Ryo sprawled on the ground, his body sore from the constant battles. The final phase had drained him to the limit, having him use nothing but brute strength and instinct. He had just caught his breath when the system's voice resounded again.
[SYSTEM NOTICE: Phase 6 will now begin.]
Ryo groaned, massaging his temples. "What kind of sadistic challenge is it this time?"
He had already battled enormous swarms of monsters, survived grueling limitations, and just managed to get by in some stages. The uncertainty irritated him—what would the system present him with now? For how long would this stage last?
[Phase 6 Conditions: Only 'Blood Rampage' is allowed. All other skills will be disabled.]
Ryo blinked, then sat up. "Wait… only Blood Rampage? That's not so bad—I've used that before."
Blood Rampage was one of his strongest abilities, severely augmenting his physical capabilities when used. If he could do nothing but this, then this stage wouldn't be quite as restrictive as the previous one.
Then the system talked again.
[Task: Kill 100,000 monsters with Blood Rampage.]
Silence.
Ryo blinked twice. He must have misheard.
"Did I… did I hear that wrong? I could've sworn I heard an extra zero in there." He nervously laughed.
[Phase 6 – Starting Now.]
Ryo shifted his gaze as the air trembled with an ominous aura. A deafening roar rocked the battlefield, and all at once the ground shook convulsively. A seemingly endless ocean of monstrous beings appeared out of the shadows, stretching as far as the eye could see.
There were gigantic war-beasts, serpent-like horrors with a hundred eyes, shadow wolves that came and went in fleeting existence, and gruesome, gigantic abominations pieced together from infinite corpses.
His smirk disappeared.
"Oh… so there are really 100,000 monsters this time." He gritted his teeth and rolled his shoulders. "Of course. Why not?"
Ryo took a deep breath. If this was the trial, then he would have to meet it head-on.
"Blood Rampage—Activate!"
A burst of scarlet energy burst from inside him. His heartbeat was like the beat of a war drum, and his muscles bulged with raw, burgeoning power. His irises darkened to deep red, veins pulsing with dark crimson color as the change claimed him entirely.
Then, enormous crimson and black-as-coal wings erupted from his back, their being exuding raw power.
Dark energy was mixed with his blood aura, and by a thought, red weapons formed around him—swords, spears, daggers, and most of all, a huge red scythe with a black handle.
"Okay then… let's go wild."
The Massacre Begins
The first wave crashed down on him—a legion of giant skeletons, each armed with enormous bone clubs.
Ryo disappeared from his position, materializing immediately in their midst. His fists were a blur as he punched clear through the skull of the first giant, its head bursting apart into bone dust.
A second brought down its club. Ryo ducked and counterattacked with a crushing uppercut, sending the giant flying high into the air before it disintegrated into pieces.
Still more enemies pressed in.
A serpent creature bit at him, its jaws coated with black venom.
Ryo spun in mid-air and caught the creature's jaws, tearing them wide open with sheer force before smashing its skull beneath his boot.
During the fight, the real terrors started to come out.
Out of the shadows emerged a grotesque abomination, its body composed of stitched-together corpses, its eyes burning with warped malevolence. It shrieked a guttural cry and sent a wave of screaming undead pouring out, each one clamoring to rend Ryo apart.
"Tch… pesky."
Ryo stamped the earth, sending a shockwave that broke apart the weaker undead. In a flash of speed, he charged at the monstrosity, dodging its lashing limbs before landing a bone-crushing punch to its center.
The monstrosity screamed and burst, shattering into a shower of flesh and bone.
A hundred more beasts charged towards him—wolf-like demons, flying wraiths, and war-beast-armored creatures.
Ryo bellowed and charged through them like a tempest in human form, his fists tearing through flesh and armor with equal ease.
With a flick of his wrist, he called forth his scarlet scythe, its blade shining with cold intent. Twirling it with ease, he cut through the monsters in a beautiful, brutal waltz of devastation.
Blood sprayed everywhere on the battlefield as the ground was filled with corpses of the fallen. He went through the battlefield like a specter, his attacks strong enough to bring down whole blocks of the enemy lines.
Minutes went by. Then hours. But the enemies never ceased their advance.
Ryo's body hurt, but Blood Rampage kept his power raging. But he could sense it—the exertion of combat at this level was beginning to break him.
Then, something enormous came near.
From the distance, the sky turned dark as a gigantic monstrosity materialized. It possessed six blazing red eyes, wings the size of the battlefield, and a silhouette wrapped in abyssal flames.
[Catastrophe-Class Boss Spotted: The Abyss Tyrant.]
Ryo let out a deep breath. "Oh wonderful. a boss now?"
The Abyss Tyrant bellowed out a shattering roar that caused the very air itself to hum. Its wing lifted only once in a vast storm of dark fires swept the battlefield, consuming even the weaker monsters.
Yet Ryo persisted.
He glared into the monster. His heart beat red with unleashed fury.
The Abyss Tyrant dived down, its claws big enough to crush a whole mountain. Ryo gritted his fists and propelled himself upwards with a force that would shatter a concrete pillar.
They met halfway.
The crash produced a shockwave that disintegrated the nearby monsters, sending their bodies flying like ragdolls.
Ryo rained down an incessant barrage of punches, punching the beast's armored hide again and again, each strike making cracks fan out across its body.
The Tyrant roared in pain, swiping at him with its colossal tail. Ryo barely dodged but was grazed, sending him crashing into the ground with immense force.
Coughing up blood, he stood up, his eyes burning with rage.
"That all you got?"
With a thunderous bound, he was flying again, hovering over the Abyss Tyrant. Focusing all of Blood Rampage's might, he had his fists come together and slammed down with a crushing hammer blow to the creature's cranium.
A colossal blast came forth, the energy ripping the sky asunder.
The Abyss Tyrant had one last scream before its head crushed in entirely, its huge body crashing to the earth in a cataclysmic smash.
Phase 6 Concludes
[SYSTEM NOTICE: Phase 6 Completed.]
Ryo let out a deep sigh before falling back onto his back. "I swear… if Phase 7 is worse than this… I'm quitting."
For the moment, he had deserved his rest.