Fighting the Fallen King (Part 1)

An egoistic and taunting smile shone on the middle-aged man's face as if he looked down on me.

"I can feel an intense aura of death coming from that scythe of yours… fascinating. If I knew humans possessed such an aura, I would have waged war a long time ago."

His words made my brow furrow. What exactly is this thing? And how does he know my race? Is he not human? He looks exactly like one, but huge, like a small giant… I don't understand.

"Enough chit-chat. My scythe is screaming for blood, and blood I shall provide!"

Kinetic Slash!

Darkness Steps!

Space Distortion!

I sent a kinetic slash toward him, slowly building up momentum with my movement abilities as I closed in, slashing my scythe at his neck from behind.

"Hihi!" He laughed in ecstasy, sending a shiver through my soul. His longsword moved, slashing at me from behind, his hand twisting in an uncomfortable position—quick and agile, as if he'd dislocated his shoulder to pull it off. I was forced to back off, unable to complete my slash.

His armor easily rebounded my kinetic slash, and his body instantly shifted, slashing at me at lightning speed in a horizontal arc. Too fast! I dodged using Space Distortion, my body quickly dashing through the air. I need to find an opening. Despite his tall frame and that heavy sword, he moves as if he's wielding a rapier… how?!

Before I could recover, another sword slash came at me. I could only keep dodging with Space Distortion. With my current mana regeneration speed, I could keep dodging forever, but I'd eventually tire. Think, Gaon… think!

We played a game of cat and mouse for a good 20 seconds before I found myself bound in place by a golden chain slowly creeping up my foot. Shit!

Triple Kinetic Shield!

Three shields appeared out of thin air, resting in front of my scythe as I braced myself for his powerful slash.

Crack

A crack split across my Kinetic Shield before it collapsed, sending me hurtling into the air with brutal force.

"Hhak!"

I coughed up blood as my body hit the cold ceiling, the rubies embedded there shattering, raining red shards onto the creature below.

My bones are definitely broken... why am I so weak, did I spend all this time leveling in vain?

"Is that all you've got? Disappointing..." The man in armor rested his longsword on his shoulder, watching as I fell from the ceiling.

"I'm not… done… yet!" I shouted with all the strength I had. My bones and internal injuries were healing at lightning speed; my regeneration was extremely high right now. I knew this fight could last a while, but that was to my advantage—all I needed was more mana.

I should use this ability; it will buy me some breathing room.

-Shadow Blast, Level 1 – The user can send a blast of darkness at the enemy, doing a moderate amount of damage and stealing one-tenth of the enemy's total mana. (100 mana)-

Just before I hit the ground, I twisted mid-air, swinging my scythe to unleash a Shadow Blast at the monster. Darkness erupted with the chilling wails of lost souls as pitch-black spheres of shadow hurtled through the air.

The longsword tried to block my attack, but the spheres danced around it like living shadows, seeping beneath his armor and exploding. Blood splattered across the hall as the man clad in golden armor dropped to one knee, laughing with twisted pleasure and madness.

Wow! I regained 1000 mana… just how big is his mana pool?!

"Yes! Yes! That's what I'm talking about! Show me more of what you're capable of—hurt me more, make me feel alive! Oh, how I've missed this feeling!"

"You're a psycho…!" I spat, disgust twisting in my gut.

The man's body quickly regenerated, each drop of blood reversing its path, flowing back into him as if time itself had rewound.

"I don't even know what that means!" His golden eyes burned with unrestrained malice and insanity.

I blinked, and the next moment, he was only a few steps away, slashing at me. If that sword made contact, I'd be sliced in half.

I tried dodging with Space Distortion, only to find my feet locked again by a golden chain. What the hell is this skill? So annoying! But two can play at this game… Soul Shackle!

Right before his attack reached me, his massive body froze in place for a second, giving me enough time to break the chain with my scythe and use Space Distortion to move away quickly.

