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Chapter 141 - Chapter 141: Doom Slayer!

Faced with the options before him, Duanmu Huai hesitated for quite a while, making no decision.

It wasn't that he was indecisive, but rather that he suspected a trap.

In Star Sea Online, the cost of trial and error was extremely high. One wrong choice could, at best, force you to painfully delete your account and start over—or at worst, wipe out everything you had. The End Times was the best example of this.

And since that damned game company was the only one in the world, they acted arrogant, as if saying, "Play or don't, get lost if you won't." They never changed a thing. So players either swallowed their rage or quit… though in the end, most came crawling back anyway.

Of course, there were hardcore players who insisted this was good—that it made the world more real, and forced players to carefully weigh their decisions instead of blindly picking the most profitable one.

Generally, players fell into a few categories.

Some were story-immersed players, who played entirely by feeling. They didn't care about optimal choices. Even if sparing a villain promised better rewards, they might still strike him down in anger.

I'm not here to game, I'm here to vent my rage. Once I vent it, I don't care about loot. If I can't, I can't even keep playing. Forget your legendary gear, I'm killing him.

Others loved digging up hidden storylines, deliberately choosing strange or illogical paths in hopes of uncovering secret quests.

Finally, there were the min-maxers, who only cared about rewards. Morality, story—it didn't matter. Give them god-tier weapons for murder and mayhem, and they were fine.

In fact, those were the players the devs loved to screw the most… hmm?

At that thought, Duanmu Huai's eyes narrowed as he looked back at the quest prompt.

Wait a minute… was my earlier assumption really correct?

From experience, he knew this damned game loved to tempt players into traps, letting them take the bait, then smugly saying, "That was your choice." It could drive a man insane.

At first glance, the first option looked good. But if it truly contained the All-Father's memories, he might very well doom himself.

And most importantly… the quest title!

His gaze locked hard on the words Power of Destruction.

Yes, the title was "Destruction." If he absorbed the All-Father's Life Sphere, how was that destruction?

Given how the system worked, he could already imagine it mocking him later: "The player didn't read the quest title carefully." Rage-inducing.

Since it was "Destruction," there was only one answer!!

With that thought, Duanmu Huai grabbed the All-Father's Life Sphere in one hand, and the Demon King's sealed Life Sphere in the other. Two orbs the size of basketballs rested in his grip as if they were apples.

Then he pressed them together, slowly squeezing.

"What are you doing? What are you trying to do!!?"

Dr. Hayden's voice cracked with panic.

"No! You can't! The clash of light and darkness will destroy both Heaven and Hell!!!"

"Perfect, then."

Hearing that warning only reassured Duanmu Huai—he knew he had chosen right.

"Humanity needs neither gods nor demons. So the best outcome is for you all to die—payment for your own foolish choices!"

"No, no, no, no!! You can't do this!!"

Hayden's voice grew more desperate, almost mad.

"If you want the All-Father's power, I can help you! You can gain control of Urdak! You can rule this world! Just… don't destroy it!"

"No deal."

Duanmu Huai pressed harder. Cracks spread across the glowing orbs like shattered candy. Gold and crimson light seeped out, colliding violently.

Just as they were about to break, Hayden's voice shrieked again.

"I will never let you succeed! Never!!!"

Rumble rumble rumble…!!!

The ground shook violently. The floor beneath Duanmu Huai split open, and from below rose a colossal armored monster, tens of meters tall. Its fists clenched, its eyes burned crimson, and it glared down at him with hatred.

Then the beast opened its mouth—and Hayden's voice came forth.

"I'll give you one last chance, Outsider. Put down the Life Spheres, or you will die without a grave!"

"So it comes to the final battle after all."

Duanmu Huai tucked the two Life Spheres into his storage pack, then stretched his arms and legs, sneering at the steel giant.

"So you've finally dropped the act, Dr. Hayden?"

"I'll say it again. Put down the Life Spheres, Outsider."

Hayden's voice was low and dripping with malice.

"No matter what, I will not allow you to destroy Urdak. If you surrender now, I'll spare your life. I know you're strong—but now you're unarmed, with no weapons. Do you really think you can defeat a Mecha-Titan?"

"Wow, that guy is shameless!!"

Anne clenched her fists furiously as she watched. Perhaps that was why they had forced Duanmu Huai to enter Hell unarmed in the first place.

Duanmu Huai, however, only stared coldly at the metal giant.

"So, if I give up destroying the Life Spheres, you'll let me go?"

"That's right."

The Mecha-Titan chuckled.

"As long as you abandon this foolish plan, I will let you walk away. I—"

But the words were cut short by Duanmu Huai.

"But I refuse!"

"What?"

"My favorite thing in the world… is saying NO to arrogant bastards like you!"

With a roar, Duanmu Huai leapt high, charging at the Mecha-Titan. As he raised his hand, a card appeared in his palm, glowing with power before bursting into multicolored magic missiles.

