Chapter 46 A Sacrifice is Needed
46 A Sacrifice is Needed
The staircase loomed ominously before them, each step leading closer to the unknown. Stark and Orasio shared a silent moment of determination, a steely resolve shining in their eyes as they stood up from their brief rest.
Without uttering a single word, they began their descent down the grand staircase, the air growing colder with each step they took.
The darkness began more overwhelming each second they descended, the platform and 'colossal paths' quickly getting further and further from them.
Soon enough, they couldn't even the chamber while looking up.
"Five at the start, now only two remain," Orasio suddenly said without even looking back at Stark, "Do you think we will survive this?"
"…" Stark didn't answer, he knew that most people would of died already while fighting the guardians, and less than 1% of domination class users would reach the 'Greater One', but it didn't matter, "We are here now, whatever happens happens, even if one of us dies."
As they reached the bottom, they found themselves in a vast chamber shrouded in darkness.
They were in the deepest parts of the 'Class Purgatory'.
And just to make them understand how fucked they were, the staircase that led them down there disappeared too.
[Good luck.]
They began walking toward the center of the chamber, their footsteps echoing ominously in the darkness. Suddenly, a faint light flickered in the distance, illuminating a weird structure.
It was set against a wall, and there seemed to be nothing else around it.
When they reached the structure, which looked like a massive, ancient door, Stark and Orasio exchanged a glance filled with uncertainty. The door was covered in intricate carvings of unknown symbols that seemed to shift and writhe in the dim light.
And as they approached… a panel appeared before them.
[Only one participant is allowed to meet the 'Greater One'] Nôv(el)B\\jnn
[One sacrifice is needed to continue]
Without hesitation, Stark turned to Orasio, a solemn expression on his face. Orasio met his gaze with understanding, knowing what had to be done.
There was no emotions on their faces as they both activated 'Domination' and faced one another.
"Of course that shitty trial would only let one person win," Orasio laughed, his shield in hand, ready to block Stark's attacks.
But in contrast to Orasio, Stark didn't activate his aura to fight the red-haired boy, instead, he decided to try something.
"If it doesn't work, then we'll have to fight," Stark smiled, "But until then…"
"CLONE FRENZY!" he hadn't activated that skill even during the fight against the shadows both because he didn't want his shadow to also use it, but also because he wanted it as a trump card in case anything happened.
Stark's aura seeped out of him and created an exact copy of himself.
[One sacrifice is needed, if you want to be the sacrifice, please approach the altar (door) and put your palm against it for three seconds, you will receive 99999+ damage instantly]
'Go, other me,' Stark ordered his clone to do exactly what that thing wanted it to do.
It was a futile attempt in most situations, but he didn't feel like fighting his teammate for now.
Of course… if the skill failed… then he would be forced to, but that is another story: he was already putting himself at a disadvantage by using one of his most powerful skills, but he really wanted to catch onto that small hope.
The clone followed Stark's orders without hesitation, walking up to the ancient door and pressing its palm against the surface. A blinding light engulfed the clone, causing it to disintegrate into nothingness.
"-99999" it received so much damage not even a level 100 classifier could be able to withstand that, luckily it only had one hp.
Stark and Orasio watched in tense silence, unsure of what would happen next.
Suddenly, the symbols on the door began to glow brightly, and a low rumble filled the chamber. The intricate carvings shifted and rearranged themselves until they formed a new message:
[Participant, step forward and face the Greater One.]
"YOU FUCKING TRICKED IT!" Orasio was astonished it actually worked, meaning that it wasn't just one of them that would face the Greater One, but two!
The ancient door opened, and beyond it was another chamber, although this time they could see light pouring out from it.
Stark and Orasio exchanged a surprised glance before stepping through the door into the illuminated chamber.
They were in a clearing with towering pillars and walls around them… it almost felt like… they were back at the beginning!?
But no, it was different, since there were no skeletons, and also the mirror in the middle wasn't present either.
But at the far end of that clearing… was a giant mirror, and on the reflection could be seen a giant figure shrouded in darkness, it was turning its back to them.
"Good job, participant, you have reached the end of this trial-" it turned around, then stopped talking, "What the…"
It tilted its head in confusion, its red eyes squinted, almost as if it was making sure it was seeing things right.
"How are there two of you… it doesn't make sense…" even though it was the king of this place, it looked like it wasn't able to predict everything.
"Aura Smash!" Stark punched the air in the giant mirror's direction, and the crimson fist came hurtling toward it, shattering it upon impact.
"Damn, you didn't even let it finish…" Orasio sighed.
And suddenly…
~BOOM~
The figure that was previously in the mirror's reflection suddenly materialized in front of it, its feet touching the green grass.
"Annoying bugs…" it sneered, pulling out some sort of glass fragment from its cloak.
It was wearing a dark cloak, and its face was covered by a glass mask emanating a dark aura that didn't allow them to see its face, the only thing visible was its eyes and mouth.
"You are alone, three of you already died, no one has ever completed a death-level trial, so WHY, WHY DO YOU STILL FIGHT!" it shouted, almost angry that Stark and Orasio made it this far.
Stark and Orasio stood their ground, undeterred by the intimidating presence before them.
It was the final thing that was stopping them from leaving this place, and they would make sure to shut it up.
Stark's fists glowed with an aura brighter than ever before, while Orasio's shield was ready to block all the attacks that were sent at it.
[Greater One: The Mirror Master]
[3…2…1]
[FIGHT!]
And so the last fight began inside that weird clearing.
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EndKun