CHAPTER 185: FIGHTING THE ASTRALS AT THE SAME TIME, SLAM OF THE BEAR

All five monsters rushed at Sam and the clone at once, their movements coordinated and overwhelming, and his eyes darted rapidly across the battlefield to analyze everything in the split second before the clash.

The [Astral Serpent] slithered through the air with terrifying speed, its massive jaws opening wide in a single, clean motion as if it intended to swallow both Sam and his clone whole.

’If it devours me, I’ll be trapped inside,’ Sam thought sharply, his mind racing. ’That’s death. I can’t let that happen.’

The [Astral Bird] flapped its radiant wings, releasing a shimmering shock of power that rippled across its body.

Its [Wings of Steel] buff activated instantly, hardening its feathers into blades of astral metal before it lunged straight at Sam.

’Could counter that,’ Sam realized, ’but cutting through will be near impossible with the steel buff. It’ll shrug it off.’

The [Astral Undead] charged, swinging its jagged sword with one hand while the other glowed ominously.

Sam immediately recognized the signs—[Astral Undead Summoning] was about to activate, which meant a horde of lesser undead would soon flood the field.

’The fodder won’t matter much,’ Sam calculated, ’but that blade is dangerous. And with immortality backing it up... this thing won’t stay down even if I manage a clean strike.’

He knew exactly why.

The [Undead Immortality] skill was burned into his memory.

Out of the fifteen skills he had scanned in his frantic preparations, two had stood out so strongly that he had read them in full detail.

The first was this one.

[Undead Immortality]

[Rank: Determination]

[Description: Unless your very core is shattered, you will keep reviving endlessly, eliminate all those that stand in your way, especially the Primordial.]

[Hell-Mode Analysis: The secret is out, too bad for it.]

Sam’s lips curled into a grin even as sweat slid down the side of his face.

He had information no one else would figure out so easily.

’So that’s the trick,’ he thought, eyes narrowing. ’The core. I just have to find the core and crush it.’

While the serpent, bird, and undead closed in, the [Astral Mage] remained behind them.

It raised its staff high, focusing its energy, and an [Astral Fireball] began to form above the staff’s tip.

The sphere glowed brighter and brighter, growing in size until it resembled a miniature sun burning with concentrated destruction.

And then Sam’s gaze shifted toward the last opponent rushing at him—the [Astral Bear].

It sprinted on all fours, each step pounding the ground like thunder, its claws extended and brimming with astral energy, prepared to strike Sam at the exact moment the others closed in.

Sam’s [Primordial Barrier] shimmered faintly across his body.

Combined with his [Cooldown Breaker], the barrier was reinforced so heavily it would take two hundred consecutive strikes before it shattered completely.

On paper, that made him nearly untouchable.

But Sam already knew the truth.

That was only theory.

That was only if he let himself get pushed back.

’It’s you,’ Sam muttered under his breath, his eyes locking on the massive bear. ’You’re the weakest link out of all of them.’

His eyes flared with determination, burning brighter than the chaos unfolding around him.

Surrounded by five opponents at once, he couldn’t possibly answer to all their attacks.

The only path forward was to take them down one by one.

"Primordial Clone," Sam ordered firmly. "Distract the others while I take out the bear. If you can kill them, good. If not, just keep them busy."

The clone gave no verbal reply, but its presence surged.

Sam could feel their synchronization was much higher than before, their thoughts almost aligned, though there was always a sharp edge to the clone’s aura.

It was obedient, yes, but Sam had the chilling impression that if disobedience meant more slaughter, it might not hesitate.

It was already a miracle it hadn’t killed Belle when Sam commanded it to hold back.

That thought lingered, but he had no time to dwell.

Astral Bite! Wings of Steel! Astral Swipe! Astral Fireball! Sword Strike!

All five astrals unleashed their abilities at once, the battlefield exploding in light and sound.

Sam’s body ignited with aura, his sword thrumming with the combined strength of his affinities as he charged straight toward the [Astral Bear].

Fwish! Slash!

The bear’s massive claws ripped through the air in two consecutive swipes, but Sam met them both head-on, his primordial sword intercepting with flawless precision.

