He let his body collapse under the attack, tendrils of the Void yanking him to safety faster than gravity could. The claw hissed through the air above him, and with a quick slap of his hand on the ground, he reversed his trajectory, and blasted the nearest lizard’s head off in the blink of an eye. His left fist streaked through the mist of blood left by the monster’s death, and slammed into its compatriot, even as it was about to spear its clawed hands into his gut. That monster in turn was obliterated, its body blasted into chunks by Jonathan’s strength.
At this point, many of the creatures in the vicinity changed their targets, the mad light in their eyes tempered somewhat by their focus. Jonathan was the new target. He engaged his Blessing, seeing dozens of golden shades preceding the attacks of his foes, allowing him to weave in and out of their strikes. He lunged into the midst of the maelstrom, dodging every blow, while returning ones of his own that were nearly all fatal in nature.
The battle turned into a blood soaked spectacle of violence, with Jonathan losing himself to the carnage. He had no need of technique here, with brute power enough to carry him through. Bit by bit, monstrosity by monstrosity, his foes were ground into powder, either by himself, or the other creatures. Blood painted the room, and by the time he stood alone, panting and wounded, hundreds of corpses lay around him like a grotesque flower, opening in its final bloom.
Essence pooled in his vicinity, flooding into his body. He had gained two levels from that fight, levels well earned. As his stat sheet was padded further, he glared at the empty air.
“What else do you want from me?” He shouted. “More butchery?” More death?”
“Of course,” came a mocking response, ringing in the air itself. “I did tell you to entertain me. Let’s see how you deal with a real challenge.” Georgescu paused for a moment. “I almost forgot. I have a gift for you.”
Jonathan frowned, before his mind was blasted by a sudden wave of clarity, as his senses skyrocketed back up to their normal level. Before he could prepare himself, his eyes were assaulted by a scene far more horrific than the previous, viscera strewn world around. The banquet hall was no more, replaced by a disgusting conglomeration of rotting flesh, geysers of pus spurting out of the ground as it heaved and writhed beneath his steps. Howls of anguish erupted from slits in the ground, blasting Jonathan’s ears with a discordant melody of ruin.
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He screamed, and slammed his fists down upon the ground, filling them with the caustic might of his element. A dome of the Void spread outwards, tearing apart the room, leaving only stone behind, stained with the filth of the thing that had previously occupied it.
The stone started to crack, and it crumbled away beneath him, letting him fall into a dark void. The void lit up a moment later, steps forming out of the nothingness. Jonathan ascended them, watching as an arena formed before him, out of glassy black obsidian, shot through with twinkling orbs of light. Tinkling steps sounded on the rock as something began to walk, something that to Jonathan, appeared like a moving patch of air. As it neared, his mind started to catch up with what he was seeing. Rather than being an elemental, as he had originally thought, it was something that light was bending around. As he observed it with his elemental senses, he made a horrifying discovery. There was no elemental energy to speak of in the vicinity of the figure. Instead, it was as if the light itself were so afraid of the monster that it avoided it on a conscious level.
Jonathan watched as his foe neared, without a single sound. It continued to walk, making no noise, or any other indication of its presence save for the void of light that it made up. Shrugging, Jonathan cocked back his fist, and summoned the Void to it, layers of purple condensing into a single gauntlet of brilliant violet light, containing enough destructive power to blast apart a mountain.
He swung towards his enemy, only for his fist to pass straight through the hole in the air, discharging its elemental load upon the arena behind. The empty patch continued to advance, and where it touched his body, a rapid, frigid chill began to spread. Jonathan snatched back his arm, and leaped away, holding his right arm, which was now completely unresponsive.
Frost was layered across the appendage, but he quickly burnt it away with a quick application of his element, returning his arm to full fighting capability. It seemed that for this battle, the Void alone was not enough.
Jonathan summoned his Runes, and coated his fists in the concept of Vengeance, a brilliant red flame flickering around them. His Divinity cycled through his hands, and when he clenched them, the flame condensed into a shining orb of conceptual Revenge, ready to be used on his enemy.
