There are a few things in this chapter that might trigger some people, but not in a good way, neither is it due to some sort of stereotype or horror.

This chapter pretty much goes through Philip's fight with Latur, the chapters after that are about the aftermath and the loot he can collect + unraveling the mystery of what happened.

In fact, what do you think happened with the Dwarves?

Anyway, after that, we'll be back at the surface to continue the plot.

Peace.

.

.

.

---

"What happened back there..."

"Don't get worked up over it." Philip said as he cracked his fists

"How can I not? What first started as a small adventure..."

Now has become some sort of...

"Let me ask you something then, how is this any different from an adventure?"

"..."

Does he still see this as some normal small-time trip?

...

/Step step…/

/Wind rustling…/

/Tremble.../

/Stops/

"What the…"

"..."

'Philip and Laplabe arrived at the Church's doors, taking a look at the world outside.'

'But something extreme was going on.'

'Everywhere, green strands of energy rushed into the skies like floating rivers that reflected light in multiple directions, creating a strong rainbow hue, it was quite the beautiful, surreal, and unusual scene.'

"Hum..."

I can't take a break in this place.

'By taking a closer look at the situation, the source of these strands became evident, they came from the miasma surrounding the city together with the Cursed creatures that habituated it.'

'Each second that passed, the air became purer and cleaner as if a powerful air filtering machine had been turned on, sucking in all of the malice that plagued these lands.'

The poisonous cloud that covered the city is dissipating, and the stray monsters are dissolving and dying as their essence is being forcibly taken back...

Wait... Does this mean the loot I left behind...

'Philip frowned.'

Tsk! Doesn't matter either way.

"..."

'Philip was the first to realize what was truly going on as he raised his hand and grasped the air, having a small wisp of the green energy flow through his fingers.'

/TSS!/

'Upon contact, his skin seemingly started to boil, but that wasn't the case as instead, it was the dirt on his skin that was corroding at a rapid pace, and in some paradoxical way, made them cleaner than before.'

'The true definition of an Acid bath...'

"It seems he's not exactly relaxed with us anymore." Philip said with a smirk as he shook his hand clean

The previous Arch Priest… He's gathering all of this chaotic energy inside the Palace.

The best way I can describe this place is that this is some sort of large-scale ritual that is ever-constant...

I'm unsure of the details, but the Lich might've finally realized we're a threat to it… Or this was in its plans from the beginning, he was just waiting for the doors to be opened.

It doesn't matter if his army is defeated or not, he can just recover all of his stray power whenever...

Whatever the case, it's true that if the Lich gathers it all, he'll be at his strongest possible state when we meet it, at least from everything I saw so far.

It could get stronger...

At least I won't have to worry about stray monsters anymore.

"This is bad, if all of this energy gathers…" Laplabe mumbled as he stared at the scene

'He also realized this might be a problem, but towards something of this scale, he had no solutions.'

'And filtering through the books to find one is certainly not an option.'

"It would indeed be a problem." Philip replied as he stared upward

The reason why I'm seeking strength so much is that everywhere in the world, monsters like the one in front of me exist.

I'm in a rush to catch up to them.

Things that have been there for a long time, being given time to do whatever they wish for centuries.

Even if the Lich was limited in some way and slowly spread his powers over the region for whatever strange reasons he had, if he recalls everything then I'll see myself at a severe disadvantage.

'Philip put his hands on his waist as he looked at this chaotic scene.'

"I can't stop it from gathering everything, but I can severely cripple his ability to do so and also… Give him a small gift." He said with a small smile as he took out a metallic black staff from his inventory

'One of the magic equipment he made, something to severely boost his magic.'

It's time for you to shine friend, show the world your might.

I didn't spend so much time grinding Skills for nothing!

/Clang!/

'Like a proud wizard, he bumped the end of his Staff on the ground, creating a small wave of purple energy that pushed aside the green corrosion around them, forming a small bubble.'

