Chapter 157: The Hollow Crown [10]

Pain flooded back into his body in a single, overwhelming wave.

The shattered bones in his arm knitted themselves together with a series of wet, grinding cracks.

His collapsed ribs forced themselves outward and realigned, and the pressure in his chest expanded violently as air rushed back into his lungs.

The deep gouges left by the dragon’s claw across his torso closed under the authority that refused to let Death claim him.

Klein’s eyes snapped open.

He was lying in a shallow crater of shattered black stone, the same place where the dragon’s claw had driven him into the floor.

Dust and small fragments still drifted down from the impact.

His body ached with the residual memory of destruction, yet every piece of him was already functional again.

Blood that had pooled beneath him was drawn back into closing wounds, leaving only dark stains on the cracked platform.

He pushed himself up slowly with one hand braced against the ground while the other hand still loosely holding the spear that had remained embedded nearby.

The weapon pulled free with a soft scrape as he rose to his full height.

Then he looked up.

The giant black dragon towered above him, still in the same position it had the moment it had crushed him.

One massive claw was partially raised, as if the beast was about to finish the job and ensure no recovery was possible.

A low, vibrating growl rolled out of the dragon’s throat in confusion.

’So that’s the gap,’ he thought, his eyes narrowing slightly.

’Raw strength, scale density, reaction speed... everything is a tier above what I can currently match head-on. One clean hit is enough to end me.’

Klein’s lips curved into a thin smile "Round two, then."

His fingers tightened around the spear.

This time, he would make the dragon work for every inch of the kill.

*swoosh*

A soft ripple of pure spirit energy bloomed across the ruined platform, cutting cleanly through the oppressive pressure of the black dragon.

Green light condensed in a gentle spiral, and a familiar figure stepped out of it.

Orpheus appeared at his side.

Her long green hair drifted slightly in the residual heat of the cavern.

She closed the short distance between them in two steps and seized the front of his jacket with both hands.

"Husband..."

"I just felt our connection disappear. What did you do this time?"

Klein opened his mouth, but she did not give him the chance to answer.

Her fingers tightened, and she gave him a small, frustrated shake.

"You promised me. After the last time you stabbed yourself in front of me, you promised you would not throw your life away without at least warning me properly."

"And now I feel the bond vanish while you are inside a Tower? Do you have any idea what that felt like on my end?"

The giant black dragon above them shifted, and its eyes narrowed at the sudden appearance of a high-ranking spirit, but Orpheus did not even glance at it.

All of her attention remained fixed on the man in front of her.

Klein exhaled quietly and covered one of her hands with his own "Don’t worry, I am alright, See? I... well, I just died a little, nothing much."

"Also, uh... dear, we have bigger fish to fry."

Orpheus turned her head toward the giant black dragon.

The beast had already begun to move again, scraping its massive claws against the stone as it prepared another crushing attack.

Without hesitation, she raised her hand and swept it outward.

A dome of pure green spirit energy expanded from her palm.

*thoom* The barrier slammed into the dragon’s descending claw, driving the beast several steps across the platform.

Klein stared at her for a moment in amazement. "...Okay."

But at the same time, he felt his mana reserves depleting at an alarming rate.

The dual cores inside his chest pulsed, struggling to sustain the full manifestation of a spirit of Orpheus’s level.

’Summoning Orpheus for just a few seconds is consuming this much mana...’

Orpheus stepped half a pace in front of Klein, spirit energy already gathering around her hands in soft, luminous green threads.

"...I am not letting my husband die to the same claw twice, you damned beast."

Before she could advance any further, Klein reached out and firmly grabbed her wrist, pulling her back against him.

"Dear. You have to leave now."

Orpheus glanced at him, and she also realized that he doesn’t have energy reserves to manifest her.

"That dragon is above your current level. You need to retreat, Irakiel. Use the exit gate while you still can. There is no shame in-"

He cut her off the only way he knew would work.

