Chương 26: A King Even After Death

CRAAASH!

"Ngh?!" The King staggered backward as a sharp, searing pain tore through his very soul. He clutched his chest in agony and let out a furious roar that shook the entire throne room. His aura surged violently outward, twisting into a pair of coiling dragons formed of pure black flames.

"A Soul Attack! How can someone who hasn't even reached Level 50 unleash such a potent strike?!" he demanded in disbelief.

"Who are you?!" Before Alex could move aside, the King swung his massive blade. A horizontal slash of pure darkness struck him squarely across the chest, hurling him upward into the high ceiling with tremendous force. BOOOM!

"Haaah…" Alex exhaled a thick stream of nether energy from his body. His reinforced armor and sturdy bones helped him endure the heavy blow, though he had also raised his broadsword just in time to block. The weapon now carried several new deep cracks along its surface. He quickly conjured Alchemical Nether to begin repairing the damage while simultaneously issuing clear commands to his allies.

"Blade, Hammer, start Plan B. Arachne, Wing, offer support immediately." After enhancing his body once more with Black Bolt, he rushed downward at high speed, closing the distance to the King again. Their swords collided fiercely as Alex struck with both of his weapons in rapid succession.

"Your swordsmanship is surprisingly good for someone of your level, but you lack true mastery. You are a few hundred years too young to think you can win in a proper sword fight, young skeleton." The King advanced with a confident step, easily parrying and blocking every one of Alex's attacks with practiced precision. He then swung his armored fist forward and punched Alex hard, sending him bouncing across the ground before he slammed into a stone pillar. The pillar shattered into countless pieces under the impact.

"Damn it, Alex!" Gryg clenched her teeth nervously as she continued her complex incantation. Panic gripped her tightly as she watched the King begin to approach her position.

"And what is this? A Troll Queen cooperating with a skeleton? Are you not one of the monsters designed for this tutorial? Why in the world are you outside of your assigned position?" the King asked, his eyes gleaming with curiosity beneath his ornate mask.

"Well, no matter. An invader is still an invader. I shall slay you both and free my tomb from you nuisances once and for all." His sword gleamed with an ominous black light that warped the space around the blade. The King stepped forward once more, charging his power before swinging in a powerful horizontal arc.

"Begone!" SLAAASH! Gryg panicked as her large spell teetered on the brink of complete collapse. She desperately tried to escape the incoming attack. However, just as the King was about to cut Gryg cleanly in two, he felt something dangerous rising from below.

"?!" The ground shook violently. A gigantic hand made of interlocking bones erupted from the floor, seizing his entire body and smashing him hard into the nearest wall with crushing force. At the same time, the dark attack racing toward Gryg was intercepted by a powerful sword strike. The Umbral Slash completely canceled the incoming blade energy and triggered another massive explosion of pure darkness. BOOOM!

"Gryg, how's the spell coming along?"

"A-Almost done!" Gryg muttered through gritted teeth, her thick fingers weaving the glowing runes together as she resumed the difficult incantation.

"It's the biggest one I've ever thrown!"

"Good," Alex nodded. He stepped forward, turned his body into living shadows, vanished from sight, and reappeared directly behind the King.

"Again with these sneaky attacks?" the King snarled. Though he had been thrown into the wall with immense force by the giant bone hand, he stood up once more without hesitation. He reinforced his entire body and armor, blocked Alex's rapid strikes, and extended his hand in an attempt to grab the skeleton's skull and shatter it completely. However, at that exact moment Alex's body writhed unnaturally. Dozens of hands made of wriggling flesh emerged from his form and wrapped tightly around the King's arm.

They exerted terrifying force, enough to shatter entire sections of his armor and even crack part of the bones in his hand. CRACK! The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings.

"What is that abomination?!" The King was visibly shaken. He stepped back as his sword flashed in a wide arc, slicing through the boneless hands. Thick purple blood sprayed across his armor and began slowly melting parts of the metal.

"An abhorrent creature from the deepest netherworld!" he declared, his voice filled with genuine astonishment.

"Meat, Parasitize." The wriggling mass of flesh fully merged with its master and host. Alex suddenly underwent a drastic and grotesque transformation that left the King completely stunned.

"A Zombie?! Did he just turn into a zombie out of nowhere?!" The shaken King stepped back further, unable to comprehend the bizarre skeleton-turned-zombie standing before him. Yet the giant bone hand emerged once again and gripped him tightly from below.

"Tsk! You again?!" With burning fury he cut the hand into two pieces and then into four. But he quickly noticed the ghostly presences inside the remains rapidly gathering into four new giant arms. They stretched up from the ground and seized his arms and legs with crushing strength.

