The addition of Nicholas and Lacey put a large pressure, and tremendous pain, on the emperor. Lacey's toxic needles had disrupted his mutated cells, plunging him into agony.Using this opportunity, the five warriors tried their best to keep the emperor at bay and to wound him. Their attacks were relentless, and the enemy could do nothing but scream in pain.The emperor was now drenched in black blood, and the wounds on his body were a gruesome sight to behold. Within minutes, his hideous body was severely damaged.Struck with endless rage, the emperor yelled out and shot out beams of black light. The five warriors were sent flying upon impact.Lacey cursed, "Damn it. He mutated."The emperor's skin started splitting, and horrifying-looking tentacles crawled out of the openings. The tentacles had eerie-looking mouths at their ends. "His cells are mutating at an explosive rate. He's transforming into a monster. We don’t have that much time left to defeat him," Nicholas said in a s
The emperor was no longer a person, but a tentacled monster through and through. "War Legate Draco!""Sir!"Adrian, holding a gun, was walking over with Mya next to him. The three youngsters yelled out to him, while Nicholas lay on the floor with one hand over his chest. Lacey, too, seemed to be in a lot of pain based on how much her face was twitching. "You're here, sir!" Remy said."You've all done enough. It's my turn now." Everyone heaved a sigh of relief when they heard this.Adrian commented, "Good work, everyone." Strider and his team felt overwhelmed upon receiving a compliment from him.Seeing Adrian walking toward him, the emperor said, "It's you. I was going to kill you before, but these people saved you. You dare come back here to meet your doom?"Adrian smiled. "You probably don’t know that someone is here to end your life one thousand and two hundred years in the future. The princess had already stated that you will be laying down your life here today, one a
Since discovering that metal in the basement of St. Elmer's Church. Adrian already had a theory. These textures, more commonly known as runes, worked like a human's circulatory system. Also, the princess wouldn’t have carved a rusty sword onto the tablet. Thus, Adrian used all the knowledge and clues he had to awaken the sword. As the sword turned blood red, the princess' necklace glowed brightly.Finally, the princess sat up and looked toward the distance. Sensing she had woken in a different era, she slowly removed her necklace and said, "Your new master has appeared. Go to him!" The necklace’s gemstone glowed brighter and brighter, seemingly responding to what the princess said. The gem became a green ball of light and flew out the window. Everyone saw it fly through the sky and toward Adrian.After making a few rounds around him, the light entered the rusty sword and revealed a crevice. The sword then seemed to come to life, emitting a golden light so radiant it seemed capabl
The long sword emitted a golden glow, and the giant dragon drew out the sword's endless power. Adrian was now completely surrounded by the golden dragon. The powers he exuded grew stronger by the second. A storm raged across the desert. At the heart of the storm was dense murderous intent.Adrian's body too underwent some changes. Finally, the runes on the sword became much clearer and became capable of suppressing all other powers. The threat it posed stunned all of Novemton."It's so strong!" Sage exclaimed in shock.The other four had also gotten back on their feet and were retreating to a safe distance. Propping up one another, they watched the scene unfold before their eyes. "Impossible! This can't be happening!"The emperor was utterly terrified by the sudden turn of events. His worst-case scenario was now a reality. The scene of Dragonking almost killing him was being reenacted in the present, and this terrified him.'This can't be happening!" he yelled.The emperor mu
Adrian made his move. His sword emitted a golden glow that grew brighter by the second. He, too, slashed down and cut through the sky. The golden light from his attack transformed into a gigantic dragon that flew toward the emperor, and the explosion from the impact destroyed everything around it."We need to get out of here!" Nicholas yelled. As they fled the scene, the shockwave spread across the distance. Nicholas picked Mya up in his arms and hurriedly flew into the distance.The impact of both powers formed a mushroom cloud and triggered an earthquake. The gold dragon roared and bit off one of the emperor's tentacles. The emperor trembled, sensing the tremendous threat this golden power posed."Impossible! I will never lose!" As the emperor screamed, Adrian swung his sword once more. But this time, a giant sword formed from light appeared in the sky. It sliced the sky apart as it fell. "In the name of justice, I sentence you to death," Adrian calmly said. The emperor's
The trio was in horrible shape.Nicholas and Lacey quickly went up to them.Lacey said, "They've lost a lot of blood and their injuries are severe. We have to get them to a hospital now, or they might lose their lives.""Let’s get them out of here," Nicholas said calmly. As they were about to transport the injured together with Mya, they suddenly heard the sound of propellers above them. Two helicopters slowly descended, and two people stepped out of each helicopter. One of them said, "War Legate Dominus sent us here to take the three of them to the hospital."Nicholas said, "Thank you.""No worries, sir. Let's get them on the helicopter now!"The helicopter rose into the air. The trio were laid on the floor of the helicopter, but they could see Adrian on one knee, breathing heavily. The sword in his hand had lost its glow."It's over… We can finally rest now…." Sage heaved a sigh and slowly shut her eyes. ***Nicholas and Lacey stood behind Adrian who was trembling. This
