Reincarnated as a Supernatural Horror Entity 081 - The Obsidian Sentinel

Jack took a steadying breath. The tallic tang was still lingering in the air. From the dissipated Shock Wasps.

He shifted his weight. The familiar weight of the Judgent Warhamr a comfort in his hand. The trial was relentless. Forcing him to adapt on the fly. Pushing past the physical and ntal fatigue that was beginning to settle deep in his bones.

What new form would this 'strength' test take now?

The air in front of him began to warp. Not with the shimring cold of ice. Or the earthy dust of stone. Nor the blinding pure light of lightning energy.

This ti, the portal coalesced as a swirling vortex. A vortex of deep, angry crimson. And polished black color.

It pulsed. Not with a gentle thrum. But with a heavy, resonant beat. Like a forging hamr striking infernal tal.

Heat rolled off it in waves. Dry and intense. Far exceeding the radiant energy of the Wasps. This heat felt ancient. Primordial.

From the heart of the swirling void stepped a single figure.

It wasn't large like the Golems. Nor nurous like the Wasps. Or Wolves. It was a single creature. Roughly humanoid in shape. Standing perhaps a head shorter than the hulking Jack.

The composition of its body was terrifyingly beautiful and dangerous. It was crafted entirely from razor-sharp black shards. From what looked like polished obsidian. Fused together seamlessly as if poured from a volcanic mold.

It was a knight-like creature. Armored. Fully ard. Yet it was slim. Not bulky. A mixture of a knight and an assassin? A Sentinel?

This 'Obsidian Sentinel' radiated heat directly. Causing the air around it to visibly shimr and distort. Its eyes were twin glows of molten gold. Set within the blackness of its head. Focusing intently on Jack.

It didn't rush. It moved with a fluid, almost unnaturally graceful gait. Each step was silent on the arena floor. Its limbs were sharp, pointed weapons.

It raised its arms. The obsidian blades that ford its forearms and hands seed to lengthen. And sharpen further. Glowing faintly with internal heat.

Numbers were out. Environntal swarm was out. This was a test of singular combat. Speed. Precision. And the ability to deal with an enemy whose fundantal essence was... a weapon.

The heat was a constant, oppressive factor. But the real threat was the Sentinel's apparent agility. And the cutting potential of its obsidian limbs.

The Sentinel stopped about twenty paces away. It adopted a low, balanced stance. Radiating quiet nace. Then, with a movent faster than the Frost Wolf's charge, it was closing the distance.

It wasn't a charge. But a blindingly fast sprint. Covering the ground in a blur of black and red heat haze.

Jack instinctively raised his Warhamr. Preparing for a crushing blow. But the Sentinel didn't co straight in.

At the last possible second, it shifted. A ripple flowing through its obsidian form. It flowed past Jack's attempted intercept. Like liquid shadow. It wasn't just fast. It was evasive.

Sharp, searing heat flared against Jack's back. The Sentinel struck with its arm-blade. Not with brute force. But with incredible speed and precision.

The obsidian blade scraped against Jack's armored backplate. Leaving a shallow gouge. And sending a shower of sparks. Small obsidian fragnts skittering across the ground.

The heat transferred directly through the armor. Delivering pain across Jack's skin beneath it. He roared. Spinning around. Swinging the Warhamr in a wide, horizontal arc.

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The Sentinel was gone again. Reappearing a few ters away. Already shifting position for another lightning-fast strike.

This wouldn't work. Trying to hit this thing with wide, powerful swings was futile. It was too fast. Too precise. Jack needed to change his rhythm. His focus.

He couldn't rely solely on overwhelming force. He needed to engage.

Jack lowered his stance. Mimicking the Sentinel's balance. Albeit with the weight of his size. Armor and hamr.

He kept the Warhamr ready. Not for a swing. But for a block. A parry. He had to stop its montum. Create an opening.

The Sentinel attacked again. A series of rapid, stabbing thrusts. Aid at gaps in his armor. The joints. The unprotected head. Scrape! Scrape! Scrape!

Jack instinctive reflex managed to save him from the attacks. Each hit either missed or struck his armor.

Each attack wasn't devastating on its own. But the cumulative damage to the armor. The constant searing heat. And the sheer speed of the assault... They were wearing him down.

