Rise of the Devourer

Book 2: Chapter 68 — Training Chamber

Noah charged at the cultist chief, moving faster than the man could react. Using Arcane Step, he appeared right in front of the man, his spear pierced through as Void Annihilation activated. Dark void mana flowed through the weapon, cutting a hole in the chief's body.

Not giving his enemy any time to react, Noah charged Abyssal Inferno, unleashing its fury. Flames burst from his hands, incinerating the cultist with a burst of fire till not even ash remained. Noah looked down where the cultist once stood, remembering a time when the man had seemed overwhelmingly strong. He spun his spear around planting his spear on the colorful cosmic ground underneath him, grinning triumphantly.

"Alright, time for the next one."

Noah tried to picture the Blood-grafted horror he had first encountered within the Abyssal cult.

“Blood grafted horror,” he said, as the creature manifested in a swirl of red and black, forming a ghastly entity. Noah remembered how horrible and disgusting the creature looked and how much suffering it had caused to everyone forced to turn into such monstrosity.

The Blood-grafted horror roared as it charged in. Noah used Wyrm’s Curse on the creature as the ability activated. Mana flowed into his eyes, lighting up as his aura swirled around him with newfound power. Moments later, the system chimed.

You’ve inflicted [Wyrm’s Curse] on [Blood-Grafted Horror].

The curse’s ability began to work as the creature writhed in annoyance and agony. A small amount of life started to flow back to Noah from the creature, slowly increasing in intensity.

The Blood-grafted horror shrieked, annoyed by the curse as its many limbs, enhanced and twisted forms, and knots of flesh moved its giant bulbous body around to kill the source of its annoyance. It looked at Noah, its fleshy mouth starting to reveal an array of bones meshed together in a mishmash of stitched-up chaos.

The creature jumped, arms swinging. Bony appendages formed blades as they struck down. Noah did not dodge this time, letting the strike land. The attack, even after how much he had grown, cut through his arm, stopping only at the bone, almost tearing his arm off entirely. Noah grabbed the second strike, catching the bony sword striking at his head.

He looked sideways as blood flowed freely from the wound, dripping from the cut. Moments later, with an exertion of his spell, his body and blood began to reform and mend itself, restoring in front of his eyes. In a few seconds, his hand was back to normal as he clenched his fists, smiling happily.

"Sick as heck," Noah said. He did not regret getting Tony back when he first lost his arm but it still felt great to finally have the ability to recover any lost limbs.

Clenching his fists, Noah channeled Void Annihilation as he punched the creature in front of him. The giant monster flew back, its giant body flailing as it tumbled, bones and flesh breaking from the strike.

Reaching out to his abilities, he summoned the Bloodwyrm Swarm. The snakelike draconian creatures of blood manifested from the cosmic void, wrapping themselves around the blood-grafted horror, their teeth sinking into its body. Notifications chimed in his mind.

[Bloodwyrm Swarm] has inflicted [Haemorrhage].

[Bloodwyrm Swarm] has inflicted [Malaise].

Noah used Arcane Step, appearing right in front of the creature. The bloodwyrms held it in place, keeping it tied, as the creature resisted.

The horror’s many eyes and faces looked towards him as reaching out to try and grab him, but flames of Abyssal Inferno turned its limbs to ashes before they ever reached his body. The creature roared, pushing against his restraints, shrieking more and more.

You’ve heard [Phantom Wail] from [Flesh Grafted Horror].

You’ve resisted its effects.

The creature, knowing Noah stood unharmed, began to grow more wary, its form slowly starting to transform. Its bulbous form shifted to become a draconian creature of blood and bones, wings sprouting from its back, but Noah didn't plan to let it continue.

He tightened the bloodwyrms around the creature, holding it in place before Void Annihilation filled his fists. Black fire erupted around his hand as the abyssal inferno crackled.

With a powerful strike, Noah's fist exploded in flames, almost sending the creature flying, but the blood swarm held, tying it into place.

Fist after fist descended on the creature, attacks faster than the monster could transform. Its body broke apart before it could regenerate. The strikes became faster and faster, each one tearing a chunk out. Barely seconds in, he struck, and the creature shuddered, falling down into a collapsed pile of flesh and bones. Still alive, but only barely.

Noah looked down at the monster in front of him with disgust before pointing his palm towards the creature. With one final pulse, black flames erupted around the blood-grafted horror, consuming it entirely.

