Chapter 518: Leon VS Lord of Souls [2]

Meanwhile...

Ding!

[You have died.]

Fwoosh!

Leon opened his eyes and found himself in the dark void once again, with the [Altar of Life] standing before him and pulsing with power.

Around the altar were the ten souls he had defeated during the first God-Rank assessment.

But unlike before, when they had watched him with seemingly neutral expressions, they now appeared almost hopeful as they looked in his direction.

One of them opened its mouth, "Keep... going..."

Leon blinked in surprise. That was the first time he had actually heard them speak, and he had never expected them to be capable of communicating with him.

Still, he grinned at their words.

"I won’t give up anyway. It’s just that I have no way to actually harm him, and also, why the hell did [Celestial’s Might] not activate?"

Nier had almost double Leon’s Combat Power after all.

But...

’No,’ Leon shook his head, ’I managed to kill him extremely easily, if not for his ability to keep reviving unless his soul is shattered, he would be an easy fight for me, thus making it "fair" in the system’s eyes."

While he was thinking about it, another soul stepped forward, "...Think."

A third followed, struggling to form its words, "Can... kill..."

And a fourth, "Fifty..."

Leon listened carefully, but the souls seemed unable to say more than one or two words at a time.

Whatever they wanted him to understand, they could not explain it clearly enough for him to grasp their meaning.

One after another, they began seeping into the [Altar of Life], offering their power to revive him.

Leon watched them disappear, wondering what they were trying to tell him and whether their words held the answer to defeating Nier.

Soon, only one soul remained. It pointed at Leon and gave him a faint smile.

"...Revenge."

Fwoosh! Ding!

[Life Vessel activated.]

[Reviving...]

"Your little friend is dead, and you’ll join him soon," Nier said as he approached the three girls.

He lowered himself to their level, looking at them with a cruel smile. "But don’t worry. You’re going to become part of something grand!"

"Fuck you..." Violet groaned, struggling against the pressure of the [Soul Domain] as she stared directly into Nier’s eyes with pure hatred. "Y-you need all t-these things t-to win..."

"This was never a fair fight from the start," Nier replied with a shrug. "Besides, why would anyone play fair when they can simply win like this?"

He rose to his feet and lifted his spear, causing flames to gather around its tip.

The energy continued to grow as he prepared to unleash an attack powerful enough to kill all three girls at once.

"Don’t worry, my flames won’t harm your precious bodies," he explained with a grin. "The only thing that will get scorched is your souls, which I will use to leave this place."

Celeste, Violet, and Emilia could do little more than watch as the flames grew brighter.

Their souls were already struggling beneath the pressure of the domain, and they knew that taking another direct attack from Nier would leave them with no chance of survival.

However, just as the Lord of Souls was about to release his attack...

Life Vessel!

Blue cracks spread across Leon’s body as his revival began, and within moments, his injuries disappeared completely.

His body returned to its previous condition, and he opened his eyes just in time to see Nier standing before the girls with his spear raised.

Leon immediately understood what was about to happen.

"Goodbye, you foolish—"

Time Stop!

The world turned grey as time came to a halt, freezing everything inside the throne hall.

Nier’s mouth remained open in the middle of his sentence, and even the flames surrounding his spear stopped moving, suspended in the air as though they had become part of a painting.

Leon wasted no time rushing forward.

’Think...’ he told himself, desperately searching for a way to defeat the Lord of Souls. ’Physical attacks are useless, and most of my spells won’t work either. [Cataclysmic Soul Fireball] and [Soul Chains] can affect his soul, but neither is strong enough to destroy it.’

He had already tested both abilities, and the results had been clear.

Nier could withstand his soul attacks, while his physical abilities were practically meaningless against someone who could regenerate his entire body in an instant.

Was it truly hopeless? Had Leon finally encountered an opponent he simply could not defeat?

’...No.’

His expression changed as he remembered the souls surrounding the [Altar of Life].

They had spoken to him for the first time and urged him to keep going, insisting that he could kill Nier and even mentioning revenge.

They had believed there was a way to defeat the Lord of Souls.

And if that method did not involve his existing skills or weapons, then the answer had to be something else: his [Storage Space].

Leon had less than half a second before time resumed, leaving him almost no opportunity to search through his inventory.

However, the moment he opened it, his eyes immediately settled on the item he needed.

’THIS IS IT!’

Without hesitation, Leon threw away his sword and staff before summoning a different weapon into his hands.

The moment he finished, time resumed.

"—PESTS—"

BOOM!

Before Nier could complete his sentence or release the attack he had prepared, an overwhelming force struck him directly.

His body was launched backward, crashing against one of the throne hall’s massive walls with enough power to shake the surrounding stone.

Nier quickly recovered his balance and looked toward Leon, disbelief appearing on his face before his expression turned cold.

"You..." he muttered. "You lived..."

"Nah, I died," Leon replied with a smile. "But who said you’re the only one who’s immune to death?"

Of course, Leon was bluffing.

His revival was not something he could use endlessly, and he certainly had no intention of letting Nier kill him again.

However, the goal was to anger his opponent, and judging by the way Nier’s expression darkened, the trick had worked.

"More importantly," Nier said, his gaze shifting toward the weapon in Leon’s hands, "why do you have... this?"

Instead of the [Magicless Sword +2] or [Destiny Staff +4], Leon now held the [Soulsworn Hammer], the weapon he had obtained from the [Soulsworn Juggernaut].

Instead of answering, Leon raised the hammer and slammed it against the ground.

Slam! Slam! Slam!

He continued striking the floor, each blow producing a heavy impact that echoed through the chamber.

’One... two... three...’

"What the hell are you doing?" Nier shouted, his entire body beginning to burn with soul flames as he prepared to attack again.

Leon ignored him and continued swinging the hammer.

Slam! Slam! Slam!

’Twenty-four... twenty-five...’

The Lord of Souls stared at him in disbelief, unable to understand why Leon was wasting his time repeatedly striking the ground instead of trying to defend himself.

The hammer’s blows seemed to serve no purpose, and Leon did not even appear interested in watching Nier’s movements.

However, Violet suddenly widened her eyes as she realized what he was doing.

She understood that Leon was counting his strikes, and if her guess was correct, the number he was trying to reach was fifty.

The [Soulsworn Hammer] was not an ordinary weapon after all, it had one simple ability that could be used.

Slam! Slam! Slam!

Leon continued until he had delivered his forty-ninth strike, then finally stopped and raised his head to look directly at Nier.

"Let’s end this with the next attack," he said calmly. "Come at me."

Leon could only use [Time Stop] one more time before becoming too exhausted to activate it again, so he needed to make that final opportunity count.

If Nier avoided the hammer’s decisive strike, Leon would have no options left.

The Lord of Souls seemed to understand that Leon was preparing something dangerous, but rather than retreating, he accepted the challenge with a furious smile.