My Crimson Soul sword levels up and burns hot in my hands, ready for war after digesting that jagged piece of originator stone. However, it slowly fades back to black as it feels my calm heartbeat and senses no worthy opponents nearby.
There's no additional information shown on my status about it, other than the hundreds of percent increases in stat buffs and the [Lv. 0] turning to [Lv. 1]. I'm certain I'll find out more once it's in the mood to fight again...
I walk forward into the massive silver portal at the back of the room, and the same warm and cold teleportation magic envelops me and Ember, bringing us into what feels like an identical room.
My foot hits the hard black ground, and I look around to see the same high ceilings and smooth walls.
I can still feel the outside world with perfect clarity and see the battle between the demons and my army beginning; however, after stepping through this portal, I feel tens of kilometers above the ground. My vantage point of the world has risen, as this portal has brought me higher in the tower.
At the back of the room, I see the outline of another door, and a massive silver statue sits in front of it. Instead of a demon, it seems this second trial has a three-headed serpent guarding the closed door.
Its body coils into a large base, and its three necks stretch upward over seven kilometers, even higher than the nine-armed demon below us.
Ember walks out by my side, and we both look at the shimmering silver text floating between our gaze and the six eyes that shine with a silver glint, frozen in time and looking down at us.
[All Conditions In Completing Trial 1 Met.]
[Would You Like To Start The Second Trial?]
[YES] [NO]
I take a deep breath, walk forward, and press [YES] as I feel more than ready to take on whatever it has to throw at me next.
[Enter the trial area.]
The message rings in my inner ear, and a nearly identical silver testing circle lights up in front of the silver serpent.
Both of us walk forward without a word, and once we stand in its center, more text appears.
[Trial 2: Mind]
[Calculating Necessary Difficulty...]
[Difficulty Calculated: Trial 2: Round 1 of 3 Shall Commence.]
[Round 1 of 3 Title: Isolation]
[Objective: Endure.]
The far left head of the serpent moves, baring its fangs and long tongue while moving down to eye level. The entire statue glows with a faint silver light, but I can't sense it at all... just like the silver blades in the last round, this energy is undetectable to me. Even when making contact with it, I could only quantify the pure force it exerted, not its full potential.
With this knowledge, I want to be ready for anything, so I point my blade forward and activate my greater form, even preparing to activate my astral form if needed.
Ember grows into his dragon form as well, but he's not nearly as on edge as I am.
Before I can ask why, the serpent's head halts, and its eyes flash silver, blinding me entirely. My audio, visual, and even physical senses are completely overwhelmed before I can even think to try to stay conscious.
All 33,921,800 links of loyalty looking through my eyes lose vision of what I'm seeing, and I lose my view of the outside world.
The silver light fades as fast as it came, but when the darkness returns, my senses do not.
All I see is darkness, and I can't feel my body either...
A twisted thought races through my mind, wondering if I failed and this is what death feels like... but feeling death dozens of times already from the perspective of my body doubles makes me quickly believe that hasn't happened.
There was no notification, and a very interesting sensation lingers in my consciousness.
I'm unsure if it is part of this trial or an aftereffect of the prize from the last one.
I feel a very faint, indescribable pull that feels extremely similar to that white energy Ember called Divine Ether.
I can't see it, and have no frame of reference to say I physically feel it, but for some reason, it is present within this endless expanse of darkness around me.
The trial is one testing the mind, and the round's descriptor was isolation...
I have no breath to take, nor any heartbeat to measure the time. I can't even mentally pull up my status window for external stimulation.
Whatever this trial has in store for me, all I can do now is as it instructed: Endure.
---
Just a few moments ago, as Abby and Maria are attacked again by the unsealed bronze-horned demon, its power seems to grow more and more with every second that passes.
Maria's dark blue blade can deflect its dual daggers, now coated in a dense layer of Demonic Soul Energy, creating a Greater Demonic Form.
However, she's using her full concentration and entire strength to even contend with the bloodlust-fueled demon. She's been moved entirely to the defensive, even being overpowered on some of the recent hits.
The Ice Goddess Form is sent flying backward after every exchange, closer and closer to the silver dome's back wall; and now, with the thick Demonic Soul Energy defenses, Abby's close-range attacks aren't even able to make it through without dealing with that overwhelming aura with her unguarded body.
