Ch 37: Hope is faint [pt2]

Once that glow settled down, King Saar no longer looked like a human. He looked like a cross between a demon and a human. He had bat-like wings with stretched skin and grey patches. He was the embodiment of a devil right now.

There were also those blood-filled eyes of his that would make anyone flinch if they stared at him for too long.

“Ah, it has been a long time since I was forced to use this form. I had forgotten how it felt when power coursed through my body. And now, you will bear the burden of my power. Get ready to feel it.”

Alex held himself at ready as he tried to counter the king. But no matter how fast he moved, the king was faster and more powerful than him.

“You should give up now. There is nothing you can achieve by going against me.”

The king boasted but Alex knew that it was not the truth. He just needed to nick the king a little bit and he would be able to gain equal power for a little while.

So, Alex continued to dodge and attack the king at the smallest opportunity.

King Saar looked bored at first after parring a few of Alex’s attacks. But it was evident that Alex was getting better as the fight dragged on longer and longer.

That made King Saar impatient and restless. Even if he knew that the kid in front of him was powerless to defeat him, it felt weird to see him acting so rashly and coming at King Saar like this.

Having been in the tower for long enough, King Saar knew that all kinds of ridiculous skills existed. What if this kid had one such skill and was just biding his time before attacking King Saar?

That would put King Saar in an awkward position and he would be forced to fight a losing fight. But the kid was out of luck since his opponent was none other than King Saar.

His plan had been seen through and King Saar would make sure that this plan would never see the light of the next day. So, to fulfil his purpose of killing the kid and sacrificing his body to Plutus, King Saar finally made a reckless move.

He allowed the kid’s sword to nick his neck a little while he held the kid by his throat and started putting pressure on it.

“It was amusing while it lasted, kid. But now, it is time for you to take your leave.”

The king boasted as he quickly gathered his power and send it toward Alex.

He intended to put an end to Alex going on with the ritual. What he did not know was that he had made a grave mistake.

By allowing Alex to harm him, he had fulfilled the condition for Alex’s skill to activate. And this sudden turn of events was rather miraculous for Alex.

When the dust steeled down, King Saar expected to see Alex’s dead body in front of him. But when he looked down carefully, he could make out a humanoid shape in front of him.

Alex was still standing on his feet and he looked to have encountered no injuries at all.

‘H-How is that possible? No, I should not think like that. This tower has so many secrets that even someone who was born and raised here for thousand years would not know everything about it.’

King Saar was on alert suddenly. He knew that things were about to get tough for him but he still had confidence in himself.

“You! I hope you enjoyed your tyranny until it lasted. Now, it is time for me to serve justice to you.”

Alex raised his sword and King Saar was startled to feel a familiar energy being emitted from the sword in front of him. He shivered as that familiar energy rushed toward him.

But he was able to dodge the attack heading his way. The magic that came at King Saar was just as strong as his own.

“So, how does it feel to confront your power? Do you feel confident now?”

King Saar’s temper boiled as soon as he heard the teasing remarks from the kid in front of him. He had never been this humiliated in his life before.

“Y-You! It is all your fault. How dare you come in here and make a mockery of me and my kingdom. No matter how much power you might have gained, I am the more experienced one.”

King Saar declared before he increased his speed as well as power. Alex was able to counter better now but he still could not hold his own against the King.

His body was already hurt and it could not use all the power he had efficiently. Plus, he had no idea what kind of power he even had.

Alex took the full force of the next few attacks. They scorched his side and his clothes got stuck to his wounds. It hurt like hell but Alex needed to keep on moving.

He attacked back with his attacks, but King Saar was far too fast to hit.

‘I need a wide area attack to finish him off. But I am not sure if it will work or not.’

Using a wide-area attack meant giving up his control and his power over it. But once Alex considered his options, this was the only one which had a chance of winning. He would have to gamble that he had enough power in him.

“Hey king, if you are not afraid of me, then would you allow me to attack you outright? If you survive, then I will give up willingly and become your sacrifice.”

Alex proposed this deal to the King and this was truly a gamble on his part the king did not need to agree to his conditions.

But still, Alex had a feeling that the king would agree to his conditions this time. The king was a curious person as well and he seemed like someone interested in knowing more about Alex.

“Hmm, you propose an interesting deal to me. But tell me why I should consider your words?”

King Saar asked but he had already agreed to them. He had calmed down and was not looking at Alex with a curious look on his face.

Alex took in a deep breath and gathered his energy. This was going to be his last attack anyway and he could not miss. He was going to a large area attack but he could tell that he did not have enough power.

So that was why, he decided to condense his power into a smaller range and poured as much into it as he could.

Once he fired it off, he knew that it would not be effective against the king. He did not have enough power despite being at the same level as the king.

“You idiot. If you are going to save us, then take responsibility until the end.”

Kurina’s voice startled Alex before he felt a hand on his shoulder. Power filled Alex from that point of contact and he could feel his attack suddenly gaining power and intensity.

[Passive skill has been activated. Shadow amidst one has boosted your stats X5 for the next 15 minutes.]

Kurina was not looking at Alex. She looked up and did not take her eyes away from King Saat’s face as the attack headed his way.

Alex could not help but feel envious of Kurina. She had a busted skill that would make anyone want to party with her. Worst of all, she did not seem to be aware of her skill’s power.

King Saar, who had been waiting for the attack intercepted it. He was sure that he would survive this attack without much problem.

That confidence lasted until the attack suddenly gained strength and began to overwhelm him. King Saar was caught by surprise and he flinched.

‘What the hell? Where is all this power coming from? Is this a skill? Did I drag the fight too long?”

King Saar asked as he tried to get away from the beam of light. But the more he tried to run, the more he was not able to. It felt as if he was being shackled in his place.

‘You, who gave your soul to Plutus. You are a good sacrifice for me to have.’

King Saar did not know who said those words to him. He only knew that he was not able to move at all and his power was consuming him from the inside out.

‘T-This is too much. I do not think I can take this anymore.’

In the end, King Saar’s desire was not strong enough and he was devoured by the goddess of lust. The meal was powerful but not fulfilling for her. She needed more if she wanted to achieve her goals.

She looked below her, at her current chosen champion. He was coming along fine and he would soon be ready to join the tower world.

But for now, he had a lot to learn and his true test would begin once he climbed to the second floor. That was where the tower’s influence began and from there on, one could not step back.