Darkness surged.
The battlefield trembled as the Abyss answered my call. My vision dimmed, not from weakness, but from something deeper—something far beyond human perception.
Dorian halted mid-charge. His eyes flickered with uneasiness.
Leon, who had been watching with wary eyes, took a step back.
Selene's grip tightened on her fists.
Then, the world plunged into darkness.
WHOOOOM!
A shockwave of abyssal energy erupted outward. The shadows around me shifted, writhed, evolved.
My veins pulsed with cold fire.
My form changed.
Obsidian armor manifested across my body, jagged yet regal. My aura twisted and expanded, devouring the light around me. The air grew heavier—crushing, suffocating.
The Abyss had fully embraced me.
Dorian took a step back, his expression now unreadable. His instincts were screaming at him.
I lifted my gaze, meeting his golden eyes.
"You wanted to see how much more I could take?" My voice was lower, distorted—power incarnate.
I stepped forward. The ground beneath me fractured.
Dorian clenched his fists. "Tch… What the hell is this?"
I tilted my head slightly. "This?"
A slow smirk spread across my lips.
"This is my true power"
Then, I moved. Faster than before. Faster than anything he'd ever seen.
Dorian barely had time to react before I was already in front of him.
His golden eyes widened.
My hand shot forward, fingers closing around his head like an unbreakable vice.
"Wha—?!"
BOOM!
I drove him into the ground with a force that shook the entire chamber. The stone beneath us shattered, cracks spreading like veins of destruction. A deep crater formed where his body impacted, dust and debris exploding outward.
But I wasn't done. I lifted him effortlessly. Then slammed him down again.
BOOM!
The impact sent a deafening shockwave rippling through the battlefield, the very air distorting from the sheer force. The chamber walls groaned, struggling to withstand the unleashed power.
Dorian let out a choked gasp, his body convulsing from the impact. His draconic aura flickered—his once-mighty flames now struggling to burn.
Then—
ALERT! ALERT!
A sharp, mechanical beeping filled the air.
[ WARNING: NATIONAL-LEVEL MANA SIGNATURE DETECTED ]
[ WARNING: HIGH-RISK ENTITY CONFIRMED ]
[ LOCKDOWN INITIATING… ]
The chamber flashed red, automated defense mechanisms activating in response to my overwhelming presence. Even the dungeon itself was struggling to contain me.
Leon's face paled.
Selene staggered back, gripping her fists even more tightly.
Dorian, despite his battered state, managed to groan, his voice laced with disbelief.
"W-What… are you…?!"
I released my grip, letting him collapse into the crater. Dust swirled around me as I took a step back, rolling my shoulders. The dark energy in my veins pulsed hungrily, demanding more.
I gazed down at him—at the so-called dragon incarnate, now struggling to rise.
And then, I smirked.
"I already told you." My voice was deeper, resonating with the endless void.
The darkness around me surged, twisting reality itself.
And for the first time—Dorian looked afraid.
ALERT! ALERT!
The chamber continued blaring its mechanical warnings, its crimson lights flashing wildly. The walls trembled, and the air itself thickened under the weight of my power.
Dorian lay in the crater, barely breathing, his once-mighty draconic form flickering, struggling to hold together. He wasn't dead. Not yet. But the look in his eyes was one of pure disbelief.
He had never been overpowered like this before.
And yet—I felt nothing. No satisfaction. No excitement. Only the unquenchable hunger of the Abyss clawing at my soul, urging me to keep going.
BOOM!
The private chamber exploded open.
A squad of high-ranking Hunters from the Association stormed inside, their weapons already drawn, their auras flaring like beacons of power.
"LOCK HIM DOWN!" one of them barked.
But the moment their gazes landed on me—on the abyssal presence writhing around my form—hesitation flashed across their faces.
Their instincts screamed at them. This is not something we can handle.
Leon took a step forward, but I felt his hesitation. His usual composure was cracking, his golden eyes locked onto the abyssal energy twisting around me.
"Ryzen…" His voice was low, warning. "Get a hold of yourself. Now!"
I barely heard him.
The darkness inside me pulsed, each beat stronger than the last. My fingers twitched, shadows rising like sentient tendrils, reacting to my emotions.
Too much power. The Abyss was consuming me, its will merging with mine.
BOOM!
An oppressive wave of dark mana erupted from my body, sending shockwaves through the chamber.
The Hunters staggered, some nearly dropping their weapons. Even the A-Ranks among them flinched.
And then, Leon moved. Not to step back. But forward.
Golden light exploded around him, his aura igniting like a raging sun.
He clenched his fists, his entire body glowing with raw energy.
"Don't make me do this, Ryzen."
Selene stepped beside him. But she wasn't the same.
Her body flickered and her form shifting, twisting.
Wings of ice and shadow burst from her back, her eyes turning into piercing silver crescents. A frigid mist spread from her feet, freezing the ground beneath her.
A storm of clashing auras filled the chamber. Golden radiance and icy mist surged against the abyssal darkness surrounding me. The walls trembled, alarms still screaming, but none of it mattered.
Leon and Selene had transformed. Not out of caution. Not out of strategy. But because they had no other choice.
Leon's golden aura blazed like an inferno, raw power distorting the air around him. Selene's presence was like a void of ice, a chilling force so sharp it could sever reality itself.
Leon clenched his fists, his transformed form radiating intensity. "Ryzen, listen to me. Stop. Now!"
The Abyss wasn't letting go. My body no longer felt like my own, my veins coursing with something far beyond mere mana.
Selene's silver eyes narrowed. She raised a hand, frost creeping along her fingertips. "If he doesn't stop, we take him down."
Leon exhaled sharply. "Damn it… Ryzen, don't make me do this."
Then they attacked.
BOOM!
Leon was the first to move, faster than lightning. His golden fist streaked toward my face like a meteor, the sheer force of his punch bending the very air.
But I vanished.
Phantom Dash.
Reappearing behind him.
Leon's eyes widened—
SLAM!
My fist crashed into his side, sending him skidding across the chamber, his shoes tearing through the stone floor.
Selene didn't hesitate.
Abyssal Ice Prison.
A frozen domain erupted, chains of glacial darkness spiraling toward me. They moved like living creatures, wrapping around my arms, my legs for sealing my movements.
She was trying to lock me down.
I exhaled, the Abyss stirring in response. "Chains? You think chains can hold me?
A pulse of abyssal energy exploded outward.
CRACK!
The ice shattered.
Selene's eyes barely widened before I was already in front of her.
SLASH!
My Umbral Fang—black steel wreathed in Abyssal energy—carved through the mist, a precise strike aiming straight for her throat.
She reacted just in time, raising an ice barrier—
SHATTER!
The blade tore through it effortlessly.
Selene twisted her body, barely avoiding a fatal wound, but I could see the shock in her expression.
She hadn't expected me to be this strong. Neither had Leon.
"Enough!"
BOOM!
Leon was back, his golden aura exploding like a supernova. His entire body crackled with raw power as he reappeared beside Selene, his gaze hard.
"Selene," he muttered. "We're ending this. Now."
She nodded.
I could see they were going to go all out against me. But the Abyss within me laughed.