The tone of their battle has completely turned on its head.
One moment, they're the ones landing consistent hits to tire the demon out, and now, both of them are being overpowered.
Its chaotic yell erupts through their battle as it only grows more powerful with every swing, settling into its unsealed form.
"It sure feels good to let out my real full power! Not so confident now, are you?"
He blocks Maria's incoming attack with just one dagger, then throws the other to his left side while a stream of purple soul energy shoots it forward with unbelievable speed and force.
While the two are locked together, the demon's flying dagger aims straight for her vitals.
Maria accepts that she won't win this exchange, twists her body out of the way, and is shot backward from the force, but the demon's flying attack grazes her midsection while it curves back to the demon's open grasp.
A massive gash opens in her side as it tears through her blood-bonded armor like paper, and a Demonic Soul Energy wound imbued with True Core's threads burns bright as she's slammed against the back wall of the silver dome.
Abby attempts a long-range attack while the demon is focused on Maria, but the demon twists its body and sends its other dagger flying through the air, obliterating the barrage of earth pillars sent toward its back.
While in its flight path, it aims to take out Abby too, but it phases through her Immortal form like a hologram.
She grins, but the demon doesn't seem concerned.
The dagger comes flying back to it like a boomerang, and the demon points both blades together to create a dense ball of Demonic Soul Energy floating between them.
Its strength and True Core's density only become more intense and deadly with every moment that passes, and the ball of matter it's creating is densely packed with True Core's threads and violent dark purple energy.
As soon as Abby darts to find another angle to launch an attack, the demon releases the strange ball of matter, and it shoots forward even faster than the flying daggers did.
The instant it makes contact with Abby's Immortal Form, her eyes widen, and the ball of energy explodes in a violent display of power.
She's sent flying backward from the blast, as the initial impact had enough strange energy inside it to somehow overpower her ranked up buff for a split second at the instance of the explosion.
The green woman coughs up blood as she shoots tens of kilometers back at a downward angle, hitting the desert floor and creating a crater from the impact.
Its loud thud is followed by the demon's laughter, and at the same time, the live video feed inside the tower goes dark as the second trial begins with a mysterious severing of the visual feed...
---
Thousands of kilometers away in Sector 1, Raven lands her first hit on the black spear user's stomach; perfectly evading its senses in her invisible stealth form until the moment of contact.
Her attack would have pierced right through the demon's core, but it was fast enough to shift its body and counter with its spear.
Before the demon and Raven collide a second time, its shattered black armor and bleeding stomach regenerate in a plume of Demonic Soul Energy.
In their next exchange, Raven manages to slice through the demon's shoulder, but it counters with its spear, milliseconds away from landing a vital shot on Raven during the moment she's visible upon contact.
The demon smirks, keeping a calm expression while waves of grey and demonic energy ripple out from where its true core partner is fighting.
"Looks like you humans are pretty strong, after all... if my partner had to unseal his bloodline, your teammates are certainly not ordinary."
His eyes sharpen, and his grip on his spear shifts slightly as purple soul energy surges through his hands into the weapon.
There's no response from Raven, but the demon predicts Raven's exact positioning on her next strike, and they clash blade to spear on equal footing.
"That is an interesting skill—a divine-grade stealth integration. I don't think I've ever seen one before..."
They push each other back, and more purple demonic soul energy pours out of the demon's body, covering its spear and even its entire seven-meter-tall frame, leaving only its white eyes piercing through the veil.
In response, Raven sends over half a dozen more attacks its way, but she's blocked right before impact each time. Every counter the Arch Demon makes is dodged just in time too.
However, even now it appears the Demon is holding back and just watching Raven attack for fun. It speaks again with a confident smile and calm tone.
"It's a shame I'll have to kill such a budding talent like you. If this was truly my full strength, you might have a chance, but there's no point in toying with you longer than necessary. I will teach the elite of your human world true despair. Behold, a 1st Class Demonic Bloodline."
The white glowing eyes behind the purple veil close, and when they open, an eerie pressure reaches every being in this dome. Its initial gravity wave at such close range is enough to seep deep into Raven's psyche and forcefully deactivate her divine stealth mode.
It makes heads turn hundreds of kilometers away, and the waves of gravity and killing intent only become stronger while the Demon's Greater Energy Form begins to grow in size.
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Author's Note:
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