Chapter 80: Cut in Half?
As the room shook from the intense power of Judicator's ultimate skills, Stark knew that this was the moment where he would either be annihilated or be victorious.
"CLONE FRENZY-" Stark tried to summon his two clones to aid him, not even taking the time to analyze Judicator's new appearance although it seemed like he had changed.
But…
~FWISH~
In a fraction of a second, Judicator was already in front of him, his scythe and sword right beside his head.
'Huh…?' he didn't understand how this was possible, how could he be so fast.
Time seemed to slow down around him thanks to [Focus], and so he used that opportunity to read about the two ultimate skills of the fallen angel.
…
[Skill: Anger of the Fallen]
[Description:] The angel has fallen from its grace, and now all it seeks is revenge against those that tried to kill it, this skill grants 'Judicator' a temporary boost on all stats depending of his anger at the moment
…
[Skill: Body of a Saint]
[Description:] An angel remains an angel, no matter their current status, this skill allows 'Judicator' to transform his body using his 'Divine Aura', his entire body will be surrounded by that aura, increasing his defense immensely and also making him look really cool
…
'…' Stark decided to use the [Purgatory Shadows] ring as his [Invincible Dodge] was on cooldown.
~SLASH, SLASH~
The angel attacked Stark from both sides, hoping to decapitate him, but…
[The Purgatory Shadow took the hit in your place]
A shadow version of himself appeared on both sides of his head to take on both attacks, giving Stark the time to attempt to hit the angel.
He had just observed it now, but the angel's appearance had changed, his skin didn't look human-like anymore.
Instead… it was dyed in platinum, making him look very shiny.
~SLAM~
Stark smashed the angel's face with full force.
"-4837!"
"OUCH!" Stark shook his hand repeatedly, he had dealt damage to the angel, but his hand was hurting a lot now, it was almost as if he had hit an actual wall of platinum (no one has ever done that).
"Angel's Eyes," the platinum Judicator smiled as his eyes began glowing even brighter, "Now… none of your moves will work…"
Stark clenched his fist, feeling the burning pain in his hand. His opponent had somehow become even stronger and more durable.
And what was that [Angel's Eyes] skill anyway?
"I see all paths, I see all possible attacks, you cannot defeat me, FOOL!"
This was true, as [Angel's Eyes] basically showed every move an opponent could do, which meant that currently, he could see shadows of Stark try all sort of things, whether it was throw the crimson fists or spears, dash at him, stand back to defend himself, or die, he saw it all.
"It is my victory…" however, something strange happened as the angel spoke those words: a sigh escaped him, perhaps because he had considered the possibility of losing for a brief moment, after all, Stark had surprised him.
But at the end of it all…
~FWISH~
Only one would emerge victorious from this confrontation.
~SWISH, DODGE, SLAM~
"-3726!" Stark deftly avoided the angel's attacks and quickly adapted to his speed. He even managed to land some hits on the angel (although they were very painful).
Still, the angel continued to attack with calm determination.
Because deep down, he knew he wouldn't lose - he had seen it in his visions.
~THROW~
He threw his scythe towards Stark, who crouched to evade it.
And then…
"DIVINE BLINDNESS," the angel raised his sword with a golden aura glinting at its edge.
And in that split second when Stark looked at the light... he was completely blinded.
Divine Blindness worked like this: the more sins you had committed, the brighter and more blinding the divine light became.
Needless to say, Stark wasn't a saint.
"FUCK!" he shouted, his vision was completely yellow, and the only thing he could see was a reversed crimson cross that appeared before him, almost as if the angel was mocking him.
"Goodbye, human."
Judicator summoned his scythe back, sending it flying in the opposite direction toward his free hand while it was positioned behind Stark.
And so what had to happen happened.
~SLASH~
Stark's body was sliced cleanly in half.
"-54152!" The damage was critical, but ultimately unnecessary since...
[Stark HP: 0/8900]
And so, the black-haired boy let out a painful gasp and fell to the floor, his upper and lower body separated.
Outside the [Shadow Monument], people from all class and levels gasped in shock.
"…" Even Jack didn't even dare say that he knew Stark would die, proof that whatever just happened was truly shocking.
"N-No way…" Lana put her hand against her mouth, tears forming in her eyes.
"Ah shit… we need to watch out for this angel guy..." Thorn scratched the back of his head.
The sight of someone getting cut in half and dying wasn't surprising to most, but this time, for some strange reasons, they felt emotions they had never felt before.
In the end, all of them thought of one thing: we need to get rid of that angel before he becomes too powerful.
Just observing his skills and powers, they knew that thing was no joke.
Almost all had seemingly already accepted Stark's death, and honestly, it wasn't their fault since who would survive after such an attack?
Inside the monument, Judicator gazed at the floor at Stark's half-cut body, feeling his power at its peak: he had won.
"You were… interesting… but still weak," he turned around, heading toward the display where he had been standing previously to rest and recover his HP.
He didn't see any visions anymore, meaning that Stark's heart had truly stopped beating, confirming his victory.
He didn't deactivate his skills though, his body was still dyed in platinum, and he still held his two weapons in case any other intruders wanted to defy him.
"It's our turn soon," Jay, Stark's brother, remarked to his two companions who were still at the top of the mountain, "Let's kill that boss and get all the fame!"
"Yeah!" the two girls nodded.
But there was something strange.
Thirty seconds had passed, yet they were still not allowed to enter the boss area.
"What is happening?"
"Huh…?"
"Maybe we have to wait?"
Usually, when someone or a party gets completely annihilated, a message appears to confirm that they lost, and that the boss area is now open again, yet there had been nothing of this sort for some reason.
The camera was centered on Judicator's body, the entirety of the rift seeing his handsome platinum face slowly walk toward his rest area.
None of them could see what was happening behind…
And that was great, as it would make the surprise even better.
Suddenly, Stark's body began to convulse, and a bright crimson light illuminated the area where he had been cut in two.
~TREMBLE, FWISHHHH~
Strands of crimson aura intertwined between the two parts of his body, and within moments, Stark was fully restored as if nothing had ever happened.
[Talent: Chosen One, activated]
[Stark HP: 1/8900]
Stark immediately understood that he had died, and that he had been saved by his talent.
A vortex of crimson aura that sucked the air off the room could be seen in his eyes: he wasn't kidding anymore, he was more serious than ever before.
And so… he slowly got up from the cold ground, ready to end this battle.