Klein pulled her fully against him and kissed her.

His free hand cupped the back of her head, holding her in place, silencing the rest of the words.

For a brief second, Orpheus’s eyes widened in surprise, and when he finally broke the kiss, he spoke.

"I’ll handle it."

Before she could argue again, Klein activated the authority of their Spirit Contract.

As her contractor, he forced the recall.

A green light flared around Orpheus’s body, and she looked at him, her eyes filled with worry, frustration, and unmistakable affection, before her body dissolved into pure spirit energy and was pulled back into the Spirit Realm.

The green dome vanished with her.

Klein stood alone once more on the platform of the 40th floor.

He closed his eyes for a single breath, and then he opened all four of his mana cores at once.

A massive surge of mana erupted from his body in every direction.

The air around him distorted violently, and cracks of pure pressure spiderwebbed across the platform beneath his feet.

His body immediately protested against the overwhelming pressure.

Fine cracks split open along his arms, across his shoulders, and down the sides of his torso as the overwhelming output exceeded what his current physical vessel could comfortably contain.

For a second, the strain threatened to tear him apart from the inside.

Then his trait Resurgent Soul activated and ran at full power

The cracks sealed themselves almost as quickly as they formed.

The flesh knitted, bones reinforcing, and blood vessels repairing under an unnatural, relentless regeneration.

His body was forced to endure the full output of four cores through sheer refusal to die.

Klein’s eyes opened fully and a deep crimson light burned within them.

[Spear Intent]

An invisible, razor-sharp pressure layered itself over the spear in his hands.

Dark Moon: Sixth Form - Blood Moon Fang

Klein stepped forward, and the spear blurred.

*sleesh* *sleesh* *sleesh* A series of crescent fangs of deep crimson-black energy tore free from the tip and slammed into the dragon’s left foreleg one after another.

Scales that had previously resisted lesser strikes shattered.

Dark blood sprayed as the fangs bit deeper, carving through muscle and tendon.

"GRRRAAAAAAAAAHHH!" The dragon roared and tried to crush him with the same claw that killed him once before.

Dark Moon: Seventh Form - Eclipse Spiral

He twisted his body mid-motion, spinning his spear in a tight, ascending helix.

A vortex of absolute darkness formed around the weapon and drove upward into the dragon’s descending limb.

Layer after layer of black scale and flesh was stripped away in a continuous, grinding rotation.

"ARRGRAARGH!" The beast reared back in genuine pain and spread its wings wide as it prepared to unleash another destruction breath at point-blank range.

Klein did not give it the chance.

Dark Moon: Eighth Form - Absolute Lunar Severance

All four cores poured everything into a single, decisive motion.

Spear Intent and Dark Moon energy fused completely.

The spear became a streak of pure black-crimson light as Klein launched himself forward while his body was still cracking and healing in real time under the pressure.

He aimed for the already-wounded left foreleg at the joint.

*SLEESHHH*

A clean severance.

The enormous limb separated from the dragon’s body in a single stroke, crashing to the platform with a ground-shaking impact.

"GROOOOOORRROO!" The roar of the dragon shook the entire cavern as it stumbled back for a moment.

Black blood erupted in a high arc, painting the stone and Klein’s clothes.

Klein landed several meters away, and fresh cracks opened across his arms and chest, only to seal themselves again under the continuous work of his traits.

He raised his head and looked at the now three-limbed black dragon, a thin trail of blood running from the corner of his mouth.

"One down."

He swirled his spear in his hand, and a slight frown appeared on his face.

’Hm?’

Glancing down at his palm, his frown deepened as he saw some black energy oozing out of his body in smoky spirals.

’The heck is this? I feel a strange energy in my body.’

’I did not have this sensation before my death just now. Did Azara do something?’

’But I doubt she would do anything harmful to me.’

His gaze flickered to the dragon in front of him ’I wonder if I can harness this energy.’