Chapter 408: The Price of Surviving an A-Rank Heavenly Tribulation!

The Closure Barrier finally broke apart, its fractured structure scattering into fragments of energy before disappearing.

Luke could only sigh as he watched his repairing mechanism collapse, knowing that the Sealed Celestial Citadel would now have to withstand the remaining lightning without that assistance.

Unfortunately, even though he continued supplying energy, he couldn't repair the stronger barrier quickly enough to compensate for the damage it was receiving.

The next moment, its entire structure shattered.

BOOOOOOM!

Another powerful explosion erupted as the Sealed Celestial Citadel collapsed, sending a violent wave of energy toward the remaining defensive layers and even damaging the barrier beneath it.

However, Luke noticed something important amid the destruction.

The lightning's power had been reduced to approximately half of its original strength, meaning that although the remaining attack was still somewhat stronger than half A-Rank strike, it was no longer carrying its original full A-Rank force.

Upon realizing this, Luke's eyes lit up with renewed hope.

He immediately braced himself for the next impact, which arrived almost without giving him time to prepare.

BAMMM!

The golden lightning slammed into "Invisible Fortress" and shattered it without the slightest difficulty, proving that the concealment properties Luke had incorporated into the barrier were practically useless against Valtharion's tribulation.

Without slowing down, the attack continued descending until it finally reached the first defensive Art directly attached to Luke's giant body.

"Immovable Mountain"

BOOOOM!

The instant the lightning collided with his rocky armor, an extraordinary force surged through the entire structure, almost throwing Luke backward despite his strengthened Titan physique.

Fortunately, the Earthbound Authority incorporated into the Forged Art anchored him to the cliff, allowing him to resist the impact without immediately losing his position.

However, the same couldn't be said for the hill beneath him.

Unable to withstand the force being transferred through Luke's body, the entire summit shattered, causing the ground beneath his feet to collapse.

With his original position destroyed, Luke was left suspended in the air, while his golden-white halo flared with brilliant light as he struggled to maintain his defensive constructs.

Unfortunately, the physical impact wasn't the only danger carried by the tribulation.

At that moment, Luke suddenly felt a powerful mental attack strike his consciousness, immediately reminding him of the crimson chains that had bound him during the Orc ancestral technique.

Although this attack was weaker than what he had experienced back then, the familiar sensation still caused intense pain throughout his mind.

"Ughhhh!"

Luke cried out as the attack assaulted his consciousness, but before the mental damage could overwhelm him, his final defensive Art immediately activated.

"Unshaken Aegis"

The Iron Will Authority incorporated into the barrier reinforced his mental defenses, rapidly suppressing the incoming attack and reducing its effects to a level he could withstand.

"Huff!"

Luke began breathing heavily, realizing just how close that single mental attack had come to breaking his concentration.

Fortunately, he had prepared a defense specifically capable of resisting spiritual and mental interference, and he couldn't help feeling relieved that it had activated at the right moment.

He even regretted not possessing such protection during his earlier battle against the Orcs, since the mental effects of those crimson chains might have been considerably weaker if he had been able to resist them with Iron Will.

However, there was little point regretting the past, especially since everything had happened so quickly during that battle that he hadn't even been given an opportunity to prepare.

Luke quickly dismissed those thoughts and returned his attention to the remaining lightning, noticing that Absolute Strength had only two seconds left before its duration expired.

Worse still, the two defensive Arts protecting his body were already approaching their limits.

'If only I could create all of my defensive arts using three components...'

After witnessing the performance of the Sealed Celestial Citadel, Luke was convinced that properly constructed three-component defenses could possess strength approaching half of A-Rank, provided he selected the appropriate properties for each combination.

If he had been capable of creating and maintaining several such barriers, he believed the tribulation might have been completely exhausted before reaching his actual body.

Unfortunately, his current limits prevented him from accomplishing that.

Even with the support of his Cosmic Hearts, maintaining numerous two-component Forged Arts alongside a single three-component creation was already approaching the maximum amount of energy and concentration he could manage.

And before Luke could consider another solution—

CRACKKKKK!

The rocky armor surrounding his body finally cracked, its protective structure giving way beneath the remaining force of the tribulation.

The next instant, the golden lightning completely engulfed his body.

BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!!!!

The descending bolt struck Luke and carried him toward the ground, where the remaining energy erupted in a devastating explosion that destroyed everything within a fifty-kilometer radius.

