Ding!

[25 seconds left.]

Sam’s eyes locked with the gaze of his clone.

The clone stared back, mirroring his intensity. No words were needed.

Both of them nodded once, a silent agreement passing between them.

Together, they turned toward the monstrous form of the [Pale Monarch].

The void centipede coiled across the endless black space, its massive bloodshot eye fixed on Sam with an unblinking glare.

The Monarch still had no idea that a timer ticked away above Sam’s head.

It believed it had all the time in the world, confident that it could eventually corner him.

It believed that even if Sam cut through the void again and again, it would always find a way to stop him.

But for Sam, there was no luxury of time.

It was now or never.

’All my skills are still nullified. I don’t know how long this [Nullification] lasts. It could be seconds. It could be forever.’

He tightened his grip on the primordial sword.

If the nullification didn’t wear off in time, he had to assume that none of his abilities would work.

Only the sword remained.

That single weapon was his only path to victory.

Across the void, the [Pale Monarch] widened its massive eye.

The red veins inside it pulsed with an eerie rhythm as it swelled open, releasing a crushing wave of energy that made the air itself tremble.

The shock of power slammed into Sam like a hurricane, forcing him back across the platform.

[You will never reach me.]

[My body is simply too vast. You cannot harm what you cannot touch.]

Its voice echoed like a chorus of countless whispers layered into one.

Sam rolled his shoulders and shrugged, his tone dry.

"Heard that one before."

He couldn’t deny the truth of the Monarch’s claim.

The creature’s body wasn’t merely large—it was the void itself.

It wrapped around the platform in endless coils, forming circles upon circles until Sam was surrounded completely.

It was as if the void had taken a physical form just to mock him.

And worse, the Monarch retained full control of its abilities.

While Sam stood stripped of his powers, the Monarch wielded the infinite strength of the void as if it were a natural extension of its will.

Sam drew a slow breath, forcing himself to focus.

His soul burned with crimson light.

Determination flared inside him, blending with the raw power of his affinities.

Every ounce of strength he had left surged to the surface.

’I’m supposed to kill a being stronger than a Forsaken Lord... at my level... and in under twenty-five seconds.’

Ding!

[20 seconds left.]

’Never mind. Make that even less.’

The odds of victory were nonexistent. But impossibility meant nothing.

[Knowing that your life might end in 20 seconds fills you with... DETERMINATION!]

The message resonated inside him like a heartbeat.

Sam refused to stop.

Fwish!

He moved without hesitation.

His body blurred forward, cutting across the void like a streak of light.

In front of the Monarch’s massive eye, an orb of condensed darkness swelled.

The sphere churned and twisted as it absorbed energy from the void, a weapon forming in silence.

The [Primordial Clone] reacted instantly.

Its eyes flared open, leaking an aura so heavy that the platform beneath it cracked.

Primordial Tendrils! Primordial Hellscape! Primordial Barrage!

The clone unleashed all three skills at once, a desperate storm of power meant to create a single opening.

But the Monarch was faster.

[Futile. I can already see every move you intend to make.]

Void Nullification!

The orb pulsed once.

A dark shockwave rippled outward, devouring the attacks before they could even fully form.

The clone’s powers collapsed into nothingness, snuffed out like sparks in a storm.

[Now tell me, what will you do—]

The Monarch’s voice cut short.

[—Huh?]

Its gaze lingered on the clone, whose smile only widened as if it had anticipated the failure.

The Monarch turned back toward Sam.

[...?!]

The sight made its vast eye contract in sudden alarm.

Sam’s primordial sword glowed brighter than it ever had before.

The blade pulsed with a light so fierce it seemed ready to tear through the void itself.

’Here goes nothing,’ Sam thought, his grip tightening.

’This is the strongest strike the [True Primordial Sword Technique] can produce.’

If this failed, he would die. There would be no second chance.

[You think a single attack will frighten me? I am invincible.]

The Monarch’s roar split the silence like a thunderclap.

The dark orb floating above its head finished gathering energy.

It pulsed once, then slowly lifted into position.

VOID PURGE! BOOM!

A colossal beam of concentrated void energy burst from the orb.

The black torrent ripped across the void, tearing through everything in its path as it surged straight toward Sam.

He didn’t dodge. He couldn’t.

His technique demanded more time to charge, and this single attack was the only card left to play.

He braced himself, raising his free hand.

A shimmering crimson barrier erupted around him.

The [Primordial Barrier] absorbed the beam head-on, its surface trembling but holding firm.

The torrent of darkness screamed against the shield, sparks of void energy scattering like dying stars.

[That barrier of yours is strong.]

[But it would not protect you from the others.]

"...?"

[They can bypass it completely =)]

Sam clenched his jaw.

The Monarch’s words dug at the edges of his focus, but he refused to look away.

He couldn’t afford even a moment of distraction.

The beam continued to crash against his barrier, but his sword only grew brighter.

The glow deepened into a white-hot radiance that rivaled the void itself.

[Primordial Barrier: 45/100]

Ding!

[10 seconds left.]

Sam exhaled sharply. The time had come.

"You weren’t strong enough," he said with a small grin, "But don’t worry. Whether it’s the other Monarchs, the Colossals, or even that so-called King... they’ll join you soon enough."

His voice carried across the void like a promise.

Even as the Monarch’s beam battered his shield, Sam swung.

Fwish... The world seemed to slow.

A blinding flash split the darkness, brighter than any star.

[What the—]

ECLYPSE SLASH!

Sam’s blade cut through the air, releasing a massive crescent of pure power.

The slash radiated the combined force of his aura and every affinity he possessed.

It wasn’t just an attack. It was an evolution.

The [Primordial Crescent Slash] had been the ultimate form of the [Crescent Slash] move.

But... [Eclypse Slash] was its evolution!

A technique designed to tear through everything, void, barrier, or soul.

The Monarch reacted instantly.

The dark orb collapsed in on itself, feeding its energy into a single desperate defense.

VOID BARRIER!

A massive wall of void matter surged into existence before the Monarch.

The barrier shone with a deep black glow, thicker and stronger than anything Sam had seen.

[To break this wall, you would have to overpower the entire void itself.]

[You LOSE.]

Ding!

[5 seconds left.]

The [Eclypse Slash] collided with the barrier in a deafening blast.

The clash sent shockwaves through the void, shaking the platform beneath Sam’s feet.

The Monarch’s eye narrowed in amusement.

[All your attempts were meaningless. I can see it in your expression too, this is your final stand.]

Sam sighed.

"True," he said quietly, "But..."

He never finished the sentence.

The Monarch’s confidence began to crack. Literally.

Crack! Crack!

The void barrier shuddered.

Hairline fractures spread across its surface, thin at first but multiplying like spiderwebs.

The Eclypse Slash pushed forward with relentless force, refusing to slow, refusing to fade.

[What is this?]

[Impossible!]

[I am the Pale Monarch! The first of the five! I will not die here—]

BOOM!

The barrier shattered. Chunks of void matter splintered apart and dissolved into nothingness.

The slash surged through the gap like a falling star.

[—Oh.]

SLASH!

The Eclypse Slash cut cleanly through the Monarch’s enormous head.

The glowing blade of energy sliced through its eye, splitting it in half with a single devastating strike.

The void itself seemed to scream as the Monarch’s body convulsed.

For a heartbeat, the entire realm trembled under the force of the blow.

The Monarch’s eye flickered violently.

The blackness that had once surrounded Sam retreated in violent waves.

It was over. The Pale Monarch, the first of the five, had fallen.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by lotustale.com