With their blades still locked, Balor had no chance to counter as Stormveil exploded out of Leo's body. Violet arcs of energy crackled through the air like lightning, striking the godling head-on and breaking the stalemate. The force sent Balor hurtling backward, slamming him into the wall of his own spire.

  He slid down to the ground, but that didn't put Balor down for long. With a low growl, he wiped a drop of green blood from his face and, with the help of his glaive, rose to his feet.

  "Not bad." He chuckled, his bloodied teeth gleaming in the stormy light. "Not bad at all, mortal, but a trick like that won't work on me again."

  Leo's lips curled into a faint smirk. We will see about that.

  In another burst of Essence, he appeared right before Balor and struck again. The godling didn't falter and defended, either blocking with the handle of his glaive or the gauntlet sitting upon his left hand.

  "Annoying pest," the god hissed, leaning in close and slamming his forehead into Leo's.

  He stumbled back and only had a split second to raise his blades when the glaive came at him, ready to take off his head. The weapons met in a shower of sparks once more, putting them in another stalemate.

  Yet, this time, Balor didn't wait for another discharge of Stormveil to break it. Instead, his left hand released the tight grip over the glaive and flew right at Leo's head.

  Two things happened at once thanks to that action. One, Leo won the battle of strength and pushed back the godling's weapon. And two, with the stalemate broken, his position changed, and thus, the fist coming at him didn't strike him in the head but shoulder.

  The gauntlet collided with his scales, the impact shattering them like brittle glass. The bones hiding beneath followed in their wake.

  Leo winced but pushed through the sudden pain and Blinked away from the godling. His hand instantly went to his damaged shoulder. No blood—just internal damage.

  "Did you feel that mortal?!" Balor taunted in the distance. "I have cultivated my strength for centuries. Do you truly believe you can come here and take what's mine?"

  His lips quirked upward. If Balor wanted to waste time with boasts, he was happy to oblige—his body was already healing.

  "I think I will take my chances," he replied. "I have already killed one of yours. What's a few more?"

  That gave Balor a pause, his confident facade cracking just a bit. "Impossible! You're nothing but a whelp meddling with forces you cannot even begin to comprehend."

  Oh, how wrong you are. Leo held back a snort as his mind went to the various powerful entities he had the pleasure or displeasure of meeting. The Lone Traveler, Nikra, Geron, and even Naz'Tor. Compared to them, godlings were just small specks of dust.

  He tilted his head. "Really now? Does the name Y Ddraig Goch ring a bell?"

  Balor's expression shifted, his brow raising. Then, a deep, mocking laugh erupted from his chest. "That old dragon? Oh, you're good, mortal. You really think that means anything? Ddraig was just a big, stupid, wounded lizard. Even a child could have defeated him… And to think you had me worried for a moment there."

  With that said, the godling launched himself forward. At the same time, the greenish veins all over his body became brighter, and his single open eye began glowing.

  Leo had enough battle experience at this point to know what this meant. His Spectral Fury and Relentless Hunger reactivated instantly as he jumped to the side, hoping to avoid the speeding god.

  It was all for naught.

  Instead of meeting him head-on, Balor stopped a good dozen steps away from Leo and swung his glaive in a wide arc. The blade glowed and water, combined with something more—dark and deadly—spilled onto the battlefield in one huge wave.

  Really? Leo grimaced as Stormveil arose around him, shielding him from the incoming attack. Water, fire, lightning, and whatever that destruction energy was in the beginning? Just how many affinities does this guy have?

  Nonetheless, he didn't get much time to ponder that, as the moment the water pushing against his affinity vanished, he stumbled. The feeling of weakness came out of nowhere, and if it wasn't for the bloodlust supporting him, he might have collapsed.

  What in the…

  "There it is," Balor's voice filled the clearing when their affinities faded. "Do you feel it? Your strength draining from your bones, your energy flickering out like a dying flame? Yes, mortal. Your end draws near."

