The flames, in all of their eagerness to listen to my commands, quickly coalesced into a spear that seemed to be the definition of beauty and wrath combined into a singular object.

I almost wanted to believe that there wasn't a single existence in all of the Multiverse that could craft something this powerful and simultaneously make it such a beautiful piece of art.

Even the armor.

None of it seemed like it could ever be crafted by the hands of man.

And it wasn't like I asked for any of these designs or anything of the sort—just my intention for armor and the spear was enough.

The spear was gripped tightly in my hands as I allowed the calmness that I've held onto since the descent of the being to fade away.

I wanted to maintain control of my emotions during this fight, and it was all too easy for me to do that, as being calm in any situation was almost as natural as breathing for me… but the time for that was gone.

The cover of calmness left, and the seal it had on my anger peeled all the way back and allowed it to spill forth into the world.

Something shifted in the cavern.

The flames could feel it… they could feel all my anger and desire for nothing but murder, directed at the being that has constantly been attacking me with literally tons of life-threatening blood.

But as the wrath I felt permeated through the flames, they too grew in intensity, and all of the blood in the room began incinerating faster than it seemingly could be generated.

I took this as my opportunity to get close.

Waves of blood met a firestorm of flames, and a very quick and ruthless exchange of scythe and spear began.

It became akin to a dance.

Sparks, blood, and flames constantly flying and clashing about in the cavern as a devastating battle ensued.

There was only one thing on my mind.

Kill.

I roared out in anger as I stabbed my spear towards his heart, only for it to be blocked by a scythe.

Every time my spear met one of his scythes, the space shook, and every time a mass of blood met a mass of flames, it appeared as if the world creaked.

But we continued. I didn't stop. I couldn't stop.

It was either I died and the Core got sacrificed, or I did what I came here to do.

At some point, I stopped fighting back so much against his blood and allowed my armor to handle a good amount of damage I otherwise would've taken if I didn't have it.

This allowed me to press even further, and eventually, the Vamp was on the back foot.

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The blood hadn't stopped attacking me even once, but now both him and his scythes were only focused on dodging and blocking.

My attacks were relentless as we continued to flash around the room, and the framework of a plan I thought of began to finalize.

I wanted to end this in one devastating attack because a drawn-out battle did me no favors. And no matter how much I didn't like admitting it, I was not stronger than the opponent in front of me.

Even with the descent of the being in my body, I was only able to essentially match him in raw power—which was not a recipe for success when I needed to win quickly.

But at the same time, if the attack I delivered also damaged the Core, then all of this would be pointless.

The Vamp had to be taken out of this room. I've been roaring and unleashing as many attacks as I could with my flames and spear, but at the same time, I haven't lost the presence of mind to make sure I'm driving him to the location I want.

Right to the entrance of the cavern.

He didn't seem to realize what I had done, and in that moment, I pressed even harder and waited for my opportunity to come.

A flurry of attacks later, and there it was.

The alignment of the Vamp was off. I sent billows of flames to his left and right while aiming for his feet with my spear, and he shifted his scythes below to block and reinforced the walls of blood at his sides.

But my strike was a feint.

Something I hadn't done for this entire battle.

It was different from my usual pattern and thus created a momentary lapse in the actions of the Vamp. I pulled my arm back and struck with all my might. I had all the intention in the world to drive my spear through the center of his chest and out through his spine.

But of course, it wasn't that easy.

At the very last second, he crossed his scythes across his chest to block the spear, and he successfully does so… but the pressure behind my strike doesn't wane. Instead, it grows stronger.

"ARHHHHHHH!!!!!"

I roared at the top of my lungs as I willed the flames to drive me forward like a rocket being launched into space.

With gritted teeth and black flames blazing behind me, I drove the Vamp through the hole back to the surface.

I was no longer using my flames to block his blood at all, and he was constantly washing me with it.

The blood tried to enter my pores, but it was incinerated the second it came in contact with my own blood.

Of course, that didn't eliminate the pain I felt from the process. But it wasn't even enough to quell my anger. To weaken my resolve.

To douse the Eternal Flames that drove me forward.

"ARHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!"

We flew at blistering speeds, and then the second we left the hole and the dark sky of the continent was my backdrop once more, I let out an even louder roar.

"BLACK!!!!!!"

Seemingly enough flames to cover the entire planet immediately gathered at the head of my spear.

"LANCEEEEEEE!!!!!!!!!!!!"

…..

DOOOOOOOOMMMMMMMM

BOOOOOOOOMMMM!!!!

WOOOOOOSHHH!!!!

A disgustingly massive lance formed from the tip of the spear and essentially became a beam of ethereal black light with the width of a sequoia tree and shot out with the Vamp on the wrong end of it all.

Various explosions sounded out from the point of contact and then in the world around me as well.

All of the creaking I could hear from the world itself seemed to finally give way to what turned into massive tears in space.

It reminded me of day 1 of the system reaching Earth when the metal dude tore a hole through space and entered the white room.

Except that hole was stable.

This was far from that.

But I didn't have time to worry about any of that…

I somehow ended up in the sky, and I was rapidly falling from the height I reached. That wasn't the issue though. The power granted to me from the being was slipping away fast. And in its place came existential pain.

There was no telling what exactly happened to the Vamp and if he survived the attack, but the countdown hadn't stopped.

But the pain… I could quite literally feel my body shriveling up. My organs were failing, and my skin was cracking and falling.

My healing factor wasn't keeping up, and I could no longer hear the voice of the being.

In fact, I couldn't hear anything at all…

Ah… I feel so weak… but the runes… I have… I have to get… rid… the runes… I have…

….I want to sleep…

Yeah, that wouldn't be so bad…

~ End of Book Two ~

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