Alex laughed softly, a dangerous glint in his eyes betraying the rage simmering beneath his calm exterior. "You’ll end my suffering? Someone else might think you were in the—”

“I’ll stop you right there,” Scott cut in, his voice a cold monotone. “We’re past sob stories and blame games. If you’re going to accuse me of things I didn’t do, I won’t stand around and listen to any damn story. If you want to fight, then come the fuck down already!” Scott roared, his voice echoing through the chamber.

Scott exchanged mental messages with his companions, and Orion mirrored the message to the vampires, who quickly fell into their triangular formation. Slim, Zara, and Fi-Fi distanced themselves from the group, readying for the impending clash. Ember stood a few paces from Scott, her stance tense and alert, while Orion, ever the vigilant observer, scanned the area from the periphery.

From his elevated position, Alex’s narrowed eyes locked onto the champions preparing for battle below. “You’re right. The time for words is long gone,” he said, leaping to the ground with a heavy thud. The impact shattered the thick layer beneath his feet, sending a cloud of dust into the air. “Now it’s time for retribution!” Alex declared, his voice reverberating through the underground chamber.

With a wave of his hand, Alex unleashed his domain, a massive barrier materializing to envelop the cavern, casting an eerie glow over the stone walls.

Slim responded in kind, his form shifting as a haunting melody filled the air. His domain exploded with a baleful aura, the ground corroding under its influence. The vampires recoiled, their eyes wide with surprise as specters materialized, and dark portals tore open beside the necromancer.

“Souls for the nether god, and Skulls for the skull throne!”

The earth trembled once more, and a colossal skull throne, exuding nether energy, emerged from the ground. Slim approached it with measured steps, enthroning himself as an undead ruler. His gaze, now fixed on Alex, gleamed with sinister intent.

“Come forth!” he commanded, and the ground split open, skeletal hands clawing their way through the hardened surface, grasping for the living world.

Zara stood loosely, as if manipulated by invisible strings. Above her hovered a faceless, grotesque entity, a nightmarish variant of Zara’s form made of churning blood. Its wings, spanning over two hundred meters, unfurled ominously.

The thread linking Zara and the entity snapped. With a forceful motion, the entity swallowed Zara whole, landing silently on the ground. Multi-armed and wielding a variety of blood-forged weapons, the monstrous figure roared at Alex soundlessly.

At the same moment, Fi-Fi transformed into a gigantic behemoth, its tentacles glistening with the blackened blood of the slain multi-headed beast. Ember, meanwhile, levitated above the ground via her shifting steps, lightning sparks dancing across her form, illuminating her fierce expression.

The vampires, hesitant to join a battle not their own, remained at the rear. Nearby, Orion stood with the wary group, retrieving his staff from his inventory. A maniacal smile split his lips as he prepared for the fight.

Scott stood firm; his eyes locked on Alex. The cracks in his right eye pulsed with an intense energy, while the yellow sign flickered nonstop in his other eye.

Alex wore a sadistic smile, his eyes gleaming with bloodlust. “You came prepared, huh? Let’s see how strong you’ve gotten,” he sneered, raising his right hand. A majestic longsword materialized, settling into his grasp. “I suspend all laws within my domain!” he declared, his shout synchronized with those of Slim and Ember’s.

Rejected! You don’t possess the authority! The Administrator is considering whether to grant the necessary authority… The Administrator has decided not to interfere!

System messages flashed before the champions, and Alex’s features twisted with rage. “What is the meaning of this?” he roared. “What do you mean by my authority isn’t sufficient?” he demanded.

In that instant, hundreds of bloody weapons shot towards him, accompanied by skeletal corpses charging with maddened fury. Alex narrowed his eyes, swinging his longsword. Thousands of blades manifested, intercepting the undead army and the projectiles hurtling towards him.

Hundreds of Orion’s deranged clones cackled in unison, each rushing towards Alex’s position. Yet, there wasn’t a hint of fear in Alex’s eyes. He stood his ground, ready to face the onslaught with unwavering resolve.

The massive blades pinning down the decapitated corpse vibrated violently, sending tremors through the chamber.

“Even if I can’t kill you bastards, I will take pleasure in torturing you for the rest of your miserable lives,” Alex roared, thrusting his longsword forward. “Annihilate them!”

The blades shot out from the corpse, and an illusionary behemoth with nine hands and three heads held the largest blades. Orion and Scott narrowed their gazes, recognizing the formidable figure immediately.