  Leo scowled even as the godling's words rang true in his head. He could still move and fight after the initial wave of weakness, but if he didn't figure something out soon, he would collapse, drained of strength.

  His gaze darted to the battle raging nearby. Nyx! You feel this too?

  The feline didn't even glance his way as she responded. 'Feel what? I'm doing fine here. Need help?'

  He probably did, but he didn't say it. If Nyx brought that bull with her, the situation would only get worse. No, he had to figure this out on his own. He told the feline as much and silenced their link.

  He didn't hit me with anything now, and my shoulder is almost healed. There must be more to it.

  His thoughts became a whirlwind, his mind racing a hundred miles per hour, trying to come up with a solution. Unfortunately, his time of peace ran out.

  Balor must have noticed his unresponsiveness and pounced. Leo leaned to the side, but the godling followed up with one more swing and then another. His knees buckled when their blades connected, his strength draining even faster from their close proximity.

  This is bad, he thought, pushing more Essence into Bloodmail. That gave him the much-needed boost of strength and allowed him to flash away.

  But one Blink wasn't enough. Leo kept moving, putting as much distance as possible between himself and the godling. With each step, the oppressive drain on his strength lessened until it vanished completely.

  So it's an aura. Not good…

  The obvious way to fight against it would be to use Manifestation. That technique protected him from a lot of weird stuff, so just maybe it would have worked here, too. That was if he could still use it.

  His control over Stormveil might have improved, but Manifestation still eluded him. The technique just didn't want to come out whenever he summoned a piece of his soul outside. All he ever achieved was a thin layer of violet veins covering his body, which didn't do much.

  Maybe Devour could help? That aura is draining me, so what if I drain it back in? Worth a try…

  With Balor already running toward him, Leo put his skills into higher gear and activated Limit Break at one hundred percent of its power. Devour also escaped out of its cage, but without anything to consume, the skill just drifted around in his body, confused.

  That won't do.

  As the aura of decay—as he decided to call it—surrounded him again, he pushed intent into Devour while fueling it with Essence. That didn't accomplish much, but at least now it tried to reach toward the invisible aura and drag the power it consumed back inside.

  Not enough. Leo grimaced as he blocked a slash directed at his side. Spectral Fury's clones came to assist him with each blow, but not even with them could he push Balor back. Not when he had to put most of his focus on the growing problem of getting drained alive.

  What if I… What if I answer with an aura of my own, or at least something similar? He thought, jumping away from another wave of condensed energy sent his way. It could work… maybe… I just need some room to breathe.

  Despite his mounting exhaustion, Leo sacrificed even more Essence to fuel Bloodmail and allowed Limit Break to activate at its full power. Instantly, the onslaught became manageable; each strike was easier to avoid, each block less taxing. Grinning, he initiated the second stage of his plan.

  About a third of the Essence still available to him gathered under his skin, slowly melding into a skill he used quite rarely. Then, before it could finish forming, he filled it with some brand-new intent. Devour also surged forth and joined the formation with the support of the ever-present bloodlust.

  By all means, that should have been enough. He was already trying to combine skills that never worked together before. And yet… in his mind, something was missing, a crucial ingredient he knew the modified skill wouldn't work without.

  Destruction, Consumption, and Corruption… Very well then, go on. Corrupt!

  Tiny specks of Ruination dived into the forming skill, spreading like a virus and corrupting everything in their way. It should have destabilized the ability, but it didn't. In truth, it did quite the opposite and glued all the different parts together, giving birth to something new—something more.

  With bloodlust's soft whisper in his head, Leo released the skill into the world.

  Corrupted Night of Famine.

  Dark smoke speckled with crimson dots erupted from his body, swallowing the nearby area in darkness. Not even Balor was spared as the mist surrounded him, recognizing him as an enemy within its territory.

  Leo breathed a sigh of relief as the effects of Balor's aura faded, replaced by the usual benefits from Moonless Night. Still, that wasn't everything. After all, he just activated a different skill, didn't he?

