While most of those who watched the battle between the mighty drake and Null wouldn't believe it, Null was struggling more than ever.
Every time he disappeared from sight, he felt his mana plummet and strain every muscle, cord, and cell in his body. While he was not low on mana by any means, the drake's mana pool simply outclassed his in every way.
Not to mention that using large amounts of mana in a short amount of time has a chance of damaging the mana channels permanently.
After having fought the drake for several minutes, he thought that the clone suicide explosion tactic would be the end of the drake, yet he had underestimated the defense of a creature who lived in the very element he was attacking with.
At that point, Null had run out of [4-Dimensional thought] and therefore was consciously using flame control to ensure a bubble around him at all times.
This not only stressed his mana channels but also his mind, making it hard for him to think logically about anything other than the flames and magma below him.
He struggled for a while, yet after vanishing and appearing several times to the point where his mana was almost non-existent, he chose to do something reckless. f(r)eewebnovel.com
A final move of sorts. One that would quench the thirst for battle that burned inside his heart while ensuring that he would win and survive this battle, no matter what.
Generally speaking, it was the thinking of a madman. Yet Null did it anyway, because, unlike Lloyd, Null was the kind of person to believe that the ends justify the means.
Because Null was not like Lloyd...
Because Null was different...
Because deep down, Null is just Lloyd with the mask on.
Yet, a person with a mask can avoid the consequences of his actions.
A person with a mask is like a loser behind a keyboard and a screen without a real name or face to point at.
As a wise man once said, "A man with a mask is two entirely different men."
...
[Void Walker Style]
And as if a black hole had appeared in the middle of the dungeon, it happened.
Just like that, the lights disappeared, and everything turned black.
[Black Hole Eclipse]
The drake's eyes slowly widened in shock as it realized what was happening, yet it was already too late.
It slowly tried to move its body, yet it was like its body had been frozen in time.
Just as it was about to give up, it felt something wrap around it.
It was as if the darkness was alive and had come to consume it.
Suddenly, everything around it disappeared as it felt itself being dragged into a deep and endless abyss...
As if it were being dragged into the void itself.
*...*
Silence prevailed as not a single sound could be heard. Not a single light could be seen. Not a single scent could be smelled.
Yet, every single person felt the same thing.
The tingle up their arm.
The shudders down their spines.
The itch behind their ears.
The cold sweat running down the back of their necks.
And the feeling of doom sinking its fangs into their heart, followed by the fear that would have made their legs buckle if they had not been frozen in place.
Not a single one of them dared let out a peep, yet despite that, they all had a feeling that they wouldn't be able to even if they tried.
***
"What the hell do you think you are doing?" Asked a woman with long black hair and ivory-purple eyes.
Opening his eyes, Lloyd looked around in confusion, unable to understand the situation he was in. Yet, when his eyes landed on the woman's hourglass figure in front of him, he could not help but frown while taking several steps back.
Images of him lying on the floor gasping for breath entered his mind, yet before those could corrupt his train of thought, he asked the question he was thinking of from the start.
"Why couldn't I remember you when I left?"
"I ask the questions here." She replied arrogantly.
"Too bad, 'cause I ain't answering sh*t until you tell me why the hell I didn't remember you after leaving." Lloyd crossed his arms and sat down on his stop, unwilling to move unless she were to physically force him.
"Ugh... Long story short, if I let you leave this place and you were to accumulate the karma of knowing my existence, you would almost instantly have you and your entire family fall into a great calamity. Chances are, you will instantly die as your luck would hit rock bottom." She explained before looking Lloyd in the eyes again and asking.
"So, what the hell were you thinking?"
"What the hell was I thinking? To survive, I guess?" Lloyd replied, not too sure about what he was doing either.
Normally he would have simply retreated, especially when he is going against a peak first-grade monster, yet instead of running away and going as far as possible, he fought it head-on without a care in the world.
"Well, you are welcome to kill yourself in whatever way you want, just don't do that." She shook her head.
