XXIII: Extraordinary level.

His movements became slower and slower, but the strength in his cuts never wavered, and his movements in attacking and dodging became more refined, inspired by the techniques of the Belmont Clan that he had begun to master. His will to fight was still there, even when he faltered. This pressure situation was beginning to show its advantages, albeit invisibly.

This metaphorical border in the now did not only have 3 cracks, it had many, it only needed more, one last push... but it seemed that the world did not want to see humans breaking the limits imposed on them, a false step made him stagger, exhaustion had taken its toll and now he was on the ground, watching as several tendrils of shadow were heading towards him.

If Seone could see Ron right now, he would notice a faint smile on the man's face, but for now, he was consumed by sight in front of him, the sight of those menacing tendrils of shadow floating toward him. He wouldn't let himself get caught by a being more annoying than this woman, would he fall here? He hadn't fallen before and he wouldn't fall now.

He died because he had killed himself, without giving this corrupt sun the pleasure of claiming his flesh and soul and turning him into an aberration, then it was a great NOT to be caught by shadows. And the abyss, Seone felt himself, felt his whole being, essence, history, everything he had planned.

He had killed a lot before he came here, maybe not enough by the standards, but what he did wasn't measured by standards, it was more of a journey, the whole way of the fighter is a kind of journey. Seone had already died, Seone killed, Seone fought, and now Seone had to live.

It was ironic that the killer instinct required not senseless killing, but killing with purpose and meaning. Whatever he killed had to be out of necessity, not pleasure, whether for food, survival, or work. What he killed had to return to nature, either as food, processed by mad alchemists, or left as fertilizer and food for scavengers. 

I had to kill to survive, I had to kill to protect, but I also had to experience death up close, and what better way to experience death than to kill myself? 

All of this became a force that broke the first boundary and made Seone's seed, though incomplete, go one step further. It did not become extraordinary because of Seone's requirements, but it had taken a step closer to that level when that boundary was broken.

The killer instinct was unleashed, and with it, the limit of consciousness. Seone understood what it meant to have no limits to his consciousness as if seeing the cosmos in a tremendous hallucinogenic trip.

A burst of crimson vitality burned through his body like a flame, the tendrils shattered by the shockwave released from Seone's body, he slowly rose to his feet, holding his sword in front of him, enchanting it with his energy as it blazed brightly. The world then resonated with Seone's vitality, giving him a second wind.

Seone knew that this would be the only limit he would be able to break this year before he mastered fire bending; his path would never be complete, and he would never be able to unlock the other limits and instincts truly, but this barrier preventing the growth of his vitality, as well as the strength of his body and mind, was removed. 

"Killer instinct... unleashed," his presence changed as Seone whispered those words. While the boundaries were always open, the instincts had to be released at certain times, unless one had reached the extreme instinct, where the other instincts could be open simultaneously and constantly.

The killer instinct caused Seone's mind to fill with unpleasant and terrible thoughts, but his mind was strong and he endured them. His boundless awareness now allowed him to control himself as he fought those tendrils with renewed strength.

"Nothing has changed, little star, you can't accomplish anything," the woman said to Seone as she again dodged Susie, who had kicked her to take advantage of her distraction. 

Seone was silent, his expression turned cold and his eyes constantly on the woman, his senses working at 100%, his mind now able to handle the influx of diverse and chaotic information, which he used to look for an opportunity. 

He didn't know if it was by accident or design, but the woman made an oversight by sending fewer tendrils his way and a few to Ron, causing him to dispose of them much more quickly than usual. His vitality was sufficient now that he could grow until he reached his next limit, and then he concentrated a good amount on his sword.

The flaming aspect of the crimson vitality disappeared as his sword glowed red, all that energy was condensed into his weapon, and although he could attack from a distance, he wanted a direct attack.

Then, with a completely clear mind, he executed the technique he had practiced, he understood how to do it, and although he was inexperienced, he would achieve his goal at this moment. Seone's movement accelerated, leaving behind remnants of himself, and soon he was in front of the woman whose shadow shield had been bombarded by an attack from Jessica using blue. 

"Second Sword: Encircle," all of Seone's vitality condensed even more as he swung his sword towards the woman's body, gently slicing through her body as if there was no obstacle. 

Shadow? Cut. Skin, muscle, bone? Cut. A quick cut, the quickest cut Seone could give, focused solely on getting the perfect cut. 

