The skies were tainted black...
Sohow, the sand on the ground continued to burn for a while, releasing crystalline black soot-like into the air.
As the last of the flas went out, Susan ca to. Feeling a deep weakness pervade her body, she let out a groan and forced her eyes open.
A wave of heat washed over her, forcing her to wince.
"Are you okay?" A hoarse, unrecognizable voice called out to her.
Her eyes snapped open and she turned.
Sitting just a few ters away from her, was a charred figure. Her eyes widened when she recognized who it was.
Her lips trembled as she called out,
"C-Cain?"
The black burnt figure turned slowly. Staring at the terrible burns on his face and neck, Susan felt a wave of sadness and guilt wash over her. The hair on his head and his brows had been singed off as well.
He was in a terrible state.
Cain gave her a grin,
"It looks bad, but isn't as terrible as you think it—"
Feeling a warm radiance envelope him, Cain could help but be at a loss for words.
Susan's embrace had brought with it a golden light that word its way into his flesh, nding his scorched muscles, tissues and nerves far faster than his natural healing could compare to.
Even his hair was growing back.
He was stunned. The radiance seed to reach his heart, filling him with warmth he had never felt before.
Groans ca from around them, bringing him back to reality.
In order to avoid misunderstandings, he pulled Susan away,
"The others need healing as well."
He was surprised to see that the pain in his throat was gone, and his voice had recovered significantly.
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"You are right." She said. She walked over to Jenny who was struggling to sit up and placed a hand on her head. The bleeding stopped a mont later, but the wound was not fully healed.
Evangeline sat up with a groan and stared at Cain. Her eyes narrowed,
"You look terrible." She said, her voice hoarse and pained.
Cain chuckled, "You too."
Then he winced. The burns underneath his armor were already chaffing. With a thought, he returned his armor into his {Armant Armory}, leaving only his boots on.
Evangeline pursed her lips, then did the sa. They were now left with only the undergarnts they wore beneath their armor.
Slowly standing up, they turned towards the site of the explosion. Cain had carried them quite the distance away. Despite that, the flas and shockwaves had still made its way to them, although it had been severely dampened by then.
Evangeline turned to stare at him,
"Your firepower is rather impressive."
Cain smiled wryly,
"It is, isn't it. Unfortunately, it isn't enough to end the fight."
Then he turned to Susan,
"Take care of these two. We are going to finish things off."
This ti, Susan simply gave him a nod. Her face was scrunched up as she struggled to heal Roselle as best as she could. If she didn't act fast, there was a chance the female Beastman would lose her entire arm.
Cain signalled to Evangeline,
"Let's go."
Although they were still injured, their priority was ending the battle.
Because despite the devastation the {Fla of Darkness} infused {Supernova} had caused, the {Stone Bloodknight, Collosus} refused to fall.
***
There was movent at the center of impact. The rubble stirred, forcing the dying embers of the dark flas to be extinguished.
The Stone Knight was not in good shape.
Most of its armor had been destroyed, with its helt completely blown off its head. Its shield has been obliterated as well, and its previously enormous greatsword had been reduced to half its previous length. The tip and a portion of the swords blade had been turned into a part of the surrounding rubble.
Physically, the Stone Knight was also in bad shape.
The leg Roselle had damaged had lost most of its functionality. Because of the heat, its now black stone skin was turned brittle, causing its entire body to be covered in cracks.
It was as though a single vibration would cause it to shatter into pieces.
Walking forward, Cain suddenly stopped in his tracks to stare at this broken warrior.
The battle had been fierce and brutal. He had almost lost his life on nurous occasions too. In the end, he had managed to co victorious, mostly due to the presence of everyone else. If he had been the only one to face the Stone Knight, his defeat, would be set in stone.
Regardless, although he was not currently in his best shape, his condition was far better than that of the Collosus.
Seeing him and Evangeline approach, the Stone Knight attempted to stabilize itself, balancing in its other leg and grasping the hilt of its sword with both hands.
Cain couldn't help but feel inspired by the Stone Knight. It remained valiant till the end, refusing to drop its blade even when its eventually demise was near.
