Chapter 96: Spiritual Assimilation

Sparks gleamed with enthusiasm. The battle had reached a point where nothing else mattered; Strax had entered an absolute state of combat.

He had entered what some call the "Zone," a complete state of focus. Strax wasn't an ordinary individual, and this was evident even before the System came into play. Though the System had helped him in its own way, he had always been a genius.

His adaptive capability, his relentless drive to keep moving forward even when faced with insurmountable challenges...

"Swords... guide me," Strax murmured in his mind. He wanted to continue, to advance, but the challenge was immense. It wasn't just about a cultivation realm—it was about advancing to a completely different level.

The gap in cultivation was enormous. The early realms were easy to achieve, but beyond the Master level, things changed drastically. Now, this fight boiled down to nothing but raw power.

At this moment, Strax was lagging in every aspect: strength, speed, reaction time, resilience, and mana—he was completely inferior. The only thing keeping him alive was his swords. He was nothing compared to Darius, who had reached a level nearly on par with Xenovia, a Peak Grandmaster.

Though Darius had just advanced and wasn't fully accustomed to his new body, it was inevitable to think that defeat could happen.

SLASH!

The slash grazed his arm, but with Tiamat's help, he dodged and countered with Ouroboros. Again, the swords clashed, and sparks flickered amid the dust.

Darius's strikes grew increasingly precise, his reaction speed sharper—it was a complicated battle.

The aura around Darius's sword darkened further, pulsating with a malevolent power that seemed to defy reality itself. Strax could only defend as another attack came from above.

"Aaargh!" he roared in pain from the overhead impact. He was under immense pressure, and it was exhausting him more and more. This fight should have ended by now, it should have been over.

Strax prepared himself after deflecting the blow, his eyes narrowing as he calculated every movement, every necessary dodge to counter Darius's assault. Darius's power was impressive, but Strax's focus was so intense that his reaction speed began to increase, surpassing Darius's limit. His attack speed adapted to his Dragon Eyes.

"I won't lose to you!" Darius shouted, charging with a devastating attack, his sword slicing the air with the power he had gained from this evolution.

Strax began releasing ice from his hands... The air in the arena started to freeze... "Ice is my domain... the strongest ice there is..." Strax murmured, "Think of a form where ice could never be destroyed... think of a way for ice to be strong enough..." he muttered to himself.

Darius paused, feeling Strax's aura filling the entire environment.

"How amusing, Master." Strax heard a voice intruding on his thoughts as the image of the black-haired Milf appeared behind his mental representation, embracing him... "The ice that surpasses everything... I think I understand what you want, Master." She said, hugging him even tighter. Strax's body was immobile, his concentration so deep that even his spirit had entered a paralyzed state...

Strax looked down at him, once more with a superior gaze. "You should have brought your sword, idiot. Maybe its spirit would have helped you," Strax said, unaware... After all, Darius's sword wasn't even decent for him. At least it could have been used in this battle.

Strax pointed his sword at him, as if commanding, and the ice began to penetrate Darius.

"W-Wait!" he shouted, terrified as he felt the ice creeping up his arm. The terror of Darius as he was consumed by the black ice was palpable, a primal horror that transcended physical pain and delved into the very essence of his being. The process was slow, meticulous, as if the black ice had a sadistic mind of its own, savoring every second of his agony.

Well... the ice was still part of the Sadistic Serpent that lived within Strax... And it didn't want to be kind to Darius at all.

First, the insidious cold began to creep over his skin, freezing his flesh almost delicately.

Darius felt every cell in his body shrink, vainly struggling against the inevitable advance of the cold, which soon turned into searing pain.

"AAAHHH!! STOP!" he screamed in agony as his veins seemed to crystallize, the blood flowing slower until it stopped completely, transforming into a network of icy spikes extending throughout his body.

"PLEASE STOP!" he shouted again. He tried to keep screaming, but his voice got stuck in his throat as the black ice climbed up his neck, blocking any sound that might escape.

His eyes, wide in silent terror, reflected the sinister glow of the ice as it ascended to his head, imprisoning him in a shell of darkness and cold.

The muscle fibers of his body were paralyzed in eternal contraction, as if the ice itself were slowly chewing through his tissue, grinding his hopes with cruel pleasure. His eyes, fixed and frozen, grew cloudy, the expression of terror immortalized as a horrific mask.

Finally, the cold reached his heart, a final blow that spread like a wave of darkness through his soul. Each beat became a distant echo, an agonizing pulse that gradually slowed until it stopped.

The black ice absorbed the last spark of warmth in his body, turning Darius into a macabre statue, his body petrified in a pose of eternal terror.

Strax sheathed his swords, satisfied with the end, the black ice retreating at his command, leaving Darius's body frozen as the climate returned to normal.

He looked at the system, the notification confirming his victory:

[ < Boss: Darius Vorah (Awakened) has been defeated > ]

The black ice statue stood there in the wind, as if sculpted by a renowned artisan, but it was merely the body of an insolent worm who had been annihilated. The twisted forms of Darius were eternally etched in the black ice that had completely engulfed him.

"Thank you for the meal, my dear Master," Ouroboros said with a mischievous smile. Her voice was soft and tempting, bordering on complete sensuality.