Zilon stood in the midst of the darkness, a huge purple stone in front of him and his hands emitting sliver waves of energy.
He remembered his conversation with Lyla when they were eating.
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He had already stood up and was washing his plates when Lyla's voice reached his ears.
"Those blocks in your body are called Noxoliths. They're a type of disease that affects the inhabitants of this world "
Zilon stopped what he was doing and without turning paid her the utmost attention.
"The Noxoliths have been widely associated with the demons, since this disease sprays more violently when they attack....."
"It had taken millions of lives with it for the past few decades.... "
"That explains a lot " Zilon thought.
"There are two forms of this disease, namely: the black one being it's basic which is called noxothons, and the purple being it's strongest mainly know as noxogons" she said with a pause.
"The number of locks on the body depends on exposure to the demonic energy, and at such are random with yours being the highest I have seen " Lyla became silent.
"Figured ....."
For some reason he kind of expected his condition to be worse than it looks.
In the end his luck wasn't all that good.
Zilon waited for a while, maybe she had more to say but he heard nothing.
Sighing inwardly he continued scrubbing the plates, but sometime later, he heard her voice in his head.
He almost panicked but remembering that was her ability he quickly calmed down.
"The black ones won't be a problem, considering your control over Mana that is, however,if you ever encounter the purple one then you have to be careful...."
"You can't destroy it with just Mana you may need to find its core. Give it all you've got and destroy it at all cost "
Her words Echoed in his mind, he repeated her statements over and over again, trying ingrave them into his senses.
He concluded his task in silence, he was about to walk past her when he said inwardly.
"Thank you, I really appreciate the heads up "
Then walking past her and reaching the door he was able to notice a faint smile on her face, but he was already going and the image was vague so he couldn't know if he imagined it or not.
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Zilon raised his hand, willing the energy—Mana—to surge. Silvery streams leaked out of his fingertips, swirling with purpose as he molded it through sheer will.
In moments, the swirling energy morphed, elongating and sharpening until a giant silver arrow shimmered into existence, its head gleaming with lethal intent.
"This is just my thoughts," he muttered under his breath, eyes narrowing, "but I've come to understand... this place is my soul. My domain. Here, I'm only limited by my energy—and my imagination."
That familiar pressure tugged at his senses again. He'd felt it every time he entered this place, subtle but ever-present. Before, it was a mystery. But after awakening the artificial spirit, he'd finally grasped it.
It was the tether—the link between his soul and body.
Driven by instinct, Zilon knew one thing for certain: no one—not even the strongest—can interfere here. This was his battleground.
His eyes flashed with resolve.
The silver arrow launched, cutting through the air like a comet, racing straight toward its target: the towering purple rock.
The rock loomed before him, jagged and menacing—nearly twice his height, its rough surface glistening like obsidian dipped in twilight. Dark veins crisscrossed its body, pulsing faintly with ominous energy. At its heart, deep cracks glowed faintly—a storm of power simmering beneath its surface.
As the arrow neared, the rock flared violently—bathed in a brilliant, venomous purple light. Its glow thickened, hardening into a shell of pure defense.
Zilon's frown deepened. He recognized the trick: it was the same thing it used to absorb his mana.
Not wasting a second, Zilon conjured again, opening his palm—silver streams coiling together into a dense sphere of energy, spinning wildly at its core.
BOOOM.
The arrow collided with the rock's shield, the impact unleashing a shockwave that rippled across the shimmering liquid beneath their feet.
The arrow fought to pierce through, but its glow flickered, its power waning.
Zilon's foot skidded across the rippling surface. He paused for a moment then Without hesitation, he channeled mana into his legs—silver lightning cracking along his limbs.
He entered a running position and soon he exploded with speed.
*Boom*
He was immediately pushed forward raising some few inches above the ground, A small ripple swept across were he stood reaching were he was as he tried to stabilize himself.
His legs began to move faster and hard as he added more power to his legs.
" Faster....FASTER " Zilon yelled inwardly.
His muscles screamed as he burst forward, a silver blur streaking toward the battle.
Then—slam.
His foot struck down, Sending out a huge wave as he launched himself into the air, lightning trailing behind him in a wild arc.