/Fwoosh…/

"%@$!@#"

'Raising his staff, he started to chant something incomprehensible to Laplabe as he spun his Staff in the air with one hand while his left hand inscribed magical runes in the air at a rapid pace.'

/Crack!/

'Once he was done, his right-hand punched forward, breaking all of the inscribed runes in sequence as he grasped into the skies.'

/SHAAA!/

/Contort.../

'Suddenly, a strange dark ball appeared in the skies as light distorted.'

'A hole of nothingness in the middle of the sky, a black sun...'

/SHOOOO.../

'it started to greedily absorb all of the surrounding energy like an endless pit, surpassing Latur's attraction within the Palace!'

'On the ground, rocks and other objects also started to be drawn towards it, including even the air...'

"And lastly…" He said with a devious smile

'He took a glass vial containing some sort of red substance from his inventory, opening it carefully as he let its contents flow out.'

'The red substance gurgled and bubbled, it looked to be extremely unstable and volatile...'

/Boil!/

'Hence, upon leaving the glass vial, the substance turned into a red gas that quickly mixed with one of the green energy rivers next to Philip…'

"I… Have some questions…" Laplabe said slowly as he witnessed the scene

But I've seen him do stranger and... More questionable things on...

'That' place.

'Laplabe remembered the time he passed on the void of space with Philip managing a strange plane he had created, meeting bizarre creatures as he conducted questionably experiments on them.'

'He still couldn't properly understand what happened during that time, and even if he asked, Philip refused to give him any sort of detailed answers.'

"The first was a small ritual I cast to conjure that ball over there, it won't last long but it should give us enough time to operate." He said as he stored his staff in his inventory

'But he seemed relieved that it had worked.'

Shadow Magic is still something relatively new to me, but this much should be possible.

Perhaps if I had studied it more I might've been able to kill that Lich solely through it, but just as powerful as it is, Shadow magic is dangerous, if I slip on its study I might just set my own shadows against me.

It's not something I'm very keen on experiencing, having paranoia over your own shadow...

"What happens once it goes out?"

"It'll explode of course."

It's not made to be stable in the first place, everything it sucked in will have to eventually be spat out, this isn't a black hole, I didn't open a hole in space.

"..."

"W-What about that other thing?..."

'Philip stretched his shoulders.'

"Poison... Considering the target is some sort of Lich, normal toxins wouldn't work, but that one should work somewhat… Hum… Anyway, let's go." He said as he jumped into the skies

"You're the first person I ever saw that considered poisoning a Lich."

"Is it really that odd?"

Even if I can't poison a Lich's body, I can meddle with his powers...

And Mind.

…

/Within the Palace…/

/SHAAAAAA!/

"..."

'Latur could be seen within his throne, gathering a massive amount of energy into a greenish sphere above his head in silence.'

/Wail!/

'As the green rivers of energy surged into the vortex above his head, the cries of pain and distress of hundreds of creatures echoed in the throne room, the Souls of those he cursed and trapped for centuries, those that could not be saved.'

'Those he betrayed.'

/Wail!/

'The energy kept being gathered and everything seemed to be going well until…'

/Clack clack…!/

'Within his dark hood, a pair of green lights ignited as the sound of bones rattling rung throughout the room.'

/Grasp.../

'His covered hands tightened their grasp on the throne's arms...'

"@^!@#*($!!"

'Latur spoke something in a very aggressive and angered tone as his left hand rose from its resting position, grasping towards something in the distance.'

/Crack!/

'At the center of the room above a circular platform, a long staff unlodged itself from the ground, floating towards its hand at high speeds.'

"@%!$&!@#... !^@!#&!!"

'Latur started to chant something, it wasn't going to let Philip meddle with its plans…'

'The energy he had spread and gathered for centuries, now that the way forward had been opened, it was time to gather everything back.'

'He may have lost his army, but that is little compared to what he is willing to do to accomplish his goal.'

'... That was… Until a small wisp of red energy seeped into its sphere…'

/CRACK!!/

"?!?!"

