ROOM!
SHAMBLE!!
Shingggg
BOOOOOOOOOOMMMM!!!
"Heh now there's nothing left to stop me…"
Before the glowing wave had completely dissipated the speaker was already speaking with a relaxed tone But he abruptly stopped as a massive crimson band of Cyttorak snapped forward wrapping around a face as massive as three Empire State Buildings stacked together I guided it to cover vital parts like his eyes nose and ears
"You! How did you survive?!"
"There's no need to answer that"
I replied calmly while floating behind his head But the eyes that should have been in front suddenly appeared behind him—firing dozens of red-black beams like a boss in a bullet-hell shooting game or as I like to call it a "bean-dodging game"
"Tch" I clicked my tongue
These magical beings… Their bodily organs can just regenerate or be conjured at will huh? It's like their physical bodies are illusions and their spiritual or magical forms can manifest organs as needed Their perception doesn't even depend on those body parts I had to loosen the crimson band since I needed to dodge the relentless attacks which were tailing me like high-speed homing missiles
"You can't escape! You can't counter! Hahaha! While you play around with Cyttorak's crimson band and my crimson beam I will successfully take over the world!"
"Then how about having a taste of your own power?"
"Hm?"
Shingggg
BOOMMMM
BOOM BOOM BOOM
Hundreds of crimson beams were wrapped in a modified version of the Shield of Seraphim repurposed to act like bullet casings—encasing the dark energy and converting it into bullets that launched back at him Explosions erupted in rapid succession scattering sparks of red black and gold across the area
"You… you transmuted dark magic into light energy… like the Ancient One… But you've only been at the sanctum for less than a year! You shouldn't be able to do this!"
"My learning speed surpasses others that's all" I replied truthfully even if the words sounded a bit smug
Meanwhile I brought my hands together each hand touching the opposite wrist My palms formed a lotus bud shape as I began to charge wind energy from Watoomb and lightning from Valtorr—fusing them into a raging storm of thunder ready to unleash an attack
But charging it took more time than I expected And that left a fatal opening for me to be struck by…
…a colorless magicless spear of darkness that pierced straight through my left chest from behind
Shunk!
"Hahaha! Careless weren't you? Didn't you know that every particle every atom every dimension within this dark realm is under my control? While you were charging that massive spell I sensed it and created a dark spear to easily take your life Hahahaha!"
"Hmph"
I let out a low grunt choking on blood surging from my heart—too damaged to be healed by modern medicine or even magic The wound wasn't just physical; I could feel the dark magic invading me trying to consume this body and turn me into one of his minions
"I really do like talented people like you Become a servant of my dark dimension I'll even give you a higher rank than Kaecilius Lead the dark army conquer other worlds with me Let's rule the universe together Strange!"
"Heh… Rule the universe or destroy it? True rule means developing those lands to be suitable for life—bodies and minds functioning as they should…"
I didn't have the strength to continue With my heart punctured beyond repair there weren't enough cells left to pump blood So I sent my thoughts out as speech using a minor spell I had learned while planning carefully for round two—determined to be more cautious
At the very least I'd have to keep the Seraphim Shield active around me at all times to guard against Dormammu's dark spears—formed from the ambient dark energy of this dimension It was hard to tell whether the energy was under Dormammu's control or just naturally occurring like air or dust in this realm
'If I breathe too deeply I might inhale these dark particles and have my brain body and soul devoured Luckily the Wind of Watoomb protects my respiratory system' I thought as I continued speaking—stalling for time to observe and gather as much data as possible for the next battle
"…But what you're doing is destroying the universe—turning everything into darkness That's not ruling!"
"Seems you're still trapped in human thinking… Then I'll kill you once and resurrect you as my elite soldier! Hahahaha!"
'Ah… So this is what death feels like when your heart is completely destroyed by magic I wonder how it compares to physical destruction' I mused as the sharp pain surged from my head through every nerve in my body But my mind didn't suffer as much Honestly it was only about a 3 out of 5 compared to the pain of having the amber-lead removed from my body
Shinggggg
My body impaled by the dark spear dissolved into green light particles In the next moment I became aware of myself standing once again at the entrance of the dark dimension
"The first surgery failed… but that's okay The second time will be better for sure"
"That run lasted 1 minute and 13 seconds before you got booted How many seconds longer will it be next time?"
Iconn the Lord of Illusions teased with a smug tone
"Even if it's just one more second or one more minute that still counts as progress"
Valtorr the Lord of Thunder chimed in answering on my behalf with the encouraging voice of a wise mentor at a graduation ceremony
"We should move this ROOM deeper into the dark dimension" Watoomb Lord of Wind advised "Next time Re-Life starts we won't waste time in the real world Every second in the real world is precious The dark dimension continues to expand"
"Well then enjoy round two Law! Hahahaha!"
Cyttorak the crimson war-maniac cheered with excitement like a coach sending his fighter into the ring
"Yeah… Round two… This time I'll last longer At least more than 1 minute and 13 seconds!"