curved into a wild ugly smile. It remembered how it had shattered Irina's Chains in one stroke. All it could think was how stupid this human was. It would take a sadistic glee in breaking Zane the exact. Same. Way.

Axe crashed over Chain.

The explosion rocked Heaven's Peak to its very heart. Tore gaping fissures deep into the skies. Gaping the cloud layer, ripping scars into the Heavens themselves, tearing the waning stars from the sky...

The rush of raw power was like nothing Zane had ever felt—an overwhelming blast. Nothing could have prepared him for it. The amount of essence, Law, of sheer force that slammed into him, all at once—it felt like a mountain crumbling on top of him. It did not feel like the kind of power mortal flesh was meant to bear.

He gritted his teeth. Let out a grunt of pure effort—that grunt turned into a roar, louder and louder, as he struggled against what felt like a world of power. There was just one thought burning in his mind.

He refused to go down.

His Chains shuddered. A nearly unstoppable force bore down on them. On him.

But it found in Zane a totally immovable object.

All that power ran straight into him—that freight train crashing through him—and hit an absolute wall.

Zane's body took it all at once. Every muscle on his massive body straining to their maximum—and broke it where it stood.

It was as much a wall of will as a wall of body.

The trouble was it broke him too. And badly.

Pain erupted inside him. So much he didn't even know where to begin. So much of him shattered that instant.

His body was still pumping white-hot, his muscles still screaming with effort… and he'd felt a good chunk of them give out just then. Tear with the brute force of it. His whole mouth was full of hot blood. And so many bones were cracked—an arm, his legs, his ribs—he was surprised he was still upright.

𝕎𝕒𝕣𝕟𝕚𝕟𝕘! ℍ𝕖𝕒𝕝𝕥𝕙 𝕦𝕟𝕕𝕖𝕣 𝟟𝟝%

He didn't understand how it didn't go under 50%. It was damned close.

That power was no joke.

That 50-Level gap. That difference in Bloodline. At some point sheer quantity could still overwhelm quality. It nearly overwhelmed him. He was jumping a full half-grade in power, facing some Elite Monster.

Still Zane had believed that even against this beast, strength for strength, he could take it…

And he was proven right.

Only he paid for it with his body.

The Minotaur peered down at him—all its power run out of it in one big burst. Stopped utterly.

...𝔼ℍ?

It seemed shocked that he was still standing.

Still staring it down with the same fiery intensity.

Distantly he heard Reina cry out, saw a notification pop up—

𝕐𝕠𝕦 𝕙𝕒𝕧𝕖 𝕓𝕖𝕖𝕟 𝕒𝕗𝕗𝕝𝕚𝕔𝕥𝕖𝕕 𝕓𝕪: 𝔹𝕦𝕗𝕗: 𝔼𝕧𝕖𝕣𝕘𝕣𝕠𝕨

ℝ𝕖𝕘𝕖𝕟 +𝟛𝟘%!

𝔻𝕦𝕣𝕒𝕥𝕚𝕠𝕟: 𝟙 𝕞𝕚𝕟𝕦𝕥𝕖

At the same time—

𝕊𝕜𝕚𝕝𝕝 𝔼𝕧𝕠𝕝𝕧𝕖𝕕!

𝕊𝕥𝕠𝕣𝕞𝕗𝕚𝕣𝕖 ℝ𝕖𝕟𝕖𝕨𝕒𝕝 [ℂ𝕠𝕞𝕞𝕠𝕟 (𝔼) -> ℝ𝕒𝕣𝕖 (𝔼)]

And his body exploded. Over and over. In a Chain Combustion. At every broken chunk of him, Stormfire blew up. Exploding healing all over his body—blasting whole cracked bones, rebirthing torn muscle, healing at a shocking speed, twice, thrice, four times what it had been before—and Reina's powers only buffed him.

At the same time his muscles, powered by his Bloodline, his new Core, never stopped burning, building, straining, even within a shattered body—

And now as the Minotaur stood there. Still braced against him—Axe halted on Chain—heaving. Recharging after that mad rush…

This all took mere seconds. Not even enough time for the Minotaur to get over its shock. It was still staring wide-eyed at him like it was expecting him to fall apart at any moment.

No such luck.

He had just taken this beast's hardest, all-out blow.

My turn.

And his body began to surge…

Zane roared. Specks of blood splattered all over its horrified face.

He stomped. Hard. Shoved mightily, feeling every muscle in his body lighting up with a blinding power—

He forced the great beast back. Made that enormous Monster Knight stumble.

ℍ𝕆𝕎 𝔸ℝ𝔼 𝕐𝕆𝕌 𝕊𝕋𝔸ℕ𝔻𝕀ℕ𝔾?! choked Asterion. 𝕐𝕆𝕌 𝕆𝕌𝔾ℍ𝕋 𝕋𝕆 𝔹𝔼 𝔹ℝ𝕆𝕂𝔼ℕ 𝕋𝔼ℕ 𝕋𝕀𝕄𝔼𝕊 𝕆𝕍𝔼ℝ!

It almost did break him. But it could never know that.

Zane's face had never changed. He showed no signs of weakness. That was just who he was. He barely winced, never cried out. If you broke his leg, he would keep running on it without complaint until the bone tore out of his body.

To this Minotaur, then, staring at Zane's stoic face—it seemed like it had barely wounded him.

And all of a sudden this ancient beast was shaken. Even as the momentum in Zane's muscles, building all this time, finally began to assert itself —

"THIS," he bellowed. "IS WHAT TRUE POWER FEELS LIKE."

And he gave the beast everything.