"Don't do what?" Lloyd looked at Eris with a confused expression.
"Don't do what you just did."
"What did I do?"
"You're telling me you don't know what you did?" Her flabbergasted expression seemed to worsen.
"No! That's why I'm asking you!" Lloyd shouted back.
"No point in telling you. You won't remember this anyway." She explained.
"Then put it in my subconscious or something. As if it is something I instinctually found out the moment I used it."
"..."
"..."
"You are more intelligent than I give you credit for."
"..."
"Anyway, what you did over there is what most void walkers call a Void Walker Style/ Technique. To put it simply, the Void Walker Style is the main martial art that we Void Walkers use. I'm very proud to say that I created it alongside some martial arts masters of my time, and Aries, who seemed to be around at the time." She explained.
"What you used is what I named the 'Black Hole Eclipse.' A horizontal slash symbolizing a horizon, followed by the power of the void that just burns and sucks everything around it."
"I don't see a problem here." Lloyd complained.
"The problem is that I didn't think someone below the 3rd commandment could gain [Aspect of Void], let alone f*cking [Void Channel] that is 4th commandment at least! Hell, if these are your starter abilities, I'm really looking forward to seeing whatever you get a unique ability." Eris laughed.
"What? Unique ability? 3rd and 4th commandment!? What the hell are you talking about?"
"That's besides that matter." Eris laughed again before continuing-
"What really matters is what we are going to do from here on out. Your little stunt would have eradicated the entire dungeon alongside yourself if I had not stopped it." She explained.
"Now, to make sure you don't get any karma, I'm simply going to reduce the area of effect to the lava lake alone, killing the drake in an instant, giving you the ability, and destroying all the recording devices.
Those not within the range will be automatically corrupted with a little bit of void turbulence, and the rest should be fine as long as you don't do anything stupid." She finally sighed before crossing her legs and placing her hands on the throne that looked like it had been carved out of a black crystal.
"Understood, I guess. What is karma, by the way? I think I have an idea, but-"
"No need for you to know that. Knowing about karma and how it works usually results in the person inducing more karma than before. Anyway, have a safe trip back." She waved her hand, and before Lloyd could mutter another word, he felt as if his emotions had become slightly repressed while the world around him faded into a dimmer color palette.
Before Lloyd knew it, he was Null again and was looking forward.
*SWOOOoooosh*
The winds howled one last time before darkness collapsed into itself, disappearing in an instant alongside all the lava in the lake, most of the flying cameras, and the drake itself.
It was as if they had disappeared out of existence, and while most would not believe such a story since there was no proper footage of it, what else could it be?
Null simply looked at where the drake once stood. Tall and strong. Powerful and majestic.
Yet it still fell to his blade.
He didn't know what he was feeling anymore. Guilt? Angry? Happy?
There was a feeling at the back of his neck that told him what he did was dangerous and that the technique he just used was deadly, yet he knew he would do it all again if he had to.
He felt a thrill more than ever before in his life.
The drake's ability surged through his veins while its power entered his mana channels and began to strengthen him further and further.
Once again, he was one step closer to becoming the first commandment.
"Percentage?"
[96.21%]
"New ability?"
[Heat Resistance]
"Good... Good..." Null muttered to himself as he stood motionless on the empty lava lake.
Everyone around looked at him as if he was some kind of monster even more terrifying than the drake that stood before him a few seconds ago, and who could blame them? They just watched a man erase a large lava lake out of existence, and on top of that, the person who did so is an assassin!
Not a mage or artificer... An assassin.
However, instead of paying heed to the dozens of people watching him, Null grabbed the red core off the floor before turning around and leaving without looking back.
The policy in the association is people get to keep boss drops such as cores or its body while having to share the rest. This makes it much easier for the adventurers while also making it easy for the association to keep their member's complaints to a minimum.
*Rumble*
And with the sound of a rumble, the fastest 1st commandment dungeon raid had been recorded into the history books with the name "Null" solidly burnt into those pages as the tales of his erasure of a drake would be told for generations.
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