'Latur quickly got up from his throne, staring upwards in disbelief.'

'It tried to grasp upward, but the moment it realized what had happened, it also understood it was too late.'

/Buzz.../

"GAAAAAAAAAR!"

/Crack!/

'Screaming in a high-pitched and near demonic tone, Latur's body exploded with berserking energy as he witnessed his floating Sphere break into a million pieces…'

/BOOOOOOOOM!

'And as a terrific explosion engulfed him.'

…

/At the same time, outside.../

/Tremble!!/

"Wow there…"

/SHAAA!/

'Having just arrived at the foot of the Palace, Philip quickly stopped as he felt the Palace tremble and as a powerful air current washed over his face, blowing his hair back.'

"Haha..."

'Smiling evilly, he watched with delight as the green rivers of energy above dissipated and a beautiful aurora of prismatic light formed in the "skies".'

/Rain…/

'And also watched in dismay as a rain of condensed Acid started to fall…'

/Tsss!/

'The Acid slowly corroded the stone surrounding the Palace, forming a river as it flowed to the center of the city, draining into the abyss below.'

"It seems something happened…" Laplabe said with some lingering suspicion

And it doesn't seem to have been a good thing... For our foe.

"My little gift likely worked, I'm excited to see what he thought of it." He replied with a warm smile

"..."

How can he smile like that as acid falls atop him?

But then again, to him, this acid is more like…

/Fwoosh/

'Philip vanished into the Palace, jumping into one of the many open windows.'

…

'The Palace was an acute piece of artistical design.'

'It was built from the rocky walls of the cavern, so it was one of the few buildings whose front was the only side people could see.'

'There might've been many reasons for it, cultural, political, religious... The same reason why the Church had been built in an opposite direction to the Palace.'

'But Philip wasn't interested in them, leave that to the future archeologists... If anything was left after his actions.'

'To reflect that, the front of the Palace was magnificent.'

'Three rows of small walls engraved with dozens of carvings and strange runes he could only assume to be the ancient dialect of the Dwarves together with many beautiful houses and other places likely belonging to the Nobles or those of higher class could be seen in their ancient glory...'

'The deeper you were in the walls, the better everything became.'

'The Palace screamed flamboyancy.'

'Philip recognized the walls surrounding the Palace to have been made of some sort of strange jade and that they were also resistant to the corrosion of Latur's miasma.'

'The Statues built between the walls were all of extreme quality, and he could immediately tell that if he were to return 1000 years in time, this place might've given him the impression he was on the surface.'

'It was obvious, but after so long, all plants and even some of the magical arrays and machines the Dwarves once had were already dead or malfunctioning.'

'Latur didn't seem to have any intention of maintaining anything.'

'In fact, his goals seem quite strange.'

'Latur is an impersonator, Philip realized that already, but if so, what kind of impersonator is he?'

'He is still an Arch Priest, could this mean it was the will of the Goddess for him to become one? If so, would it mean it was her will for him to do everything he did?'

'If that was the case, then he has to start thinking of countermeasures for the possibility he is working with a very twisted deity that might be slowly driving him into a trap...'

'The other possibility is that he may be impersonating the true Archpriest.'

'Philip is aware that a Church can only have one Archpriest, its not just due to the religious system, but also a rule of this world.'

'Each religion may have a different word for those at the very top, but there can only be one representing the divine at any given moment unless something extreme happened... Which was exactly what was happening...'

'Though, ignoring that possibility, for him to have become one meant there was no one on the role.'

'But then, wouldn't that mean the System failed and gave him false information?'

'There was too little information for him to go by, and trying to think about everything would only slow him down.'

...

/Fwoosh!/

'Philip rushed through the long hallways and extensive rooms in search of his target, the dammed Necromancer.'

'Dark smoke covered every nook and cranny of the Palace sticking to the ceiling like glue, the ground was covered in some thick muck, likely millennia of impurities gathering and forming into this strange paste.'

