Path to Transcendence

Julius watched as Isaac disappeared in a flash of white light. There was so much more energy coming off Isaac compared to before.
Had Isaac been holding back? Julius didn’t know, but regardless, he was grateful for the assist. The chimera was quickly becoming an extremely formidable opponent, and despite his pride screaming that he wanted to beat it on his own, he didn’t know if he would be able to.
Isaac slammed his meaty fists into the powerful Tier 4 monster. Each blow seemed to warp the air; that was how hard Isaac was punching the thing.
And just like Julius’s kinetic attacks, it would appear the beast didn’t do so great against blunt strikes. Something Isaac seemed to understand and began to pummel the chimera before it could get back onto its legs.
The chimera, which had been ignoring Isaac up to this point, now placed its full attention on the large teen and used its long tail to smash Isaac in the chest. Isaac was much better prepared and was able to weaken the blow with his arms. But this was enough space for the chimera to get back onto its feet.
When it did, Isaac backed away and looked at the beast with a calculating look.
“Do you have any spare mana?” Isaac asked Julius without bothering to turn around.
Julius flexed his newly healed arm. “Yeah, I got a good amount left,” he confirmed to Isaac.
“Do you mind giving me some? I am running kinda low, but I will be able to heal if you attack me with some mana,” Isaac quickly explained what he wanted.
Julius didn’t even question Isaac’s request. Instead, he nodded. “Okay.”
He didn’t wait for Isaac to give him the go-ahead and sent a concentrated burst of fire mana straight into Isaac’s back. He didn’t use his crown to convert any of it. He didn’t want to take the chance that Isaac wouldn’t be able to use it and instead just be even more injured.
To most Tier 3s, this burst of fire mana would have turned them to ash, even without his ruinous flames. However, Isaac stood there unmovingly as he absorbed the fire mana into his skin. The leftover injuries scattered across Isaac’s body were slowly healed back to normal.
Julius gave a quick inspection of how the skill worked and realized that it was very similar to how he siphoned kinetic energy. Rather than absorbing and processing it himself internally, Isaac was holding it and using this foreign mana to fuel some kind of healing skill.
It wasn’t life mana-based; Julius wasn’t able to sense anything like that, but perhaps it was light mana-based. Isaac could be converting the absorbed mana into light mana via a special technique or item that he then used to heal himself.
It was quite a powerful healing skill. It wasn’t as powerful as Julius’s, but the fact that it could heal as quickly as he did spoke volumes. It was also impressive how often he could use the skill. Julius would have thought that Isaac would be hitting his healing threshold.
Or perhaps it didn’t work like that for certain self-healing skills.
Julius didn’t have time to worry about this. He was much too focused on watching the chimera.
Several beams of light swarmed Isaac, and Julius used this opportunity to get in close. He had preemptively created several spikes and sent them flying toward the monster. The ruinous flames were easier to control than ever. The crown was really putting in work, giving him a lot of freedom.
However, as before, the chimera seemed to absorb a large portion of the attack. The rest was blocked by the new scales spread over its body. Julius grimaced when he saw his new, powerful attack so easily blocked, but thankfully, he was already prepared for that.
The spikes were just a distraction that obscured its vision, allowing him to get close. He appeared behind the chimera, and before it could realize where he was, he was already slamming his staff into the back of its head.
He used every ounce of kinetic energy, aura, and Force Concept he could infuse into one single strike. The force from the attack was so great that it blasted out the other end of the chimera’s throat. A hole the size of a watermelon appeared, and blood went everywhere.
The chimera reacted swiftly, though. A breath that contained some of the stolen ruinous flames crashed into his face. However, he only smiled and took it straight on. At the back of his mind, he could tell that his Ruinous Crown was getting irritated for some reason. He suspected the item didn’t enjoy seeing its flames absorbed so easily, or even being thrown back at it.
A dangerous sensation rippled from the crown.
The chimera was already swinging its claws and tail at Julius. However, he had already seen this attack more than enough times. He knew what to expect and let the claws glance off his shoulder, using his left arm to parry the leg, ensuring that he made contact with it so that he was able to absorb the maximum amount of kinetic energy from the monster.
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Safe to say, it was a lot.
He accumulated so much kinetic energy that he had to waste some of it. The excess kinetic energy was blasted outward from him, destroying the ground. However, the energy he gathered condensed into a sphere at the tip of the staff. He then brought both of his hands up, holding his staff high, and cracked it against the chimera’s skull.
The creature’s head was sturdy, but with how much energy he delivered, it wasn’t enough. The skull shattered and created a mess inside the chimera’s brain. This wasn’t to kill the monster, though. Julius had learned enough about this chimera that he knew that its healing factor was too strong for that.
However, he wanted to daze it and damaging its brain seemed like a perfect way to do that. Fortunately, it worked, and the chimera staggered backward as it desperately healed the ruined flesh inside its skull while Julius used as much of his ruinous aura to prevent this process.