The asura, however, stared at the champions with malevolent indifference before moving with terrifying speed. A powerful gust of wind swept through the area, and Orion’s clones fell by the dozens, each brutally sliced into pieces. Zara’s weapons fared no better, and neither did Slim’s undead army.

Several projectiles reached Slim’s domain in a flash, but they corroded instantly, turning to dust. Those approaching Zara were engulfed in a torrent of blood, soon joining her arsenal.

Like a hydra, the more clones the asura obliterated, the more they replicated. Despite the relentless assault, the projection continued its devastation with brutal precision. None of the delirious clones got within five hundred meters of the massive projection, yet they continued their suicidal charge with glorious smiles.

Ember, meanwhile, ascended the makeshift stairs noiselessly. Lightning and thunder roared within the underground chamber, causing the rocky ceiling to tremble as the outline of a massive lightning dragon slowly revealed itself.

Alex raised his head, frowning slightly. “Is she a storm dragon or a lightning dragon?” he muttered, raising his longsword once more.

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The lightning manifestation roared, its growl shaking the entirety of the chamber. Ember lowered her hand, and the dragon descended furiously towards Alex.

Alex turned toward Scott, locking gazes with him. “Is this why you were confident? You think this is enough to stop me?” he mocked with a smile, slashing upwards.

Twelve golden blades, larger than any within the chamber, materialized, racing towards the lightning dragon. They embedded themselves into the colossal being, pinning it to the ceiling. A final blade decapitated the dragon, and its form exploded into a stream of fire and lightning.

Ember’s expression darkened; her gaze fixed on Alex. But Alex still focused on Scott as he spoke again. “I admit I didn’t expect you to gather this many competent people, but you’re in for a rude awakening if you think this will remotely be enough to—”

Alex suddenly paused, raising his head towards Ember. Lightning coursed through her form, her hair flailing wildly, each strand acting like a living being.

“Viorrud, Umrio, Eiremo, and Utz. Hear my call, descend!” Ember declared in a draconic tongue.

Thunder shook the chamber, sections of rock fracturing and spewing hot gases. Four massive portals appeared behind Ember, and four colossal lightning entities revealed themselves. Unlike the first one, their bodies were more corporeal, their presence electrifying the air with raw power.

The dragons roared as soon as they emerged, massive lightning bolts obliterating everything in their path. The lightning beings lingered behind Ember; their forms mostly hidden behind the portals.

Alex’s grip on his longsword tightened, a mysterious gleam in his eyes. “So, you’re indeed part of the lightning dragons. You sure picked the wrong person to side with,” he said, stepping forward. “Do you think I’d fear those things? Let me show you what true power feels like.”

A portal opened behind Alex, followed by another and another, until thousands of portals lined the battlefield. The tip of a gigantic weapon projected itself from the golden portals, and Alex’s voice echoed once more.

“Since you’re all eager to suffer, then I won’t…” Alex suddenly paused, his features turning ashen.

A blackened shadow enveloped the battlefield, forcefully sealing all domains. Those with rule of absolute reverted to their original form. The golden portals shattered before the weapons could emerge, and even the lightning dragons were expelled as their portals were devoured.

Hundreds of tendrils wrapped around the asura’s manifestation, gradually dragging the creature into the abyss. Orion’s clones vanished one after another, each unleashing an orgasmic scream as they shattered. Apart from the areas where the vampires and the hound extermination crew stood, every other section was blighted by inky darkness. Even the massive corpse of the slain beast slowly sank into the abyss.

Scott stepped forward, ancient chants escaping his lips. Reality itself seemed to wrestle with his incantations as cracks tore through time and space. Gigantic monstrosities of eldritch origins emerged from the cracks, merging with the unfathomable darkness. The cracks in Scott’s eyes twisted and turned, while the yellow sign flickered nonstop in the other.

The monstrosities glided over the blackened pool, racing towards Alex. Blackened wraps bound the limbs, waist, and neck of the lesser god candidate, attempting to force him into the abyss.

“You think this is enough to stop me?” Alex roared, struggling to raise his hands. However, an eerie suction rapidly drained his energy.

The eldritch monstrosities arrived before the bound champion, unleashing a ruthless barrage of punches on his body while others attempted to tear off his flesh. Each blow sounded like fists landing on metal; yet there wasn’t the slightest trace of injury on the lesser god candidate.

Alex roared, flexing his arms, and the wraps snapped. He unleashed several rapid blows on his own neck, snapping it on the fifth. Apart from Scott, the rest of the champions could only watch in stunned silence.