  Aside from being aware of everything that was happening in his small territory, he also felt the presence of Devour around him. Melded into the mist, the skill consumed all that wasn't useful to him—be it pure Essence, the aura of decay, or even Balor himself.

  Of course, it did that at a pace slower than even a crawl, but the fact remained that Leo was now regaining his strength, not losing it. That said, keeping the new skill active was far from easy. Even now, he could feel his mind and soul struggling to hold it together.

  I gotta make it count.

  Support the author by searching for the original publication of this novel.

  That was the only thought running through his head as he dashed toward the disoriented godling, who was blindly swinging his glaive in every direction. With every second slash, he also released an arc of the same powerful, destructive energy.

  Leo didn't allow that to deter him.

  Thanks to all his enhancing skills still being active, he slipped past Balor's guard and cut him across his chest. The godling hissed, swinging fast to strike down the invisible enemy, but Leo leaned away and delivered another strike to the man's shoulder.

  He was aiming for the neck, but somehow, Balor still managed to turn his body in time. Maybe fighting with only one eye all the time gave him some ability to enhance his perception?

  Doesn't matter, you're dead.

  In a Blink, Leo appeared behind Balor and plunged his blade deep into his back. The charge of Stormveil he had been building up also erupted and spread all over the godling's body like wildfire.

  A scream—raw and primal—tore out of Balor's throat as the violet veins cooked him alive. His flesh slowly turned black, and even the bright greenish blood within his veins lost its luster. The godling was dying, and there was no denying that.

  In the end, you have been just another disa—

  Leo didn't get the chance to finish his thought as lightning descended from the sky and struck the blade still embedded in Balor's body. A silent scream left his mouth as both he and the godling were launched in opposite directions.

  'Leo!'

  He heard the voice in his head but ignored it as he tumbled across the jagged plains, his body screaming in pain. Most of his skills had deactivated, leaving only faint remnants of Bloodmail coursing through his battered form.

  Ow fuck… Leo grimaced while attempting to stand up. His left arm did all it could to support him, but the other? Not so much. Shit…

  His gaze dropped to his unresponsive arm, and he had to fight the urge to turn away when it finally came into view. Now, he understood why he barely felt anything from it.

  Every single scale on the arm, all the way up to the shoulder, was cracked or gone entirely. Dark blood filled almost every remaining surface, and below it, he spotted signs of charred flesh.

  His gaze went lower, to his blade and claws. While the latter seemed mostly all right, aside from some cracks, the same couldn't be said about the former. To put it simply, the extended blade was gone, not retracted but gone, reduced to a broken stub.

  Shit indeed, he thought, quickly summoning an enhanced Bellatoure into his good hand. He gulped it down in one go, feeling some of the ache and pain ebb away. No changes to his other arm, though.

  This might take a while to heal. I nee—

  An explosion rocked the area, forcing him to look toward its source—Nyx, who was still fighting against the flaming bull. That couldn't be good. Balor's death should have killed his creation, too.

  I didn't get a notification. His eyes widened, and he instantly forced his legs to obey and pull him upright. He cast his gaze ahead, searching for the damned godling.

  There!

  Similar to him, Balor stood on two wobbly feet, his previously pale skin now dark and charred. Then, there was the hole in the right side of his chest—wide open and leaking rivers of green blood.

  "So you still breathe," Balor rasped when his lone eye found Leo. His voice was guttural and strained, as if even speaking was a challenge. "Such a shame."

  Leo chuckled darkly as he dragged his feet forward. "I could say the same."

  The godling didn't move, only offered a grim smile. "You almost had me, mortal. I would applaud, but… as you can see, I'm in no condition to do so."

  "Giving up then?" Leo taunted as the distance between them grew shorter with each pained step.

  This got him a weak snort. "No. Not in the slightest. Just know this, you have my respect… Farewell, nameless warrior."

  As the final word left Balor's mouth, his massive sealed eye snapped open. For a fleeting moment, Leo saw an abyss of endless stars gazing back at him.

  And then the attack came.

