What does death feel like?
Those who know the answer to this question are not present with us, so it remains a mystery.
How swift is it? How painful is it? No one alive can say.
However, the fear of death is enough to give people incredibly accurate descriptions on how dying feels, or would feel like.
Perhaps a light at the end of the tunnel... or some sort of eternal void.
That wasn't what Rey felt as he supposedly sank into the world of the abyss--entering the grasp of death.
Rather than a world engulfed in sheer darkness, or some sort of afterlife that would claim his dear soul, there was something else.
It was a panel, spread out before his nonexistent eyes.
[SYSTEM NOTICE]
~You have suffered a fatal attack~
~[Near-Death Effect] will now be activated~
[As long as you don't die immediately, you can recover from a fatal attack--can only be used once a day]
[Initiating Recovery...]
*********
Dagon stood in front of the brilliant golden barrier that protected the humans--particulary its prey--from its grasp.
Its massive stature cast a dark shadow on the group, and its maw twisted to form a terrifyingly toothy grin. It had just elimited the strongest mankind had to offer, so it didn't particularly consider any of these ones to be threats.
The humans huddled together in a group, staying as far away from the creature as the barrier would allow.
Then--
~ZTTZZ~
--The creature of terror took a step forward, entering the golden haven that was supposed to have warded off all danger.
The barrier melted, like butter would when confronted with heat.
It seemed so easy for Dagon. Its silver scales merely glittered as the barrier crumbled before its might. Before long, its huge body was within the barrier--along with all the humans.
As soon as this happened, the golden haven vanished from sight, dissipating into nothingness.
Nothing could withstand Dagon... nothing at all.
"Huuu..." Dagon stared at Alicia with its absent eyes, its wide grin stretching even more like the monster that it was.
Now that it had completely gotten rid of its obstacle, it was finally time to kill its prey.
But--
~BOOOOOM!~
A sudden explosion of light erupted from right behind the Divine Beast, causing it to stop dead in its tracks.
The light was pure white, and it shot right above into the skies overhead.
Everything around trembled, and the grounds shook in response to the birth of this mighty power--or rather, the being that was emerging from within it.
"G-GRRRR...?!" Dagon slowly looked back, its grin vanishing completely as it became struck with confusion.
It was sure that the enemy had been eliminated. It was certain that there was not a single remain of its adversary. So why?
How was this possible...?
Right behind it, about a few meters away, was a naked human who stared down at it with a look of complete animosity.
The young man's frown triggered Dagon. Its own monstrous face also frowned as it instantly cast all of its attention from the initial target.
Something was overriding its previous disposition.
At first, killing the Tamer was its primary goal, while destroying the human who stood in its way was only secondary. But now, the whole thing had been reversed.
Killing this one came first.
"GRRRRRRR..." Dagon kept growling as it left the vicinity of the gasping, shocked humans, moving towards the still opponent.
From behind it, he could hear a lot of murmurs from the insignificant worms, but none of those mattered to it.
Its tail lashed on the ground, easily creating cracks and potholes wherever they struck.
In no time at all, it arrived right in front of the enemy.
... Rey.
Somehow, he seemed distracted. As if blankly staring at something right in front of him, and not the Divine Beast that overwhelmingly overshadowed him.
~WHOOOSH!~
Before Rey could even act at all, Dagon sent a powerful blow towards him.
~BOOOOM!~
It connected, creating a powerful shockwave that seared through everything around them. The entire area was destroyed as a result of the force that the blow generated, and the shivering humans were blown away by the strike.
The earth around them broke into pieces, and the buildings that were close-by were left devastated.
However, amidst the dust cloud that tose from the point of impact, two silhouttes remained standing—one massive and the other smaller.
… Much smaller.
"Ow…" Rey mumbled as the hot fist of the Divine Beast still remained plastered on his slightly shifted face.
The earth directly beneath his feet had caved in significantly, but his heels were planted very deeply on the ground so his body hardly bidged.
His neck was turned to a side, but his eyes were still on the Divine Beast.
Then—
~WHOOOOOSH!~
In a much swifter manner, Rey sent his own blow from his right fist, coating it with white-colored light.
The result…
~BOOOOOOOOOM!~
… Was far more devastating.
Dagon was forcefully sent flying high into the air as a result of the uppercut that Rey dished out, causing even more of the surrounding area to get razed down.
As soon as it ascended high into the sky, Rey was finally able to take a deep breath, spitting out blood-filled saliva from his mouth.
His face hardly showed it, but the pain from that hit was still incredibly disorienting.
But… he held it in.
'I can't afford to make another mistake again.' His thoughts trailed as he gazed up, seeing Dagon still ascending high into the sky.
'If I get careless, I'll die… and for real this time.'
The only reason he was able to survive Dagon's point-blank and insta-kill attack was because he killed himself before the attack landed.
Back then, Rey remembered his Class Privilege—one that guaranteed his recovery as long as he didn't die instantly.
Dagon's attack would have done him in with one blow.
Upon recognizing this, Rey decided to use his own Skills to inflict damage on himself, hoping that would somehow create a loophole in the System.
It was quick-thinking on his part, something he could never have been able to do without the help of [Dead Calm].
Right before Dagon sent out its devastating breath, Rey squeezed out the remnants of his Mana and coated himself in flames from [Divine Elemental Magic]. The flames clashed with Dagon's blast, mitigating the blow while roasting him until he reached that treshold.
Once it came, his body was completely consumed by Dagon's attack… but not before the [Near-Death Effect] came into play.
That was the only reason why he survived.
'And it seems I got a new Skill for my troubles…' Rey thought to himself, still readying himsef for the battle that was about to ensue.
[Skill Details]
[Sacrifice]
Tier: S
Ability: By offering your Skills, you can gain additional Stats. Once a Skill has been sacrificed, you can never get them again.
[End Of Information]
'I've already sacrificed ten Skills, and that puts me on the same level of strength as that thing, but it isn't enough if I can't get past its defenses and healing factor…'
Humans were weak. They had limits, and their natural features were very mundane, compared to that of Monsters and Beasts.
'Beating it up isn't enough…' Rey thought to himself as he stared into his Status Screen, looking at the most viable solution to his current problem.
'I have to use the [Unknown Box] Skill.'
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Thanks for reading!
I wont't be releading any other chapter today since I am sick, but I'll try my best to recover soon so we can continue.
The fight is only really just beginning…