"Amazing soul power! No wonder you're so strong. Only a level 6… yet you could rival some kings of my time already..." His voice was chilling, full of grief and anger. "But I'm different; I won't fall again!" He drove his longsword into the ground, shattering the marble into a thousand pieces. I felt my footing slip as the entire ground caved in, the shockwave from his attack twisting my insides in pain.

This will make it harder for me to move… he's too experienced.

"The Prison of Immortal Kings!" he roared as thousands of small golden chains flew from the ground at his feet. They danced in the air like snakes, moving in perfect synchrony.

They were the same chains that had bound my feet earlier, but now they felt far more intimidating. I knew that once he caught me, there would be no escape—those chains could counter my Space Distortion, ignoring its passive ability to phase through objects. Is my level too low? Or is his power designed specifically to capture me? I had to dodge every attack he launched, or I'd die here.

"Let's dance!" he spat, grinning with sadistic pleasure as chains flew toward me, cutting off my escape paths. I pushed my agility to the maximum, using Space Distortion to fly out, only to be met with more chains rushing at me.

Kinetic Shield!

I blocked a portion of the chains with my Kinetic Shield, giving myself room to dodge. I didn't waste time, sending a Wind Slash at him. A powerful gust from my scythe screamed through the air, hitting his right leg. My effort finally paid off, tearing his armor and leaving a small wound.

I was forced to keep using my Kinetic Shield to block larger chunks of the chains. Sixty seconds have passed… almost there.

Dodging left and right, I felt like a mouse evading a cat, but my agile movements made it hard for him to catch me, or was he just playing with me? I wasn't certain. I glanced for a split second at the glowing bodies on the wall, reminded that I couldn't lose. They had protected me, so I had to repay the favor. Or was there more to it? My heart was full of mixed emotions.

"Don't space out in our battle! Am I boring you? How about we increase the pace, huh?!" He laughed angrily, lunging forward, his body hurtling toward me as he swung his sword with both hands. The blade's speed soared, slicing toward my left arm and connecting with brutal impact.

"Aaaaargh! I'll kill you!" I roared, my voice shaking with raw pain and fury, my eyes blazing with murderous intent. It fucking hurts! My arm hit the cold ground, blood gushing uncontrollably from where it once was. I swung my scythe with the arm I still had, slashing at his legs.

Clang!

My scythe hit the tough armor and bounced back. "Die, you freak!" My rage was uncontrollable. I wanted only to kill. My wound quickly closed, but I was left without an arm.

Air Shatter!

A powerful air force slammed into the chains about to shackle me, sending them flying for a brief second.

I used all my strength to jump to his eye level at lightning speed. Soul Shackle! Kinetic Slash! Wind Slash! In my fury, I unleashed a combo of attacks at his face. He froze for a second—that was all I needed. My attacks connected, leaving deep wounds and taking one of his eyes. He retaliated with his fist, and I barely managed to block with a Kinetic Shield, which shattered but softened the impact.

"Hhak!"

I felt my stomach cave in, my body sent flying, slamming into the cold wall. I almost lost consciousness but barely managed to stay on my feet upon landing.

"Nice... I finally injured you well." His face dripped with blood, his eye now a bloody mess. His entire face quickly healed, but his eye socket remained bloody.

"I'll keep this as a reminder not to underestimate you..." he muttered, clutching his bloody eye socket.

"Aaaargh…!" I felt his longsword pierce me; it happened in an instant. I didn't even have time to react. The longsword pinned me against the wall, piercing my abdomen completely.

Fifteen seconds more… please hold on my body, just a bit... longer...!

I felt my consciousness fading.

Suddenly, the man in golden armor fell to his right knee. A mysterious, ethereal light shackled his body, and a system voice sounded aloud, echoing through the entire hall like thunder in my ears.

-LEE GAON, YOU MAY CHOOSE TO KILL ONE OF YOUR TEAMMATES, AND YOU WILL RECEIVE ENOUGH EXPERIENCE TO LEVEL UP... YOUR BODY WILL BE RESTORED, AND YOU WILL BE ABLE TO SURVIVE THIS. THIS IS MY SINCERE OFFER TO YOU. CHOOSE, LIVE, OR DIE?-