Jack brought the Warhamr head down. Not to strike. But to parry an incoming slash aid at his leg.

CLANG!

Mystic obsidian t enchanted tal. The force of the parry was imnse. Surprisingly so for such a seemingly fragile material like obsidian. But the Sentinel's stance was solid. It didn't falter. rely recoiled and flowed into another attack.

Jack blocked a thrust to his chest plate. Sparks were flying. He twisted. Narrowly avoiding a searing swipe at his neck.

So far, he could only use the heavy war hamr not as a weapon. But as a shield. A barrier. Deflecting the rapid-fire attacks.

It was a brutal dance. Jack, a heavily armored behemoth, was forced into a reactive, defensive posture. Against an opponent that had pure, lethal agility.

Jack gritted his teeth. He needed to slow it down. But how? His swings were too slow. His physical agility was slower than the opponent.

Wait! What about ntal power. He could use [Mysterious Anomaly]. It wouldn't be as strong as the one he could do in his specter form. It would probably be ineffective. Not enough to trip the Sentinel.

But, would it be enough to disrupt its balance? Just for a fraction of a second?

Waiting for another series of rapid thrusts, Jack tid it. The Sentinel committed to its attack pattern. Closing in for a flurry. Jack blocked it with the hamr shaft. Simultaneously, he launched his [Mysterious Anomaly].

A localized ntal wave pulsed outwards. Not very powerful. But it was definitely sharp and focused.

For a split second, the Sentinel's inhumanly fluid motion stalled. Its balance was montarily disrupted. It was not thrown off its feet. But it was just enough.

That was the opening. The opening that Jack was waiting.

Jack didn't hesitate. He didn't swing the hamr wide. Instead, he drove the head forward in a short, powerful thrust. Aiming for the Sentinel's core. The place where its obsidian form seed to converge.

The Sentinel had recovered instantly. It tried to twist away. Bringing an arm-blade up to deflect.

CRACK!

The full, focused power of the Judgent Warhamr t the polished body of the Obsidian Sentinel.

Jack's short thrust was not weak. It was amplified by Jack's brutal strength and channeled frustration. The arm-blade couldn't deflect it. It shattered.

Jagged shards of superheated obsidian exploded outwards like shrapnel. The hamr head buried itself deep into the Sentinel's core.

A high-pitched, cracking sound emanated from the Sentinel's form. The molten gold eyes flickered. Losing their intensity. A tremor ran through its body.

Jack didn't pull back. He twisted the hamr. Grinding the head deeper into the fractured obsidian.

And then he leaned forward. And made one step forward. He focused his strength and made a full-power push. Unleashing every ounce of his remaining strength into the blow.

The Obsidian Sentinel let out a soundless shriek. A terrible scraping and grinding sound. Its body was thrown backward with crack all over it. Everything seed to slow down in Jack's perception.

The Sentinel's form disintegrated in the air. From the point of impact outwards. Crumbling into a cascade of hot, black shards. And fine, shimring ash... that rained down onto the arena floor. The intense heat it radiated vanished instantly.

Silence.

Jack stood. Leaning heavily on the Warhamr. His armor was etched with countless scratches and gouges. The heat on it was still intense. But the armor's own fire flared on. Absorbing the damage. Recovering the protective equipnt.

The battle this ti had sohow left him breathless. His muscles scread for a rest. They had been tortured in the fight. The injuries. The constant rapid parries. The final, devastating push. The tremor in his hands was back, slightly more pronounced now.

Four rounds down. Four vastly different challenges overco. Speed and numbers. Weight and resilience. Energy swarms. And now... singular, agile, precise combat.

He pulled the Warhamr up from the cracked ground.

The ancient voice echoed again in his mind. Still devoid of emotion. Yet carrying the weight of imnse age.

"Round 4 complete. Clearing arena."

The arena floor, as if sensing the completion, began to smooth itself. Absorbing the remnants of the Obsidian Sentinel.

Jack took another ragged breath. He wiped sweat from his brow with a gauntleted hand. The fatigue was heavier now. A leaden weight in his limbs.

But beneath it thrumd a fierce satisfaction. He was still standing. He was learning. Adapting. Getting stronger. Through combat.

"Proceeding to Round 5."

He straightened up. Ignoring the ache. Gripping the Warhamr tighter. Five more rounds to go. And he would pass it. Bring it on.