Alex’s neck hung awkwardly to the side, but the light in his eyes didn’t dim; instead, they shone brighter than ever. The eldritch monstrosities continued their relentless assault, new straps binding the champion, but neither could hurt nor force him into the nihilistic zone.

Scott’s gaze lingered on the space above Alex. Although illusionary, a massive golden blade with intricate patterns etched on its surface slowly materialized. Simultaneously, a golden radiance enveloped Alex’s body, especially his eyes. The eldritch monstrosities continued their assaults, knowing no fear, but even their bodies suffered considerable damage under the golden radiance.

The blackened straps and the pool beneath Alex’s feet were purged by the radiance, and his neck snapped back into place. Reaching upwards, the lesser god candidate summoned the massive blade. Like a burning sun, it expelled most of the darkness within the cave, and thousands, if not millions, of illusionary blades hovered around it.

“That’s the authority of the blade god,” Ember communicated mentally, dread unmistakable in her voice.

“First it was those despicable cultists, now you have joined those lunatics worshiping the remnants of the old order. I can’t say I’m surprised. Once and for all, I will put an end to your calamitous existence,” Alex declared, his voice exuding intense pressure.

Alex grasped the handle of the massive blade, and at that moment, time froze. A portal opened in the space between Scott and Alex, and a figure in white robes with two crimson wings manifested out of thin air. Their fiery eyes burned vigorously, jagged, curved crimson horns adorned their head, and lush white hair cascaded over their shoulders.

“Greetings, my name is Hanzazeelem, and I’m here to mete out the administrator’s orders,” the examiner declared solemnly.

Turning towards Alex, Hanzazeelem continued, “The administrator and Lord Thisos ignored your impudence when you invaded the labyrinth. You even slew the guardian beast of the hidden path, but how dare you use an authority here despite knowing the rules!”

Towering, faceless figures in fitted white suits emerged from a gateway behind Alex. The unknown figures observed the surroundings for a moment before focusing on the lesser god candidate.

“Take him away. From now on, those from higher floors will be barred from entering the lower floors,” Hanzazeelem commanded.

The faceless figures placed their hands on Alex’s shoulders, and the golden blade vanished. “Let me go, you bastards!” Alex roared. “I’m not going anywhere until I make that bastard pay!” he screamed, as the faceless figures nonchalantly escorted him into the portal. The portal closed, and Hanzazeelem turned towards Scott.

The voidweaver wore a thin, somewhat mocking smile as he stared at the examiner. “So, how is Enchanted Heights doing these days?” he quizzed.

Hanzazeelem’s eyes flared for a moment, but he quickly regained his composure. “As for your group, although you were forcefully summoned to the hidden path by the lesser god candidate against your will, you won’t be acknowledged for conquering it since you were not responsible for eliminating the guardian,” the examiner declared, stepping closer to Scott. “However, the administrator recognizes the fact that you were able to hold your own against a lesser god candidate, albeit a weaker one; so, you will be sent to the penultimate layer of Thisos’s Labyrinth, and you will naturally receive all the rewards for all layers skipped,” Hanzazeelem announced, his eyes lingering on Scott.

“Send my thanks to the administrator; at least he’s more reasonable than a certain someone,” Scott said.

“You don’t get it, do you?” Hanzazeelem retorted, closing the distance. “The only reason you’re not a memory of the past is because of me,” he said, staring down at Scott.

“You sincerely have my thanks,” Scott replied, a hint of sarcasm in his voice. “Is there anything else I should be grateful for?” he retorted.

Hanzazeelem hissed, the rage dissipating from his form. "Laugh now," he began, his voice dripping with sarcasm. "I should also thank you. If not for you, I would have continued to waste my talents in my paradise. For that, I’ll let you in on a little secret," Hanzazeelem taunted.

Although the examiner had no lips or mouth, Scott sensed a mocking smile in his tone. "Your variant has crossed the point of no return. If you think that lesser god candidate was powerful, just wait until you meet him. I don’t know about you, but I can’t wait," Hanzazeelem continued, his voice echoing ominously.

Before Scott could retort, a portal whisked all the champions away from the hidden path. Hanzazeelem surveyed the area, his gaze lingering on the devastation left by the recent battle. "Lord Thisos isn’t going to like this," he muttered, sighing softly.

The examiner vanished through a portal, and moments later, another portal manifested within the path. Several hunched creatures emerged, dragging massive stone slabs. Alongside them, loose-armed primates wheeled a colossal container housing a creature with seven heads.