Chapter 379 Getting the Perfect Skill, Countering Death
[You have died.]
Stark woke up inside the dark space that represented his mind after death.
"Hm."
In front of him appeared a screen displaying the outside world, it was a way for him to not be spawn-killed and be ready.
Though, he was sure that it wouldn't really matter with someone like Follower as his opponent: there is little chance he's going to survive after reviving.
In fact, there is almost none.
The destruction around the two of them was terrifying, and Follower must be happy to have been doing his job well until now.
[60 seconds left to revive.]
He had 60 seconds to think.
His initial plan of angering Follower worked, as now, instead of actually continuing to destroy and kill, he would rather just stay by Stark's side until he came back.
"Kill him then," Soul Wielder appeared, grinning.
"Don't really have a way, I can't hurt him."
"How about using my potions for once, then?" Alchemist continued.
"If he wasn't stunned by the crimson fists, the crystal potions won't work either."
"If he's a demon, then a good cross smack should work!" Exorcist laughed.
"Can he truly be compared to a demon? Looks more like a human in demon form, otherwise he wouldn't get so angry."
"I won't even bother giving a solution in my case," Incubus shrugged.
"It's fine, not like you have any use even outside battles either."
And finally...
"I think you forgot about something," Domination appeared too, smiling more than all the others.
"..." Stark already knew what it was.
"The ApostleDex's second line should be completed now that you killed the moon apostle, meaning that you can get a [Godly] reward from it."
This was true.
"Can I use it here?"
"Why not try and find out :)."
"Alright."
Stark snapped his fingers, summoning the [ApostleDex] before his eyes.
And it indeed worked.
Seems like he could actually summon his panels inside his mind.
[30 seconds left.]
His time was limited, but he needed to do what he could.
Otherwise, he would just die, leaving the world to rot.
He wasn't the type of person to act like a hero and say that he was the savior of everything, but in that case, wasn't he the only one fighting Follower on equal grounds?
And wasn't he the one that, since the beginning, kept killing those apostles over and over?
[25 seconds left.]
Stark shook his head to focus on what was before.
The first line of the [ApostleDex], which still contained 15 squares, was completed:
Malakar -> Judicator -> Sierra -> Lother -> Reaper.
And now that he had defeated the [Crimson Moons Trio], which's real name was Aphex and only one entity, the second line was also completed.
Cerberus -> Valgorth -> Malthus -> Olikar -> Aphex.
He had gone a long way, but now that the second line was completed, it could only mean one thing: reward.
Ding!
[You have completed the second ApostleDex line, granting you a "Godly" level skill.]
There was a flash of light around Stark, but less than 5 seconds later it disappeared, leaving him with a new panel in front of him.
Ding!
[To aid you in this situation, your talent "Chosen One" has granted you some of its holy luck.]
[You have gained the skill "Counter".]
"Perfect," Domination was the one to speak, "That's quite literally the best skill you could get at that moment."
"...?" Stark was confused, and so he decided to check out the description.
...
[Skill: Counter]
[Rank: Godly]
[Description: Upon activation, Stark gains a fraction of a second where any attack that connects with him is reflected back to the attacker, dealing identical damage regardless of the source. However, this skill requires precise timing. If the timing is off, Stark will take the full brunt of the attack.]
[Note: one hour cooldown.]
...
Stark read the description carefully.
The implications of the skill made his heart race. This was perfection.
"Not bad," Domination smirked. "Now you've got a fighting chance. Barely."
"...If I mess up, I'll just die again, and for real this time," Stark said flatly.
"Then don't mess up."
[10 seconds left.]
Stark closed his eyes. He had no room for error. Follower's attacks were relentless and lethal, and a single mistake would mean the end.
"Revive," Stark said calmly.
"Good luck :)," all the classes said before disappearing.
[Revenant's Fury: 3/3]
[Conditions for activation have been met, but it's not the right time.]
"Fair enough, wasn't planning to use it anyway."
The dark space shattered around him as his body reformed in the ruined city.
The smell of ash and death hit him immediately, but he focused on the figure standing a few meters away.
Follower grinned, his twisted claws already outstretched. "Welcome back," he sneered. "I didn't think you'd come back so soon. I thought you'd wait longer to gather your courage."
"..." Stark said nothing, his gaze locked on Follower.
Follower's grin turned savage as he moved in a blur, appearing behind Stark almost instantly.
His claws plunged forward, piercing through Stark's back and gripping his heart.
"Now you can't escape anymore," Follower laughed, "It's the end of the line for you!"
"Demon Devouring!"
Follower had activated his skill, which he had used against all these monsters and people before, able to instantly kill them in a gruesome way by destroying their hearts.
And he was about to do the same to Stark. Find adventures on empire
"Once I hold your heart, there is little to no chances of escape!"
That was true, even though Stark tried to get out of his grip, he truly couldn't move: he was stuck.
Yet, Stark still stood there, unfazed by Follower's attack.
After all... a panel appeared in front of him.
[You already know what to do, don't you?]
'Yes.'
"COME ON, BEG FOR YOUR LIFE!" Follower continued, "SHOW GODLESS AND THE WORLD YOUR WEAKNESSES!"
"..."
Stark looked at the time, dozens of helicopters with cameras were pointing at the city, and specifically at him and Follower.
Yet again, most of the world was watching.
The destruction of the capital of Fellarburg, as well as the deaths of hundreds of classifiers, as well as tens of thousands of civilians, would obviously attract the attention of many.
Now nobody, even classifiers at level 900, wanted to approach Follower and Stark, fearing for their lives.
Videos of Follower cutting through everyone and everything spread like wildfire, and so they left it to the "powerhouses" to deal with the issue.
"The world is going to watch you die, Chosen!" Follower didn't stop, his madness growing more as Stark didn't answer, "How does it feel?!"
"..."
The cameras up granted full visibility of the battlefield and the two figures.
"Follower's using that trick of his?!"
"He got Chosen's heart!!"
"And Chosen already revived, it's so over..."
Chosen had proven to be incredible, but even then, at this point he couldn't do anything, everyone had seen what Follower could do when he pierced an enemy: instant death.
Follower could also kill level 800-900 classifiers, there was just no chance someone like Chosen could defeat him now that he couldn't escape.
It was over.
The Godless Demon won.
"Why won't you say or do anything?!" Yet even though victory was obvious, Follower couldn't help but be nervous, "WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!"
"..."
Stark kept looking at the cameras with a neutral expression, sending shivers down the spine of many.
Why was he so calm? Even though he was about to die?
Did he have more revives? Probably not, that was unlikely, so why?
"STARK!" Lana shouted, this time actually scared.
"..." Sora was still running toward their apartment complex, looking at the many different giant screens around her to see what was happening.
And Lilith was following Sora closely behind, also nervous.
"Alright, you don't want to speak," Follower gritted his teeth, "Then die, Chosen."
[Initiating 'Demon Devouring'!]