"What do you hope to accomplish with this futile struggle? It is quite clear that my power is superior, foolish skeleton… zombie, or whatever you currently are."

"We'll never know until we try." Alex stepped forward. His body, now filled with dense muscle, was severely enhanced. A single powerful step was all it took for him to close the distance to the King once more. His wings, now covered in living flesh, unleashed potent cutting wind waves that pushed the King backward several meters. Eustace quickly regained his composure and clashed against Alex again with full force.

Their swords collided violently, sending repeated explosions of dark and ghostly energies bursting outward in every direction. Despite Alex's enhanced physique, Eustace instantly gained the upper hand through pure skill and experience. A single confident step forward and one perfectly timed horizontal slash was all he needed. SLAAASH! Alex was caught cleanly by the attack. His body nearly split completely apart, saved only by the many defensive enhancements he had layered onto himself.

He was hurled backward, rolling across the floor before crashing into another pillar. The impact caused a large section of the ceiling to collapse, burying him under giant falling boulders.

"Pathetic. No matter how many times you try, you cannot win against me."

"Now." From the high ceiling a massive spider descended without warning, crushing the King beneath her sheer size and weight.

"What is this new nuisance?!" At the same time Wing spread his blazing wings wide and unleashed a devastating breath attack that seared the King's soul once again.

"Nngh!" Trapped inside a soul-draining spiderweb, the King coughed heavily as he glared up at the giant spider. He grabbed her with his massive hands and tore the monster apart with raw strength.

"Enough of these tricks!" In a fit of pure fury he hurled his sword high into the air at Wing, blowing the flying creature apart once more.

"I am certain I destroyed that thing earlier! How did it return so quickly?! That skeleton… did it repair the creature remotely?! What kind of power…!" RUMBLE!

"Ready!!! Alex, hold him down!" Gryg called out urgently as the King witnessed a gigantic magic circle appear overhead, overflowing with the combined power of all Five Elements. He instinctively knew he had to dodge. Such a powerful magical attack would completely destroy him if it landed cleanly. But Eustace was no coward who would simply run away. He stepped forward with sword in hand and leaped high into the skies, intending to slash both the magic circle and Gryg herself apart.

"Begone from my sight, witch!" As he attacked, Gryg screamed in panic. Her massive spell had grown far too unstable to control easily. Alex surged up from the rubble right beneath them, pushing his damaged body forward with Black Bolt even though the technique further injured him in the process.

"You again?!" Thick white chains shot out from Alex's Bone Storage. They were covered in dense Nether Aura and accompanied by three laughing skulls that spewed deadly curses in every direction. The King was slammed hard into the floor just as Gryg directed her full attack toward him at nearly point-blank range.

"Five Element Fusion – Spirit Cannon!"

"?!" The King panicked for the first time. The attack struck true in an instant. Unable to raise a proper defense in time, his armor was almost completely vaporized. His true body burned away under the intense elemental force as the explosion sent him hurtling across the throne room and crashing back into his own throne. BOOOMMM!!! A massive catastrophe followed the impact. Flames of every color raged everywhere. The floor and ceiling cracked, exploded, burned, and melted under the incredible power of Gryg's spell.

Alex watched the destruction in stunned awe. Could he one day reproduce such an immense magical attack himself?

"Haaa… I'm completely exhausted…" Gryg cried weakly before dropping half-dead onto the floor. Her mana and spirit energy were completely drained. She passed out almost immediately.

"Well done." Alex quickly administered several recovery potions to her, then left her safely guarded by Blade and Hammer. The two constructs had earlier merged into the Giant Hand that had attacked the King from below the ground.

"Y-You…!" The King coughed heavily as Alex approached. He found the monarch sitting weakly on his destroyed throne. Half of his armor was gone, revealing his true body underneath. Unlike what Alex had assumed, the King was not simply a revenant or a common zombie. He was more like a golem — his original corpse merged with various artificial magical parts that had been carefully grafted together. His burnt face revealed empty crystal eyes that still glowed faintly.

"You now see… what I truly am… nothing but a hopeless… fool…" The King stood up once more, his aura surging powerfully and shocking Alex, who had thought the battle was finally over.

"But that does not mean… I stop being a King…" Eustace held his sword firmly even as his body trembled from the damage. His aura grew stronger still as the twin black dragons coiled tightly around his blade.

"You who have challenged my throne… show me… show me your true resolve…!"

"…" Alex gripped both of his swords tightly, his own damaged aura surging in response. He was badly worn down, and his soul had taken considerable damage throughout the long fight.

"Fine… I'll humor you one last time, forgotten king." Thus their swords and souls clashed once more in the ruined throne room.

The Forgotten King: