Chapter 274: Immortal Berserker, The Ape's Last Stand
"-75000!"
[You have died.]
Stark had been crushed by the [Guardian Ape's] hand once it powered up.
Its speed was now far greater than Stark's, and its attack strength was also so high that even that simple slam created a small crater in the ground, even though there was water.
And of course, let's not forget: Stark's body was completely crushed, his organs spilling out from his stomach and his eyeballs popping out, meaning that he was… well… dead.
"Fucking hell…" Stark opened his eyes and found himself in that same black void from before.
[Do you want to be revived?]
[Y/N]
Thankfully enough, his talent was still there to grant him a second life, but he didn't expect for that thing to kill him so fast and easily after powering up.
[You have 60 seconds to decide, otherwise it is game over!]
"Hm…" Stark put his hand against his chin as he thought of his next plan of action.
He couldn't fight that thing, no chance in hell.
With its current stats, forget about it being level 250, you can already decide that it is at minimum level 325 if not more.
These stat increases were temporary for the ape, but they would last until the end of the battle, so there was no strategy to counter it.
[You have 30 seconds to decide, otherwise it is game over!]
Most of his skills were cooldown, and those that weren't wouldn't of that much use like those from [Exorcist].
[You have 25 seconds to decide, otherwise it is game over!]
"Think… Stark… THINK…" a vortex of crimson aura began to spin in the boy's eyes as he kept thinking, time slowing down around him even in this space.
In less than 25 seconds, he would be forced to go back into the battlefield, and that thing was probably waiting for him, its perception high enough to notice him the moment he revived.
"FUCK…"
[You have 15 seconds to decide, otherwise it is game over!]
In comparison to when he was against the warden, his determination was still high enough as to allow him to keep going.
But what about now?
In front of the 10 apostles, as well as the [Godless Demon], would he die by the first monster they sent toward him?
Were all these months in this world for nothing, then?
Were all these trials simply for show?
Would he leave everything behind just like this?
[You have 5 seconds to decide, otherwise it is game over!]
[WARNING! WARNING! WARNING!]
The answer was no to all these questions.
"Alright," Stark calmed down as his aura grew in power.
Because even if this situation was unwinnable, even if he knew his chances of survival were slim, almost nonexistent actually… he still needed to try.
[Last chance: do you have to be revived?]
[Y/N]
He was the only one that could help himself, no one else would (except his clone, that is).
And so… he clicked on [Y], shattering the panel, much like against Warden.
[Make use of that chance, Chosen One.]
…
In the real world.
"Hm…"
"That was… all?"
"So uninteresting…"
All the apostles were sighing in disbelief.
They knew about the human who kept killing their companions, but they didn't know any of his abilities: which meant they had no idea that the [Chosen One] talent existed.
Not even the [Godless Demon] knew, meaning that they truly believed that the human had died like this, from a single attack.
"…" their leader didn't speak, though, as he kept looking at Stark's crushed body from above.
The human that was acting so confident until now was… gone, just like that, and his life force was nonexistent either, his aura disappearing completely.
"GROOAKKK!" the [Guardian Ape] was cheering while facing the apostles and [Godless Demon], jumping left to right and repeatedly hitting its chest.
It seemed very happy it had been capable of killing the human that actually posed somewhat of a threat to them.
"Good job, little ape," one of the apostles said, "You seem to actually be useful for once."
"Maybe we should remove that giant sword from his neck, then, as a reward?" another smiled.
"No… keep it…" a third finished, "I like seeing it in pain…"
To them, Stark's death was already confirmed, as someone's aura only disappears when they TRULY die.
[Revive Items] exist, as said before, but if someone has one, then their aura doesn't disappear, meaning that they aren't truly dead.
But in Stark's case, his life force and aura were completely gone, leaving no doubt as to what his status was: it was over him.
And yet… right as they were discussing of leaving…
~FWISH~
~BOOM~
In the distance, right in Stark's location, his crushed body as well as his organs that spilled everywhere began to reform, floating toward the main body to recreate it, not leaving a single drop of blood on the ground.
And after a few seconds… Stark was back.
[Stark HP: 1/75000]
With [Chosen One], it didn't matter whether you were killed by poison, tortured, cut in half, crushed to death or even if every single cell in your body was reduced to nothing: you would revive regardless, your body back to its normal state, though with one HP only.
~FWISH~
Stark got up, he was still bleeding a bit, and his body hurt like hell since, well, he had been crushed, but as long as he could still move around… he was fine.
"=)" something taped his shoulder, and he noticed that the [Superior Clone] was still there: it had disappeared once he died, but came back as his aura revived him, which is why the apostles and [Godless Demon] weren't suspicious.
But surprisingly… the ape didn't notice him.
It actually didn't as it was too busy trying to make its masters happy, or try to get a reward for its achievement.
And so… Stark decided to take advantage of that.
"WIELDING CROSS," both he and his clone summoned the cross above them.
But they didn't plan to just rush and swing at the monster: first of all there was no saying it would do enough damage, and it would probably notice them.
And so… they both decided to use the new ability of [Wielding Cross].
[New Perk: Crushing Gravity (EPIC)]
[Description: By grasping the handle of the Crimson Cross, the user can hurl it high into the air, throwing it very high, and when it reaches its apex, the perk can be activated to make it fall back toward the enemy like a meteor.
It is EXTREMELY difficult to aim and hit with it, so it only takes one of the three strikes you have available, plus you lose the cross for the moment it is in the air, so watch out!
Though, if it does hit, then the damage will be phenomenal, and the area around the enemy that is hit will explode with aura as well!]
It was the best moment, not only to test it out since the ape wasn't moving that much, but also to finally get this over with.
The surprise effect of reviving from [Chosen One] had ALWAYS helped Stark, and this time would be no different.
~FWISH~
Both he and his clone activated the skill, and the giant crimson/golden crosses slowly fell on their two hands as they joined them together, and so with a swift and powerful motion they swung upward, sending the two crosses very high in the sky.
As the crosses reached their apex, Stark and his clone activated the Crushing Gravity perk again.
~BOOM~
And so the two crimson/golden crosses descended like meteors, their trajectory perfectly aimed at the guardian ape's head as it wasn't moving at all, making it infinitely easier to aim.
The monster was still cheering while looking at the apostles (who were actually staring at the crosses above, yet not willing to say anything to the ape), but once it sensed the attack, it roared in surprise as it noticed the giant objects falling toward it, yet it was too late to dodge or avoid them.
With an earth-shattering impact, the crosses slammed into the ape's head, causing its body to be thrown back violently.
The explosion of aura that followed was immense, and Stark and his clone felt their bodies tremble from the force of it.
BOOOOOOOM!
"-437461!" and the perk didn't lie, because even with the ape's enhanced defense, the impact of both crosses was enough to deal all of its remaining life.
For a moment, everything went silent as dust and debris filled the air.
And…
[Guardian Ape HP: 0/1,100,000]
As the dust went away, the corpse of the guardian ape was now on the ground.
"Oh?"
"Hm…"
The apostles were surprised: the human did come back to life after all, and also somehow used yet another skill to end this battle in one attack.
Normally, this would be Stark's victory without a shroud of doubt.
But…
"Chosen," the [Godless Demon] himself spoke while smiling, "Do you believe you are the only one who can revive himself?"
"Huh?" Stark was confused.
But right as he was about to question it about what it just said…
~FWISH~
The [Guardian Ape] got up again even though its HP were at 0.
"Immortal Berserker," and its [Godly] skill activated automatically.
"This is…" Stark took a few steps back, "What the fuck?" his eyes widened.
He had believed that he was the only one who could revive himself, yet was proven wrong.
But now… what should he do now? Now that this thing got up, seemingly unharmed, and its stats still just as high as before, if not higher.
Plus… what was the ability of the [Immortal Berserker] skill?
"…" Stark gulped as he felt that something really bad was bound to happen to him now.