Without saying anything, Araksha stood up.
The movement alone caused a shift in pressure so violent that loose debris lifted from the ground before crashing back down. Its posture was no longer that of a wounded demon or a berserk monster driven by rage. What stood there now was silent death, a stillness so absolute it suffocated sound itself.
Araksha held his two swords, one in each hand, their blades darkened by demonic mana. It began walking toward Ashan with slow, measured steps. Each footfall echoed unnaturally, as if the dungeon itself were counting down to annihilation.
Its eyes flickered.
Crimson.
Silver.
Crimson again.
The crimson carried Araksha's raw ferocity; violence, bloodlust, instinct. The silver carried Yakwaru's intellect; cold calculation, tactical clarity, predatory reason.
They alternated endlessly, blending into something new.
Something was wrong.
Black mist crawled along Araksha's body, thick and viscous, coiling around its limbs like living shadows. The mist expanded outward, spreading across the dungeon as if the very space were breathing fear. The stone floor cracked beneath invisible weight, fractures racing outward in jagged patterns. The air grew dense, pressing against lungs, forcing even seasoned warriors to consciously breathe.
This was no longer pressure.
This was domination.
—--------------------------------
Name - Arakwaru (The Abyssal Sovereign)
Type: Fusion Demon (Abyssal level)
Age: ???
Gender: Male
[Power Rank - S]
[Strength - 360]
[Stamina - 300]
[endurance - 400]
[Agility - 300]
[Other Powers and Skills]
<> Abyssal Sword Sense – S
An evolved form of Sword Sense.
Arakwaru perceives movements, thoughts, and mana flow as luminous threads within a fifty-meter radius. By slicing these threads, it can sever spells, disrupt attacks, or even shatter a target's focus mid-action.
<> Twin Fang Art: Eclipse Waltz – S
The ultimate fusion technique of Reaper's Waltz.
A dual-sword dance merged with demonic mana. Each swing rends both the physical and astral planes, releasing shockwaves bound by dark mana chains that slash, bind, and annihilate multiple enemies simultaneously.
<> Abyssal Domain – A
A fusion of Demonic Domain and Poison Blood.
Creates a vast territory of corrosive black mist that dissolves mana-based structures and burns living flesh.
<> Demonic Overdrive – A+
An evolved Demonic Overclock.
By integrating Yakwaru's regeneration, the body can endure extreme overstrain for extended periods without collapsing.
<> Black Binding – A+
Void-mana chains erupt from ground and walls within its domain, restraining enemies while draining mana and life force. The chains react to fear, tightening as panic increases.
<> Demonic Regeneration – A
Rapidly heals fatal wounds by absorbing mana from the surroundings or directly from enemies.
<> Golem of the Reaper – A
Summons hybrid golems of black stone and corrupted flame that mimic sword movements.
—--------------------------------
Sisiliya froze.
Her instincts screamed louder than her thoughts. Every cell in her body begged her to run, to turn around and escape while she still could. Her knees trembled, and she had to clench her fists just to remain standing.
"No way…" she whispered, her voice cracking despite herself. "Is that… is that the S-rank monster he mentioned?"
Draven swallowed hard. Cold dread wrapped around his spine like a vice.
"Professor," he said quietly, eyes locked on Arakwaru, "my instincts won't stop screaming. That thing is definitely S-rank. There's no doubt. But how is this possible? An S-rank monster in an A-rank dungeon? This shouldn't exist. None of this makes sense."
Around them, even the veterans stood motionless.
Sisiliya felt her palms slick with sweat. Eirena's heartbeat thundered in her ears.
No one spoke.
Because they all understood the same truth.
If that monster shifted its attention toward them, in the worst case, they would die instantly.
…
Ashan did nothing.
His Sharingan spun like burning crimson, tomoe rotating smoothly. Beneath them, his Byakugan glowed faintly, veins bulging at his temples.
Through the mask, Ashan saw everything.
Every breath Arakwaru took.
Every contraction of muscle.
Every ripple in mana density.
Every distortion in air pressure caused by killing intent.
'So this is demon evolution,' he thought calmly, cracking his neck once.
'Interesting.'
'Then let's see how you handle a human who doesn't know limits.'
Arakwaru stopped directly in front of him.
Their presences collided.
The pressure exploded outward, slamming into the dungeon walls. Stone shattered. Dust and debris filled the air. The black mist recoiled violently, as if meeting resistance for the first time.
"Araksha… Yakwaru… it doesn't matter who you are now," Ashan said, his voice low and steady.
His chakra and cursed energy expanded without restraint, pushing back against the demon's presence.
"I'll end your life here."
The demon tilted its head slightly.
"Arrogance."
In the next instant, both vanished.
The sound came first, a thunderous clap, like the sky tearing apart.
Arakwaru's twin swords crossed in a blur, carving through the haze.
Ashan was already gone.
His left eye twisted. The Kamui pattern rotated once.
Space folded.
The blades sliced through an afterimage.
Ashan reappeared behind it. A sword manifested in his hand.
Nullfang hummed violently, resonating as if it had remembered its true master. A black pulse surged outward, draining mana from the air like a vacuum.
The dungeon's light went out instantly.
Arakwaru looked down. The black veins along its arms dimmed.
"You.."
"Yeah," Ashan replied. "I'm going to use your own sword against you."
He stepped forward. The air shuddered.
Arakwaru raised its blades, but the Sharingan accelerated.
To Ashan, the world fractured into frames.
Every angle.
Every shift of muscle.
Every opening revealed itself before it existed.
His Byakugan completed the picture, mana pathways, heartbeat timing, regeneration nodes.
Ashan vanished again.
The clash came like thunder. Nullfang met both demon blades.
