When Kyros fought the Shadow Ghouls the last time, he didn't use Pronto during battle. But in those minutes of fighting the enemy, Kyros was pushing himself to the next limit. With the numerous claws that kept slashing and tried to grab him, a single mistake would lead to death.
At times, Kyros even allowed himself to get slashed or stabbed to escape. Yet, in that battle, Kyros was able to move and even kill a few of the Shadow Ghoul.
The more Kyros fought, the more he realized that someone watched him and was commanding the Shadow Ghoul. And so, Kyros had fought the enemy also to observe the plans of the enemy.
Kyros was very sparse in using Pronto. He only activated it to move in or out of the enemy lines. Even when he first used it, his soul was in a greatly weakened state. When the Shadow Ghouls have surrounded Kyros, Kyros finally used it to the full extent.
He tackled the Shadow Ghouls that tried to cover his retreat.
But then, a horde of shadow ghouls rushed down recklessly, not even caring for their lives to totally block the entrance to the temple.
But when this happened, Kyros ran in the opposite direction.
The power of Pronto was displayed, and with Kyros's dexterity, he managed to evade and strike the unsuspecting Shadow Ghouls.
"You're pretty smart! You commanded a group to block the entrance even if it would send a few of your Ghouls inside the temple. And then you command these ghouls to make a pincer attack if I tried to run inside the Temple! But you were my plan since the start! Time Haste!"
Kyros controlled the power to only take effect for less than a split second. He moved further from the entrance, and the Shadow Ghouls aimed for the pincer attack passed by Kyros.
Even Calaminus felt scared at Kyros's reckless charge. But despite this insane gamble, Calaminus wanted to see. Just how strong and amazing is this Nephilim?
Kyros kept running even when the Time Haste was not in effect. He felt his body weaken but continued to attack and head towards the red light. If he failed, Kyros would surely die. He was using his arm guards to bump and tackle through the darkness. The Shadow Ghouls were caught unprepared for Kyros's sudden rush, and only a few even managed to take a swipe at Kyros.
"It never showed itself or attacked me. Either you're as weak as a regular Shadow Ghoul, or you couldn't move!" Kyros broke through the last ranks of Shadow Ghouls.
A bright red light could be seen, and a strange sword with a bright red gem was embedded on the ground.
Kyros dashed ahead and could sense strange darkness from the Sword. But without hesitation, Kyros ran and grabbed it.
BOOM!
A powerful red flash appeared as Kyros was near the Sword.
The nearby Shadow Ghouls were blown away, and many howled when the red flash appeared.
Kyros felt a strong force attack his soul. But Kyros only laughed.
"This pitiful soul attack?! You're mine!" Kyros reached out and grabbed the Sword.
"NO!" A pained and angry cry was heard as the Sword struggled and fought against Kyros.
Dark energy was now appearing around the Sword and began to cause wounds around Kyros's hands.
"Oh? You think darkness is your ally? But you merely adopted the darkness; I was born in it!" Kyros laughed a strange laughed as he spoke with the odd voice of someone wearing a peculiar breathing apparatus.
He then bit down and took a bite at the sword energy.
"AHHHHHH!" A pained scream resounded as Kyros bite a huge chunk of the dark energy.
"Woah. I know that Sword! Sword of Ten Thousand Grudges! It's here all along?!" Calaminus was stunned.
"Quick! Tell it to submit to you, or you'll eat its soul!" Calaminus immediately advised.
The red light grew brighter and brighter. It already had the same strength and form as the lightning attacks that tortured Kyros's soul for months.
Kyros almost lost consciousness at the attack, but he then swallowed the piece of dark energy in his mouth.
[Health Increasing.]
"Submit!" Kyros ordered.
"Never!" The adamant voice of the Sword answered back.
"If you won't... Then I'll force you! Dark Wielder! Dark Consumer! Maximum output!" Kyros roared as he channeled the full limit of his power.
"WHAT?!" The Sword was shocked as it could see its soul trembling. All of a sudden, a powerful vacuum appeared as the Sword began to absorb all the Shadow Ghouls in the area.
"How can this be?!" The Sword panicked.
Kyros opened his mouth as a strange power appeared behind his teeth.
The Sword shivered.
"I surrender! I surrender!" It cried as thick dark energy was escaping the Sword and created a small black orb floating near Kyros's mouth.
