CHAPTER 43: CONQUERING THE SECOND LAYER

"Die," the vessel growled, its voice rough and jagged like broken glass.

Without warning, the arm Sam had cut off moments ago regenerated with a grotesque squelch.

In the same motion, the creature summoned its blackened bat back into that newly formed hand, as if nothing had ever happened.

Then it raised the weapon high and swung.

Fwish! SLAM!

Sam’s [Eternal Barrier] flared to life as the blow connected. Then another. And another.

Each strike shook his entire body. The force behind them was relentless. The corrupted weapon crashed down again and again, and though the barrier held, Sam could feel the weight of each hit stacking.

"Can that barrier of yours last forever?" the vessel taunted, its monstrous mouth twisting into a grin. "We shall see..."

BAM! BAM! BAM!

The sound of impact echoed through the ruined plaza. The vessel wasn’t stopping. It had no need to.

But something else was rising too.

Sam’s will.

His body ached. The barrier flickered. He could feel it on the brink. But instead of fear, Sam’s eyes sharpened with focus.

Forty hits in.

That was enough.

Sam raised his arm toward the sky without warning and activated [Abyssal Obliteration].

In an instant, two colossal dark portals tore open above him and the vessel. From them, dozens—no, hundreds—of shadow bullets came raining down like a storm.

BANG! BANG! BANG!

They rained on the arena, striking both Sam and the vessel, but while Sam was shielded by the last sliver of his barrier, the vessel took the brunt of the barrage.

It didn’t even flinch.

"You’re the last one of them..." it muttered with a grim finality, its mouth glowing, its tone unhinged. "Just stay put."

The implication hung heavy in Sam’s mind—the last one? The last of who?

But he didn’t have time to ask.

One of the shadow bullets slammed into the creature’s arm—the one holding him—and it loosened its grip just long enough for Sam to twist free and leap back.

FWISH! BAM!

The vessel was already lunging after him, swinging the bat again, but this time Sam raised his [Primordial Sword] and blocked.

The blow sent a ripple down his arm, but he held his ground.

"I don’t know what you’re talking about," Sam said firmly, his voice calm in contrast to the chaos. "But it doesn’t matter. I’m going to kill you."

He deflected another strike, then quickly channeled power into his free hand.

[Sovereign Inferno]

A swirling black flame erupted in his palm, crackling with concentrated power. He hurled it straight into the vessel’s chest.

BOOM!

The creature staggered, actually letting out a guttural cry of pain.

Sam didn’t waste the opportunity.

He surged forward and drove his sword through the vessel’s massive, jagged mouth—straight down into its skull. With a twist and a clean slash, he sliced the entire thing in half.

"You..." the creature gurgled, splitting down the middle. "You’re not gonna... win..."

Sam didn’t answer.

He simply cut its head off.

And that was it.

Silence.

He stood there for a moment, letting out a steady breath, the burning energy around him slowly fading. "These monsters are getting way too strong."

Using his sword, he absorbed the core of the [Black Sun Vessel], feeling the dark energy rush into him. Just then, his eyes caught something else—it had dropped an item.

He crouched down to inspect it.

Before he could touch it, however, a panel formed in the air above it, dark and jagged:

[You may have eliminated the "Abyssal King," but you will NEVER be able to stop me.][This was but a mere vessel, and you struggled this much. So come find me. We’ll settle this. The others don’t have to get involved.]

It was the [Black Sun] speaking directly again.

Sam narrowed his eyes.

The dropped item shimmered.

[Second Layer Sub-Layer Map][Description: Shows the location of the second layer’s sub-layer, allowing you to enter it.][Hell-Mode Analysis: Perfect =). Makes everything so much easier.]

Even though the invitation brought a sick feeling to his stomach, it would save him the trouble of searching for the sub-layer himself. And if the [Black Sun] wanted to face him that badly...

That meant it was afraid.

He stored the map along with the other loot into his [Spatial Inventory], then turned his gaze toward Chloe.

She had hidden herself behind a barricade of tightly woven vines, clearly trying to stay out of the fight. Smart, considering how destructive the battle had been.

Sam let out a sigh as he looked at her—then thought about Lily and Alicia.

Three heroines from [Forsakened].

In the original version of the game, they would’ve joined the protagonist’s team, grown stronger with him, and helped shape the world’s fate. But now, with no main character... they were just powerful individuals lost in a broken story.

What did that make them now?

[Hell-Mode Analysis: They are strong enough to help you drive the plot of the game forward but...]

"But?"

[...The alternative is simply to get so strong you don’t need anybody else.]

Sam nodded slightly.

He’d remember that.

His eyes shifted to the gate at the far end of the plaza. It was glowing now, its metal surface slowly opening, revealing a swirling silver passage into the next layer.

Up above, the sky had begun to clear.

The eye on the [Black Sun] had vanished.

Back to normal.

It really had been an invitation. A challenge.

But referring to these beings as just "them" no longer felt right.

They were more than monsters.

They were something else entirely—entities who understood far more than he did. Creatures who existed beyond the sixth layer and the [Universal Stage]. Entities who wanted him dead for reasons he still didn’t understand.

So Sam gave them a name.

The [Forsaken Lords].

He nodded to himself. "Five more to go."

The moment passed. Behind him, Chloe stepped out from her hiding place, looking around at the ruins of the battle.

"Y-You killed it?"

"Yeah," Sam said simply, turning toward the glowing gate. "Let’s go."

Chloe didn’t ask anything else. She just nodded.

Together, they walked toward the gate and stepped through.

Ding!

[You have conquered the "Second Layer" and are now allowed to enter the "Third Layer."]

Ding!

[Your performance was astonishing. Your guild "Primordial" has climbed to the Top 100 in the "Guild Ranking."]

Sam saw the new rankings and let out a rare, amused smile.

Most guilds couldn’t even make it past the second layer—especially not in [Hell-Mode]. But he had crushed the bosses, the monsters, and even a vessel of one of the [Forsaken Lords].

And now his guild was top 100.

Still, Sam had no intention of staying at the bottom of the list. He would rise. Whether with a team or alone, it didn’t matter.

He would become the strongest guild in the world.

As the silver light faded, the world around him shifted.

The surroundings dissolved—and once more, he was back in reality.

’I’ll deal with what needs dealing,’ Sam thought to himself, feeling the weight of progress. ’Then I’ll grind a little more and enter that sub-layer. If the [Black Sun] wants me to show up, then I will.’

But only on his terms.

Only when he was ready.