The woman didn't notice, perhaps because of her dulled senses, but as she felt herself 'fall' she looked back to see the lower half of her body gushing red blood. 

Pain then came over her as she realized what had happened, she tried to look at her killer but Seone made the same cut on her head as if he was executing her. 

Just before Seone decapitated the woman, Marie, John, and Axel were released, their bodies were bruised but there was something different about them, each had their eyes closed as the energy within them pulsed hard. 

The energy of the world had become something else as it poured rapidly into Axel's body, flowing into him in a specific pattern as the tattoo of a bow and arrow appeared on the back of his left hand. 

The mana poured into John's body through his golden eyes, then into his heart, alleviating the side effects of the potentiator he had drunk during the fight.

Marie's draconic aura visually exploded, a golden glow appeared on her body as the dead skin on her face, and possibly her body, disappeared, leaving behind an immaculate white skin, full of softness as well as elasticity. In addition, a small horn had appeared on her head, covered by her hair, indicating her gradual transformation into a dragon, although she was now only a 'snake' in this process.

The moment Marie emitted golden energy, certain creatures on the continent reacted, some with joy, some with fear, but they knew a dragon was growing and soon there would be a new ruler of the sky.

Seone, who had beheaded the woman, looked at Marie strangely, feeling a different attraction to her than usual, and his mind quickly came to an answer. Marie was a 'snake who wanted to be a dragon', very different from his snake, which was related to her future path. 

If Marie wanted to go from snake to dragon, Seone wanted to be a snake capable of becoming a sun, or... capable of devouring it, there wasn't much difference because, in the end, he would become a humanoid star.

,,,

Wow, we all got points for killing that bitch, and they are much more than what we got for killing those shadows, may they rest in peace," said Jessica, then she closed her eyes and put her hands together to dedicate a prayer to the souls freed from that woman's shadows.

After she died, many souls came out of the woman and slowly disappeared, and this image chilled their blood because they could easily see millions of souls leaving, which showed how terrifying that shadowy woman was.

Everyone recovered, this battle made everyone improve tremendously, and even Jessica and Susie had reached the 'extraordinary' level. Jessica, for helping to purify those souls, the cursed energy inside her grew and she was able to understand some things related to the Gojo clan. She could not do the Reverse Cursed Technique yet, but many things were clearer to her.

Susie, because "she had invaded the territory of a powerful demonic creature and defeated it", reflected not only the inhuman nature of that woman but also the cruel and combative nature of demons. The demonic power in Susie had improved, had become purer, and her lineage had also become more powerful, or rather, more of it had been unleashed. His flames had acquired more characteristics than he had to discover. 

Axel had acquired a strange version of the gems from which his cheat came, it was an emblem of a bow in his hand, which made him materialize an energy bow, but it consumed a lot of energy. In addition, he had more archery techniques, as well as physical enhancement and movement, but it was very focused on being an archer, nothing to do with typical cultivation techniques.

Marie had completely shed her skin, and she had yet to explore more of her changes. Still, her eyes had taken on a reptilian nature, her hair had become stronger as if made of metal threads, and her body was more powerful, more durable, and she felt she had much more desire to fight. 

John had more mana now, it was purer and denser, and it flowed much faster. He could absorb mana from the environment much more easily than before, and he had access to many more spells, there were many more than the Final Fantasy game allowed the black mage to learn. It included various disciplines such as white magic, cursed magic, and even rituals. Together with the spells he had learned in this world, he became a powerful mage of the future.

Seone couldn't reach that level, although he didn't lack it, just the missing link. But his vitality could now flow in greater amounts, his being could now grow more, overcoming the stagnation he had suffered before, where his strength had grown, but much, much slower. 

The snake that represented his vitality was now larger and broader, taking on the form of a cobra. Its eyes were more intelligent now, and it seemed to 'feel' Seone's gaze, but it just flowed quietly. 

"I need a break," Seone said, simply lying down on the ground, holding his sword tightly. His mind was swift and free, he needed a rest to adjust to it. 

Besides, unleashing the killer instinct had drained his mental energy quite a bit, and he was a bit nervous about the terrible things his mind had to endure while in that state. Someone with a weak will or limited consciousness would have fallen into a frenzy of madness and indiscriminate killing.

The others also went to rest, knowing that they were already at the end of this dungeon, they wanted to get out of there as soon as possible, although Axel and Seone still had a mission to accomplish at the end of this whole affair.