Chapter 47: Two High Tier
The four Iron-Core Centurions did not hesitate. The moment their multiple amber eye lenses locked onto Leon Graves’ dark silhouette, the internal steam pistons behind their blackened steel chest plates hissed with high-velocity pressure, launching their massive nine-foot frames forward in a synchronized flanking formation.
The heavy, six-foot serrated executioner blades they carried tore through the dense air of the courtyard, creating a high-frequency kinetic hum that made the obsidian stone panels beneath Leon’s leather boots vibrate with tension.
Leon did not activate his defensive armor plating. He stood perfectly still in the center of the assembly yard, his twin rings of deep violet pupils flaring with an ancient, star-swallowing malice as he raised his left hand toward the charging machines.
"[Activating Skill: Death Wave]"
The A-rank skill consumed a mere fifty-six points of his mana core thanks to the 30% reduction from his complete 3/3 Finality Set. A thirty-foot-wide horizontal blade of highly compressed, dark violet decay energy violently erupted from his extended palm, cutting through the hot, sulfur-choked atmosphere with an absolute velocity.
The kinetic wave struck all four centurions dead center.
The absolute concept of Finality woven into the spell did not just shatter their high-density alloy defenses; it triggered an instant, 3-second movement speed reduction of fifty percent. Their blackened steel armor plates turned a dull, porous white color that flaked away into the metallic ash like dry plaster under the accelerated time distortion. Their heavy metal limbs locked up, their joints grinding together with a horrific screeching sound as the purple fire corroded their internal energy channels.
Leon closed the distance before the front line of two machines could even re-align their serrated executioner blades to parry the threat. He allowed his massive Aura of the End-Game to violently expand from beneath his heels, blanketing the entire courtyard in an absolute, suffocating darkness.
BOOM.
The blinding orange glare radiating from the distant smelting furnaces was instantly snuffed out, replaced by a freezing, majestic calm. The moment the remaining two Centurions crossed his border wire, the universal laws of Finality took hold, systematically slashing forty percent of their level 36 elite attributes.
Leon danced through the blind spots of the paralyzed mechanical soldiers, his matte-black dagger moving in a flawless, silent loop of violet lines.
Squilch. Squilch.
The dark steel of the Abyssal Stinger pierced smoothly through their neck joints, his Bracers of the Iron-Spine ensuring zero weapon deflection against their high-density alloy framework. The silence trait, Necrotic Injection, discharged smoothly with every strike, completely blocking their internal battery lines and preventing them from triggering their internal distress beacons.
One by one, the level 36 elite soldiers dissolved into massive mounds of dark gray sand, their life data instantly recycled into his silver ring.
[Two elite targets destroyed. You have restored 2% of your maximum Mana.][Absolute Extraction Activated...]
Strength: +3
Agility: +3
A cool, liquid stream of blue energy rushed from the sand piles straight back into his core, keeping his mana bar fully charged.
The remaining two Centurions completely lost their mechanical confidence. Their amber eye lenses flickered wildly, their internal programming failing to compute the data. A level 23 candidate shouldn’t possess the physical parameters to erase two level 36 elite soldiers from the system registry in less than three seconds. They let out a synchronized, high-pitched mechanical shriek, trying to scramble back toward the dark mouth of the primary smelting hall to sound a regional alarm command.
"Stay down," Leon Graves whispered beneath his hood.
He aligned his right index finger catching the brilliant, liquid violet glare of his mythic ring, unlocking his ultimate single-target execution skill.
"[Activating Skill: Finality Eclipse]"
The entire circular assembly yard lost its heat and sound in less than a heartbeat. The SSS-rank skill forced the pure, concentrated concept of decay into a single point of physical impact, completely bypassing one hundred percent of the target’s internal defense shields through his full set active attributes.
He drove the black blade straight through the chest plate of the third centurion, piercing the burning amber core behind its ribs.
BOOM.
The internal core exploded inward. The kinetic energy did not blow outward; it collapsed into a black vortex of necrotic fire that systematically ate away at the titan’s biological and mechanical framework, turning its entire gold-plated structure into a towering mountain of dark gray sand. Leon did not slow his momentum; he spun on his heel, his duster coat rippling like a physical wave of shadow as he drove his dagger through the final machine’s remaining core seal.
Crunch.
Four fresh mounds of dark gray sand formed over the obsidian courtyard floor, the raw energy paths extracted straight into his core via his unique Grave Reclamation passive.
[Two high-tier targets destroyed. You have gained 4,800 Experience Points.]
[Unique Trait Activated...]
Target mana paths extracted: Your maximum Mana pool has permanently increased by +40 points.
Absolute Extraction Activated: Strength +4, Agility +3, Constitution +4.
Leon Graves lowered his palm, the residual violet smoke slowly drifting from his bare knuckles before vanishing into the heavy air of the vault. His maximum mana pool had permanently expanded past 2,490 points, his core buzzing with an unassailable energy that felt completely unstoppable.
He walked past the four mounds of gray sand, his hand sweeping through the ash to gather the dropped stones and resource items into his inventory. Through his expanded Ashen Fog matrix crawling outward for three miles, his mind suddenly registered a massive, highly structured energy signature pulsing near a massive industrial forge deep inside the smelting hall—the location of the floor’s primary overboss, the Level 38 Iron-Core Warmaster.