As the ground shook under Samael's soles, he speared a glance at the collosal cocoon nesting in the middle of the chaos, undisturbed as it slowly unfolded like flowers.

As the cocoon opened, long, elongated legs springed out, landing on the brittle earth and stirring the dust upon impact.

Samael's gaze narrowed as he took deep breaths, composing himself.

Now was not the time to falter.

Samael expanded his Void Compass outwards, carefully inspecting the abomination coming out of its abode.

Judging by its aura, it's definitely around Ascended II or I. It's no doubt of a higher rank than me, Samael deduced as he lowered his stance, slinging his axe on his shoulders as he blasted forward.

As the creature slowly left its cocoon, Samael swiftly crossed the distance, circling the nest and arriving near the leg of the beast.

Without another thought, Samael formed a fist as he chanted.

"Null thrust."

Samael's fist glew purple as a large concentration of Void matter surged at a single point.

Planting his foot on the ground, Samael grunted as he drove his fist towards the leg of the spider, causing a small explosion as he tore a hole through it.

A loud screech thundered in the forest of Liliac as the Queen of the Aranea wailed in agony.

Samael swiftly pulled back as the spider's leg collapsed, folding in two as it fell down with a loud boom.

A large surge of dust hindered Samael's vision— A dark silhouette whipped at the smoke screen, startling Samael as he ducked down, his forehead nearly slamming down the earth as the leg of the queen passed by his head.

Using his legs and hands as springs, Samael propelled himself back, regaining distance as the dust cloud settled, revealing a spider nearly the size of the wolf that nearly killed him.

Although it was missing one leg now, it did not hinder it as much considering it still had more than enough to spare.

The Queen of the Aranea's screeched at Samael, delivering a loud sonic boom towards him.

Samael, unable to move in time, threw his hand forward as he spoke.

"Void Dome."

A surge of Void matter bloomed from Samael's hands, swirling and converging to form a large spherical dome.

As the sonic wave struck the barrier, some were dispelled to the surroundings, causing immense destruction as large chunks of earth flew high in the heavens.

Samael braced himself as he lowered his stance, the Void dome visibly trembling as small cracks formed on its surface.

Seeing this, the Queen charged ahead, smashing against the barrier and shattering it to pieces.

As the dome fell apart, the Spider Queen drove its legs at Samael, impaling him straight in the chest.

The large abominations eyes turned crescent as it watched Samael under its claws. However, its smirk was wiped away as a voice whispered in its ears.

"Mirage."

The Queen of the Aranea hastily turned around, but Samael was faster as he spoke.

"Void Bind."

Two elongated dark chains shot forward, latching onto the face of the beast as Samael catapulted himself forward, his foot smashing against the head of the Queen, knocking her back.

Using the momentum of his kick, Samael soared in the air as he uttered.

"Void Palm."

Waves of Void matter poured out of Samael's hand, forming a large fist.

As the Queen barely avoided a stumble, Samael smashed his knuckle at the creature's face, forcing it to slam down the earth.

The large abomination released a wail of pain as it shot webs at random.

However, Samael effortlessly tore them apart.

As Samael landed, he crouched down and blasted forward, inching closer at the fallen beast with his axe, Crimson Raven, at hand.

But the Queen of the Aranea was not giving up so easily.

Samael's gaze narrowed as another batch of webs came hauling at him, albeit faster than the rest.

Readying his blade, Samael threw a swing— His gaze widened as Crimson Raven faced some friction, slowing significantly and allowing some strings to pass by.

The lone strings whipped at Samael, leaving cuts at his ability [Void skin] before continuing and severing the trees.

Watching the barks of the towering trees fall, Samael couldn't help but swallow.

If it weren't for his Void skin, his body would have been lacerated multiple times.

If you come across this story on Amazon, it's taken without permission from the author. Report it.

Samael's advance abruptly halted as he dashed back, maintaining some distance as the Spider Queen rose up, its shattered face shooting glares at Samael.

For a brief moment, everything was silent.

Samael tightened his grip as he intently watched every move of the beast before him, a cold bead of sweat trailing down his forehead and soaking his back.

As the seconds passed by, the Queen whipped her arm forward, shooting two waves of red strings.

That string again! Samael thought as he rolled to the side, narrowly avoiding the first wave, before he weaved to the side, dodging the second string.

Loud explosions erupted behind Samael as the strings bisected the earth, creating ruptures in its surface.

Samael wasted no time as he went straight ahead, jetting forward with one forceful kick.

The large abomination opened its maws, releasing a straight stream of green venom.

Samael clenched his jaw as he burst into flocks of ravens, barely dodging the stream while some of the birds liquefied before his eyes.

The group of Raivens soared in the sky before converging and revealing Samael's figure.

"Void Cleave," Samael uttered as he swung his arm one, two, three, and with one large grunt, four times.

The Queen hastily ran— Multiple onyx black bars impaled the large spider, tearing holes in its legs and body.

But contrary to the attack's simple appearance, it held far more weight than that.

"Null bars," Samael said.

These solidified bars composed of Void matter were capable of disrupting essence and energy flow, slowing down anything they hit.

With such large arms, the Queen was surely unable to intricately pick out the poles stuck in its back.