An enormous crater formed at the center of the impact, while the resulting shockwave continued spreading beyond the destroyed area, uprooting distant trees and killing the beasts unfortunate enough to remain within its path.

Even after passing through every defensive layer Luke had prepared, the lightning still possessed destructive power exceeding Peak B-Rank.

"LUKE!!!"

Witnessing the explosion, both Rhaenyra and Emberlyn shouted in alarm before immediately launching themselves toward the impact site like cannonballs, desperate to reach him.

However, Zephyrielle's attention remained fixed upon the sky, where Valtharion's enormous golden eye appeared strangely dissatisfied.

It almost seemed angry, as though something it had expected to accomplish had failed.

'It failed?'

The thought astonished Zephyrielle, since throughout her long life, she had witnessed only a handful of beings survive Valtharion's wrath, and their number could practically be counted on one hand.

Moreover, what she had witnessed today hardly resembled an ordinary test, especially considering the extraordinary difference between Luke's cultivation and the power of the tribulation.

Yet somehow, that D-Rank Titan had survived.

Zephyrielle couldn't help feeling that Luke had now joined the very small number of beings capable of enduring Valtharion's wrath, although she remained unaware that he had already survived such an encounter once before.

This was actually his second time.

And deep within the newly formed crater, Luke himself also understood that he had survived.

Unfortunately, the price had been considerable.

His right hand was completely gone, while the palm of his left hand had also been destroyed, and numerous fractures covered the rest of his body.

Even so, a faint smile remained upon his injured face.

'I... done... It...'

Luke's thoughts had already become groggy, and he could feel an overwhelming drowsiness gradually pulling him toward unconsciousness.

The sensation was even stronger than the sleep he had experienced earlier, while being transforming into a Titan, making it increasingly difficult to remain awake.

Through his fading consciousness, he suddenly heard two familiar voices calling from somewhere in the distance.

"LUKE!!!"

Hearing their worried cries, Luke couldn't help smiling again, although he was no longer capable of turning toward them.

His entire body was aching from the injuries he had sustained, while his Vorthar transformation was already beginning to revert to his normal human-sized appearance.

As his eyelids gradually closed, one final thought appeared in his mind.

'Seems... Like... I... Had... Made... My... Wife... Worr...'

Unfortunately, Luke couldn't even finish that thought before his consciousness completely faded, causing him to fall into a deep sleep.

And the instant he lost consciousness, something unexpected happened.

Pure darkness suddenly erupted from his body, expanding outward like an immense concentration of Void Energy until it formed a black, oval-shaped cocoon covering an area ten kilometers in diameter.

"Huh??"

Both Emberlyn and Rhaenyra immediately halted their movements upon seeing the sudden appearance of the darkness, becoming wary of the strange phenomenon that had emerged from the center of the crater.

However, the moment they remembered that Luke was still somewhere inside, their concern for his safety immediately overwhelmed their hesitation.

Without wasting another moment, both princesses prepared to enter the darkened area.

Unfortunately, before either of them could move forward, Zephyrielle suddenly appeared beside them.

"Calm down, my little princesses."

She gently grabbed both of their shoulders, stopping them from rushing toward the mysterious cocoon.

The two sisters immediately turned toward their grandmother, looking at her with confused expressions.

"Grandma, I have to save Luke, let me go."

Emberlyn spoke anxiously, clearly unwilling to remain outside while Luke was injured, and Rhaenyra immediately nodded in agreement.

However, Zephyrielle shook her head before looking toward the black cocoon again.

"It seems that your little lover had succeeded in what he was planning and this thing seems part of it."

"So if you do something wrong, then you may end up ruining his plan."

"..."

Hearing their grandmother's explanation, both Dragon Princesses gradually fell silent, understanding that interfering with the mysterious phenomenon might actually harm Luke rather than help him.

Although neither of them wanted to leave him alone in such a condition..

Eventually, both turned their attention toward the enormous black oval, knowing that Luke was still somewhere at its center.

"So I can't meet him?"

Emberlyn muttered those words with a saddened expression, clearly disappointed that she couldn't approach him even after witnessing how badly he had been injured.

Rhaenyra remained silent beside her, although her gaze continued lingering upon the dark cocoon, unwilling to look away from the place where Luke had disappeared.

And just like that, two months passed while the mysterious black cocoon remained undisturbed.

Until finally, after those two months, a crack appeared upon its surface from the inside.