Light and Darkness (2)

‘I saw it coming.’

What, exactly?

That João, or Tiamut, might ambush me on my way up.

All I had to do was think it through, and the answer was obvious.

My route had already been exposed.

And with João and Tiamut, I had crossed a river there was no crossing back.

‘If I were João, or Tiamut, I’d have waited at the entrance to Floor 4 and jumped me the moment I arrived.’

Which was precisely why I had climbed up fully armed, waiting until I finished borrowing James’s equipment.

‘This actually works out well.’

Facing João again — didn’t that weigh on me?

‘Not in the slightest.’

Right now, my combat power was, I could say with confidence, the greatest in the tower’s history — a level no one who had ever set foot on Floor 4 had come close to reaching.

‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠

Especially now, with Buff of Courage layered on top, boosting all my attack and defense by 50%.

I was the god of Floor 4. The absolute being.

The newly acquired Mythic-grade skills deserved a fair share of the credit for that confidence.

Flame Storm.

With 400 attack power — the highest among 4-Star skills — and an option list where every single effect leaned into raw offense, it was a weapon of pure annihilation.

Pile on Dragonia’s +30% to all magic attack power and +30% elemental magic damage, and the damage climbed past 5-Star tier into an altogether different dimension.

And once Sage’s Aura entered the equation, it became an offensive force that simply could not be allowed to exist on Floor 4 — a walking calamity.

‘And right now, I even have Buff of Courage on top of all that.’

João was one of the Seven Celestials, sure. But pinned under the Tower’s restrictions, could he possibly withstand my power?

Add Time Distortion to the mix, and it became a situation where losing was simply not an option on the table.

A skill granting absolute superiority within a fifty-meter radius.

It gave me a massive edge in both offense and defense — and it paired perfectly with Mana Drain to boot.

So.

‘I’ll take him down.’

Today, I would erase one of the seven skies.

With no one’s help but my own.

By my hand alone.

With my resolve, my eyes began to blaze golden.

At the same instant, João and the Eclipse unit began to move.

Fssshaaaa!

The Eclipse soldiers in the vanguard surged forward, brandishing Anti-Magic Shields wrought from black ore.

- Ah, shields crafted from mana-absorbing runes and ore!

Aleon identified what their shields were at a glance.

By now, I could see it too — this so-called Eclipse unit was a squad purpose-built for killing mages.

‘They’d have given any ordinary caster a nightmare.’

Without my magic penetration, I might well have struggled against them.

But I was a body that had awakened the Dragon Bloodline.

No matter how high they cranked their magic resistance in front of me, it would mean nothing.

‘Sage’s Aura.’

FWOOOOOOM!

A golden aura blossomed from my body!

‘Spirit Amplification.’

Feeling my mind rise to a razor-sharp pitch, I stretched my hand straight out and spoke the trigger word.

"Flame Storm."

FWOOOORRRRSH—!!

Emerald flames devoured the air itself as they surged toward the Eclipse unit.

"Brace for impact! Absorb, then reflect!"

The one who appeared to be the Eclipse unit's commander shouted the order.

Absorb, then reflect. Apparently, that was their standard combat doctrine.

Could something like that really block my magic, multiplied severalfold?

FLASH—!

KA-BOOOOOOOOM!!!

"G-Gaaargh!"

"Kaaaargh!"

"Grrk… s-save me!"

Across ground burning emerald green, the screams of the vanguard Eclipse Ascenders — men who had charged out moments ago in full swagger — piled one atop another.

"I-Impossible…!"

The commander, who had been issuing orders from the rear, punched straight through the front line in a single strike, gaped in open horror.

"Fall back—!"

João's face had gone just as rigid.

He drew his bow and took aim at me.

KWAAAAANG!!!

An arrow of light tore through the air toward me.

"Time Distortion."

Pat—!

Zeeeeeeeeng!!!

A dome-shaped, translucent barrier materialized, centered on me with a fifty-meter radius.

The arrow's speed, cutting through the air, slowed to a crawl.

"Dryas, Snikle. Summon."

Fwaaash!!

"Kekekeke! Master, battle at last!"

『I shall hold the vanguard.』

Dryas, summoned, immediately stepped forward and raised ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠his hand.

『Vine Barrier. Thorned vines.』

GRREEEEEND!!

Vines erupted from the earth to intercept João's arrows, and thorns closed around the shafts, stopping them dead.

"Time to churn them up! Shadow Leap!"

POOF!

Snikle reappeared among the Eclipse Ascenders writhing in the flames of the storm, rolling across the scorched ground.

"Scythe of Darkness! Shadow Blade!"

SHRRRRAKAKAKAKA!!

A scythe and blades forged of shadow carved through the Eclipse soldiers.

"Kaaaargh!"

"Gyaaah!"

"It's a d-demon!"

"Hold the line—!"

In an instant, the Eclipse unit descended into total chaos.

João raised his bow to kill Snikle first —

BOOM, KA-BOOOOM! BOOM!!!

Emerald flames detonated one after another, engulfing his body.

"Nngh."