'One thing he immediately noticed about the Palace was its proportions, as normally, at least by Human standards, a Palace is meant to be grand, but this one had its doors and windows around the size he would see on a normal Human house.'

'As if he was in a grandiose Hotel and not a Palace.'

'It was indeed made for people of a lower stature...'

'As he moved he saw many paintings and whatnot, and albeit he had a certain desire to see them all and relish in this ancient history, Philip had stronger obligations to answer to.'

'He could see many broken decorations hanging around on the ceiling or atop rotted cabinets that were now collapsed, his gift seemed to have stirred quite the trouble and destabilize the equilibrium that allowed most of these things to last so long…'

'But that also made things easier for him, as tracking the center of this place down was that much easier.'

'The smoke, the damage, and even the green Acid on the ground, he just had to follow everything to its source.'

'And in less than a few real-time seconds, he arrived…'

…

/Stops/

'In front of Philip was a large hall very much like the one he first saw when he arrived in this world, it gave him small bits of nostalgia even.'

'A lot of space, grand, everything was big and somewhat exaggerated.'

'Starting from where he was to the things further away...'

'On his sides were two long stands with stone small chairs covered to the brim in dust, likely meant for Dwarfs to sit on.'

'He could see many pillars all around embedded with rare metals and gems, some of which he recognized, others not.'

'But those that he did make him want to whistle, they were definitely worth taking.'

'At the end of the room, a half-broken throne laid relatively "intact" as only the top portion of the throne had been broken, the rest was just stained in black ash.'

'The ground was completely covered in green acid and the fragments of something he couldn't recognize, but nothing seemed to have happened.'

"I'm sure this is the source of the explosion, but everything is so well preserved." He said slowly with a frown

It's as if that massive explosion I heard never happened.

'Scratching his chin, Philip took another look at the place before saying with some amazement:'

"The stability of this place is insane, I'm sure that explosion could've rivaled several dozen tons of TNT, yet this place resisted that."

And I see no damage... The ground and some pillars seem a bit scorched, a few tiles on the ground were moved and shattered, and some of the gems are a bit damaged, but that is little.

Perhaps the Lich did try to reduce the damage on his own…

His power scattered, he just received a powerful blast face first, and it may have been 1000 years since he saw someone, he may not even know how to fight anymore.

Perhaps this is the reason why his actions were so irrational so far, otherwise, I see no reason why he didn't join the fight outside from the start.

'Philip looked at the ground near the throne and he saw some remains of what looked to be a staff and some torn clothes.'

'Upon taking a closer look around, he saw similar pieces scattered throughout the room.'

So it did have some impact.

This means... He might be extremely hurt now.

"We need to put in the pressure..."

'Philip dashed to the throne, immediately going past it, there, he saw a small opening in the wall, upon closer inspection, it was some sort of mechanical door whose mechanism broke, making it half open, likely due to the explosion.'

'It could lead anywhere, but it seemed to be the most obvious place to follow, so he entered it without hesitation.'

"Wait!"

"What is it?"

"Do we have a plan or anything?"

"... Well."

'Philip started to share with Laplabe his ideas as they moved, making sure to establish a mental link to maintain secrecy.'

…

/Clank... Clink... Clank... Clink.../

/Sha!/

'As the wind gushed behind him, Philip came to a sudden stop as he saw himself within a complex laboratory full of working machines.'

"..."

The ground changed.

'Philip's senses were strong enough to make him capable of telling the consistency of the material he was walking on without much problem.'

'And now, there was a sudden change, from dense rock to dense metal.'

It's as if I have entered a bunker...

No... Perhaps this place is one, a hidden entrance behind the throne of the King...

It looks like some changes were made to the passageway...

'Whatever this place was, they had no time to enjoy the scene as their eyes locked with a figure far away next to a strange machine...'

"A magmatic forge…" Philip uttered as his expression darkened

As expected, there was a fully functional forge in this place.

I wanted to bring it up with whatever I found here to accelerate the Dwarf's research or compel him to follow me outside…

But if I fight Latur here, I could damage it and it would break the purpose.

Of course, I have no idea how to remove the machine, but that's not the point.

It looks a bit strange and tough… It's smaller than I thought.

This can't be the sole forge in this entire city.

'As he concluded, Philip realized Latur might've meddled with the reactor, modifying it to suit his needs…'

'As his eyes sharpened, Laplabe turned into a shadow as he fused with the surroundings...'

/Unsheat…/

'There was no need to hesitate, there was nothing on his way anymore.'

/Flash!/

/Burn!/

/Tremble!/

'Using everything in his arsenal, he dashed forward with extreme speed as his body transformed as his surroundings slowed down, aiming his now transformed sword at the broken figure that was Latur.'

/Turns.../

'As he turned around, his figure was revealed to him.'

'His robes torn, Latur was the very definition of a Lich Necromancer.'

'His bones were perfectly white and even clean, shining, albeit now they looked slightly fragmented, full of fractures and char, leaking some sort of heavy gas into the atmosphere from within their marrow.'

'There were several metallic orbs all around his body's joints, and a strange insignia on his forehead, gleaming in platinum light.'

'Just as they saw it, however, Latur also realized their presence given the fact he was turning around.'

/CRA.../

/CLANG!/

'Despite being a Necromancer and Undaed, Latur was extremely fast and physically strong.'

'Within the extremely short moment Philip entered the room and dashed, Latur turned around and lifted his hand to block his blade!'

/Shine.../

'Though for a split second before the blade slashed at his hand, a small runic symbol flashed in front of his palm, it was the fetus of a magic spell, one Philip slashed in half.'

'But this was testimony to Latur's extreme casting speed, he was a mage of power, a wizard of legend, not just a rotten Lich.'

'Philip couldn't let it cast anything!'

"Grr… %$!@!"

'Latur spoke something quickly, a mix of distress, anger, unwillingness, and most importantly, lathergy.'

'In fact, Latur seemed even a bit more... "Aware" now than before.'

'Perhaps, after a millennium in this place, Latur lost what made him a person, and under the stimulus of frustration and wrath, he started to recover what made it... Him.'

/BURST!/

'But Philip did not care, his blade igniting in red flames as its purple form flashed yellow.'

'He was already worried about the machine, and Latur seemed to be on his last legs, he had to strike now, cut him down.'

'As despite blocking his sword, Latur's hand was left with a long gash.'

'His body wasn't unbreakable, his magic wasn't unfaulty, he wasn't almighty, he could be defeated.'

'He would collect his head, the Hunter had set its eyes on the prey.'

[The Great Desire of ***** has awakened]

[You have been challenged by a strong enemy]

[Extra effect: Extreme Apex has activated]

'Philip clenched his teeth as he slashed with all his might.'

/SLASH!/

'But Latur wouldn't allow himself to be beaten, using his quick casting, he pulled out a strangely shaped black blade by tapping on the ground with his foot.'

'The blade looked like ice but black.'

/CLANG!/

'Back in the Academy, Fabrin once said to Philip that if he failed to finish his foe in a single strike, and that foe was a stronger mage, then he had to use everything at his disposal to stay close to him and not give him time to process higher tiered magic.'

'He had to force his enemy to stick with quick magic, it was his only chance to win.'

'If his enemy was given enough time to process, they may be able to cast a complex magic that could spell his doom.'

'And in here, everything was working to his advantage.'

/BOOM!/

"..."

'The space was tight so Latur had nowhere to flee... No, he couldn't, this was his dearest lab, everything of importance to him was here, if he fled, his enemy would get their hands on everything he spent an eternity to make.'

'He was also minding his power as he didn't wish to break anything, something Philip was also doing, but to a much less degree as his only priority here was the big machine, but if necessary, he was ready to take one step ahead and recklessly slash ahead.'

/CLANG!/

'So this fight that was completely out of proportions was seemingly balanced out.'

