"This place… feels like hell," Yumi said, hugging her arms around herself."Like it's deciding whether we deserve to be here."
Kael stood a few steps ahead of her, his back straight, his sword resting loosely in his hand. He didn't answer.
He felt it too.
The hall pressed down on his existence itself.
Not on his body—on his soul. The moment they had crossed into this level, something fundamental had changed.
This was not merely a battlefield.
It was a throne room where only one ruler could stand.
A graveyard built for those who failed.
A courtroom where guilt and resolve were weighed without mercy.
And above all—a proving ground where hesitation meant erasure.
The faint hum of mana, the crackle of torches, even the sound of breathing—gone.
A screen appeared before Kael's eyes, glowing in dim, funereal black.
[Dungeon Level 55 – Demon General of Death & Oblivion]
Name: Zhal'Mortis, the Black Sovereign
Demon Type: Abyssal Death Demon
Theme: Soul Annihilation
The moment the words faded, the shadows at the far end of the hall began to move.
They did not rush forward.
They condensed.
Darkness folded inward, collapsing upon itself like a dying star.
From within that compression, a massive figure emerged—towering, skeletal, wrapped in abyssal shadows that clung to him like living smoke.
Zhal'Mortis.
His body was composed of bleached blackened bone etched with ancient runes of death.
His ribcage was open, hollow, yet within it burned a dim, void-like core that swallowed light instead of emitting it.
Six enormous wings made of pure black smoke unfurled behind him, each movement causing the shadows of the hall to writhe and recoil.
Where his face should have been was a skull—elongated, crowned with curved obsidian horns.
His eye sockets glowed with a faint, colorless light that felt colder than death itself.
And yet, the most terrifying thing about him was not his appearance.
It was his presence.
Kael realized, with a sharp tightening of his chest, that he could no longer hear his own heartbeat.
Not because it had stopped—but because sound itself no longer existed.
Zhal'Mortis raised one skeletal hand.
[Skill Activated: Domain of Eternal Quiet]
The effect was instant and absolute.
Mana froze.
Kael tried to call upon astral energy—nothing responded.
The flow he had trained for years to control felt severed, as if a wall had been erected between him and the cosmos itself.
He turned instinctively toward Yumi—
She was there, eyes wide, mouth open… but no sound came out.
No communication.
Kael's jaw tightened.
"So this is your domain," he thought, though even his thoughts felt strangely heavy.
Zhal'Mortis moved.
Not with speed.
With inevitability.
Each step forward caused the stone floor to decay beneath his feet, crumbling into ash that dissolved into nothingness.
He lifted one massive arm, and from his fingers extended a blade of condensed void—thin, jagged, and utterly silent.
Kael reacted on instinct alone.
He lunged forward, swinging his sword in a wide arc.
The blade connected and passed straight through the shadow.
The demon's form dispersed like smoke, reforming behind Kael in the same instant.
Pain exploded across Kael's back.
A cold brand burned itself into his soul.
[Skill Activated: Soul Brand]
Kael staggered forward, teeth clenched. His vision flickered, the edges darkening.
He felt it—an invisible mark searing itself into his existence, ticking like a silent countdown.
He knew what it meant.
Death was no longer a possibility.
It was approaching certainty.
Zhal'Mortis raised his other hand, fingers curling slowly.
Kael's limbs felt heavier.
Each movement demanded more effort than the last. His breath grew shallow, though he could not hear it. His body was strong—but his soul was being dragged downward, pulled toward oblivion.
"So this is death magic at its peak," Kael thought grimly. "Not killing the body… but erasing the future."
He forced himself upright.
His legs trembled.
His strength was still there.
But this enemy did not care about strength alone.
Zhal'Mortis attacked again.
A sweeping motion of his wing sent a wave of annihilation ripping across the hall. Kael rolled desperately, feeling the edge of the attack brush past him. Where it touched, the stone vanished.
Kael came up on one knee, blood dripping from his mouth.
(Then I won't give you time) Kael thought.
He planted his foot and surged forward, pouring everything he had into his body—every ounce of training, every near-death experience, every battle that had pushed him beyond his limits.
Astral energy responded—not as a spell, but as raw force.
Kael's fist glowed faintly, stars flickering around it like distant memories.
"Astral Punch."
He drove it straight into Zhal'Mortis's ribcage.
The impact was catastrophic.
A shockwave rippled outward, cracking the obsidian pillars and forcing the abyssal shadows to recoil. Zhal'Mortis was hurled backward for the first time, his massive form slamming into the far wall.
The Soul Brand flickered—its pressure easing slightly.
