In that split moment, Izroth felt an overwhelming pressure descend upon him as the world around him became warped.
Everything was flipped upside down, and the earlier voices that were only whispering had transformed into full-blown screams of terror.
A myriad of shadow-like demonic creatures materialized. Each of the creatures had a horrifying appearance as if they were birthed from the very depths of the underworld.
Furthermore, Izroth could no longer see Duke Zareign or his allies. Instead, he was in an entirely different world from the one before. In this world, the fabric of time and space was ruptured, and chaos ruled. The laws of the world did not exist, and everything appeared to be random without a purpose.
Izroth exhaled as he maintained his calm nature as thrust his spear forward without altering its path.
From his point of view, he was striking out at nothing but chaos as the world around him spun without rest. However, in his mind, Izroth knew that these vivid visions of a warped reality were a result of him having accumulated so many Madness stacks.
'Even with my Energy Vision Sense, I am no longer capable of perceiving my surroundings. But that doesn't change anything. My target is right where he's always been. My spear will reach him.'
Even as the space around him seemed to be shattering and falling apart, Izroth remained steady in his actions. He understood that the moment he faltered, the Madness would consume him whole. In the end, he would end up lost to the chaos and at the complete mercy of his enemy.
The Scorched Inferno's Spear in Izroth's hand trembled as a tyrannical energy exploded forth from its tip.
Clink! Crack! Ooooooooooom!
A series of vibrations rang throughout the room and carried with it an unstoppable energy that erased everything that stood in its path.
Phhhhtk!
〈Battle Alert: Your «Madness Stacks» has been reduced to 0.〉
〈Battle Alert: The skill «Reign of the Shattering Void» has been automatically deactivated.〉
〈Battle Alert: The skill «Reign of the Shattering Void» has entered a 1 Hour cooldown phase.〉
Izroth closed his eyes and focused his thoughts as the shrieking screams slowly quieted down before disappearing altogether. At the same time, the Full Mantle around Izroth slowly broke apart and vanished.
The following moment, Izroth opened his eyes as the world around him had returned to normal. There were no more creatures of nightmares, unpredictable chaos, or an inverted world.
What awaited Izroth was the sight of his spear and Duke Zareign.
Zareign had an unusually cold look on his face as his emotionless gaze was locked onto Izroth.
"The Night King's will—it shall be done..." Zareign remarked.
At that moment, the entire room had fallen silent.
The Night Terror Shadow Beasts were no more as the last of few were finished off by Izroth's heavenly field and tenth sword form.
Marquis Varokin had been taken care of by Lances. And Commander Sagarus of Izroth's Great Lightning Army as well as Noir both emerged victorious in their battle against the Nameless Vretis Mind Dolls.
The only opponent that remained standing in the room was Duke Zareign. But everyone present was stunned by the scene at the top of the staircase.
Duke Zareign, a skounae who stepped into the legendary realm, currently had a giant hole drilled through the center of his body. And at the center of that hole was Izroth's Scorched Inferno's Spear!
The translucent black wings on Zareign's back had been blown off by the impact. However, the most frightening aspect was the level of sheer devastation atop the staircase.
Excluding the mysterious corridor, everything from the top of the staircase going back had been obliterated into nothingness!
"I'm afraid you'll have to remain disappointed," Izroth said calmly as he moved his spear to his side.
Bang!
All of a sudden, Zareign fell backward as he lay motionless on the ground and his body started to dissipate into countless particles of energy.
"...That... What the hell just happened...?" Champion uttered to himself with a look of fear and awe in his eyes.
Champion said what was on the mind of everyone present in the room. And he was not the only one confused by the events that had just unfolded.
From nearly everyone else's point of view, all they saw clearly was that Izroth's spear had somehow blown a hole through Duke Zareign.
One moment, Izroth was nearly seventy meters away from Zareign, and the next, the Duke had been defeated. Naturally, this left many members of the 9th Division and 5th Unit confused by what had just transpired.
However, they could not be blamed for their bafflement. It was impossible for any of them to keep up with Izroth's heavenly field, let alone his Compressed Lightning Movement paired with other mobility skills.
Furthermore, Izroth's combination of agility boosts and attack speed increases for his spear-type attacks made it even more unthinkable that his allies could keep track of his actions. It was to the point that, even without having blinked once, it still remained an inconceivable task.
In fact, among all those present, there were only two people who were able to catch the slightest glimpse of Izroth's final spear strike at the end. One of these individuals was, of course, Lances. And the other happened to be none other than Menerva.
Menerva had the skill Vision of Purification active in order to see clearly through the purple hue within the room. Because of this, she was able to vaguely see it—that absurd power that did not belong in the hands of a player.
"The system is supposed to be an impartial entity that enforces fairness above all else. But this... How is it that the system permits him to demonstrate this caliber of strength without penalty?" Menerva contemplated as she discreetly checked the battle logs and her eyes landed on the last two lines of text.
«Critical Hit»
-5,660,577
Over 5,000,000 damage—Menerva did not believe that there was a single player besides Izroth that was currently capable of reaching anywhere even close to that breathtaking number!
Without pause, Menerva quickly used her privileges as one of the party's leads and disabled the ability for everyone to freely view the party battle logs.
"This is for the best," Menerva said to herself as she inwardly sighed.
Menerva did not take such an action in an attempt to hide away's Izroth display of strength. Rather, she determined that if anyone else from the 9th Division ever saw that number, they would lose a great deal of motivation. After all, if the one leading them was able to show that level of power, what purpose would they ever have to give it their all when it truly counts the most?
Not to mention, those in the 9th Division who looked up to Izroth and set him as their goal would find a dark shadow looming in their hearts as Menerva concluded that such a thing was, although she did not like using the word—impossible.
In truth, a part of Menerva could still not comprehend Izroth. In her mind, he was clearly an individual who could not be measured by the standards of common sense. He was someone who could have possibly stormed the Night Lord's Crypt alone and still managed to find a way to survive. That's why she could not understand it from a logical standpoint. A person with that much power at their fingertips—why did they keep anyone by their side? Was it the same as carrying around an unnecessary burden? No matter how much Menerva pondered in an attempt to find a suitable answer, she came up empty-handed. This invoked a feeling that she did not enjoy—oblivion.
As Menerva dwelled deep into her thoughts, Lances kept a straight face as he observed Izroth; however, he could not stop his heart from racing in excitement.
"Genius? No, this isn't something as simple as a genius. This guy—he is a genuine monster. No wonder he seemed to get along so well with the third young master of the Dragon's Palace. This upcoming Lustrum Imperial Bout, at last—the Mortal Realm has a true shot of walking away on top!" Lances thought to himself as he tried his best to control his exhilaration.
For many years now, the Mortal Realm performed less than ideal when it came to the Lustrum Imperial Bout, a rare competition that happened every five years between the realms. Those who won the Lustrum Imperial Bout gained countless benefits on top of being held as the pride of their respective realm.
For someone who came from the Pride Clan, a clan with a long-standing history, naturally, Lances wanted nothing more than to do everything in his power to succeed.
Meanwhile, Jol'Kil and Zel'Kan, who stood at the bottom of the staircase, looked at each other with troubled expressions.
"Zel'Kan, the great ben- No, young master Izroth—if we attacked with the intent to kill previously, then the two of us, along with the clan head..." Jol'Kil noted.
"Yes... We would not have known how we perished. We are truly fortunate that the young master has a benevolent heart; otherwise..." Zel'Kan released a helpless sigh as she shook her head.
