Chapter 39 - Annihilation!
Her spear pierced through the head of another Chaos monster, ending its life in a single strike. Eve panted, her chest heaving as the exhaustion caught up to her. My stamina is running low... This is bad. She didn't know how many hours had passed since the monsters began swarming the fortress.
A voice called from behind, snapping her out of her thoughts. "Change the front!"
Relief flooded her as she heard the signal. It was time to rotate the front line, allowing those on the current front to rest and recover while fresh fighters took their place. Eve slowly retreated, her steps heavy, making way for others to take over.
But then, something unexpected happened.
"What's going on?" someone near her exclaimed.
The Chaos monsters suddenly froze in place. Their movements slowed, and their bodies began to crumble into dust.
"Is it over?" someone else shouted, hope and disbelief in their voice.
"Yeahhh!" Cheers erupted across the fortress as people began celebrating.
But Eve didn't join in. Her gaze fixed on the system interface—there was no completion notice for the quest.
Her unease deepened as she turned her eyes to the battlefield. What was once a sea of monsters had become a barren plain. Standing amidst the cleared ground, 2 kilometers from the fortress, was Sam. He looked pale, his figure slightly hunched.
Then, Eve's heart dropped as a red rift materialized above Sam's position.
What is that?!
Without hesitation, she started running toward him, her legs moving before her mind could catch up. But Michael grabbed her arm, stopping her in her tracks. "Wait!" he commanded.
Before Eve could respond, the rift vanished, but what appeared in its place made her blood run cold. A monstrous figure emerged near Sam—a humanoid being, grotesque and deformed, with three mouths and eyes on its ears. Its left arm resembled a spear, while its other hand gripped a bone cup.
"What is that?" Eve whispered in horror.
Johnny, standing nearby, turned pale as he stammered, "Everyone, run away! That's... that's a Tier 4 Chaos monster!"
Eve froze, her body trembling as the weight of his words sank in. From the information she had purchased from the system store, she knew exactly what Tier 4 meant—it was on an entirely different level of power, beyond anything they could handle.
Her eyes widened as she saw the monster's spear-like arm pierce through Sam, sending him flying.
"Sam!" she screamed, her instincts screaming at her to rush to her brother's aid.
"Stop!" Michael's voice cut through the chaos as he grabbed her again, his grip firm. "You'll only hold him back!"
Eve's heart twisted painfully as she watched others, too, hesitate, wanting to help but knowing the truth. Michael turned to the group and shouted, "Everyone retreat! Get to the other side of the safe zone. This place isn't safe anymore. Go, now!"
Eve clenched her fists, frustration and helplessness clawing at her insides. She watched as Sam stood against the impossible, his figure growing distant as they retreated. Her resolve hardened, a fire igniting in her chest. I won't stay weak. Not again. Never again.
Sam POV
Sam continued to exchange blows with the monster, their fight dragging on for over an hour. The monster recovered quickly—not as fast as Sam, but enough to keep up a relentless assault. Its energy reserves seemed inexhaustible, and its physical prowess outmatched his in every way. Even in terms of raw energy, it was clear Sam was at a disadvantage.
His Grandmist dimension was already running low, forcing him to rely on his sub-dimension reservoirs. The first sub-dimension reservoir was half-drained, and he had only one other remaining. He couldn't gauge how much energy the monster had left, but he wasn't willing to waste time guessing. The only edge he had was the sheer destructive power of his skills.
BOOMMMMM!!
Another explosive punch sent the monster flying, slamming it into the barrier enclosing the meteorite. For a fleeting moment, Sam considered breaking the barrier and tossing the monster into the void, but he dismissed the idea. He'd already caused enough collateral damage.
The monster recovered swiftly, leaping toward him with supersonic speed. Its spear-like arm drove through his stomach, leaving a gaping wound. Sam gritted his teeth as grey mist poured out, healing the massive injury almost instantly. The cost was steep—another significant chunk of his Grandmist energy was depleted.
Switching to his final sub-dimension reservoir, Sam decided to boost himself temporarily. Imitating the monster's use of dark energy to enhance its body, he fueled his own with Grandmist. His body began glowing with a grey aura, his strength and speed temporarily magnified. But the cost was immense—this boost would drain his energy rapidly, leaving him with only a single chance to strike.
The monster charged again, but this time Sam anticipated its movements. As it lunged, he pivoted and drove a glowing red fist into its chest.
BOOMMM!!
The impact sent the monster staggering backward, but it immediately recovered, vanishing and reappearing behind him in an instant.
It roared, its spear arm piercing through Sam's back again. Gritting his teeth, Sam grabbed the arm protruding from his chest. He'd had enough.
"This ends now!"
Summoning the power of Atomic Fissure, Sam unleashed it point-blank.
BOOOMM!!
The explosion obliterated the monster's spear arm and sent it flying across the battlefield. It landed heavily, its form battered and injured—but far from dead.
The cost of the move was severe. Half of his last energy reservoir had been consumed. Breathing heavily, Sam clenched his fists, his body trembling from exertion. This is bad. I need to use it—no choice now. Just hope it doesn't kill me too.
Sam raised both his arms using his skill Source of all matter, Soon Sam holding a ball of pure water above each hand. To the casual observer, they looked identical, but on the atomic level, they were opposites. The water ball in his right hand was ordinary, composed of regular matter. The one in his left, however, was far from normal—it was anti-water, formed entirely of antimatter. Sam poured every ounce of his energy into isolating the antimatter, commanding it to remain stable and prevent any accidental contact.
The monster, having recovered from its prior injuries, watched Sam with confusion. It sensed no immediate threat from the water balls. With no hesitation, it began stepping forward, intent on ending the fight.
