Requiem Of A Failed Hero

[As for the punishment, because you died in a state of samadhi you will find it difficult to enter for a while]

[All your attacks will lose 20% precision for a while]

[As for the reward]

[You have completed an incredible feat and yet you failed at it by dying in a state of samadhi]

[The consequences were inevitable]

[Your Willpower has risen by +100]

[You have awakened WILLPOWER exclusive active skill ‘Formless Will’]

[Due to the title effect ‘One who devours death’ you will.be resurrected]

[Due to the status effect of Requiem Of A Sacrificial Lamb: The Good Kind(legendary) your Willpower stat will be increased by additional +100 stat points]

[Due to the significant increase in your willpower, some skills have gained massive proficiency]

[MULTIPLE COGNITIVE RESONANCE has gained two levels]

[MULTIPLE COGNITIVE RESONANCE has reached level 10]

[A NEW SUBSKILL HAS BEEN UNLOCKED]

[FOCUS MODE: This is a mimicry of the state of samadhi, anytime you are in FOCUS MODE proficiency with all your skill except class skills will increase expenentially]

[FOCUS MODE has been fused into Auto battle mode]

[Auto battle mode has been upgraded]

[Metavision has reached level 30]

[A new feature has been unlocked]

[Metavision Burst: Your sight can pinpoint some critical moment in every space faster than it is noticed by a normal human processing system]

[Ultra-Instincts has reached level 20]

[Thoughts Acceleration has reached level 20]

[Intimidation has reached level Max]

[Subskill ‘Fear’ Inducement has been created]

It had been quite some time since Raith last experienced such an overflow of notifications. The surge of notifications brought a sense of satisfaction, especially considering the impending shock he was about to deliver to the demon.

Balam was already treading his path to where the colossal archon stood, resuming his plan of destroying them and taking their world for himself.

Even when Raith stood up, Balam didn’t notice because he was too engrossed in his thoughts, perhaps it was the thought of killing Raith or how he was about to enjoy killing the archons, but his face carried a sad counter which made it evident that it was the latter.

Raith stood straight and sighed.

‘How do you feel?’ Bal asked.

“Strangely, I feel good,” Raith responded.

Bal had witnessed Raith endure an excruciatingly unconventional death, one that would have caused unimaginable pain to anyone else. Though the agony had dissipated, the memory of Raith’s suffering remained etched in Bal’s mind.

He couldn’t help but ponder over the severity of the other deaths and empathize with Raith’s plight.

“I’d prefer to avoid any unnecessary deaths from now on,” Raith stated firmly.

‘Yes, let’s do that.’

Raith flinched, taken aback by Bal’s sudden display of kindness. The unexpected shift in demeanor unsettled him, yet he quickly refocused his attention on the opportunity that lay before him. This was his chance to deliver the Demon King Balam the most astonishing surprise in this moment.

‘You can allocate your available stat points and combine Heavenly Destruction with a movement skill,’ Bal suggested.

Raith narrowed his eyes, suspicion creeping in.

‘This guy is being unusually amiable… it’s unsettling,’ Raith muttered to himself.

Raith opened his stats window.

[STATS]

Strength: 80

Speed: 110

Stamina: 80

Intelligence: 445

Endurance: 73

Perception: 186

Willpower: 225

Available stat points: 74

Raith sighed in amazement at his ability to harness such formidable offensive power, despite the adverse effects of Balam’s influence on his stats. He owed this newfound capability to Bal’s guidance.

‘Even if I increase my stats, I doubt it will have a significant impact… However, utilizing a movement skill should compensate for my temporary lack of speed. Why were the additional 100 stats allocated to willpower? They would have been better suited for speed, stamina, or strength. What am I supposed to do with willpower?’

Raith’s understanding of willpower remained limited. Thus far, he only knew that it was instrumental in enduring the effects of the celestial code and potentially resisting them.

Willpower played a crucial role in warding off certain status effects. For instance, with an elevated willpower stat, Raith could consciously resist the effects and mitigate the reduction in his stats. However, he remained unaware of this capability.

Willpower takes deliberate acts and when one does nothing, nothing will happen even if the willpower is +1000.

“50 stats to strength and 20 to speed.”

Adding to strength will add to his attack power and since strength was currently below 100, Raith thought the best thing to do was to raise. His judgment skill had gotten a bit better since he unlocked the wisdom stat. Or it could be experience, but the Wisdom stat contributed greatly to whatever it was.

[Your Strength stat has increased by +50]

[Your speed stat has increased by +20]

“Alright… Stride of the wind god”

SSSSHHHHHHHHSSSSSHHHHH

Raith was engulfed by a profound sense of weightlessness as he propelled forward with extraordinary velocity, his movements blurring into a flickering shadow. His feet barely grazed the ground as he closed the distance between himself and Balam.

