He struggled to stand, one hand clutching his side where ribs still throbbed in fractured pain.
His legs trembled, but he forced them to obey.
Get up. Get up!
Finally somehow he did.
But his weapon was gone.
His blade had flown from his grip the moment the Commander struck.
Somewhere amidst the chaos and broken stones it lay, lost. And now, unarmed and aching, Igaris stood face to face with death.
The Commander Undead moved slowly, almost lazily, yet with the terrifying certainty of a predator.
Each step it took echoed like a war drum. Black and gold armor shimmered faintly under the overcast sky, and the long bloodstained sword in its bony grip.
He noticed even the Sun couldn't do any damage to it.
This one… it was far beyond any Elite. Its very presence was suffocating, its aura pressing down like a divine punishment.
It was not rage. Not hatred. But cold, unshakable intent.
Igaris's thoughts raced. His mind screamed for an answer, anything.
He glanced briefly at the Ritual Site. His army—his proud undead legion—was crumbling.
Dred was down, missing a limb. Alpha's bow was shattered. The others… some scattered in pieces, others locked in unyielding combat.
He wasn't sure if he could bring them back this time.
He couldn't rely on his army.
He couldn't rely on brute strength.
And hundreds of lesser undead wouldn't make a difference against this monster anyway.
Igaris's jaw clenched as his eyes darted across the ruins, scanning every shadow, every broken slab of stone.
He needed to find a way. An edge. A gamble. Something...
"Think, Igaris… think!"
The Commander took another step. Its hollow skull seemed to watch him, no, to measure him. Judging him like a acceptable offering.
"Offering?"
Just then, he realised something and his eyes turned to the statue of the Female Monarch.
The statue was glowing faintly, and visible cracks had begun to spread across its surface, as if something was about to break out of a cocoon at any moment.
"That's right... This might very well be the only way," Igaris murmured, as if he had made up his mind.
On the other hand, the Undead Commander approached with a whooshing sound, its long sword raised high, ready to strike.
However, Igaris swiftly shifted his position, moving in a specific direction with a calculated plan in mind.
This caused the arc of the long sword to change into a horizontal slash, now aiming for his neck to finish him off once and for all.
"Assemble!"
Just before the blade could reach his neck, Igaris summoned his Doom Blade to defend himself.
Everything happened so fast that Igaris had to give it his all in this desperate gamble.
CLANGGG!
The long sword struck the Doom Blade with a resounding impact.
Whoosh!
Igaris was flung away by the overwhelming force, sent flying straight toward—the Female Monarch's statue.
Igaris's body flew through the air like a ragdoll. His ribs ached. His arms trembled. The cold wind tore at his battered body as he braced for the impact.
And then—
"CRASH!!"
Stone shattered as he collided with the base of the glowing statue of the Female Monarch. The ancient marble cracked beneath him, spiderwebbing outwards in all directions.
Dust and fragments filled the air, and for a moment, there was silence.
Then... the glow intensified.
The cracks... they're spreading.
The statue pulsed with ethereal light, like a slumbering heart reawakening.
With ragged breaths, Igaris finally did the unthinkable.
He reached out and touched the statue. His right hand slipped through a crack, brushing against something soft beneath the surface, something that felt like warm, living flesh beneath the cold stone leg.
Then he muttered, his voice loud and resounding:
"ACQUIRE!"
He had chosen to acquire the very statue that the undead had been worshipping until now.
He hoped—no, he prayed—that this would save him from the imminent, life-extinguishing threat.
But the moment he made contact, he realized he may have laid his hand on something he shouldn't have touched.
A violent resistance surged through him, as if the very essence of the statue was rejecting his Acquisition ability with all its might.
But Igaris knew he couldn't give up.
"RAAAAAHHHH!!"
Igaris roared, pouring more platinum energy into the attempt.
Instantly a radiant light burst forth, engulfing the entire statue in a cocoon of shimmering brilliance.
He wouldn't give up. Not today. Not now.
He gave every last ounce of his strength, forcing the Acquisition with sheer willpower.
His roar was primal unyielding, shaking the very ground beneath him.
The Undead Commander, just moments away from delivering another final blow, halted in its tracks.
Its red eyes flickered with confusion, watching the cocoon of intense, unknown energy enveloping the statue from head to toe.
From the looks of it, even it was puzzled by the events unfolding before its eyes.
RUMBLE!
RUMBLE!
The sky above darkened, as chaotic thunder strikes painted a tapestry of annihilation—bolts of lightning branching like a monstrous spider web across the heavens.
The scene resembled the ominous prelude to the unsealing of something ancient… something dark… something forbidden, buried deep within the Hollow Earth for ages untold.
Blaze, along with the other surviving hunters lurking near the outskirts of the ruined citadel, froze in place—startled and terrified by the sudden shift in atmosphere.
Bone-chilling winds howled through the broken towers, and the thunderous roars overhead sent shivers down their spines. Some shrieked, others dropped to their knees, paralyzed by fear.
Crack! Crack! Crack!
A sharp, clear sound echoed through the air—like the world itself was shattering.
It reverberated across the desolate citadel, reaching every corner, every ruin, every trembling soul.
Something was breaking.
Something that was never meant to awaken.
Their terrified gazes rose to the sky, where the air waved with a melody unlike any other. It was syrupy sweet yet laced with dread.
A bone-chilling laughter echoed across the ruined citadel, each note scraping against their sanity.
"Fufufu... This world has forgotten pain..."
The voice was ancient, regal, and merciless.
"But it shall remember—because I, Saintess Evernight, have returned!"