/SLASH!/

/PIERCE!/

"?!"

This cursed bag of bones...

My Stats are already so extreme, how can you keep up with me?

No, in fact, it seems to be the contrary!

I'm running after this fucker!

'Even then, Latur fought with extreme reflexes, slashing his long dagger with extreme proficiency and speed.'

/CUT!/

/CUT!/

/BREAK!/

/SLASH!/

'Philip and Latur clashed several times breaking the area around them.'

'Tables were overturned, books were torn, and all sorts of apparatuses were shattered as the ground dented and the walls were carved by the rampaging energies of their blades.'

'But the more they did so, the more Latur gave in, and the more violent Philip became.'

'In the end, Latur was a mage, his proficiency came in Spellcasting, Philip, on the other hand, had most of his Skill set centered around close-quarter's combat.'

'The difference between them was extreme and anyone would've gasped if they were to know their Levels...'

'But he felt something was wrong, it was too simple…'

"%!@^#&!"

/BLAST!/

'A wave of corrosive power was released from Latur's hand as he finished another quick spell, it speedily washed over him, burning his eyes and face, but Philip did not waver.'

'He wouldn't give his enemy space.'

/CLONG!/

"?!"

/CLANG!/

'The sound of a heavy bell echoed and something tried to slash his neck, only to fail as Philip spun in the air, slashing the sword as he continued after Latur.'

[Prototype Maxim

Level 95]

'A robot, it gleamed in blue light as its components spun inside under its chassis.'

/SLASH!/

'Now, Philip was in a strange position.'

'In front of him was an Archmage of unknown power whose Spells couldn't be allowed to complete.'

'And behind him was an extremely dangerous machine strong enough to destroy multiple cities on end...'

"HUPP!"

/FUOM!/

'Around him, something seemed to manifest as he pressed onward, letting his back be slashed by the prototype.'

*Mental Domain!*

*Weak Spiritual Domain!*

'His two Domain Skills, and even if they were far from what they were supposed to be, Philip was confident in their prowess as not even Latur seemed to have something like that!'

/CRUNK!/

'As he ran, Philip kicked the ground to turn around momentarily.'

/Swosh.../

'And his sword trembled momentarily...'

*Phantom Sword!*

/SLASH!/

'The prototype was bifurcated as its joints were slashed apart.'

'A Skill he rarely used, the idea of his swordsmanship, an imaginary concept made real, Philip made use of it to break this machine into pieces!'

"%!@$@^#@!!"

'But the moment Philip turned around again to face Latur, it was already too late!'

/PULL!/

'The prototype it worked so hard on might've not done much, but it gave Latur just the necessary amount of time for it to finish a sure-kill Spell!'

"!"

'Latur put his hand forward as dark symbols flared on his fingers, and an intangible force grabbed Philip, trying to pull 'him' out of his body.'

"HA!"

'But Philip chuckled at that.'

/BREAK!/

'Philip pressed onward, flexing his body as he broke the restriction cast on his body without much trouble.'

'A strange aura surrounded his body twisting the air, taking the form of something bigger than himself...'

"?!"

/Crackle!/

'Latur took a step back as his hand ignited in green flames that reached the ceiling like a mighty pillar of light.'

"#%@&!!"

"Trying to pull my Soul apart?"

"That ain't gonna work!"

'His Soul was one of a mighty Dragon, eternal.'

'To pull it from his body, only a Necromancer of extreme power could do so…'

'And even if Latur was one, so was Philip!'

'He who meddles with such extreme and corrupting powers would make sure to protect his Soul and Body from it.'

'That strange energy surrounding his body was nothing but his raw Soul power brought forward by Latur's spell.'

'The Soul of a Dragon contained within the body of a finite mortal, it may be too much for even the current Latur to meddle with.'

/SLASH!/

'Philip jumped in the air after Latur as the latter blinked in and out of the world using some strange form of magic, and their confrontation continued.