  A beam of pure white and black energy erupted from the eye. Wider than a car, it destroyed everything on its way toward him. It would have swallowed him whole, too—disintegrated him most likely—but Leo wasn't idle during his walk.

  Before the beam could strike him down, he raised his healthy hand and pointed it at the incoming ray of death.

  "Obliterate."

  Ruination, fueled by every last scrap of Essence in his soul, exploded outward and faced Balor's beam head-on. For a moment there, he feared that maybe his affinity would lose, but he really shouldn't have.

  With only a bit of struggle, Ruination cleaved right through the black and white beam and struck the target on its end.

  Bearer of Divine slain. Life force processed. Awarding experience. Please stand by…

  The light from their techniques faded just as the distant noises of fighting fell silent. Leo smiled and watched as the headless corpse of Balor fell to its knees before collapsing chest-first onto the ground.

  "Farewell indeed," he muttered, leaning against a nearby rock and sitting down. His eyes shifted to his right arm. He willed it to move, but aside from a faint twitch of his fingers, it refused to obey.

  Need to eat some—

  "Leo!" Nyx shouted as she landed next to him. Without even asking for permission, her shadows extended toward him, checking his injuries. "What the hell did you do?! Your arm!"

  A sigh left his mouth. "I'm innocent. Besides, you should see the other guy," he said, motioning toward the corpse in the distance. "Speaking of, can you bring him here?"

  Nyx narrowed her eyes at him but still nodded and sprinted away. It didn't take her long to return with the corpse in her teeth. For some reason, she also had Balor's glaive enveloped in her shadows.

  At his look, she only shrugged and dropped her findings next to him. "Eat," she nudged the corpse.

  "Yes, Mom." He rolled his eyes even as he stabbed Balor and activated Devour. "How was your fight, by the way?"

  Nyx scowled. "Annoying. Nothing I did could hurt it, but it was also way too slow to ever catch me. Bad match-up."

  Leo hummed as more and more of the lingering pain faded from his body. The bleeding in his arm also stopped, though the charred flesh remained for now.

  "At least your guy didn't hit you both with lightning just to save himself."

  Nyx blinked repeatedly. "Is that what happened to your arm?"

  "Pretty much… Turns out, I'm not resistant to lightning despite having an affinity related to it. Figures..."

  "Great way to find out…" Nyx muttered, shooting his pitiful arm a glance. "You will heal, right?"

  "Hopefully," he said, but at the feline's panicked look, he quickly added, "It was worse before, so I wouldn't worry too much. Worst case scenario, I can ask Naz'Tor for something."

  Nyx's ears flattened. "I don't like how reliant we've become on him. I like him, but…"

  Leo nodded. "I know. Trust me, I know, but what can we do? Ignoring him is just asking for trouble. Besides, he knows too much about us at this point."

  "I… You're right," she agreed after a moment. "I… I just think we should branch out once we leave for the Void. If we really want to collect all the System links, we need resources and people who are loyal to us, not Naz'Tor."

  He couldn’t argue with that. Despite his quirks, Naz'Tor was a friend who could hopefully become an important ally in their race for the shards. However, just as Nyx said, they needed more than that. He just couldn't see himself beating the Monarch without any help.

  Leo let out another long sigh. "I will think about it, Nyx. Just… not now." Just then, Balor's corpse turned to dust, and a System notification flashed in front of his eyes. "Uh oh."

  Congratulations! You have reached level 98. Class and Racial attributes have been distributed.

  Good. Two more now.

  Well done, User, you have managed to absorb a Seed of Divinity. Please choose one option to proceed.

  1. Full absorption. Pillar reinforcement.

  2. Extraction and manifestation. Divine crafting.

  3. Sacrifice. Lottery for a random reward.

  For just a tiny second, his eyes strayed to the third option. Then his common sense returned, and he quickly selected the first one. So maybe, just maybe, he could understand what Naz'Tor saw in the gacha mechanic. It definitely was tempting.

  Acknowledged. Assimilation in progress…

  Similar to the last time, Leo doubled over in pain as his soul twisted. It wasn't as bad as he remembered, but the current state of his body wasn't helping at all. At the very least, he didn't need to curl into a ball today.