This was when Julius sensed Isaac make his move as well.
It felt like Isaac was carrying the weight of a mountain. Each step shook the field, and there was this overwhelming pressure coming from his body. It was pure physical power, too, that was the scary part.
No mana, no aura, just pure physical might. Julius was sure this had to be some kind of bloodline or special ability. There was no other way a Tier 3 could have this much physical strength without relying on mana or aura.
Half of the chimera’s face disappeared in a puff of red mist when Isaac hit the monster, and Julius was sent flying back from the shockwave that was released. He used some kinetic energy to absorb the force while looking at Isaac with an impressed look on his face.
That amount of power was on another level. Julius didn’t think he would be able to generate that much sheer force without some help or some time to prepare.
While this was happening, he was creating several more spikes over his shoulders. The crown, which seemed to have its pride prickled, was even more aggressive and willing to listen to Julius’s demands. Several spikes pulsing with ruinous flames were already being shot toward the injured chimera.
With its scales no longer in the way, he was hoping that the spikes would do much more damage. Fortunately, his hopes were answered. Without the scales or spikes in the way, his salvo was able to do some damage.
Even more parts of the chimera’s flesh were blown up. The regenerated flesh was destroyed once again, and this time the ruinous flames stalled its healing, which was probably the most helpful part.
Isaac was obviously worn out from that last attack; the large teen was heaving as he took massive gulps of air. However, he didn’t let up the pressure and was already slamming another fist into the chimera.
Each strike hammered the chimera deeper and deeper into the ground. Almost creating an earthen prison for the monster.
The chimera was flailing around in desperation. It was absolutely insane that it was still alive despite its head and most of the flesh of its upper body being obliterated. It was even more insane that it was healing as fast as it was under Isaac and Julius's attacks.
Julius chose to switch up his attacks, though. Instead of taking time to gather ruinous flames to create spikes, he just decided to throw the pure flames at the monster like a flamethrower.
To his shock, it felt as if a valve had been released and a limiter removed from the crown. A tidal wave of azure flames crashed into the chimera. The heat was on a totally different level than before.
It almost seemed that, without the constructs holding it back, it could express itself freely. The heat became overwhelming even to Julius. His flesh started to melt like candlewax, and he roared out as he pushed through the pain, continuing to dump all of the ruinous flames onto the chimera stuck in the pit.
They were so strong that Isaac was forced to retreat. The heat had already burned the guy’s arm off. But he didn’t seem upset about that. Instead, he looked at Julius with a wild grin on his face and laughed like a maniac.
Julius ignored the crazy guy and increased his efforts. He wanted to turn this immortal beast into a pile of burnt remains.
The crown was more than happy to help him. It was practically laughing like Isaac when Julius let go of the restraints he usually had on the crown. Julius let the thing do what it was made for.
To cause devastation and ruin.
His body was not only being burnt by the oppressive force, but also by the immense stress he was placing on his own body from the amount of mana he was forcing through his channels. When he felt himself slowing, he dug deep and began carving out pieces of his soul to fuel the technique.
He felt his soul cracking when he did this, but he didn’t care. At the moment, his mind was focused on one single thing. Destruction.
He poured every ounce of willpower into the deluge of flames. The chimera, which had been struggling wildly, was now slowing down.
He didn’t even care, though. He wouldn’t stop until the chimera was nothing but ash.
***
Isaac gulped for air as he recovered. The last attack had really taken a lot out of him. It was one of his last-ditch techniques that utilized his very own life force. His aunt wouldn’t be happy to hear that he used it.
However, he wasn’t worried about that. Despite his missing arms, he stared with wide eyes at the young boy he had been with.
Julius Snow, huh?
The boy didn’t even look human anymore. His eyes were a scarlet red that glowed with the promise of death and destruction. He floated over the pit the chimera was trapped in, pouring an insane amount of fire mana into it.
The terrifying crown on the boy’s head was glowing so brightly that it was hard to look at. The heat radiating from the crown was enough to melt everything within its vicinity.
The chimera was unlucky enough to be the sole focus of this power.
It became a battle between an immovable object and an unstoppable force. However, no matter how much healing the chimera had, Isaac knew in his gut that it wouldn’t be enough. These flames that Julius was using were of a different quality than anything he had ever seen.
He always thought that he was the strongest Tier 3 on the continent. He had too many advantages. He had the Mana Siphon Physique and a powerful Bloodline that made use of this physique to the max, making for a powerful combination that was unstoppable for his tier.
However, for the first time in a long time, Isaac felt fear ripple through his body. He didn’t have any confidence in beating Julius, not as he watched the boy torch the insanely strong Tier 4 into oblivion.
If Isaac didn't know any better. It was like he had just watched the birth of the future Incarnation of Ruin.