Without turning around, she said, "You're here.""Looks like you knew I’d come," Adrian calmly stated and stopped behind her.He had been extremely curious about the woman ever since he saw the projection a few nights ago. She had predicted everything the whole course of events.The woman did not reply and gazed at the commotion within Enigma City. Adrian walked over and stood next to her, sharing her view as he asked, "What's your name?""Rozi, Abioye Rozi.”Adrian was surprised by the name. There were not many records of Partingia, but the scarce records did mention a particular Angelic Princess. She was a doctor who had cured and saved the Partingians from a plague, leading the people to worship her like an angel from heaven."You must be the Angelic Princess," Adrian said as he gazed at her. Even when he saw her lying in her coffin, he had thought Rozi to be a gorgeous woman. Seeing her standing before him, he got a completely different vibe from her."Did you see that nam
"What do you mean?" Adrian asked in confusion. "I'm not sure of the details either. Even the Gost emperor himself didn’t know how Gostia came to be. It may have been built with a purpose and left behind by a celestial being. When the celestial left, others came to occupy the place and began living here."Adrian was surprised by what he heard. "You’re saying the Gosts weren’t the first people to live in this city?""In a way, yes. This city existed even before Gostia was founded. However, it wasn’t called Enigma City then. It was known as Elysian. A celestial left behind a mysterious magic circle capable of conjuring illusions. Anyone trapped within would have their senses confused.""What do you mean?" Adrian asked. "I mean that everything you've seen from the moment you entered the desert was an illusion, including its citizens.""You're saying Enigma City doesn't actually exist, and it’s all just an illusion?""Correct.” Rozi nodded. "The people here are real and so is every
The Daemon Emperor was startled."What is happening? This power..."Formless energy was surging forward, pressuring his nerves and senses.Below, Andy and the others trembled uncontrollably."Who is it?" Finnian stared into the crimson mist.Even Andy was horrified, his gaze locked on the unfolding scene in disbelief, and asked, "What is this? What exactly is happening?" At this moment, Adrian abruptly opened his eyes.Apparently, the Daemon Emperor had once conspired with Adrian's subordinates to ambush him.However, Adrian had managed to annihilate the traitors and sealed this Daemon Emperor. Now, fate had brought them together again."If I killed you once, I can kill you again." Adrian stood tall, his white robes fluttering in the air.The Daemon Emperor was stunned into silence."This is impossible! You're not that mortal boy!""Is that so? In this life, your end has come, and so has the era of the daemons." Adrian's voice was calm yet resolute. He stretched out his han
Adrian's face hardened at the words. He despised threats above all else. While he understood what the mysterious entity desired, he couldn't yet fully comprehend its implications or find a way to counter it. His only choice was to focus on growing stronger.Within the hot spring, waves of raw, terrifying power surged and crashed violently against Adrian's body.The force, though beneficial, was brutal and overwhelming. Adrian's body struggled to endure, cracking as though it were disintegrating."Arghhh!"A heart-wrenching scream echoed as Adrian's flesh was torn apart and his aura gradually dimmed."Ahhh!"His agonized cries echoed once more. He could no longer withstand the pain.In the distance, a towering figure appeared and sneered. "What's this? Can't take it anymore? Pathetic. Humans are truly the epitome of stupidity."Suddenly, Adrian erupted with an explosive surge of energy, and in that instant, he broke through to the pinnacle of the Void Stage."Hmm? He actually b
At that moment, the crowd was speechless.Adrian had ascended as if it were the easiest thing in the world.Faced with such a sight, no one could say much beyond admiration. Even if the Holy Son claimed Adrian had cheated, many secretly wished they could cheat the same way.Lacking Adrian's means, all they could do was envy him.Finnian chuckled. "Haha! You really caught us all by surprise, kid. Still, I'll count this as you repaying me a favor."For Finnian, the outcome couldn't have been better. With a broad smile, he seemed to have achieved his desired result. Adrian's successful climb was all that mattered to him.Once Adrian had vanished, the focus shifted to the rest of the group and their trials.When Adrian opened his eyes again, his entire body ached, but an oddly comforting sensation flowed through him. Surveying his surroundings, he realized he was now in a pond."Where am I?" he asked.Though uncertain about the place, Adrian knew he had cleared the trial and arriv
