'My flames, born of a star, aid my sword to cleave the world, to burn even the divine.'
Murmuring the words under his breath, he brought the Unforged Vale down in a powerful, arcing slash, the cry on his lips ringing out over the frozen sea.
"World Sunder!"
The slash tore through the air, rending a rift in space itself as his blade truly cleaved the world.
Beneath him, the ocean split and the frosted waters tore apart, carving a chasm into the frozen expanse he had created.
The vortex he'd hurled earlier still hadn't dispersed, and its energy was drawn into the slash. The power exploded outward in a shockwave that obliterated everything in its path.
All the sea monsters caught in its wake disintegrated into dust as the ice fractured and shattered violently.
"As I thought…"
Evan flapped his wings to keep himself airborne, looking at the devastation he had caused. The heat his sword radiated caused the air around it to shimmer, as if the metal of the blade was just a few degrees away from melting.
"That chant…it's connected to Mesarthim. My flames are always stronger after I say it."
He recalled the first time the line had entered his mind, surfacing like a memory during his battle with Faldo.
At the time, the words had left his lips unconsciously.
After that, it occasionally popped up in his mind when he used Mesarthim and this was the second time Evan was willingly using it.
Evan floated down and created a void step to stand atop, taking a few moments to steady himself. He let his breath slow as he surveyed the aftermath of the attack, with the ocean for a few kilometres around him settling into an eerie calm.
In the distance, he caught sight of Arthur still locked in fierce combat with the Leviathan Crarox, their battle bending space itself with each strike.
A wry smile formed on his face as he turned his gaze towards the stream of Level-Up notifications filling his vision.
"630? Not bad. Was worth the work.
On the flip side, I have to stop using Limit Break and BoD since my body is feeling strained."
Evan spoke to himself as he reached into his inventory and retrieved a juice pack. He raised his mask just enough to take a sip of the potion, savouring the sweet strawberry flavour he'd customized himself.
As the potion's energy seeped into him, he felt his energy regeneration increase, but a sudden notification broke his moment of recovery.
[An 'Unknown Entity' initiates a connection]
"A what now?!"
Evan's eyes widened at the sudden alert, and before he could even think further, the Reincarnated Hero System kicked into high gear, activating its defence mechanisms in response.
|Reincarnated Hero System detects foreign connection. |
|Reincarnated Hero System Authority and Defence Mechanisms activated. |
| Scanning connection for potential threats... No threats detected. |
| Reincarnated Hero System patching connection into secure channel. |
Evan's body tensed, unsure of who—or what—might be trying to contact him, but his system's assurances that there was no immediate danger kept him still.
Another notification flashed into view, this one carrying a hint of curiosity.
[An 'Unknown Entity' is curious as to why there was a delay in their attempts to establish a connection with you.]
[The Unknown Entity places their hand to their chin, pondering which deity you may have allied with to block their initial attempts.]
[Their eyes widen in surprise as they realize that despite having disabled it, you are still receiving indirect messages detailing their actions.]
Evan controlled his expression, but his mind was racing. Just then, another notification appeared, this time carrying the entity's words.
|The unknown entity speaks:|
> "Rogue Hero from the future, you fight well." "I was initially suspicious of you, suspecting you might be a spy from one of our enemies that came from the future with hidden intentions.
Though you may be aware, the Shadow Demons that Alvey Sargon had watching you were not just of his own will, but mine.
They've tracked your every move in this past month—including your recent escapade in that forbidden section of Aramis with those two goddesses. They couldn't see everything, of course, but they observed enough of your actions over this past month for me to come to a conclusion." "It's clear you don't harbour hostile intentions toward Gozon... or, at the very least, not toward the current Gozon." "You've created quite the spectacle.
You even managed to pull in level 700 monsters, Legendries, with that little tornado of yours. And that slash of yours, World Sunder, now that's a skill I haven't seen before.
I'm also curious, Rogue Hero, about the source of this... destruction essence you wield.
Increasing your power threefold with barely any drawback—uncommon, isn't it?
Most skills like that would leave you drained. But you? You seem only to spend the same amount of energy as for any other skill. For the amount of power you gain, that's too small a price.
Or is there some other risk I cannot see? That just makes it even more interesting." "But rest assured, I have no intention of probing into your secrets.
No, I'm merely here to inform you that you're doing excellent work. You may not realize it, but you have the highest kill count of anyone under level 700 in this battle. Impressive." "Look around you. The fleets of scout ships surrounding you...they aren't the primary focus of this attack.
The Leviathan Yedrist may be dead, but he left behind Transcendent Subordinates for his son. And though Arthur is dealing with his son, those Transcendents have assailed the Triton's Ark." "Clearly, you do not need to worry—my boy is handling that." "Now, back to you…"
The Demon King continued, his tone almost conversational.
> "Your flames, ice, and lightning are potent, particularly your flames.
They synergize well with that destructive essence, allowing you to bypass defences, even wounding the souls of your enemies.
But there's a flaw in your approach—you deliver your damage in a single blow. Effective, but lacking a lingering bite.
Against stronger souls, you'll need something more persistent, damage that gnaws away at their strength and keeps them occupied. They'd have to expend energy to protect their souls, leaving them with less to use in battle against you."
The Demon King paused, as though considering his next words carefully.
> "So let me grant you a gift, a blessing, if you will. It'll allow your flames to corrode the souls of your enemies before they burn, giving you the sustained effect you lack.
Corrosion that heralds the burning yet to come." "As long as you fight for Gozon in this time period, you shall have this blessing." <
As the last words faded from his vision, Evan felt a strange warmth seep into him, an unfamiliar energy pulsing through his energy circuits.
[Blessing Received]
Immediately, the system pulled up the details without him having to ask.
| Blessing of Corrosion;
Source: McEnda II, Demon King of Corrosion.
With the Blessing of Corrosion, your elemental abilities are now enhanced, imbuing your flames, ice and lightning with a lingering corrosive effect on your enemies.
Your flames continue to burn independently, persisting until a stronger force extinguishes them or you will them to stop.
The soul-damaging properties of your flames have grown more potent, and your ice attacks now induce a frostbite effect that digs deep into flesh, causing ongoing necrosis.
Enemies suffer damage over time as the corrosion gnaws away at their very essence, long after the initial strike.
Synergy Effect:
1) Corrosive Flames: Flame attacks now linger, causing damage over time that corrodes both physical and spiritual defences.
2) Frostbite of Decay: Ice attacks cause frostbite damage that spreads, deteriorating organic tissue and weakening enemy defences over time.
3) Damage intensity increases with every consecutive hit. |
The first thing Evan thought after reading through this, was that it wasn't as strong as BoD. But after a moment, he chuckled and said it was expected.
'Damage over Time, huh? It's not like I couldn't achieve this effect before. I could, but I needed to continue expending energy.
This, however, removes that drawback. I don't need to expend energy for the DoT effect.'
He guessed it probably either drew in the energy of his target or used ambient energies.
A sigh escaped his lips and he turned his gaze upwards.
'Let's be polite, at least.'
"Thanks for the DoT. Is he even hearing me? Maybe I'd tell his son later…"
Evan muttered the last part as he turned his gaze, looking for a perfect target to test the power and spotting a giant Kraken with tentacles the size of ship masts in the distance.
"Time to see what this blessing can do."
With those thoughts, he launched himself into the air, wings unfurling as he closed the distance between himself and the Kraken.
'First…Ice.'