The shockwave ripped through the dungeon wall, air exploding outward. Sparks ignited the mist in violent flashes.
Arakwaru staggered. Its regeneration weakened as Nullfang drained its mana.
Ashan's cursed energy flared red.
"Let's see how well a demon handles this."
He sliced the air.
[Dismantle]
An invisible slash tore forward.
Arakwaru twisted desperately. The edge grazed its shoulder, cleaving through one horn completely. The wound burned instead of bleeding, cursed energy searing deep.
Shock rippled through the spectators.
'That invisible slash..' Eirena thought. 'If it hadn't moved…'
Silas clenched his fists, blood roaring. Every sword instinct in him screamed at the precision.
The demon roared.
[Abyssal Domain]
Black mist flooded the chamber again. Chains slithered across the ground, scraping stone.
But Ashan's Byakugan veins bulged.
"I can see you."
He moved.
Chains erupted. He twisted between them, Sharingan predicting their paths before they formed. A massive hand of cursed energy smashed through the fog, slamming into Arakwaru's chest and throwing it backward.
The walls split.
Lava-colored cracks glowed.
Arakwaru lunged back in without hesitation, its massive frame cutting through the black mist like a warship through storm waters.
Both swords spun outward and then crossed inward, forming a double helix of black and white light. The blades screamed as they tore through the air, their edges rending not just stone but the astral layer beneath reality itself. Dark mana chains spiraled around the swings, snapping and crackling as if eager to bind whatever they touched.
Ashan met it head-on.
He blocked the first blade with Nullfang, the clash detonating like a cannon blast. The impact shattered the ground beneath his feet, spiderweb cracks racing outward in all directions. Before the second sword could complete its arc, he pivoted, turning his body just enough to let the edge slide past his shoulder by a hair's breadth.
Then he stepped in.
His palm struck forward.
[Black Flash]
The impact exploded through Arakwaru's chest with a thunderous shockwave that blasted away the surrounding mist. The demon's torso caved inward before violently snapping back into shape, shards of obsidian-like armor spinning into the air like shattered glass.
The shockwave ripped through the dungeon chamber, a crater formed beneath them.
The raiders watching from afar staggered backward from the pressure alone.
"W-What kind of power is that…?" Magnar muttered, shielding his face from flying debris.
Silas's breath hitched, coming in heavy. "That palm strike… it wasn't just a hit," he rasped.
"The force didn't just dissipate, it's like it's compounding."
But even then,
Even after that devastating blow,
It wasn't enough.
Arakwaru's body twitched. The shattered chest began knitting itself together. Veins pulsed violently beneath cracked flesh as demonic regeneration activated. The healing was slower now, noticeably strained, but it continued.
The demon straightened.
Mana gathered above its raised hand, swirling into a burning sigil layered with abyssal symbols. The air vibrated as the formation stabilized.
"You can't keep this up," Arakwaru said, its voice layered, Araksha's feral tone merging with Yakwaru's cold calculation.
Ashan jumped back lightly, landing at the edge of the crater. Dust swirled around him.
Inside his mind, calculations ran at blinding speed.
His Sharingan continued spinning, mapping muscle contractions and mana flow. His Byakugan analyzed internal energy circulation. But there was one clear conclusion.
'If I continue like this, I'll win.. But not efficiently.'
He inhaled slowly.
To crush him completely, I need more output.'
'And there's only one method.'
Eight Gates!
His gaze sharpened.
He exhaled.
'Even with all my energies; chakra, cursed energy, awakened amplification, my body still operates under natural restrictions.'
'If I remove those limits…'
His eyes half-closed.
The battlefield seemed to quiet around him. The mist trembled but did not approach.
'Third Gate should be sufficient.'
Across from him, Arakwaru narrowed its crimson-silver gaze.
"He's… focusing," Eirena whispered. "He's not attacking. He's preparing something."
Sisiliya felt it too. "The mana density around him is rising."
Draven clenched his jaw. "No… that's not just mana."
Ashan stood perfectly still.
The dungeon air trembled around his body as if afraid to touch him. His breathing slowed deliberately. Muscles tightened beneath his skin as chakra surged through every vein and capillary, pressure building internally like a sealed furnace.
His heartbeat deepened.
Once.
Twice.
Then,
'Third Gate…'
'Gate of Life… open.'
A deep pulse detonated outward.
The ground beneath Ashan's feet shattered instantly, collapsing into a widening depression. A violent green aura burst from his body, twisting and lashing like wild flames caught in a hurricane. Steam erupted from his skin as blood flow accelerated beyond normal biological thresholds.
His skin flushed red.
Veins bulged along his arms and neck.
The pressure wave alone sent the surrounding mist flying backward in concentric rings.
The raiders staggered again.
"What… what did he just do?!" Eirena gasped.
"It's like his life force exploded," Draven said, eyes wide.
Sisiliya swallowed. "No. It's not exploding."
"It's being unleashed."
Ashan opened his eyes fully.
They glowed faintly, calm, sharp, terrifyingly focused.
His presence had changed.
His chakra output spiked violently, harmonizing with cursed energy and awakening power. The combined energies fused into something denser, heavier, more primal. The air itself roared around him, compressing under invisible force.
Ashan had already surpassed common sense long ago. An awakener wielding three separate energy systems. A being who could bend space, sever concepts, and drain mana.
But with the Third Gate open, those former limits shattered and recreated.
His muscles coiled with monstrous force. His reaction speed sharpened beyond conventional perception. Even the faintest tremor in the air became readable.
He became a natural disaster wearing human skin. An absolute ruler whose mere existence dictated the battlefield.
Across from him, Arakwaru felt it.
A silent chill crawled down its spine.
Its crimson eye flickered.
Its silver eye narrowed.
'What is this presence…?'