Cracking his neck, Noah smiled. "Alright, who's next?"

He tried to recall who else he had fought before a name settled into his mind. "Ah yes, that’d make for good practice."

Noah called upon the Valkyrie he'd fought to obtain his spear. He formed the image of the woman in his mind before speaking the words, "Scarlet Valkyrie."

Moments later, golden and red light erupted as the Valkyrie manifested in front of him, and Noah summoned his spear by his side, which vibrated as if resonating with the Valkyrie's presence.

The Valkyrie looked at Noah, her eyes lacking any intelligence or recognition, but for just a moment, she glanced at the spear in his hand and a brief smile formed on her lips. Noah struck first, rushing forward as he threw his spear with a charged Abyssal Inferno. The spear shot forward at speed, slicing through the air with a crackling burst.

The Valkyrie moved, agilely dodging the attack, then countering with her own. Golden spears formed around her, launching towards Noah in a swirling array. He used Arcane Step, dodging the attacks and teleporting around her as he closed the distance. Swirling violet magic enveloped her, golden light healing her crimson rot-ridden body as she struck with her spear, sending pulses of golden red energy out.

Noah closed in, summoning his Runeforged Armaments. Swarms of magical blades formed around him, runic accents adorning them. With a single command, he unleashed a blaze to counter the Valkyrie's spears. The two weapons clashed, canceling each other out in a burst of blue and gold magic.

Noah rushed forward, striking with his weapon. The Valkyrie moved, her own spear meeting his in a dance of blades. The two struck in unison, Noah spinning his spear around, trying to stab at her throat, aiming for a one-hit defeat, but the woman was fast and dexterous. She moved swiftly, dodging within an inch of his strikes, matching them with her own. It didn't take long for Noah to realize who was more skilled between the two of them. But that didn't mean she was stronger.

Black flames wrapped around Noah, countering the Valkyrie's attacks and forming a wall. He teleported, appearing behind her, and threw his spear again. She turned swiftly, using her own spear to deflect the attack, but she wasn't prepared for another blade striking from behind, stabbing into her gut. Swords descended one after another, piercing her body and heart.

Noah teleported closer, manifesting a runic blade into his arm. He looked at the tortured woman, then with a single strike, beheaded her.

"I guess she can't come back from that," Noah said as the woman disappeared into motes of light.

He took a few moments to let his health and mana recover before considering his next enemy. It was an obvious choice, one that Noah had been itching to try out. He smiled, anticipating the next challenge as he spoke the words. “Raesar.”

The giant drailith appeared, grinning at Noah as he looked down upon him. Noah looked up at the man with reptilian eyes with a grin as well, almost as if the two shared an unspoken joke.

Then, without a word, they both struck — Noah with his spear and Raesar with claws. The drailith overwhelmed Noah with his sheer power sending his spear flying. Noah recalled his spear in his inventory, switching to close combat. He could feel that Tony was sleeping, not being present within this space, but he still could command Tony for his abilities.

Dark, gooey slime flowed over Noah’s body, forming armor that coiled around his arms as clawed gauntlets. His mind, working faster now, sharpened his thoughts as meditation kicked in.

Noah began to match Raesar blow for blow, each strike from the beast sending a crack across the area, sounding like a machine gun firing. Noah met each strike intentionally, matching Raesar. But with every other strike, he found himself being pushed back.

As the battle continued, the strikes began to accumulate. Raesar’s fist would crack his bones before they immediately repaired themselves. But the more Noah fought, the faster Raesar's strikes became, faster than he could heal them.

Wounds covered Noah,blood flowing freely around him. What Noah had done to the Blood Grafted Horror, Raesar was now doing to him. There was a chance Noah would win the endurance match.

As the notification had mentioned, Raesar could only use the skills that Noah had seen him use — only ever just one.

But even so, Noah found himself being pushed harder and harder to the brink. His black armored gauntlets slowly began to crack. His fists shivered, his body pushed back by the intense aura and he almost felt like he was about to fall over.

Using Arcane Step, Noah teleported away, creating distance between them. His blood acted quickly, battered and broken fingers mending themselves as bones healed and his flesh knit itself back. Noah cracked fists, pushed back his fingers into their sockets. His blood dripped down into the colorful cosmic backdrop, fading into nothingness.

Raesar simply stared, grinning as he watched. Noah knew Raesar would not attack until he made the first move.