Kael didn't stop.
He dashed forward again, blood streaming from his wounds, vision blurred, legs barely responding.
Zhal'Mortis rose slowly, wings spreading wide, shadows boiling violently around him. For the first time, something akin to surprise flickered in his hollow gaze.
Kael raised his sword.
The astral energy around him sharpened, compressing, vibrating with violent intensity.
"Astral Severance."
He swung.
The blade carved through reality itself, a crescent of condensed astral force slicing through shadow, bone, and void.
One of Zhal'Mortis's wings was severed completely, dissolving into nothingness as it fell.
The demon staggered.
But he did not fall.
The Domain of Eternal Quiet deepened.
Kael's knees buckled.
The Soul Brand flared violently, pain lancing through his existence like ice.
He was losing slowly.
Yet Kael forced himself to stand again, chest heaving, blood dripping onto the cracked stone.
(You may be dead) he thought, staring straight at the Black Sovereign, "but I didn't come this far to disappear."
Astral energy surged wildly around him.
Zhal'Mortis raised both arms, preparing a final execution.
Kael tightened his grip on his sword, his body trembling but unbroken.
Even now—
Even here—
He refused to kneel.
Zhal'Mortis moved.
One moment the Black Sovereign stood still, wings of smoke stretching toward the ceiling like a funeral shroud—
The next moment, space itself bent.
A blade of condensed oblivion tore through the air and pierced straight through Kael's left leg.
His body jerked violently as the strike nailed him to the stone floor.
Blood sprayed outward, dark against the pale astral glow still flickering weakly around him.
Kael's teeth clenched so hard he felt them grind—but no scream came. The Domain of Eternal Quiet swallowed it whole.
Before he could even process the pain, another strike followed.
The void-forged edge slammed into his jaw from below, tearing through flesh and bone.
Kael's head snapped back, his vision exploding into white fractures. His sword slipped from his fingers, clattering uselessly across the stone.
His body collapsed backward.
The Soul Brand burned like molten iron, flaring violently as if responding to the demon's certainty of victory. Kael's limbs twitched, his fingers clawing weakly at the ground as blood pooled beneath him.
Zhal'Mortis stepped forward, massive skeletal frame looming over Kael like the embodiment of a final verdict.
His hollow gaze locked onto Kael's shattered form.
Death was close now.
Kael's vision blurred, the edges darkening. His thoughts slowed, dragged downward by exhaustion and soul-deep pain.
"So… this is it?" he thought dimly. "Guess… I really did reach my limit…"
The demon raised his arm once more.
The execution strike.
And then—
A blur of white cut through the darkness.
The abyssal blade descended—
—and was deflected.
The impact sent a shock through the hall, cracking the floor beneath Zhal'Mortis's feet.
Shadows recoiled violently, torn apart by an intrusion that did not belong in the Domain.
A figure landed between Kael and the Black Sovereign.
White armor gleamed faintly despite the oppressive darkness, etched with elegant runes that pulsed softly with mana.
Long pale hair flowed behind her as she crouched low, one knee braced against the stone, sword held firmly in both hands.
The white-eye saber girl.
Her blade trembled slightly from the force of the block—but it did not break.
Her eyes, glowing a calm, unwavering white, lifted to meet Zhal'Mortis's hollow gaze.
For the first time since the battle began, the Black Sovereign halted.
Not from fear.
From recognition.
The saber girl straightened slowly, positioning herself fully in front of Kael's broken body. One arm extended slightly backward, as if shielding him by instinct alone.
Her presence distorted the Domain.
Though sound still did not return, the oppressive weight lessened—just a fraction.
Zhal'Mortis tilted his skull-like head.
The abyssal shadows around him churned violently, reacting to her intrusion.
An anomaly.
An existence bound by contract, not fear.
The saber girl lifted her blade, pointing it directly at the Demon General's chest.
Her lips moved.
No sound came.
But Kael felt it.
Through the bond.
Through the faint thread of mana that still connected them.
"You will not touch him."
Kael's blurred vision caught her silhouette, standing firm despite the overwhelming pressure radiating from the demon.
"…idiot," he thought weakly. "I told you… to stay back…"
But she didn't move.
Zhal'Mortis attacked again.
A sweeping strike, heavier than before, infused with annihilating force meant to erase both body and soul in one motion.
The saber girl met it head-on.
Her feet slid backward across the stone, armor screeching as cracks spiderwebbed beneath her heels. Blood trickled from the corner of her mouth, staining her pale armor—but she held.
She pushed back.
Chapter 348: When there is will, there is Way!
8 min read