boom! boom!
Unexpectedly, the stardust—the remnants of hundreds of angel knights that had floated upwards—began to coalesce into a massive angel shield knight before Zach's jigsaw could reach the angel stone statue.
With a colossal shield in hand, the knight attempted to block the wire saw emanating from Zach's fingers.
The result was catastrophic.
Not only did the shield fail to block the attack, but it was utterly destroyed, and the knight was obliterated in the process.
The jigsaw, unhindered, continued its relentless path toward the angel stone statue.
In a near-miss, a fragment of the stone statue's face flaked off, and dazzling holy light erupted from it like a pillar.
Cracks spread across the angel's body as large chunks of stone detached, and a brilliant flash obscured everything for a moment.
However, Zach could clearly sense that his jigsaw had vanished—the angel was no more.
His gaze sharpened, and he opened his magic pupils.
Above him, the blond angel, now manifesting with six wings, spread them wide, letting countless golden feathers gently drift down from the heavens.
Her attire—a long, inverted triangle-style skirt—was made of transparent tulle, exposing her slender, flawless legs, which seemed to embody the golden ratio of beauty.
"An angel of desire?" Zach smirked, unimpressed.
Her stature rivaled that of Miria, who was in her Onee-san form at this moment.
The angel closed her eyes, holding the holy light in her hands. Even with his magic pupils, Zach couldn't discern its true nature.
Yet behind her, through the three windows and doors, more and more angel knights took flight, advancing toward Zach in a growing, unstoppable tide—like a deluge.
Zach raised an eyebrow, skeptical of the angel's own combat capabilities. "Don't dare fight yourself, do you rely on your minions to do the work?" he mused, recalling that the angel might be little more than a summoner, relying on others to fight her battles.
After all, the beauty and summoning prowess of the angel were certainly impressive, but they alone didn't make her formidable enough to be the boss of the thirteenth floor.
As he focused on the approaching wave of angel knights, a sly smile crept across his face. It was time to test the new skills he had just acquired.
SSS level mandatory sharing!
[Skill triggered successfully! Please select the option you want to share]
[Skill 1: Summon Guardian Knight!]
[Skill 2: Pupil of God!]
[Skill 3: Light of Healing!]
The system's prompt echoed in his mind. The prerequisite for using these skills was that the opponent had to be alive, and once they died, the connection would break.
"System, can I choose all of them?" Zach inquired.
[Can]
"As expected from you!" Zach grinned, feeling an ever-growing affection for the system. This was what it meant to truly be OP!
"I want all your skills! Forced sharing!" Zach declared, excitement in his voice.
[Compulsory sharing succeeded! Congratulations to the host for obtaining the skill Summon Guardian Knight!]
[Compulsory sharing succeeded! Congratulations to the host for obtaining the skill Pupil of God!]
[Compulsory sharing succeeded! Congratulations to the host for obtaining the Light of Healing!]
These skills felt different from those Zach had acquired before. Unlike his previous permanent abilities, these were temporary, not subject to the SSS-level activation upgrades. But Zach didn't mind; he considered them more than sufficient for the task at hand.
Following his opponent's path, restricting their movements, and sharing in their power—Zach was playing at a level few could match.
A massive black portal opened behind him, crackling with red lightning. It was a stark contrast to the Sacred aesthetic of the angel knights, signaling something far more sinister.
Emerging from it were shadowy, black angel knights, their eyes glowing ominously red beneath their helmets. They were far more fearsome than their holy counterparts.
Like an unrelenting swarm, thousands of them surged forward, weapons clashing in a terrifying symphony.
Zach stood resolutely at the bottom, while the fallen angel loomed high above him.
The situation was tense, but Zach realized that it might not matter much in the end.
The angel's eyes, previously closed, began to flutter open.
When they did, Zach was stunned by the sheer beauty of her gaze. Golden light shimmered within her eyes, creating an almost divine spectacle—a true work of art.
It was no wonder the skill was called "Eye of God."
Zach, recognizing the danger, closed his own eyes and activated his Pupil of God skill.
Sacred light collided with the deathly glow of The Underworld in a spectacular clash. The two powers were evenly matched, each radiating an equal intensity of force.
However, Zach wasn't content with merely matching the female angel's strength.
Combos! Let's see what happens next.
[Congratulations to the host for triggering the Pupil of God combo x100!]
The female angel managed to hold her ground against the first few combos, but as the number of strikes increased, the scales tipped in Zach's favor. The deathly light from Zach's The Underworld poured into her pupils, shattering the brilliance within them. Her eyes turned gray, and the divine light faded.
A horrific scream, unlike any human sound, tore through the air. It was raw, anguished, and beyond anything Zach had ever heard.
The ceiling and floor trembled as Miria, struggling to keep her footing, clutched her heavy cannon for support.
Zach observed the health bar—he had been correct. The angel had originally boasted 1088 layers of health, but now only 545 remained. She was on the verge of collapse.
"Ah! Ah!" The female angel, now bereft of her former holiness and radiance, clutched her eyes in agony. She flailed helplessly in the air.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Her wings ignited in a spontaneous burst of fire, but instead of burning away, the flames turned the white wings black, and her golden hair shifted to a silvery white.
Her once pure white tulle transformed into black gauze, her expression darkening into something twisted and malevolent.
Zach, slightly confused by this change, stopped mid-attack, eyes narrowing.
Was this… a fallen angel?
He couldn't be sure, but the transformation was undeniable.
"Seems like the fourth Blacken skill only triggers under certain conditions," Zach thought, recalling other game mechanics that operated similarly.
The fallen angel let out a low, mournful cry, her wings twitching as they spread once more. Her pupils glowed blood red, marking her as a completely different entity than before.
With a scream, she soared into the air, her arrogance and wrath still intact, even in this new form.
Boom!
Her six wings flapped, creating a windstorm of black feathers that rained down upon Zach like a barrage of arrows.
The sky darkened with the sheer weight of their assault, as overwhelming as it was fast.