At the moment when Kai was in his most desperate situation, a strange voice suddenly appeared in his mind, clear and powerful.
"Power... Do you want it?"
"Who is it?" He asked in panic, but the voice didn't stop.
"Answer me now! Power... Do you want it?"
Each word of that voice was like a knife, piercing into his mind. In the current situation, with death looming close, he had no choice but to gamble on this chance.
"I... I want it!" Kai responded, without a moment's thought, grasping at every opportunity.
A blinding light suddenly emanated from the statue, illuminating the entire ruin. That light was like a dawn in the dark night of despair. From within the light, a Sephira appeared, floating in the air, sparkling like the stars in the night sky.
"What is this...?"
The Sephira flew straight towards Kai, and before he could realize it, it had merged into him. An intense surge of energy welled up within Kai, making him glow like a deity. It was so powerful that it shook the very ground around him.
Standing before two powerful and terrifying sub-bosses, Kai's mind was now empty, as if all emotions had been drained. His eyes couldn't leave their red eyes and sharp teeth. The space around seemed to stop, everything became blurry and meaningless. It felt like being trapped in an endless nightmare where all hope vanished.
These bosses weren't just monsters; they were the embodiment of absolute terror. Kai's survival was now like a thin thread before the blade of fate. In that moment, he knew what he had to do, even though his body and mind were engulfed in fear and despair.
Everything around seemed to slow down, and unconsciously, Kai felt the power of the Sephira rising from deep within him. It was as if a powerful energy was flowing through every fiber, every vein, bringing him into a different state. The Angel of Sephira, with all its might, was summoned.
A dazzling light burst from his body, blinding everything around. An imposing and majestic figure appeared before Kai - the Archangel Sandalphon, with a throne as a sheath and a great sword planted in it. Its power and presence were like a whirlwind sweeping away all fear and despair.
The two monsters roared fiercely, but this time, he no longer felt fear. In the brilliant light of the angel, Kai felt filled with confidence and determination. The red eyes of the monsters flickered with fear, as if they too realized that their opponent was no longer a weak human.
The battle unfolded at a terrifying speed. With the current power and the angel Sandalphon, Kai charged into the fight, each strike of the enormous sword carrying destructive force. The clash of metal rang out harshly, mixed with the roars of the monsters and their terrifying screams. Blood splattered everywhere, dyeing the sky red.
One of the monsters lunged at Kai, but he reacted in a flash, blocking the attack with a powerful blow. The sword Sandalphon sliced through the monster's body, its blood and entrails spilling everywhere. Its roar ceased when Sandalphon was withdrawn from it.
The second monster, not to be outdone, attacked from another direction. But this time, he did not hesitate like the first monster, directly using the sword Sandalphon, slicing the throne in half. The fragments continuously merged with the sword to form a giant blade with tremendous power, the Ultimate Sword Halvanhelev. With superior strength and combat skills, Kai easily dodged and counterattacked. Then he roared, unleashing his most powerful technique.
"HALVANHELEV!"
An incredibly powerful energy slash swept away everything in front of Kai; the dense forest was now no more, the mountain was split mercilessly by the slash. The flesh and blood of the two monsters also turned to dust after that devastating attack.
The battle ended in a brief moment. He collapsed, panting, though he won overwhelmingly and didn't expend much energy, his body was exhausted, as if all the magic power in him had been drained. At this moment, that mysterious voice echoed in his head again.
"Excellent performance!"
"Answer me! Who exactly are you? A god? Or a demon king?"
"Everything will become clear soon."
"What do you mean?"
"Ah, it's time for me to go. But before I leave, I have one thing to tell you."
"What is it?"
"Don't follow the usual path you've always taken; only when you're different from those ordinary people will you truly become stronger, surpassing the boundaries ever reached in human history."
"Sounds philosophical, huh? Fine, I should trust the one who saved my life anyway."
"So, I'm leaving now."
After the voice disappeared, everything gradually returned to silence. In Kai's heart, he thought back to the terrifying events earlier. He had won, but the cost was too high. His friends had fallen, their blood and lives sacrificed so Kai could continue. His eyes scanned around, seeing the lifeless bodies of Mai and Rio lying on the ground, their blood still flowing.
The pain and sense of loss flooded his heart, but he knew that he couldn't stop. Kai had to continue, had to overcome every challenge to survive. Humans were wrong to think that only training physical strength and magic would make them master this world; it seemed there were many mysteries for humans to explore.
Kai himself was quite surprised when he used the power of the Sephira for the first time and understood all the techniques and related information. Thanks to that, he knew that somewhere in this vast world, other powerful angels existed, and the book he accidentally found before was one of them. The current space was created by that angel.
When he understood the nature of this space, Kai concentrated the last bit of magic power left in him to summon the angel Sandalphon. He took the angel's sword, slashed strongly at the void in front of him, creating a bright streak of light. That was the portal back to reality.
Kai stepped through the portal and returned to the original room, but the book had disappeared from its place. Outside, it was now noon, not night as before. The glaring sunlight made Kai's eyes ache. His body was exhausted, every step felt heavy. The magic power in him was drained, each breath became more difficult. The space around seemed to spin, and everything started to blur. Before he could understand what was happening, Kai collapsed to the ground, his consciousness drifting into darkness. He fainted, leaving behind a vague feeling about what was to come.