He soared—12 feet high—closing in on the rock's towering form, which now seemed like a crouching beast ready to devour anything in its path.
With a roar, Zilon hurled the swirling mana sphere downward. Like a mini cyclone, it spiraled, screeching as it homed in on the rock.
Below, the rock struggled, caught between two forces. The arrow still pressed hard against its shield—and now the spiraling silver ball smashed in from above.
Zilon landed hard, the liquid beneath shuddering as he rolled, breath ragged. He didn't pause.
"GO!"
Two massive silver spears materialized in his grasp, humming with raw power. He hurled them with everything he had.
His accuracy wasn't all that impressive, but for such a big target and with the distance he was, even a child could make a hit.
CRASH.
They struck true—slamming into the rock's glowing armor, sending cracks skittering across its surface.
Without missing a beat, he summoned two more mana orbs, larger this time, pulsing dangerously in his palms.
Zilon sprinted forward—ready to end it all with this one attack.
But before he could strike, the air split apart.
Zilon immediately felt the hair on his skin raise but before he could anything it was too late.
CRACK!
A massive bolt of lightning—deep purple, like wrath incarnate—descended out of nowhere, striking the rock dead-on.
The blast was cataclysmic. Zilon's attacks shattered like glass under its might. The lightning pierced straight through the rock, rupturing it from the inside.
The shockwave hit like a sledgehammer, hurling Zilon back. His arms burned, seared with scorch marks as he instinctively raised his mana orbs as shields.
The lightning met his shields with crushing force—forcing him to detonate them early.
*BOOOOM*
The explosion rocketed him across the arena, crashing hard into the liquid surface. Pain ripped through him, maddening and raw—far worse than any normal wound. Here, in his soul, everything was magnified.
Gritting his teeth, Zilon forced himself upright, shaking and gasping.
His eyes locked onto the remains of the rock.
It was... gone.
Reduced to fragments, crushed utterly by the lightning.
But standing in its place—
Something worse. Something terrifying.
Zilon's breath hitched.
"What... the hell is that...?"
....
Zilon held his breath as he stared intently at the figure standing where the rock had been before.
Standing with eyes closed was a towering 6foot demon like figure, with horns protruding from both sides of his head and his forehead, sharp nails easily reaching 3 inchs, long and skinny legs, with a slim body.
"its.....the demon " Zilon said as his eyes narrowed, disregarding all sense of fear in him, even though it was present.
" but it doesn't seem identical to the one I have been seeing in here, It also doesn't have that pressure...."
" Hahahaha, boy your fight with that rock was rather amusing, and you you even survived my surprise attack" A hoarse, voice echoed around the area.
"Run...."
Every part of him screamed it. But his feet refused to obey—Besides is not like he had anywhere to run.
Zilon had recognized the voice, afterall this wasn't the first or second time he has heard it.
"But where is it coming from " Zilon thought.
His eyes haven't left the figure since it's appearance, so Zilon was able to tell that it wasnt the one who spoke, it's mouth didn't even move and it was just standing with it's eyes closed .
" I have decided to raise the stakes for you alittle but, I am really impressed of how you use Mana to this degree, even though you just awakened it today " The voice spoke out again, allowing Zilon to confirm that the creature in front of him was not the one that spoke.
" I will allow you to fight my puppet, this one in particular has 0.05% of my power, I would like to see...how long you can last"
There was a sinister laugh that came after that and before Zilon had time to even think the creature moved.
" 0.05%? "
Opening it's red eyes it stared at Zilon with a blank stare.
The moment their eyes connected ,Zilon felt scared and insignificant as if he was ant, and there was an invisible presure pressing on to him trying making him to choke.
But Zilon recognized this presure...
Why wouldn't he....
"It's bloodlust " Zilon said with a small grin on his face , a stark contrast to his beating chest.
Zilon stood straight and decided to make a quick glance towards his mana.
[...
.
.
.
.
- **MAG: 52
- **MAN: 40/62
- **SLP(Soul power): N/A
A little surprised to find out that his mana was still high, it was as if he hadn't used it much.
This was the first time he had seen his Mana stats go down apart from his stamina stats, speaking of which.....
He swept through his stats, locating his stamina stats in an instant.
