(***Zero’s POV***)
Zero braced himself as the archons drew closer. The shadow form drain a fair amount of mana so he needed to deal with these 4 quickly. Zero still didn’t understand the full potential of this form but he was going to bet on it. Only 8 minutes had gone by and 22 minutes remained until Sophia should emerge.
The leader of the archon slashed down with its bladed arm and Zero promptly defended but was unprepared as the archon kicked his abdomen. Zero and the archon were surprised when the kick phased through Zero as if he were made of liquid. Zero instantly noticed that his mana was draining at a rapid rate as the archon’s attack phased through him. He then sliced off the archon's arm and grabbed it before forcing it to retreat. No sooner was Zero attacked from the side by another archon and this time the attack didn’t phase through causing Zero to tumble and roll across the ground.
‘What happened? Why didn’t that pass through me?’
The shadow of Death had been beaten by the 2 archons and returned into Zero’s shadow. The shadow Zero then shapeshifted into a standing position within seconds and then crushed the arm but found no crystal. As Zero turned to face the archon he was suddenly hit by a ball of white light which clashed with his shadow body. The ball of light caused parts of Zero’s shadow body to disintegrate and there was a large hole in his abdomen.
Zero collapsed onto the ground in pain. As he grabbed his stomach as the pain intensified another ball of light struck his left leg. Zero grunted in pain as his leg began to disintegrate. Zero looked up and saw 2 more orbs coming from Yaldabaoth. Zero summoned 4 shadow barriers and managed to block only 1 light orb and the other stuck his right arm. Zero laid on the ground in excruciating pain with a giant hole in his stomach and only 1 arm and leg.
“Defiler you lay there broken before our lord. Should you beg he may show you mercy.” said the archon leader as they drew close.
Zero felt his wounds growing worse despite his powerful regeneration so he tried to call shadows to heal his wounds but received a swift kick that sent him sliding across the ground. Zero was knocked out of his shadow form and now laid-back bleeding profusely as he looked up to see the disgusting dragon. With his mana nearly drain and regeneration failing him Zero flip his middle finger on his remaining hand and said, “I’d give you a nasty look but you’ve already got one. In case you’re wondering I’m not insulting you, I’m describing you.”
Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.
“Insolent mortal does your disobedience know no bounds. Very well you shall receive no mercy from us.” said the archon leader as it lifted its blade arm that was now glowing white and stabbed Zero in the chest.
‘Desperate times call for desperate measures.’
Zero with the last remaining mana transformed into his shadow form and shifted his remaining leg into a shadow using it to rebuild his arm and abdomen. With 2 arms available to him now Zero created a shadow sword slice the arm impaling him while simultaneously launching a fireball. The shockwave of the blast phased through Zero draining him of his remaining mana but managed to knock back the archon knocking him out of his shadow form. Zero with his remaining strength pulled out the bladed arm and bit into it to drain its blood. As Zero ingested the blood his taste buds were overwhelmed by a repulsive taste and he felt the urge to vomit but managed to resist and keep the blood down.
Normal blood had a delicious taste similar to eating a steak but the archon’s blood was the equivalent to drinking rotten milk or eating garbage. As the blood travel down his throat Zero felt a burning sensation but it was nothing compared to the pain he felt from Yaldabaoth’s attacks. Zero was breathing heavily as his body absorbed and his body began to regenerate.
STAT INCREASE STRENGTH: VITALITY: +275,000
SKILL LIGHT NULLIFICATION ACQUIRED
As Zero heard the notification he remembered that he had assimilated Soma’s ability to gain someone's ability simply by drinking their blood. This ability was a godsend as he had just eliminated one of his fatal weaknesses. With seconds Zero had regrown his legs and was back on his feet. Things had started looking up but Zero was still low on mana so he pulled out a soul from his shadow and the soul turned into green energy and merged with Zero instantly granting him some mana. The mana the soul refilled was minuscule but enough for Zero to use a few techniques while his mana refilled naturally.
Zero summoned Death’s shadow once again and made a blade of shadows. Yaldabaoth roared in rage as it yelled, “Servant kill this creature now! It is an affront to me. If you cannot kill it then I shall destroy you all!”
As Yaldabaoth yelled the orders and the archons shook in fear no one noticed that Zero was looking at Yaldabaoth and smiled with his vampiric teeth showing. Even though he knew that Yaldabaoth’s blood would probably be as disgusting as the archon he smile at the prospect of gain such immense power.
Yaldabaoth then released a ray of light and the archon’s bodies began to bulge and swell. Their bodies started to glow an intense white as their bladed arms turned into clawed hands. The archon leader standing in front of Zero disappeared and Zero was sent crashing into the wall with claw marks across his chest. The wounds on Zero’s chest closed instantly but Zero was still worried as he couldn’t find the archon leader.
‘Damn that’s unfair what kind of enemy gets a power buff mid-fight. This is bad I still need to buy 18 more minutes. I won’t survive at this rate.’