Sam, who had been preparing for this moment, steadied himself. As the monster used its skill to blink directly in front of him, he smirked and shouted, "E=mc², bitch!" Clapping his hands together, he slammed the two water balls into each other.
The reaction was instant and catastrophic. The antimatter collided with the matter, triggering an annihilation event. The combined mass of the two was instantly converted into pure energy, releasing an overwhelming burst of power.
A blinding white light erupted from the collision, swallowing both Sam and the monster in an unrelenting wave of destruction. The sound vanished entirely, replaced by a deafening silence as the massive dome of light expanded outward, disintegrating everything within a 1-kilometer radius.
Across the safe zone, participants felt the ground tremble violently. The world seemed to lose its color, plunging into stark black and white. Moments later, the shockwave arrived. It struck the barrier surrounding the Safe zone, shattering it into pieces. The tavern collapsed under the sheer force, and those caught standing were hurled hundreds of meters away before crashing to the ground. Enhanced humans survived, but many were left badly injured.
After what felt like an eternity, the light subsided, and sound returned to the world. The sky regained its natural hue. Confused murmurs filled the air: "What just happened?" "Did someone detonate a nuclear bomb?"
And then, the unmistakable Ding! of the system notification rang out, signaling the completion of the quest.
Back on the battlefield, the destruction was absolute. The monster was gone, along with the ground it once stood on now became a wide crater. All that remained was a charred, dust-smoking void.
For a moment, there was nothing. But then, the dust in the air began to swirl, drawn by an unseen force. A faint gray light appeared at the center of the devastation, illuminating the cloud of particles. Slowly, the dust transformed into a pure particle, coalescing into a humanoid shape.
Piece by piece, Sam's body reassembled. Moments later, he stood naked amidst the desolation, his body whole once again. With a deep breath, his eyes snapped open.
Sam immediately activated Cosmic Fabric, and the Silverflare Mantle wove itself seamlessly over his newly reformed body. He took a moment to steady himself, exhaling deeply as he felt the fabric settle. The battle had pushed him to his limits.
"If it weren't for this unique body of mine," Sam muttered, inspecting his hands as faint traces of Grandmist swirled around them, "I'd be dead for sure."
His form, a marvel of Grandmist and reconstructed matter, was the sole reason he had survived. As long as he had even a sliver of Grandmist and particles to work with, he could reform his body. But this… this had been the closest he'd ever come to true annihilation.
The realization hit him like a wave. This wasn't just a battle—it was a warning. The tier 4 chaos being had pushed him to the brink, and it was a stark reminder that even with his strength, he wasn't invincible.
Ding!
You have slain an enemy [Chaos Soldier: Level 369]
[Congratulations! You have reached level 68]
[Congratulations! You have reached level 69]
...…..
[Congratulations! You have reached level 95]
Ding!
[Source of All Matter
Ding!
[Congratulations! You have earned a new title: Slayer of The Elite]
[Slayer of The Elite]: Defeating an Elite being while still being below tier 4 - Increase all stats by 15%
Ding!
[Title upgrade!]
[Tier Breaker]: Signifying the achievement of killing a monster beyond one's current tier - Increase all stats by 10% » 25%
[Ascendant Slayer]: Defeating an enemy 10 levels above your level - Increase all stats by 10.» [Superior Slayer]: Defeating an enemy 300 levels above your level - Increase all stats by 25%.
[Annihilator of Chaos]: You have defeated over 100,000 Chaos Beings in a single battle - Increases all stats by 10% While against Chaos Beings. » [Annihilator of Chaos]: You have defeated over 1,000,000 Chaos Beings in a single battle - Increases all stats by 20% While against Chaos Beings.
Ding!
[Emergency Quest][Complete]
[You have acquired: 2,000,000 Soul Points, 1 Legendary Skill Upgrade Card]
Ding!
[System Challenger Title Activated]
You have received additional quest rewards: 1 Epic Random Box
Ding!
[SOUL RECORD]
Name: Samuel Barlow
Race: Human / Heaven
Class: Unbound Initiate
Title: Lucky Man 9, Early Access, The First of Skill Wleider, Barrier Breaker,…]
Level: 95 [Tier 2][Stats Potency +200%]
[STATUS]
Strength: 50 +15[+320%] » 208
Agility: 50 +15[+320%] » 208
Vitality:50 +15[+320%] » 208
Endurance: 50 +15[+320%] » 208
Intelligence: 50 +15[+320%] » 208
Wisdom: 50 +15[+320%] » 208
Luck: 100 +15[+320%] » 368
Grandmist: 210 +15[+420%] » 945
Undistributed Stats: 222
[SKILLS]: Mental Ruler
[COMMON SKILLS]: language, mathematics, cooking, exercises,….Etc.
[TRAITS]: The Eye of Heaven, Unbound.
[Soul Points]: 12,008,000
Sam's gains from the battle were immense. The sheer magnitude of chaos beings he had defeated, He was now teetering on the edge of Tier 3 Evolution—a milestone he hadn't expected to approach this quickly.
After a quick glance at his system window to check his progress, Sam's lips curved into a faint, satisfied smile. But it didn't last long. His body felt drained, and the dim flickers of Grandmist within him reminded him of how low his reserves had gotten.
"I need to recharge... but first, I need to make sure everyone is okay," Sam muttered, determination replacing his fatigue.
Dragging his depleted energy reserves, Sam set off toward the safe zone. His movements were steady but deliberate, each step driven by a growing concern for his people. The aftermath of the battle still weighed heavily on him, and he couldn't rest until he confirmed their safety.