Battling The Darth Lord. 2

The Darth Lord hovered in the dark, cold sky like a red star, Trent's Dungeon fading away into simple energy and becoming one with the Paradox, to later seep into newborn indigenes.

"Work smart, Nightingale, not hard!" the Darth Lord boomed, positioning his dual-bladed scythe like Trent does with his lightsaber when unleashing a Dungeon. "[Supreme Art: Negative Upstage]."

'Supreme Art?!' Trent exclaimed in his mind. 'That sure sounds supreme! What the heck is [Negative Upstage]?'

[Supreme Art: Negative Upstage] is a [Supreme Art] Manifestation where the manifester summons a celestial body, typically the moon, to appear in the Paradox sky, modifying its features to suit their battle. This deadly Manifestation functions similarly to a Dungeon but is more versatile and expansive, capable of rapidly altering the battlefield. The moon's surface can transform to create treacherous landscapes, emit destructive energy beams, or manipulate gravity to disorient opponents. The environment continuously adapts to the manifester's will, making it an ever-changing and unpredictable threat to any adversary.

Trent shielded himself with a Mana-forged shield. Seeing the moon for the first time in the Paradox world was frightening, especially as it began to turn red. 'What the heck is this guy doing?!'

"[Negative Upstage: Red]," the Darth Lord's voice boomed with a thick Aetherian accent. The celestial body in the sky transitioned to a red colour, and so did all the snow, casting eerie shadows on the ground next to Trent.

Suddenly, energy beams began to shoot out from the moon above the Darth Lord's head, with Trent as the primary target. Trent squinted and powered his lightsaber with as much energy as he could, extending its length monstrously as he prepared to swing and slice all the beams away.

The beams tore through the snow, scorching the ground, and Trent's mask finally slipped away, revealing his handsome face to the Paradox world for the first time. Trent didn't bother with it anymore. 'I'm a human, so what?'

"She must be so sweet to you, granting you such an astonishing appearance!" The Darth Lord zoomed towards Trent, who struggled with the fluctuating gravity.

Trent brushed his brown hair from his view, trying to stay poised with Essence that wasn't strong enough to counteract the fluctuating gravity Manifestation. He saw the Darth Lord approaching with [Flash Strike] and stretched out a hand to release a burst of energy in response. "Don't tell me that's why you're so worked up?" Trent replied to the Darth Lord's earlier statement.

The Darth Lord bent over the blast Trent released, and the two now shared direct eye contact—no masks, no visors. "No, I'm even glad," the Darth Lord whispered and swung his scythe dangerously at Trent, who found it nearly impossible to evade with the fluctuating gravity, suffering a deadly slash to the side of his handsome face.

The strike, powered with Mana, sent Trent tumbling through the red snow until he came to a stop against a rock. 'Fuck!' he cursed to himself, wiping his bloody cheek even though it was already healing with a burning effect. 'I really need to spend more time cultivating.'

Trent clasped his hands, interlocking his fingers with one above the other, his human eyes set on the Darth Lord who was approaching cinematically, his coat yielding to the wind, his scythe outstretched. 'However, I believe this will do. It will do.'

[Mana channelled!]

"With this channel, I [Summon] Level Three Boss: Hazula!" Trent proclaimed, smirking at the surprised face of the Darth Lord. "Ya didn't know this was possible, huh? Eat it, motherfucker!"

[Summon]ing of a Boss is an art that can only be performed by a survivalist—an aspirant who has successfully slain and enslaved a Dungeon Boss by oneself. This technique is similar to taming and summoning a Beast, but with an added layer of power. The manifester can choose to merge with the body of the Boss, effectively becoming the Boss themselves. This grants them access to the Boss' abilities and attributes, amplifying their own strength and combat prowess exponentially.

From Trent's spine, a dark energy began to evolve like that of a Dungeon, but instead, it grew into a figure that enlarged with every summoning second. The massive, collosal, gigantic form of the Boss Trent had slain, emerged once again, shadowing over him and began to engulf him. Her limbs extended, horns reformed as she towered multiple feet high with her boobs forming once again, dwarfing Trent beneath and coalescing with him.

Trent started to feel like the Boss; he saw the small figure of the Darth Lord glaring up at him. Around him, the entire Darth Society burned, the red moon casting a frightening atmosphere.

"You had slain and enslaved a Level Three Boss like me, and yet a mere indigene proves difficult for you?!" Hazula spat at Trent.

"Shut up. He is no simple indigene," Trent replied, conjuring the Boss's axe and letting it materialize in his massive, igneous hand.

The Darth Lord was stunned, and all he could do was protect himself with his scythe. All his [Negative Upstage] Manifestations were ineffective against Trent as a Boss.

"Next time, acquire a Dungeon," Trent said, swinging the colossal axe through the blood-red atmosphere and delivering a heavy, lethal strike to the Darth Lord's torso.

The Darth Lord was thrown back by the force of the attack, crashing into an ice rock, his chest bleeding severely.

Trent Unsummoned the Boss and landed gracefully on his feet, watching the life drain from the Aetherian's eyes. "It's too bad one can't extract another's Mana core. I would love to have your Manifestations," Trent said, walking toward the male's maimed body, his boots crunching through the snow.

The Darth Lord tried to heal, but the strike from a Boss' weapon was too lethal, and healing was ineffective. He slowly accepted his fate as Trent took his scythe. "My name is Hakemeer Duvan," he managed to say. "And my curse is over."

Trent remained before him until he was certain he was dead, unable to sense his Mana anymore. With that, he took a final look around the Darth Society before grunting and walking to the nearest cliff, where he planned to summon his dragon and ride into the habitable regions of the Paradox.