It was the first special effect of Flame Storm — the Flame Explosion.

"ARGHHH!!"

João howled like a wounded beast.

Furious beyond reason, he tried to endure the damage and raise his bow again —

FLASH—!

KA-BOOOOOOOOOOOM!!

Brilliant white light condensed, then burst outward like a colossal ball of searing fire.

The second special effect — Judgment of Flame — had activated.

"KAAAAARGH!"

"GYAAAAH!"

"GRUUUAAARGH!"

"Kikikik, aaahh! It's hot! It burns!"

Terrible screams rose from within the towering pillar of fire.

Somewhere in there, I thought I heard Snikle's voice too.

Regardless — this single attack had left over half the Eclipse unit incapacitated or dead.

FWOOSH!

Then, a figure burst up through the pillar of flame.

João — his body blackened with burns, mottled with blistering welts from head to toe.

"You, of all people—!"

Eyes wild with madness, he charged straight at me.

‘Fool.’

For the great master archer, whose whole craft was reading the battlefield and responding accordingly, to charge in this worked-up? Unforgivable.

Instead, I ran toward him.

And the Time Distortion field moved with me.

There was still time left on its duration, and the moment João entered the field, his movements slowed dramatically.

"You die. I will kill you—!!"

Red with rage, João paid his slowed speed no mind and aimed his bow straight at me.

"If you thought something like this could stop me, you're sorely mistaken——!"

Ziiing!

João's archery, released at point-blank range.

"Rapid Fire. Pierce. Homing. Reinforce. Absolute Accuracy."

KWAAAAAAAAANG!!

His arrows came surging with a thunderous roar.

In an instant, my vision filled with a rain of arrows — shafts tearing through space itself as they flew.

‘Wow.’

For a moment, I was genuinely impressed.

Even crushed under the Tower's restrictions, afflicted by Flame Storm's burn, his movements bound by 50% under Time Distortion — and he could still put out this kind of attack?

He'd earned the name of one of the seven skies. One of the Seven Celestials, no question.

‘But.’

Here, today, right now —

I was a god who had surpassed the heavens. The absolute being.

Careless of his incoming barrage, I raised my hand to cast the next skill.

And ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠João's arrows?

『Vine Barrier.』

Dryas raised a wall of vines ahead of me, blocking them as a first line.

KRRRSHSHSH! CRUNCHSHSH!

But the vines held for only a breath.

Against João's arrow storm, the Vine Barrier shredded away like paper being torn.

『How—!』

Dryas shouted, his composure cracking in rare agitation.

Even as he spoke, João kept pouring arrows on without pause.

Yes, I had heard of him. The Godly Archer João — famed for tearing his enemies apart with absolute precision and overwhelming firepower.

To show this level of ferocity even under these conditions…

I had no choice but to acknowledge it.

KRRRSHSHSH!!

The arrows that punched through the vines tore into the Shield of Time wrapped around my body.

Then, for the first time in a while, Forest's Protection triggered and turned back João's arrows.

But even that lasted only a moment.

His arrows shredded through Forest's Protection like it was tissue paper.

They drew within a hair's breadth of my body.

But it didn't matter.

I, too, had finished preparing my next attack.

"Freezing Orb & Shadow Ball."

Through Double Casting, two spells manifested simultaneously.

KWAAAAAAAAAA!!

A sheet of white ice spread across the space between João and me.

Every arrow along that path froze solid in midair.

"…!"

João's eyes widened to the size of dinner plates.

CRUNCHSHSHSH!!

At the same time, parts of his body itself froze over.

Remarkably, even after taking a near-direct hit from Freezing Orb, he didn't freeze completely — thanks to the artifacts glinting all across his body.

But my assault was far from over.

On the heels of the ice came Shadow Ball.

WHUUUUUMP!

"GRAAAAHH!!"

João clutched at his eyes with both hands and rolled across the ground.

Along with the Shadow Ball's damage, its special effect — Confusion — had taken hold.

THWIIIIIISH!!

In the meantime, arrows that had curved in arcs from outside Freezing Orb's radius struck my body.

Ziiing—!!

The arrows rippled, turned translucent, and softly melted away into nothing.

They had been swallowed by the Fissure of Time.

What a man without luck, truly.

To think the 30% chance Fissure of Time would actually trigger for him.

I hadn't even needed to cast Mana Shield.

"Checkmate."

I raised my hand toward João as he thrashed on the ground.

For ages, they had been called the seven skies — the Seven Celestials.

And now, this would become the historic moment when one of those skies came crashing down.

"Astral Arrow."

Starlight mana converged into my hand.

Like gripping the shaft of a bow, I drew one hand back.

Ziiiiiiing.

A monstrous quantity of mana churned.

And the moment I released —

THOOM—!

KWAAAAAAAAAA——!

The Astral Arrow tore through the air, tracing a trail of starlight across the sky, and slammed squarely into João's body.

Starlight detonated in a brilliant, explosive burst —

FLASH—!

KA-BOOOOOOOOOOOM!!!

João's body lit up in blinding white.

Today, one of the seven skies fell.