The sheer impact shook the ground, but Sam held his ground, blocking each strike with effortless defiance.

Meanwhile, his primordial clone was locked in a storm of chaos.

The [Astral Serpent] lunged with its gaping jaws, trying to crush it in one bite, but the clone leapt into the air.

At the same time, its blade intercepted the [Astral Undead]’s strike.

And even mid-air, it twisted its body to evade the [Astral Bird]’s deadly wings.

The clone landed, knees bending with force, only for the [Astral Mage]’s fireball to streak through the sky like a burning meteor.

Fwish!

The clone’s eyes gleamed with feral determination.

With a single slash, it cleaved through the massive sphere of fire, cutting it neatly in half as the explosion dispersed into harmless fragments of light.

"=)"

Its twisted grin stretched as it looked back at the four monsters.

Though they were merely controlled extensions of the astral orb above, something in them recoiled when they faced the primordial clone.

Their bodies tensed, as if something deep within them recognized the horror standing before them.

Sam, on the other hand, was realizing something else entirely.

’I get it now,’ he thought, parrying another slash from the [Astral Bear]. ’This is why [Tier 2] exists.’

These enemies weren’t like the ones he had fought before.

The power gap was brutal.

Abilities that once carried him through battles, [Tendrils of Oblivion], [Sovereign Inferno], meant almost nothing now.

And let’s not talk about his [Primordial Spirits], who were pathetically underwhelming compared to the strength of the astrals.

After deflecting the bear’s claws again, he closed his eyes for an instant and summoned them anyway.

Primordial Spirit!

---

[Which spirit do you wish to summon?]

[→ Forgotten Flying Sentinel (Level 74)]

[→ Forgotten Flying Sentinel (Level 74)]

[→ Forgotten Flying Sentinel (Level 74)]

---

Three [Forgotten Flying Sentinels] appeared in the air around him, their glowing forms conjured from his aura.

But the moment they arrived—

SLAM OF THE BEAR!

The [Astral Bear] leapt high, its massive body shimmering with the full force of the astral orb’s power.

It came crashing down with earth-shattering force.

Sam’s eyes widened.

"What the fuck—"

CRASH! BOOOOM!

The bear’s colossal body smashed into the ground, annihilating the three sentinels instantly.

They didn’t even last a second.

The crushing weight bore down on Sam as well, slamming him to the ground beneath the monster’s massive form.

-1! -1! -1!

His [Primordial Barrier] flared under the impact, durability ticking away with each crushing pulse.

Sam struggled, trying to push the monster off him, but the pressure was suffocating.

’God damn it,’ he cursed, teeth gritted. ’This wasn’t part of the plan... not that I had much of a plan to begin with.’

He could feel his clone still fighting, its barrier slowly eroding under the combined assault of the four other astrals.

The situation was spiraling.

Even with his endless dodging, the clone was absorbing hits it couldn’t ignore forever.

And worse, its primordial sword couldn’t land a killing blow through their relentless defenses, since they all seemed to protect each other.

[Just one strike is all it takes.]

[Proceed with no hesitation, we will rise above them all.]

The words flashed before Sam’s eyes like a taunt, and his rage flared.

Pinned under the [Astral Bear], every second dragged him closer to failure.

’It’s holding me down,’ Sam growled inwardly, aura burning through his veins. ’It’s going to crush me out of sheer weight. I can’t... I won’t... ALLOW IT.’

He couldn’t waste another moment.

He couldn’t afford hesitation.

He had to kill them all, and he had to do it now.

[Feeling powerless against these beings... fills you with HATRED!]

The panel ignited inside his vision, and Sam felt the fury explode in his chest.

It surged through his blood, his soul, his very core.

Ding!

[You have summoned a "Star of Hatred".]

A new star burned into existence around him, blazing with crimson-black fire.

If the [Astral Bear] thought it could keep him pinned under its massive body, then Sam had only one answer.

Overpower it. Break it. Destroy it.

His lips stretched into a fierce smile as the star’s power swirled into him.

Fwish!

HATRED BOOST!