  Only one more now, he thought, taking in a few deep breaths to calm his racing heart.

  Assimilation successful. Your three pillars have been reinforced by the power of the Divine. As a side effect of the second absorption, you have obtained +25 to all attributes.

  Half as much as last time, but still worth the pain. Thanks System. He waited for a few seconds, then a few more, but nothing happened. Huh. No personal message this time? Well, whatever.

  With that, he summoned the remaining few notifications.

  Devour consumed: +10 Might, +10 Soul.

  I will take that.

  Congratulations! Thanks to combining multiple abilities, your Moonless Night, has evolved.

  Corrupted Night of Famine (Legendary)

  Darkness isn't the only thing that prowls around during the night. Hunger, unending hunger, has now joined the hunt. Beware all who dare to walk under the moonless sky.

  Effects:

  This ability allows you to plunge a limited area into artificial night. Sight and sound are blocked for everyone who isn't the caster. Nighttime bonuses become active inside this ability. Additionally, Corrupted Night of Famine slowly drains Essence in its territory and transfers it to the caster. All living beings are affected.

  So it did upgrade. And to Legendary quality no less. That's two now, Leo mused, dismissing the notification. He just might have to start using this skill more often. It was strong before, but quite situational. Now, if he could find a workaround for its short range, it could become even stronger than Spectral Fury.

  Another project to work on later, he decided, and picked up the massive glaive. Identify.

  Glaive of Eternal Ruin (Unique):

  A weapon wielded by Balor, an ancient leader of the Fomorians. It can be used only by Balor or his kin.

  "So you're useless?" Leo muttered as the weapon grew cold in his grasp. "Maybe Naz'Tor will buy you then."

  Just as he was about to put the glaive inside his soul, a notification stopped him.

  Install item Spark of the Void has detected a possible enhancing ingredient. Will you allow it to consume the Glaive of Eternal Ruin?

  "That's new…" he mumbled, and at Nyx's look, he showed her the notification. "Think I should do it?"

  The feline shrugged. "Your choice. Either it gives you something or remains useless."

  True that. Leo turned back to the weapon. Ah, why the hell not? Go on System.

  Acknowledged…

  At once, the glaive turned into motes of golden light that dove into his chest. Leo winced at first, but after a moment, all he could feel was a constant stream of power entering a certain part of his soul.

  Process finished. Spark of the Void has been upgraded accordingly.

  No name change. So what happened? A quick call to the System had it pulling up the description of his oldest item.

  Install: Spark of the Void (Radiant):

  Created as the result of combining a lower-grade origin item and the influence of an Old One's shard. With each step you make, your connection to the Void grows stronger. Its power, wild and destructive, is waiting for you. Make sure you don't lose your way.

  Limit Break: +15 Might, Vision, and Grace. Grants technique Void: Minor Takeover. The true power of the Void fills your soul.

  Passive: Third Circle - Bring the world to Ruin (82%). Soulbound - Cannot be removed by traditional means.

  Leo furrowed his brow. Was he blind, or did the upgrade change nothing? He reread the description again but found nothing new.

  'You are an idiot,' Nyx grumbled through their link. 'Just look at the percentage of passive.'

  He did just that. "Oh…"

  "Oh indeed," she replied, her voice tinged with exasperation. "It jumped about fifty percent if I remember correctly."

  "You do." He nodded. "I guess that's another thing to keep an eye on. The percentages were going up so slowly that I almost forgot about it."

  "Not almost. You did forget. I remembered."

  "Fine, fine, whatever you say," he grumbled, waving off the description and standing up. "You up for some exploration?"

  Nyx looked at his arm, then back at his face with narrowed eyes. Leo stood his ground and met her glare.

  "Fine." She turned away, rolling her eyes. "But I'm going first."

  He smiled. "Lead the way, then. The big, dark tower is waiting for us. Just think about the loot."

  "Why do I have a bad feeling about this…"

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