The large abomination nearly stumbled down as it felt its body weaken. As it stared at the approaching Void cleaves, it bit its own legs, tearing off those affected by Samael's skills.

As it did, it released a loud, curdling scream before jumping out of the way, dodging the waves of Void matter.

However, one of the attacks struck the spider near its abdomen, shattering its armour and slicing its flesh.

The Queen's green blood splattered all around, staining the trees and earth in its filth.

Now it was only left with five legs.

Samael hungered for air as he stood above a branch.

My ethos is starting to drain. I've been using too many heavy skills, one after the other. I need to end this fast, Samael thought.

On the other hand, the Queen of Aranea's trembled as it released a loud, grating roar, causing the earth to shake under its wrath.

Samael tightly held on to the wooden bark of the tree as he steadied himself. Taking a glance ahead, Samael's expression darkened.

The large queen spider released large quantities of webs, coiling them in her arms as it cast one final look at Samael.

Shit Samael thought.

With one screech, the abomination swung its arms in a frenzy, releasing the strings in its claws as it whipped violently.

The strands of strings landed at random, slicing and tearing whatever it hit into mince meat.

Loud explosions thundered in the air as large boulders and trees were uprooted, soaring in the sky and impaling all unfortunate enough to land in its path.

Samael kept dashing back, narrowly evading the strings and the obstacles hurling his way.

Unfortunately, not everything was okay.

Overwhelmed by the attacks, Samael had no choice but to parry the incoming projectiles. Some of it was successfully redirected, while others bypassed his defence, leaving deep gashes in his flesh as his Void skin was shattered like glass.

Samael roared as his arm swung with speed no man could catch up to; his blade appeared as though a black flash of light went back and forth in a dazzling display of strength.

"ARGHHHHHH!!!" Samael bellowed as strings left lacerations on his cheek, some striking his eyelids, forcing him to work with but one eye.

Samael's arms burned, his muscles screaming in pain and agony. Yet, he could not stop.

Samael felt out of breath; his vision was dimming, and the world felt suffocating.

Observing the incoming barrage of attacks, Samael knew he would not last long in such conditions.

This... won't do...! he thought as his consciousness flickered.

"I'm not dying here! Samael thought, his eyes closing tight as he spoke.

"All seeing eye...!"

As Samael's eye opened, his crimson pupils changed as streaks of white sparks swimmed behind his gaze, holding a hint of mysticism.

At that moment, Samael felt his Ethos burn away.

Steeling his resolve, Samael fell on his stance. With one mighty roar, he zoomed forward, shattering the earth behind him.

Samael felt his body shake as the intense speed sent waves of pain within him, nearly blinding his reason.

However, he persisted, harnessing the pain and turning it into pure, unfiltered power.

Before his all-seeing eye, Samael saw the beasts attack slow down; he could see its life signal, showing its next attack before he could perform them.

With the help of his ability, Samael breezed through the air, dodging the attacks sent before him as he continued unhindered.

The large spider Queen flinched as it saw Samael rapidly approach, prompting it to release a thundering war cry.

Samael's gaze narrowed as the intensity of the attacks doubled, causing him to compensate even further as his body screamed.

No... Not... Yet! Samael thought.

It seems he has no choice.

He must use another Trump card.

"OVERDRIVE!!!"

A tremendous jolt of strength, speed, and pain struck Samael square in the face, nearly knocking him out.

However, Samael stood steadfast as his bloodshot eyes shot a glare at the Queen, the sclera of his eyes turning red as his blood vessels popped.

Before the Queen's eyes, Samael's figure vanished, appearing mere inches from her face as Samael spoke.

"Radius."

Planting his palm on the enemy, Samael felt a stream of essence flow through him, morphing into Void matter and strengthening him.

The Queen of the Araneas wailed in torture as it rolled in a panic, uncaring for its wounds.

But Samael remained strong as he held on, absorbing as much essence as he could from the enemy and turning it into his own.

The Queen of the Spiders visibly lost weight, its armour luster dimming and cracking as it weakened, falling down with a loud crash.

"Perish" Samael said as he rose up, his hand grasping the skin of the spider Queen as he stared straight into its eyes.

"Ingrid."

Unable to move, speak, or even scream, the Queen of Aranea's inflated like a balloon, growing to a tremendous size.

With one final glance, the abomination eupted into an explosion, its flesh being reduced to nothingness as it came down like a rain of ash.

Devoured Void Essence of "Aranea Queen" [Ascended II] +780

It was over.

Samael felt his body give as he buckled under his own weight. Unable to catch himself, he crashed straight to the ground, stirring the dust.

Radius is another major skill of the Void element he has abstained from using before.

Unlike the rest of his major abilities, Radius did not consume a large amount of essence. Instead, it absorbed essence from Samael's enemy, changing that to its own.

But such a skill also had severe repercussions.

Radius would drain Samael's stamina like a fire spreading in a forest, eating through him like a plague. If it's unable to consume anything else, it will start inflicting damage on him and causing severe pain enough to incapacitate a dozen men.

Pair that with the after effects of Overdrive and the use of his major evolution, All Seeing Eye, and the consequences are severe.

Samael felt his vision blur, its edges darkening as the pain consumed him whole.

Then, the dark took him once again.