The onlookers stared in bewilderment, their faces etched with confusion as they struggled to grasp the unfolding events.Meanwhile, Adrian seethed with barely contained rage. This wasn't his first encounter with such torment. Every few steps he ascended, another trial awaited.To Adrian, the relentless punishments felt suffocating. Yet he pressed on—this was the final stretch of the climb. "Adrian, hang in there!" Andy shouted, urging him to conquer the last step. To Andy, reaching that final step symbolized Adrian's growth. He had witnessed Adrian's remarkable resilience countless times and held unwavering faith in his potential. In Andy's eyes, Adrian was destined for greatness. Adrian's expression turned cold as he locked his gaze on the steps ahead. Determination flickered in his eyes. "If reaching the top guarantees a reward, it doesn't have to be me up there. As long as someone makes it, that's enough." With that, he shifted his focus to the void above and formed
Adrian felt as if every nerve in his body was beyond his control. A deep sense of grievance filled his heart as the divine thunder from the void relentlessly crashed down.Rage surged within him, but under the onslaught of endless forces, he felt weak and constrained.Still, he had no choice but to press forward. He knew victory was within reach if he could endure a little longer—giving up now would mean death.If he fell, the shame and humiliation would crush him.Below, the Holy Son and others waited, eager to see him fail and mock him. This left Adrian no option but to push forward, striving toward the void above and his ultimate goal.The violent forces continued to bombard him from the sky.With every step, the thunder's impact intensified tenfold. His soul, already battered from a fierce battle with a horde of beasts, now felt as though it was dragging his exhausted body forward.Anyone else would likely have succumbed to despair. After all, under such immense pressure, ev
The oppressive forces descending from the void seemed determined to halt Adrian’s ascent up the staircase.Yet he refused to yield. To him, these overwhelming challenges were merely obstacles to conquer.He pressed forward with relentless determination.Thunderbolts continued to rain down, but the ominous red light from before did not return—a relief, as he never wished to endure its crushing weight again.The memory of that light still haunted him, leaving a lingering sense of helplessness. Its suffocating pressure had drained his strength, reducing him to a gasping, powerless state.Despite the toll on his body and mind, Adrian remained singularly focused on reaching the final step. His burning desire for greater power drove him forward, unwavering and resolute.Step by step, he ascended, reaching the 95th step in what felt like an instant.Only five steps remained. His gaze locked onto the summit, and a wild glint lit his eyes. A daring idea sparked within him, consuming his
Adrian pondered his situation, his cold gaze reflecting simmering frustration. Yet deep down, he recognized that whoever had designed the staircase was far from ordinary.Creating such a formidable trial required unimaginable power.Even a pinnacle Void Stage expert—or perhaps someone of the Multiply Stage—might bow in reverence before the ladder's creator."He won't last much longer. The divine lightning in this void is utterly destructive. In moments, he'll be reduced to ashes," sneered the Holy Son, his sharp eyes gleaming with malice.To the Holy Son, Adrian's demise was inevitable. Adrian had dared to offend him, and he was certain such audacity could only lead to death.Adrian caught the Holy Son's words and cast him a frosty glare. His intent to kill was unmistakable, though now wasn't the time.The staircase was no place for personal vendettas—eliminating him here would require careful planning.He also knew the Holy Son carried seals of immense power. A reckless move co
Finnian's sharp gaze reflected a hint of admiration. "Kid, you owe me a big favor this time. You'd better treasure this opportunity."Adrian remained silent, unsure how to respond. His cold eyes revealed no emotion, though he fully grasped the challenges ahead.Fear was a luxury he couldn't afford—he'd come too far to back down now.Suddenly, a streak of red light surged from the void, hurtling toward Adrian with terrifying speed. His eyes widened in shock as the crimson beam struck him, slamming him against the staircase.Caught off guard, Adrian collapsed, sprawled helplessly on the steps.The crowd below watched in astonishment. No one had expected his seemingly indestructible body to be overwhelmed so easily.The Holy Son sneered. "Haha! It seems he's triggered some kind of taboo. Let's see how arrogant he is now!"His voice dripped with schadenfreude, his eyes gleaming with malicious satisfaction as he relished Adrian's struggle.Despite the crushing force, Adrian refused
"What exactly is up there pulling me so strongly?" Adrian's expression hardened as he pondered the mysterious force drawing him upward.A surge of violent energy erupted across the sky, crashing down like a raging storm.Adrian advanced cautiously, each step deliberate and precise.Gone were the reckless strides of before—now he moved with steely determination, fully aware of the lurking dangers.He'd learned that the void's formidable forces seemed to target him directly, compelling him to proceed step by step. Any attempt to bypass its unseen barriers would provoke a devastating strike."Ridiculous," Adrian muttered. "If I've chosen to climb, nothing will stop me."The void's relentless power intensified.Bolts of thunder hammered down mercilessly, battering Adrian's body. Yet fear never crossed his mind.What was there to be afraid of?To him, the divine thunder wasn't an obstacle—it was a crucible, a tool to temper his body and strengthen his resolve.Despite the storm, A