Magic Missile!!

"That's it! Get him, Knight!!"

Anne jumped up from the sofa in excitement. This was why, even in danger, she never feared for him. Though not quite as strong as her, Duanmu Huai was, in her eyes, already a formidable mage. Against a monster like this, he could still fight.

Of course, if Anne herself were there, she'd just summon a giant Heroic Spirit and crush it. But Duanmu Huai had no such luxury. Still, that didn't mean he was helpless—on Manaria's world, fighting monsters several times larger was routine for mages. Even ordinary dragons were the size of this Mecha-Titan.

So she believed he could handle it.

Hayden clearly hadn't expected magic. Who would? A two-and-a-half-meter muscle-bound brute casting spells? The sight shocked him. But luckily, the Titan's massive body shrugged off the bullets-sized missiles with hardly a scratch.

"Such pathetic attacks are useless!!"

The iron giant roared, swinging its colossal fists. Duanmu Huai rolled aside, dodging the impact, and pressed a palm to the ground.

Spear of Might!!

The earth heaved, birthing a massive stone spear that shot upward between the Titan's legs, making it falter—though nothing more.

Well, it was a machine. No effect there.

"I told you—it's useless!"

Blows rained down, but while Duanmu Huai's magic barely scorched its armor, Hayden also couldn't pin him down. Like a rat dodging between a man's feet, Duanmu Huai evaded every strike, countering again and again with fire, ice, and lightning—though to little effect.

"Give up, Outsider!"

Seeing the futility, Hayden paused the Titan's assault and glared.

"Abandon the Life Spheres, and you may yet leave alive!"

But Duanmu Huai did not stop. Spells flew relentlessly, cold ice, burning flame, and crashing thunder. It looked like a desperate struggle.

Only Anne leaned forward at the screen, whispering softly as she counted.

"Three, four, five, six, seven, eight… nine!!"

At her last word, Duanmu Huai leapt high again. This time, glowing swords of pure light materialized all around him!

[Rain of Blades (Cost 9): Mana Amplification (-1). Grant self +3/+3. Deal 3 damage to a random enemy unit.]

As the five [Rain of Blades] cards—reduced to zero cost by Mana Amplification—vanished, blue flames ignited around him. The giant swords descended like a storm, engulfing the Titan.

"This—this is impossible——!!!"

Hayden panicked, raising the Titan's arms to block. But the glowing blades pierced mercilessly, pinning its massive body to the ground.

Then Duanmu Huai raised his hand once more, conjuring fire.

"Boom!!"

A blast with +17 energy level tore open the Titan's chest, leaving a gaping wound. The colossus howled and collapsed.

"You… how…?"

The Titan lifted its head weakly, Hayden utterly baffled. The earlier spells had been feeble, yet this final strike was overwhelming, unstoppable.

But Duanmu Huai had no time to explain the concept of Mana Amplification. He simply pulled out the two Life Spheres again, raised them high—and smashed them together!

This time, they could not withstand the magically-augmented force. Gold and crimson burst apart, beams of light fusing and shooting skyward.

Rumble rumble rumble!!!!

The heavens shook. The hellish red sky shattered, peeling away. The earth cracked, air caught fire, lightning rained down, and the very dimension collapsed.

"What a pity."

Duanmu Huai glanced at the fallen Titan.

"Seems you've run out of road."

A portal opened before him. He stepped through, and vanished. The Titan reached toward the fading glow—then sank into the abyss with the crumbling world.

When Duanmu Huai returned to the flagship, system prompts appeared before him.

[Hidden Advancement Quest 'Power of Destruction' Complete]

[Quest Rating: Excellent]

[New Class Advancement Acquired—Doom Slayer!]

[Doom Slayer: Each time you kill a demon, gain a permanent percentage-based stat bonus.]

[You are the embodiment of destruction, the herald of death. When your shadow falls across the battlefield, even demons tremble. Their terrified souls and flesh are your sustenance.]

[Class Intimidation +3]

[Hidden Quest 'Peace of the Soul' Phase Two Complete]

[Quest Rating: Unparalleled]

[Reward: 100,000 EXP, bonus 35,000 EXP. Player level raised to Lv40. Attribute Points +3, Specialization Points +3.]

[New Skill Acquired—Bullying the Weak (Deal 50% extra damage to enemies under debuffs).]

[New Skill Acquired—Immortal Warrior (Upon receiving lethal damage, instantly revive. Knock back and stun all enemies within 30 meters. Enter Rage Mode upon revival).]

[Note: Intimidation level raised to Lv10.]

[Intimidation skill has evolved into Aura of Fear.]

[Aura of Fear: All non-allied creatures who see the player must make a Will save. On failure, they panic. On success, they still suffer one turn of Shaken.]

At first, Duanmu Huai was pleased. But when he read the last line about [Aura of Fear], his face darkened.

Damn it, they evolved it again?!!

(The End of this Chapter)

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