"Even here, you have so much leeway huh?” Noah said. Raesar did not respond; this was just a projection. But the drailith’s eyes narrowed just the slightest bit.

Noah summoned his spear back, looking at Raesar with a look of determination.

"Round two. This time, let's give it our all," he said.

Raesar's demeanor shifted, his aura changing to a deep red as his eyes expanded and his ferocious grin widened, focusing intently on Noah. Once again, with a wordless signal, the two moved at once.

Noah lunged with his spear, charging them with Void Annihilation as he struck. Raesar countered with his claws, but the ability cut gashes, drawing blood. Noah used Life Siphon, pulling onto the drailith’s lifeforce as he bolstered his own.

Blades of magic manifested around Noah, taking strikes from multiple directions. He spun his spear, charging it with Abyssal Inferno as black flames enveloped the air. A wave of fiery force and annihilation crackled around the spear, sending arcs with each swing and pulses of void mana with each thrust.

The guildmaster moved, dodging and moving faster than Noah, but Noah kept up, his enhanced speed and perception just enough to match the monstrous man. Using Arcane Step to intercept and thrust his spear. Another attack came from behind, striking Raesar faster than he could react.

Raesar ignored the pain, his claws descending on Noah, nearly tearing him into pieces with a single strike. Jumping back with Astral Step, Noah touched his chest to feel the deep gashes as they healed themselves.

With a pulse of mana, he summoned both specters as two more clones of him appeared. These ones did not look like him, but more like magical clones, yet what they lacked in personality, they made up in power. They moved as one, black flames manifesting around their mana weapons.

Noah teleported, switching places with the specters, attacking Raesar with their combined strength. Bloodwyrm Swarm rose from around Raesar, entangling his ankles, and more blades poured out from his Runeforged Arnaments. The drailith shrugged off the assault, striking at Noah with a fearsome swipe of his claws.

One of the specters teleported back in, replacing Noah as it took the strike for him. Noah returned a moment later, thrusting his spear and cutting through Raesar's defenses, drawing blood.

Raesar let the weapon sink into his body, using it to grab at Noah's spear. His claws struck at Noah's shoulders, severing his arm entirely.

Noah stumbled back, slipping away as a specter took his place, unleashing Abyssal Inferno. The exploding black flames engulfed Raesar, who rolled, rushing through the onslaught as he charged the specter, killing it. Noah clutched his shoulder, stopping the bleeding as he Life Siphon, but it wasn’t enough. Turning towards Raesar, Noah used Wyrm’s feast.

[Wyrm’s Feast] has consumed [Hemmorage].

[Wyrm’s Feast] has consumed [Malaise].

As the last spectre died, Noah drew upon more of Tony's abilities as he activated Metamorphosis.

Tendril-like flames burst from his back, claws forming at his hands and wings taking shape behind him. His size grew as he turned into the visage of a demon with hellfire swirling all around.

Noah roared, rushing in. Flames danced around him as he struck with his claws, matching Raesar blow for blow.

His shadow stirred, rising as the two of them attacked in unison, teleporting between each strike. They struck at once, the drailith letting out a roar, swinging his arms as he clawed at Noah. Noah struck back with his own claws charged with Void Annihilation, the impact sending both of them flying.

Not wasting time, Noah teleported in with Arcane step as he grabbed the drailith’s arm and with a scream, lifted Raesar’s massive body of ground. For a brief moment, Noah saw Raesar's eyes widen before he slammed him down onto the ground, tackling him down.

Fire continued to gather, Abyssal Inferno burning as Noah stored more energy within his arm. Raesar clawed at him, pulling him down, but Noah held strong, his Shadow Specter striking at the Drailith with bursts of Void Annihilation and blades of mana.

Raesar roared in anger, before swiping his tail as he cut through the Shadow with a single strike. Noah summoned bloodwyrms once more, using them to hold Raesar in place. The Draith roared, resisting as Noah held him to the ground.

He felt his shoulder tearing from the force, but Noah continued, pushing more and more flames into his limb.

Raesar screamed, muscles bulging, his aura intensifying as he tore one of the Bloodwyrms holding his arms. He grabbed Noah’s arm, before ripping it off entirely.

As the drailith’s claws were about to maul him to death, Noah unleashed his ability. All the flames gathered within his body escaped in a single blast.

A sphere of black flames manifested around them, darkness descending as fire swallowed everything.