"You know... I'm feeling a bit... hungry!"
"You're insane! You'll lose control over the Sword!"
"Lose control? I could already control it! You can't fool me! I am the one commanding the Shadow Ghouls to return to the Sword! You are merely a soul trapped in this Sword! Without you, I won't have anyone to hinder me!"
"No! This can't be! I am the Prince of the Night!"
"So what if you are a Prince? I am Darkness! I am the Night! And I am Hungry!" Kyros bit down.
"AHHH!" A hideous scream was heard as Kyros devoured the black soul.
All of a sudden, there was silence. None of the Shadow Ghouls remained in the room. And because of the light of the Temple, Kyros could now see the entire area.
But before Kyros could observe anymore, a trumpet blast sounded. It was a sound of victory and celebration.
Strange pops were heard, and something like small cuts of paper began to fall.
"Confetti?" Calaminus realized what these things were.
A hologram display appeared at a large screen above the entrance of the temple.
---
BONUS OBJECTIVE COMPLETE!
Sword of Ten Thousand Grudges Acquired!
Remnant Soul of Azerret, The Prince of Darkness destroyed!
Bestowing Reward!
---
All of a sudden, a bright light flashed, and a strange cloth appeared near the screen and fell.
"Oh? A reward item? This must be powerful!" Calaminus was excited.
Kyros approached the fallen cloth and picked it up.
"Is that a... T-Shirt?" Calaminus was amazed.
"A T-Shirt is a type of apparel, correct?"
"Yes. But it doesn't exist in this universe. This is the back part. Flip it over."
Kyros did, and there were strange marks written on the shirt.
"I defeated the Prince of Darkness, and all I got was this lousy T-Shirt?" Kyros read out the words written.
Calaminus blinked.
"WHICH GOD MADE THIS PLACE! HIS AS ANNOYING AS I AM!" Calaminus cursed.
"Anyone come to mind?"
"A few... The Ancient God of Space... A few Greater Gods. It's as if many gods created this place to annoy me for all the things I did to them!" Calaminus exclaimed.
Suddenly, a strange power surged out of the shirt.
---
Cloak of Darkness (Lvl. 1)
Defense: 50
Durability: 30
Recovers durability when exposed to Dark Energy.
Dark Resistance: +30
Dark Cloak
Shadow Familiar
Heart of the Fallen (1)
---
Kyros blinked and rubbed his eyes as he watched the stats.
"This looks... pretty strong..."
"STRONG?! THAT'S THE CLOAK OF DARKNESS!|
"I can read, you know!"
"You don't understand! This means... You! You just killed the remnant soul of Azerret! One of the Lieutenants of First Fallen! He was really strong and took a few Greater Gods to defeat him!"
"So this Cloak is at the God Level? Wow."
"Not just that! That Sword and this Cloak is a part of a set! The Armor you have is one of the rare weapons created during the first war against the First Fallen! It's not just any God-tier Weapon! But something that could challenge several Greater Gods! Check out the Sword!"
Kyros nodded and held the Sword.
"Show stats."
---
Sword of a Thousand Grudges (Lvl. 1)
Attack: 20
Durability: 30
Recovers durability when exposed to Dark Energy.
Shadow Ghoul Familiar (5)
Soul Trapper
Heart of the Fallen (1)
---
"Looks like a normal sword. But it seems to grow stronger, just like the cloak. What is this, Heart of the Fallen? And why is there a number nearby?"
"As I said, that weapon and that cloak are parts of a set! The Heart of the Fallen means that this weapon and that cloak has the heart of a Fallen! And that means this Sword will generate dark energy indefinitely! That's how the Sword was able to create all those Shadow Ghouls! And that power now belongs to you! You just have to find a way to make it grow stronger!"
"So this means these two are indestructible?"
"Yes. Even if they break, the Heart of the Fallen will repair it. Of course, if left alone, you'll need hundreds of years! Unless you find a place with thick dark energy, you can't just repair it! So you have to be careful even when using these!"
"Cool. With my ability as a Dark Artificer, I should be able to improve it soon!"
"Exactly! You're a being that transcends mortal wisdom now! Oh right! You also have more rewards in the Temple!" Calaminus recalled.
"Right! There was that!" Kyros ran towards the Temple.