Chapter 96 - A Madman's Laugh

"Goodbye," Yuki said as he created a large explosion of flames, completely obliterating Apostol. 

That was what Yuki thought, however when the smoke cleared, Apostol's body was still mostly intact. His left horn had been blown off; however, that was the most visible injury he had sustained. Apostol stood up from the ground as Yuki let go of his face. Yuki stepped back to keep a distance between him and his enemy. 

Apostol now at his limit, he placed one of his 3 claws which stretched out from his left and before breaking it off as the edge. Apostol put his left hand back down and carried his own sharp claw in his mouth as if it were a blade. That was when Yuki noticed that he had actually done a lot of damage to Apostol. He had doubted himself as he completely believed that he had annihilated Apostol with his previous attack. When Apostol stood back up, it had brought worry to Yuki. Now that he realized that he wasn't in dager anymore, Yuki began to feel confident once more. 

[Unconscious Breathing]

Yuki saw the large text once more which indicated that the enemy was about to use his special ability once more. As Apostol leaped into the air as to create his sequence of moves before attacking his enemy, Yuki also leaped toward the demon to stop him midair as he had done so multiple times. 

Yuki propelled himself like a slingshot towards Apostol, however when he was supposed to make contact with Apostol, Yuki passed through him like there was nothing there. 

"What-how did I miss?" Yuki asked himself. It was as if Yuki had passed through an after image. 

As Yuki landed back on the ground and turned around, he was greeted by a blade that was swinging right to his face. In pure instinct, Yuki stepped back and held his right arm forward to block the blade. However, it had the opposite effect of what Yuki had intended. Yuki watched as his right forearm fell to his feet. In Front of him was the bloodthirsty Apostol laughing with his blade in his mouth. Unlike last time, Apostol wasn't laughing for the sake of tormenting Yuki. His laugh was drived by nothing. It was a madman's laugh.

Even though this had happened, Yuki was unfazed by it. He had kept a straight face because he knew what he had to do. Yuki wouldn't allow this opportunity to pass. 

"May the heaven's forgive you," said Yuki as he leaped in the air-floating right above Apostol's head. 

"Activate ability: Fire Control"

Yuki clenched his left first as he engulfed it with concentrated flames. However, due to Yuki losing his right arm moments ago, his concentration had disturbed. This caused his flames to flow out of his arm and extend above him. Nevertheless, Yuki prepared to finish what he couldn't before. Yuki closed his eyes and took one last deep breath before opening his eyes gaping wide and slamming his flaming fist into the laughing Apostol's head-instantly crushing his skull. 

The fight was now truly over. 

Yuki landed back on his feet as if he was in slow motion. 

"Only one to go," Yuki said as he prepared himself to take on the last stage of the dungeon. 

[Open inventory]

Yuki pulled out a full status recovery potion from his inventory and drank it which allowed him to instantaneously grow back his right forearm and heal any other injuries which he may have sustained. While Yuki was happy to have recovered from his injuries, he knew something just as bad was coming. 

"Zero-" Yuki tried to call out for Zero before it began, however just as he spoke a large heartbeat could be heard all throughout the stage. It was Yuki's heart. Yuki instantly fell to his knees and he struggled to not scream in pure agony. This pain only lasted for a few moments as Zero had received the memo and allowed Yuki to get past the system's punishment for consuming 10 potions within the 24 hour timer. 

"This is seriously getting old. Why is it so painful each time? Does it automatically adjust the pain so that it's still excruciating no matter the player level," said Yuki as he stood up from the ground. 

"More importantly, I should get ready for the final boss fight. I should be prepared to give it my all. Any delay in movement or action could have severe consequences," Yuki told himself. 

While Yuki planned to battle against the 10th and final stage of the dungeon, the 3 kingdoms which had united to take down Yuki were waiting outside the dungeon gate. 

"An army composed of over 3000 people versus 1 phyco kid. I think we over prepared for this. On top of that we have the 500 prisoners which will be sacrificed if all else fails. I kinda feel bad for the kid, even if he tries to run away, his death is guaranteed," said Carmi. 

The mercenaries who were hired by the crime syndicate managed to blend in with the crowd as they awaited the perfect moment to slide off Yuki's head and make a run for it so they could receive their payment. 

The king, who was summoned by Yuki, was forced to exit the premises by one of the soldiers as he would get caught in the crossfire and die. The king complied as he knew that his king would enjoy the battle against all of them if he were to fight on his own. He knew that if he were to use "Man's last hope: Ourbanos", the battle would end quickly as not many people would know that he was the one controlling that beast. 

"Just you wait. It won't be much longer until you all meet your doom. My king doesn't even need to use half of his mighty power to bring an end to all your pitiful lives," whispered Lydie. 

Two of the soldiers looked back at the king which was summoned by Yuki with a confused face. 

"What's up with that guy?" one of them asked. 

"I think he's lost it. He was escorted here so he wouldn't die in the crossfire. For some odd reason he was sitting on a log right in front of the dungeon entrance gate," the other one replied.