" It doesn't seem to be affected in here " Zilon sighed, a little relieved.
In the end, his main problem has always been stamina .
Zilon Also noticed that his mana seems to refill at a rapid speed too, because after glancing at it for the second time he saw it go up by two more points.
"Maybe that's how it was supposed to be?" overall he wasn't really complaining.
His eyes regained focus and the puppet as if sensing it, vanished from its position.
Zilon was starting to wonder why the demon underestimated him this much, but he was wrong.
In turn it was him who underestimated the puppet.
"Crap... "
The moment those words left his his mind, his eyes darted, looking at the dark figure ready to deliver a punch.
Zilon wasn't able to react to it and was hit mercilessly in the stomach, almost losing the lights from his head.
He was sent back flying several meters, sending ripples in different parts before he came to stop.
" That...was good " Zilon slowly got up, suppressing the urge to scream.
He was sure that if he had blood in here then he would coughed up several liters by now.
He managed to stand up, despite the overwhelming pain he felt all over him ,not too mention the constant tournament he received from the burns.
Still he managed to stay somewhat calm and with a battle stance ready to defend or attack.
He spread his legs apart the right forward and the left behind, placing his hands forward and the other one slightly below his chest level, he opened his palms that faced the demons direction.
The demon on the other hand immediately vanished from its position after sensing his opponent.
Appearing in front of him ready to give another punch this time Zilon was well prepared.
" it doesn't matter your speed if your techniques are obvious "
His hands glowed with a sliver light as he used Mana to strengthen his hands, he stepped on his right leg and use his palm, redirecting the attack to his left side,he used his other hand a gave a punch to the left side of the puppet's face.
Using the accumulated force he was also able to take some few steps back staring at the demon who had his head to the other side.
The demon stayed there motionless for few moments before turning it's head to Zilon.
Zilon wasn't hoping to snap it's head with such an attack however he was still surprised when the next second a small shockwave spread out and he was now in front of him.
"He became faster ?" Zilon thought as he gritted his teeth and quickly swiped his right hand up wards.
The punch was about to land on his face when that quick ditched efforts threw it of course.
Still the demon reacted and gave another punch,this time aiming for the same spot it had hit him the first time.
" Oh no you don't "
Zilon roared and immediately add more strength to his palm,
Pushing his hands forward, they both met at a middle point, one a fist the other a palm.
Although Zilon managed to block the attack, holding it was another thing.
The force sent him back more distance away and when he stopped he could feel his whole left arm trembling.
Of course Zilon was quickly getting frustrated with his stance, he was being forced to defend.
While he couldn't match the puppets speed he could still had some tricks up his sleeves.
By now he already understood that apart from using Mana for activating skills he could also use it to strengthen his body.
Closing his eyes he quickly tried to Spread Mana all around his body , a few seconds later he began to glow with sliver light around him like a halo.
The puppet noticing an opportunity, dashed forward appearing in front of Zilon in a blink.
It aimed at his throat trying to end it all on this one attack.
His fists were so close to Zilon that anyone watching will conclude the puppets victory, but Zilon's eyes immediately snapped open.
Looking at the attack which seemed slightly slower, Zilon side step to his right , delivering a huge slap to the belly of the puppet.
The force was powerful, enough that if the puppet had organs it would have felt them tremble.
This time it was the puppet's turn to be pushed backwards.
It skied across the field but didn't fall to the ground.
" it has high resistance "
Zilon stood there radiating a sliver halo around his figure and immediately moved to meet the puppet.
He was about to punch him again when suddenly the puppet applied forced to it's back legs and sprang at Zilon with frightening speed.
Zilon's fists collided with his fists and for a second it was just both hands pushing each untill a split second later....
*BOOOM*
The were both sent sideways hitting the liquid several times before they came to a stop.
The puppet was sent to the ground it managed to withstand and stood in place.
But Zilon's case was different, he hit the floor multiple times and slides on the ground.
He felt both of his hands losing energy and he knew that he wouldn't last long.
And the pain he had disregard was slowly getting to him.
He stood up still emitting the sliver rediance on him and his expression immediately became serious.
" Time to get serious" he said as he stared at the demon puppet who was getting ready to dash towards him.
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