Noah felt Raesar's strike punch a hole through his gut, tearing out his insides before swiping at his face as they tore out his eyes.

Noah teleported away before he collapsed, his healing working in a frenzy to keep him alive. He felt his heart racing, waiting for his eyes to heal back up, but due to Abyssal Awareness he could still see around him, perceiving from somewhere beyond his eyes.

Due to this, he saw Raesar rise from the fury of black flames and delt his hear sink in defeat. The drailith stepped out of the inferno, the flames dying down around him. Yet, when the man came out, the sight shocked Noah.

He looked up and saw Raesar's body burnt to a crisp; one half of his arm was missing up to his chest, a giant hole showing his ribs and lungs, the flesh of his body a fused and searing mush with his skull showing in parts.

Raesar looked down at him in silence before he spoke. “Good fight.”

The drailith collapsed in a heap, his body fading into motes of light immediately after.

Noah felt his body relax, tension fleeing as if his strings were cut loose.

He chuckled, the a laughter rising slowly at first, before turning into a mad cackle. He had done it. He had done it!

After his wounds had healed enough, Noah rose up from where he had fallen, looking down at where Raesar's body had been before it disintegrated into motes of light. He shook his head in disbelief. “Still just one fucking skill. What a monster.”

Noah put a hand on his gut, feeling his messed up organs slowly sliding into place. “I should probably stop now,” Noah said. “But I do have one last opponent I want to face.”

The image came easily to him, the majestic form of his next challenge. “Zaxius,” Noah said and the dragon manifested in a crackle of energy.

Zax stood in front of Noah in human form, his expression neutral. Noah looked at Zax, summoning his spear back into his arms as the effects of Metamorphosis faded. He felt the ability return a moment later, ready to be activated again, he realized there was no cooldown on his abilities here.

For a few seconds, Noah simply stared at Zax, trying to think of how to strike. Every path he could see was blocked, every method he could think of was intercepted. Noah felt Zax's aura of terror pour over him, overwhelming even his resistances. For a brief moment, Noah found his heart shaking, pounding with terror and fear.

Looking at Zax, he tried to come up with a strategy for a few more minutes before deciding to just strike, letting Abyssal Inferno charge for as long as he could before throwing Void Annihilation into the mix as well.

Noah raised the weapon, letting it fill with energy as black lightning crackled around it. He charged his muscles with everything he had, tensing up as he pulled back, before throwing the spear with all he had.

Crack!

The weapon moved faster than he could see, striking at Zax instantly. An explosion erupted, but Noah did not wait to see the result. Teleporting with Arcane Step, he appeared right in front of Zax, Abyssal Inferno charged before he formed two specters immediately after. Three strikes of the flaming charge rushed towards Zax. But Noah didn’t stop there.

Mana blades appeared around Zax, striking as one in a frenzy. Bloodwyrms rose from the ground, trying to drag the dragon down. For the briefest moment, Noah felt like he could win. His strike will land, there should no way to dodge—

Lightning burst around Zax tearing through the specters immediately, at the same time, a pulse of water magic neutralized his abyssal inferno, blowing steam. Magic flowed faster than Noah could even perceive, canceling his blades and tearing through his bloodwyrms. In the next moment, Zaxius cast another spell, as a bolt of lightning rushed towards Noah.

It all happened within a fraction of a second. Within a single blink of an eye, Zax had destroyed all of Noah’s abilities, before the bolt of lightning pierced his heart.

The last thing Noah saw was Zax standing just as calmly as he had, before everything turned white.

You died.

Noah felt himself reappear in a blinding flash of light, his legs shaking as he fell onto the ground. His heart thundered in his chest, as his mind tried to grasp what had happened. He had just died. Died in a mere few seconds, unable to do anything.

He looked up and saw Zax still standing there, unscathed, with shackles around his arm Noah forced himself to calm down, a smile replacing his grim expression.

"I still have a long way to go," he said, dismissing the image of Zaxius.

Standing on his feet, Noah looked around himself, taking a few moments to ground his mind back to reality. He took a deep breath. He had grown.

"Alright, let's head back," Noah said, and almost as if on command, a gate of light appeared in front of him, with the words ‘Exit’ flashing above.

Noah looked at the gate suspiciously for a moment before stepping through as blinding light surrounded him. With a jerk, his spirit returned back to his body as he opened them and woke up.