CHAPTER 42: THE BLACK SUN VESSEL

"Let’s go," Chloe said with a faint smile, her voice carrying a sense of urgency. "We need to leave quickly, to inform the others. A layer like this... people need to know."

Sam looked at her silently, sensing her intentions with clarity.

She was someone who cared deeply. Someone who prioritized the safety of others, who saw warning as duty, who put the survival above everything else.

But Sam... didn’t see things the same way.

To him, warning people wasn’t the priority. Not yet. Not when something darker still loomed over them.

Not when the [Black Sun] was still above, its massive eye locked on him, the pressure in the air growing denser with every second.

He didn’t even respond right away, his gaze never leaving the sky.

Plus, there was one more thing he needed to do before leaving. The loot.

He started walking toward the center of the plaza, where the [City Mayor]’s remains had disappeared and the loot had been dropped.

Chloe followed a few steps behind, confused but not questioning it.

Sam was already thinking ahead. With his [Primordial Guild] slowly forming, he needed funds.

Whether it was for a guild base or resources, he would need money.

Selling the boss loot, especially from a corrupted final boss, would bring in plenty of that.

But just as he and Chloe reached the middle of the arena, the sense of danger that had been gnawing at Sam for minutes suddenly spiked, like a dam breaking.

And then—

[Dodge.]

The message popped in front of him like a scream, and his eyes instantly shot to the sky.

The eye of the [Black Sun] was gone.

Instead, what remained above was a swirling orb of dark power. It charged rapidly, light warping around it.

Sam’s heart dropped.

"Shit."

Without hesitation, he reached behind him, grabbed the back of Chloe’s collar, and yanked her backward.

"W-What are you doing—?!"

BOOOOOOM!

The world exploded.

A dark beam of light shot straight from the sky into the center of the arena.

It slammed into the ground like a meteor, creating a shockwave so massive that it blasted Sam off his feet and sent him skidding backward across the stone.

His [Eternal Barrier] absorbed the impact fully.

Only one charge had been consumed, but the weight of that strike was unlike anything else so far.

Even with all his power, he felt it. The hatred. The intent.

From the blackened crater at the center of the blast, a figure began to rise.

A warped, shifting silhouette of pure darkness.

"You... will... not... escape... Primordial."

Chloe staggered up to her feet, her eyes wide and trembling. "What is that..."

Standing in the middle of the impact zone was something entirely new.

It had no visible face, only a giant, jagged mouth where its eyes should’ve been.

Its body was pitch black, flickering like heatwaves, with two curved white horns growing from its head.

The corruption radiated off it in waves. In one hand, it held a jagged bat made of the same material as the sun’s dark rays.

---

[Black Sun Vessel][Level: 20][Description: A vessel the Black Sun uses to attack.][Hell-Mode Analysis: Its hatred for you has surpassed what I expected. Be careful.]

---

Sam stared at it, his eyes narrowing.

"Why?" he asked calmly, the expression on his face unreadable. "Why do you hate me?"

The [Abyssal King]. Now the [Black Sun].

Two major entities, and both of them somehow knew about "him". Both of them despised him.

"Your kind..." the vessel growled, pointing the bat at him, "...Once you disappear, everything will be better."

Sam clenched the grip on his sword, his body tensing.

The vessel might only be an extension of the Black Sun, but its power couldn’t be underestimated.

He knew that much already.

"You don’t know anything," the vessel added, stepping forward with slow, heavy movements. "But that’s fine. All I need to do is kill you—"

FWISH! BOOM!

It darted forward at incredible speed, the corrupted bat swinging down with a crash. It collided with Sam’s [Eternal Barrier], sparking a ripple of energy.

"You’re not getting through me," Sam said coldly, swinging his [Primordial Sword] in response.

The vessel twisted at the last second, narrowly avoiding the blade, but didn’t retaliate immediately.

Instead, the mouth on its face opened wide, revealing a glowing core that began to charge a massive beam of raw energy.

Sam’s instincts screamed. He couldn’t block that, and it might cause a lot of hits on his [Eternal Barrier].

And so he made his decision instantly.

Void Rush!

He decided to use the skill he hadn’t tried until now.

---

[Void Rush][Rank: Forsaken][Description: You become one with the shadows, able to blend in them to surprise your enemies. You can remain in them for as long as you need.]

---

He dropped into the ground, vanishing into the shadow beneath his own feet just as the energy reached its peak.

The vessel paused, mouth glowing.

"Escaping?" it sneered. "You cannot escape. This entire realm wants you dead."

Fwoosh! BOOM!

The beam fired, tearing through the plaza like a laser, carving buildings in half and annihilating everything in its path for hundreds of meters.

Chloe could only watch, her heart pounding.

She would have surely died if it was aimed at her, but strangely enough, the monster didn’t attack her. Not once.

This monster was here for one reason only, and it was Sam.

Underneath the ground, Sam flowed through the shadows like water. Silent. Swift.

It was the same trick the [Abyssal King] had once used against him. Now it was his turn.

He emerged right behind the vessel, rising from the shadow like a ghost and—

SLASH!

He struck clean through the creature’s arm before it could fully react.

The limb dropped to the ground with a thud, and the vessel howled, stumbling as it swung its bat in retaliation.

CRACK!

It hit Sam’s barrier again, but by the time it turned around, Sam was already back in the shadows.

"You didn’t answer me," Sam’s voice echoed coldly.

The vessel snarled, scanning the area, but Sam wasn’t in sight.

Until—

FWISH! SLASH!

Sam appeared again, this time striking the creature’s legs from behind, forcing it to collapse to one knee.

"You think you’re going to win," the vessel said in a low, grim chuckle. "But it’s too late. Everyone already knows about you."

Sam’s eyes narrowed.

"What?"

"Even if you defeat me, which you won’t," the voice twisted, the sun’s influence rising behind it, "The others will still kill you... even if it means destroying this world..."

That was the [Black Sun] speaking now. Not just the vessel. It was using it like a puppet to voice its malice.

Sam said nothing. He simply raised his sword again.

"Shut up."

The blade came down, but this time, the vessel twisted around with unnatural speed.

"Got you," it said with glee.

The bat swung wide, knocking Sam’s sword off-course before the creature lunged and grabbed him by the throat, lifting him off the ground.

"You can’t escape now."

Sam’s eyes widened slightly.

’Damn it.’

He hadn’t seen that coming. It had baited him into getting close.

Now he was caught, held in the creature’s grip, its corrupted energy crawling over his skin, though he was immune.

And above them... the [Black Sun] continued to watch, its presence growing heavier by the second.