Chapter 323: The Core of the Doom Knight
The Core of the Doom Knight
SHHHK!
The blade carved deeply across the Doom Knight’s back.
Instead of flesh...
Instead of blood...
A torrent of dense black mana burst from the wound, hissing into the air like smoke escaping a cracked furnace.
The massive knight lurched forward, its enormous frame staggering a single step under the force of the strike.
Victor landed several meters away with remarkable ease.
His boots touched the ground so lightly they barely stirred the dust around them.
He slowly turned to face his opponent.
A knowing smile spread across his face.
"So that’s your weakness..."
His calm voice carried clearly across the battlefield.
"I was wondering where all that mana was circulating."
The wound answered him almost immediately.
The leaking darkness paused in midair before reversing direction.
Like a river flowing backward, the black mana streamed into the damaged armor.
The deep scar began knitting itself together.
Cracks disappeared.
Splintered metal reformed.
Within only a few seconds...
There wasn’t the slightest trace that the Doom Knight had ever been wounded.
Victor watched the entire process without blinking.
Then he gave a small, satisfied nod.
"As expected."
"It regenerates."
Alibaba finally broke his silence.
A smug smile slowly spread across his face as confidence returned to his eyes.
"Hopeless, isn’t it?"
His voice echoed across the battlefield.
"As long as it possesses mana..."
"My Doom Knight cannot truly die."
His words carried absolute certainty.
This was the monster that had crushed countless enemies.
A warrior that simply refused to stay down.
Most opponents would have despaired the moment they witnessed such regeneration.
Victor wasn’t most opponents.
He rested the shaft of the Death Scythe casually across his shoulder.
Rather than frustration...
Rather than disappointment...
A grin slowly crept across his face.
Not the grin of someone cornered.
The grin of someone who had just found exactly what he had been searching for.
"Perfect."
His voice carried unmistakable excitement.
"I was afraid this fight would end too quickly."
His golden eyes gleamed beneath the moonlight, burning with the unmistakable thrill of battle.
There was no fear.
No hesitation.
Only anticipation.
The stronger the enemy...
The more alive he felt.
He rolled his shoulders once, the corners of his lips curling even higher as he fixed his gaze on the towering knight.
"Now..."
He tightened his grip around the Death Scythe.
A fierce smile spread across his face.
"Let’s see how many ways I still remember to destroy one of these."
Victor slowly lowered the Death Scythe, his golden eyes never leaving the Doom Knight.
The battlefield had become eerily quiet.
Even the undead army had stopped advancing.
Every pair of eyes was fixed on the clash between the two monsters.
The Doom Knight stood motionless.
The slash across its back had already vanished completely as streams of black mana flowed beneath its armor like rivers.
Victor clicked his tongue.
"So that’s how you’re maintaining yourself."
"As long as your mana core keeps circulating..."
"You’ll continue repairing every wound."
Alibaba’s emerald flames flickered.
"You noticed rather quickly."
Victor smiled.
"I’ve seen your kind before."
Though his words sounded casual, they caused Alibaba’s heart to skip a beat.
Again...
That strange sense of familiarity.
That calm confidence.
It wasn’t arrogance.
It was experience.
The Doom Knight suddenly vanished once more.
The ground burst apart.
BOOM!
It appeared behind Victor without making the slightest sound.
The gigantic sword descended.
Victor twisted his body.
The blade grazed his shoulder, tearing apart part of his black-and-gold jacket before burying itself deep into the earth.
Without missing the opening, Victor drove his elbow into the knight’s helmet.
CLANG!
The impact echoed like a giant bell.
The Doom Knight barely moved.
Instead...
Its armored knee shot upward.
Victor crossed his forearm just in time.
BANG!
The tremendous force launched him across the battlefield.
He rolled twice before planting the blade of the Death Scythe into the ground, stopping himself.
Dust slowly settled around him.
Victor looked down at his bruised arm.
"...Not bad."
A grin slowly spread across his face.
"You’re stronger than the last one I dismantled."
Lane covered her mouth.
"Victor..."
Videl frowned.
"He isn’t holding back anymore."
Max watched with burning eyes.
"This is real combat..."
"No wasted movement."
"No unnecessary techniques."
"Every action exists to kill."
Ruby swallowed hard.
"So this..."
"...is Victor’s true battlefield."
Natalia remained silent.
She simply couldn’t look away.
The Doom Knight lifted its sword again.
This time the crimson runes covering its armor erupted with light.
A circle of black mana expanded beneath its feet.
Alibaba calmly spoke.
"Finish this."
The Doom Knight thrust its sword into the ground.
"[Grave King’s Domain.]"
The battlefield shook violently.
Thousands of black spikes erupted from underground.
Each spike carried enough force to skewer an ogre king.
Victor immediately dashed forward.
He weaved through the deadly forest with astonishing precision.
One spike nearly pierced his chest.
Another brushed past his cheek.
Several exploded behind him.
Yet none managed to land a direct hit.
Ruby gasped.
"How is he seeing all of them?"
Max laughed weakly.
"He isn’t seeing them."
"He’s predicting them."
Victor suddenly stomped the ground.
BOOM!
His body shot upward like an arrow.
He landed atop one of the black spikes.
Then another.
Then another.
Instead of retreating...
He used the battlefield itself as stepping stones.
Each leap brought him closer to the Doom Knight.
The giant undead raised its sword.
Victor was already above it.
The Death Scythe spun once.
Twice.
Three times.
The blade descended like a falling crescent moon.
CLANG!!
The Doom Knight crossed its sword to block.
The collision produced a violent shockwave that scattered clouds overhead.
The force pushed both fighters apart.
Victor landed lightly.
The Doom Knight skidded backward several meters.
For the first time...
Its feet had been forced backward.
Max’s eyes widened.
"He pushed it..."
"He actually pushed that monster back."
Alibaba narrowed his eyes.
"...Interesting."
The Doom Knight suddenly extended its empty hand.
Dark mana condensed.
"[Death Chain.]"
Comments