CHAPTER 53: ENHANCING SWORD TECHNIQUE MASTERY, CRESCENT SLASH

Zorath raised his arms, summoning dozens of spears made of pure corruption, each one pulsing with energy drawn from the [Black Sun] above.

The air around him trembled as the spears hovered, suspended in the sky like a storm of blades waiting to fall.

Then, with a burst of force, he lunged forward, grabbing four of the spears mid-dash, one in each hand.

The rest? They shot toward Sam like a rain of death.

Slash! Slash!

Sam deflected the first two spear strikes with sharp precision, his primordial sword clashing against the corrupted weapons.

But the sheer number of attacks coming at him was overwhelming. More spears came from every angle, far too many to block by hand.

And so, without hesitation, Sam activated a skill.

Void Rush.!

His body instantly dissolved into a shadowy mist and sank into the ground, vanishing from the spot just as the remaining spears tore through the air where he had been a heartbeat ago.

"Hiding now?" Zorath laughed, clearly more energized the longer the fight dragged on. His voice echoed with eerie amusement, twisted and deep. "You cannot escape me. You know that."

He dropped the spears from his arms.

They vanished the moment they touched the ground, fading into dark particles.

But Zorath immediately extended his arms again, calling upon another ability.

Corrupted Chains!

Two massive chains erupted from his palms, each one crackling with black lightning as they coiled like living serpents.

Fueled by the [Black Sun], they shot forward like vipers searching for prey.

"Catch the Primordial," Zorath ordered, his voice booming.

The chains slithered and twisted, guided by corrupted will, sweeping the battlefield in search of Sam.

Even in the shadows of the earth, Sam wasn’t completely hidden. The skill didn’t protect him after all.

’This guy just doesn’t shut up,’ Sam thought, annoyed.

He moved silently through the underground, shifting through shadows to avoid the probing chains.

His senses stayed sharp, and he could already feel the heat forming above him.

The [Black Sun] was charging again.

And that was his opening.

Every time it charged that beam, Zorath got distracted.

He always assumed Sam would just stand still and take the hit with his barrier.

This time, Sam wouldn’t let that confidence slide.

Slash! Slash!

He re-emerged just enough to slice through the corrupted chains, cutting them clean in half. Both shattered into pieces and vanished.

Then, Sam darted toward Zorath, his body still cloaked in partial shadow.

"HERE COMES THE SUN!" Zorath cackled, pointing to the sky with manic glee.

Fwish! Fwish! BOOM!

The [Black Sun] unleashed another full-powered beam of corrupted energy, firing it directly at the center of the battlefield, right where Sam had been moments earlier.

But this time, Sam was already moving.

Fwish!

He erupted from the ground behind Zorath, blade in hand, eyes focused.

He said nothing. There was no roar, no battle cry, just a single, clean strike.

Zorath’s eye widened the instant he felt the presence behind him.

All four of his arms shot up defensively, and the [Corrupted Barrier] sprang into existence.

A shield of thick black light formed between them, reinforced with everything Zorath had left in that moment.

But...

"It won’t be enough," Sam said quietly.

His blade, burning with chaotic and shadow energy, crashed into the barrier.

And the barrier instantly shattered.

Then, in the same fluid motion, the blade carved through all four of Zorath’s arms, slicing through the corrupted flesh and armor like they were made of paper.

"AAGGHH—!" Zorath let out a howl of pain, staggering back as thick black blood sprayed from the stumps where his arms had been. "F-FUCK!"

But even as he reeled, the beam from the [Black Sun] finally came crashing down.

Sam couldn’t move in time, and was struck head-on.

BOOM!

He didn’t flinch.

-1! -1! -1! -1! -1!

His [Eternal Barrier] absorbed the hit, and he stood there calmly, eyes glowing a brighter crimson than ever.

[Eternal Barrier: 31/50]

Zorath clutched his stumps, and dark liquid poured from the giant eye on his head, seeping down as if he was crying.

"...Of course," he muttered, voice shaking, "Your kind only knows destruction. So I simply need... to destroy you first."

And with that, he let loose a shockwave.

BOOM!

The corrupted energy erupted from his body, blasting Sam backward and forcing him to slide across the stone floor.

Then, Zorath raised both of his stumps into the air.

"It is time for you to feel TRUE despair, Primordial."

The ground trembled.

Fwish! Fwish! Fwish!

The [Black Sun] above began to open like a wound, and from within it, dozens upon dozens of humanoid figures dropped down.

Each one landed with a heavy thud, surrounding Sam completely. One after another.

Until over a hundred [Black Sun Vessels] stood in a wide circle, encasing him from all sides.

Their mouth-heads turned toward him, each holding their blunt weapons and waiting for the command.

At the same time, Zorath drew energy from the [Black Sun] once more.

His arms, severed seconds ago, began to regenerate. Bones cracked, muscles reformed, and flesh knitted itself back together with sickening speed.

The pain was real, and the fear from being injured that badly had shaken him, but he didn’t let it show anymore.

"You’re surrounded, Primordial," Zorath sneered as he leapt high into the air.

He landed atop the [Black Sun], towering over Sam once again, gazing down with his monstrous eye.

"What can you do now?"

Sam didn’t answer.

He stood in the center of the ruined plaza, his sword lowered for a moment, his breathing calm.

He wasn’t scared. He wasn’t even worried.

Even now, facing over a hundred corrupted enemies, with Zorath and the [Black Sun] ready to fire again, he couldn’t feel despair.

And Zorath saw it. He hated it.

"It’s always the same with your kind," he snarled. "You keep going... until you die."

Those words made Sam pause.

"I fought dozens of your kind," Zorath continued, his voice filled with venom. "And every time, we killed them. Until eventually... only one remained. You."

Sam’s grip tightened on the hilt of his sword.

That... pissed him off.

He didn’t care about the others before him. He didn’t know them, never met them, never shared their story.

But the idea of monsters like this, killing them, one after another, until only he was left?

It stirred something inside of him.

And as if to respond—

[Shadow and Chaotic energy swirl around you, boosting your power.]

[Your "Primordial Sword Technique" has improved.]

[You have learned "Crescent Slash".]

A surge of energy burst from Sam’s body as his affinities swirled together, fusing and strengthening him.

His eyes glowed brighter than ever before, and the blade in his hand pulsed with power.

"All right," he said softly, stepping into a crouch. "Time to end this."

He lowered his stance, closed his eyes, and focused.

The [Black Sun Vessels] charged.

A hundred of them, all at once, rushing from every direction with their weapons raised.

Sam waited. He didn’t move.

Not until they were close.

And then—

Fwish!

He opened his eyes and slashed in a full spin, unleashing a wide arc of shadow and chaos in all directions.

A crescent-shaped wave exploded outward from his blade, merging the full strength of his affinities and his sword technique.

The [Black Sun Vessels] didn’t even get to swing.

Dozens were cut down instantly, cleaved clean through by the wave of energy.

One after another, they fell.

Even Zorath, watching from above, was stunned.

His single massive eye widened in disbelief.

"The True Primordial..." he whispered, realization settling in, "...We can’t let him go. KILL HIM!"

The [Black Sun] began pulsing wildly, releasing wave after wave of corrupted shockwaves toward Sam.

Each one stronger than the last. But Sam didn’t falter.

He stood tall in the center of the devastation, his crimson aura burning.

He was ready. He had never been more ready.

And now... he would kill the second Forsaken Lord.