20 Collapsing unto Nothing

Folding Space!"

The tentacle, now an inch away from his heart, slowed down.

"Time Lag!"

Two runes lit up together. The space in the tetrahedron started to shake!

The mana sphere in the center began collapsing.

The heat stopped growing. The tentacle had also ceased to inch forward.

'This!'

The collapse of the sphere reminded him of the death of a star.

'Gravity!'

-Mental Fortitude lvl 2 -> 3

A calmness spread through Damien. Despite being on the edge of death, he could think!

'Spacetime...Gravity...relativity!'

Suddenly runes of an empty tetrahedron started to form. The sphere in the center kept becoming denser.

Crack!

The fire enhancement had come to an end. The tentacle regained the silvery surface as it cooled.

With the pressure off him, the mana sphere became smaller and smaller till it was not visible anymore.

As the condensed mana vanished from sight, the empty shell cracked.

Crack!

Blood oozed out of Damien's pores but he did not give way. He did not let fate pass by after toying with him for so long!

"I name you, Death of a Star!"

The newly formed runes lit up and the collapsed mana sphere flew out of the tetrahedron! A small black sphere floated towards the trunk of the monster. The tetrahedrons in Damiens mental place collapsed and he lost consciousness. Whether he could use magic anymore remained a mystery.

Screech!

The monster alerted, had its roots start burrowing the ground. To hell with the angel! It had to save its own life first!

The massive tentacle slashed into the floating sphere but got stuck! Something unbelievable occurred! The tentacle got crushed and sucked in, vanishing into nothing and becoming a part of the sphere. The sphere, like a monster who had its fill, started glowing red.

The monster unfortunately due to its large size could not escape fast enough. Yet the sphere, now dark red, did not explode! As soon as it touched the trunk of the tree-like monster, the monster also collapsed into the sphere and vanished along with it.

All of a sudden, a strange calmness descended upon the place that betrayed the intense battle that happened moments ago.

Time passed by and the sun rose yet again to illuminate the meadows. Damien groaned as he opened his eyes. His entire body was burning in pain. As long as he moved even a finger, the entire muscular system related to that movement throbbed ceaselessly.

-New Category: Unread Notifications has been enabled.

'How the fuck...Holy shit!'

There were 200 unread messages.

'Wait, messages? There was not a function like that before.'

-System Updating-System upgrading-....

Most of them were about the AI. The last few updates shocked Damien again!

All my subordinates dead!

-The Special Class monster killed them.

"How do you know that?"

-The badges are sprawled across the ground along with broken pieces of equipment.

Damien had somehow gotten himself in a sitting position. Resisting the complaints from his brain, he looked around.

'That is indeed a badge and that is a broken crossbow. Mine is still attached to my left so that can only be...sigh...This monster gave me such a trauma that I am speaking to myself. Even killed my underlings. Even if it was a short while, it was fun.'

A tear rolled across his face.

"Wait is the monster dead?"

-Yes otherwise you would be long dead.

"Maybe I am the one who is dead..."

-Incorrect. The regulated heartbeat implies that you are alive.

"Why is my inner voice so inorganic and...and artificial?"

-I am Angel-192934, not your inner voice.

"When did I have a code number?"

-I am Angel-192934. A mechanical device.

"Wait! AI box!"

-I prefer battle-assistance AI.