Evangeline sighed and drew her daggers,
"Let's get this over with."
Then she dashed forward. Despite being heavily injured, for so reason, she was almost as fast as before, the vicious red glow in her eyes as nacing as ever.
She reached the Stone Knight's side in the blink of an eye and stabbed her dagger in. With no armor to protect its body, the stone flesh yielded far more easily to her blade.
The Collosus struck down with itself fist, but Evangeline leapt back. Then, she twirled both daggers in her hands and moved faster than the eye could follow.
The cuts were swift and precise.
Two thin cuts were drawn horizontally across the Stone Knight's forearm.
A mont later, the pillar like arm fell to the ground.
Half a beat later, not minding the loss of its arm, the Stone Knight swung its sword at Evangeline with its other arm. However, Cain had already reached it by then.
Swinging the {Lonely Dragon} Warblade, he cleaved its other arm right off. The severed arm fell to the ground, alongside the greatsword, with a loud crash.
Left with no way to attack, its bad leg finally gave out and it fell to its knees.
Feeling the burning red eyes piercing him, Cain closed his eyes.
Demon Matter and Ki swirled around his blade like magma. With a heavy grunt, he pushed off his feet and swung with all his might.
The head of the {Stone Bloodknight, Collosus} fell to the ground.
It has been slain.
Its stone body crumpled to the ground,m with a bang, kicking up a large dust cloud.
***
{Congratulations to Host... You have slain the Tower Warden, the Stone Bloodknight, Collosus}.
{ 10,000 Free Attribute Points}.
{Congratulations to Host, you have acquired the skill, Soul Capture}.
{Soul Capture}(Active): The soul of the Stone Bloodknight belonged to the most powerful knight, Absalom, who had his soul taken and trapped in the body of a stone sculpture as punishnt for leading a coup and attempted rebellion against the Divine Celestial ruler of White Jade Empire, dian, the Celestial God of Balance.
After being stuck in stone for ten thousand years, he was freed by the Sorcerer in Lavender robes, but in turn, he would give up the remainder of his existence and spend eternity in servitude within the Sky Bridge. The {Soul Capture} skill was the ability used by the Sorcerer in Lavender robes to set the immortal soul of the Bloodknight free.
{Congratulations to Host... You have acquired the Heavenly grade item, Soul Retaining Orb}.
{Soul Retaining Orb}:
Description: Used to temporarily store the souls of the dead before they can be transferred into other vessels. Ti limit is one month and maximum amount of souls that can be stored in a single Soul Retaining Orb is one hundred.
{Soul Retaining Orb}: (Heavenly, Tier 1)
Magic: 200.
Spirit: 100.
Weight: 20kg.
Durable: N/A.
Skills: Soul Extraction, Soul Transfer.
{For successful slaying the stone incarnation of the Bloodknight, Absalom, the Host has acquired the unfortunate fortune of gaining the recognition of the Sorcerer in Lavender robes}.
***
Cain quickly scanned through the details of his gains with bated breath.
Then he sighed.
The rewards were... strange, to say the least.
First, there was the skill, {Soul Capture}, and the item, {Soul Retaining Orb}. It was rather obvious that the two worked hand in hand.
However, that was not what stood out the most about these two.
'This is the key to eting the second requirent.'
As it turned out, there was indeed a hidden criteria that the Arbitrator had not ntioned.
The deaths that had occurred before this point were all pointless. However, at the sa ti, they were not. Only those who had made it up to this point would have been able to acquire the tools needed for the second requirent of the trial.
Those who died before they could reach here were not strong enough to complete the requirent either way, while those who chose to remain here would be able to et the first one and possibly pass the trial.
In short, the weak would be weeded out, and the strong would advance to the next stage.
Cain couldn't help but think to himself.
Only those strong enough to defeat the {Stone Bloodknight, Collosus}, would be able to reach the next stage. aning if they choose to continue further, the entities they et would be either on par with, or much more powerful, than the Stone Knight.
He shivered lightly. That was not a pleasant thought.
He turned to Evangeline and she had a thoughtful look on her face.
After a mont of staring blankly, she turned to Cain and spoke,
"I'm hungry."
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