Balam’s eyes widened, but before he could react, Raith swiftly unleashed a sword skill.

Waves Of Destruction

Drawing nearer to Balam, Raith commenced a relentless barrage of expert sword strikes. With each swing, a powerful shockwave emanated, rippling through the air like a wave of energy.

These shockwaves cut through everything in their path, slicing into Balam’s hand and leaving deep wounds in his body.

Remarkably, the wounds closed up almost instantaneously as Raith continued his assault. Undeterred, Raith unleashed his sword strikes in an expanding circular pattern, causing some strikes to veer off course due to Balam’s evasive maneuvers in concordance with the fact that his precision is currently nerfed.

However, the ones that continued to collide with Balam were getting even more powerful— they created strong impacts that almost knocked Balam off balance, not once, not twice but the demon was strong enough to regain his composure by reflex. However, the fact that Raith was persistently swinging his sword was very annoying.

He was already confused and unfocused because he was worried as to how Raith is still standing, the holes in his body closed up. He was certain that this guy died by his hands and yet he is still fighting, that too with such renewed vigor.

“Heavenly Destruction…”

Wham!!

Just when Balam was about to get used to the flow of Raith sword strikes, he suddenly changes the trajectory– but that was not the sole reason why King Balam got so alerted that he flew out of Raith’s range– something he really hated doing; he hated backing away from a fight, not to even say with a human.

However, instead of regret, curiosity and a deep frown creased his face. It resembled the moment when Raith and Bal had noticed the sudden change when Balam revealed his wide-spread wings.

“…The Dark Comet”

Raith executed a fluid series of precise sword movements. With a blend of strength and finesse, he swung his sword, unleashing a concentrated surge of darkness that materialized as a comet-like projectile hurtling towards Balam.

As the dark-infused strike soared through the air, it transformed into a comet-like entity, leaving behind a sinister, ethereal trail that cast a shadow over the entire battlefield.

Sensing the imminent danger, Balam swiftly veered away from the attack’s trajectory. However, the Comet exhibited remarkable synchrony with Raith’s sword, as if the blade itself guided its path.

Frowning, Balam felt a growing devastation at having been forced to retreat from Raith’s onslaught twice already. Retreating for a third time would be a blow to his pride. Determined, he charged towards the approaching Comet, his hand exuding a dark-red energy distinct from dark mana.

For the first time, Balam unleashed his fiendish energy, swinging his hand forward to intercept the incoming Comet—

—As the dark comet collided with the last-minute barrier conjured by Balam, a shroud of darkness enveloped the area. The surrounding light waned, giving way to an eerie and oppressive atmosphere. In an instant, a cataclysmic explosion of darkness erupted, accompanied by shockwaves that wreaked havoc in the immediate vicinity—around Balam himself.

The ensuing devastation unleashed further destruction, and a dense cloud of darkness blanketed the surroundings as the effects of the massive explosion settled.

Raith’s grin widened as he raised his sword, preparing for another strike.

“I’d have been disappointed if he died from that,” he said as he swiped his leg forward getting ready for another technique.

Balam, frowning from his position because half of his body had been severed by the dark comet. It had broken through his barrier, inflicting significant damage.

This barrier, reinforced with his fiendish energy, was a hundred times stronger than the one Raith had previously shattered. Nonetheless, Balam’s resilient form began regenerating rapidly, rendering the damage inconsequential.

Observing Raith readying his sword once again, Balam swiftly dashed forward, his wings spreading wide as he effortlessly sliced through the air with astonishing speed.

“You bastard,” Balam seethed as he reached Raith’s front.

“Oh, oh, but you’re a little too late,” Raith taunted.

Infinite Flash

Raith blurred into an afterimage, evading Balam’s claw strike. Simultaneously, he reappeared behind Balam, swinging his sword in an arc from the back. However, Balam’s wing intercepted the attack, narrowly deflecting Raith’s cleaving strike. Raith swiftly transformed into another afterimage, materializing below Balam and delivering a upward arc with his sword.

Infuriated, the demon king stomped on Raith’s sword, unleashing a massive circular shockwave that halted Raith’s assault.

Raith’s grin in the face of this setback only deepened Balam’s bewilderment.

Creak… ．

ZZZZPPPPTTTSSHH!!

To Balam’s horror, Raith’s sword began emitting numerous bolts of black lightning, tearing through his leg and causing him to let out a torturous scream as he stumbled back immediately.

Though his leg lay in ruins, it swiftly regenerated before Raith’s eyes.

Frowning at this display of resilience, Raith desperately sought a way to bring about a definitive end, as exhaustion began to take its toll on him.