'But the laboratory was only so big…'

/Move.../

'From the shadows, something followed their every movement.'

...

/CLANG!/

"GRR!"

"!@$#!@... ?!?!"

"Humph!"

'Philip wouldn't allow Latur any space.'

'Every time he tried to cast something, he would blast his body with either a Mental attack or with a Spiritual attack.'

'He could tell, this opponent was insanely strong, fast, and had extensive magic knowledge, and it was slowly getting used to what was happening around it.'

'Albeit he couldn't tell what had gone wrong with it, he could tell that if he gave it too much time to think and room to breath, he would be quickly pushed around to a corner too!'

/CLANG!/

/CRACK!/

"!!"

'With another strike, Latur's black blade shattered on its middle, and Philip smiled.'

"HUPP!"

'This was the very reason why he spent so much time grinding his crafting Skills, why he spent so much money to improve everything.'

'This necromancer's sword had shattered after he focused his attacks on a small area while his sword doesn't even have a single crack!'

/SLASH!/

'He was about to end it all with a single head-to-foot slash!!'

/SCREAMS!/

"?!"

'Latur's jaw opened in an inhuman way to release a mighty scream, so strong even Laplabe was pushed out of his hiding spot where he was waiting to ambush the Necromancer!'

'However, much to its surprise, Philip did not hesitate, slashing across its head with no remorse as his ears started to bleed!'

/CLANG!/

/CRACK!/

/SHATTERS!/

'Just when he was about to cut its head, the symbol on his forehead shone, and a red magical barrier formed.'

'It successfully blocked his strike, shattering in the process as it pushed Philip back.'

'But this was enough time for Latur to react and cast another magic of his own.'

"^!@%^#@!%!!!"

/FWOOSH!/

'A complex circle of magic formed above him, containing several layers of complex runes as his tattered robes swung in the wind.'

/TCHOM!/

/TCHOM!/

/TCHOM!/

/TC.../

'Several bullets materialized in the air from all angles with him at the center, blasting him was like a volley of missiles!'

"Tsk!"

'But Philip wouldn't go down that easily.'

'Before Latur finished his Spell, Philip took out a strange item from his inventory.'

'A strange Taxidermi jar containing... Something undescribable.'

'It was for the best that the liquid surrounding the creature within was dark, hiding whatever was inside it from mortal eyes.'

'But it seemed to move...'

/Crunk.../

'All around him, a multitude of dark and distorted arms appeared from the empty space, clawing at the bullets and intercepting them.'

'Albeit some clawed at Philip, as if trying to drag him somewhere...'

/Vanish…/

'But once again, much to Latur's surprised, Philip displayed his magical prowess as he teleported right to his back, directly grabbing one of his ribs from behind.'

Got you.

'Yet, instead of using that precious moment to act… Philip changed his Title.'

Hopefully, I thought about this in the right way...

Why would the knight send me to the Church... And what that Goddess wished to to by blessing me.

It's time to find out.

"!%#@$!!"

'In that small period of time, Latur's skull turned completely, and his two eye sockets flared in green light, burning Philip's face to the point his lips vanished!'

'But it was a bit too late for that.'

[The Title, Oracle of Lavinda has been equipped, Ancestor of the Sahot has been unnequiped]

[The Great Desire of ***** has activated]

[The Titles are resonating]

[Resonation has been successful!]

[The temporary effect 'Mortal Avatar' has been activated]

/FLASH!/

"?!"

'Philip was suddenly engulfed in brownish golden energy, dispelling the green light.'

'A warm feeling spreading around his skin, like the embrace of the fluffiest blanket...'

/PRESSURE!/

'Though, just like before, but in extreme intensity, Philip felt someone approach him from behind and rest their hands on his shoulders as a weird yet familiar fragrance assaulted his nose.'

'And his body to lose his control.'

[DING!]

[DING!]

[DING!]

[D...]

'The moment this happened, several notifications rang in his ears and Philip started to feel really weird…'

'His weight had vanished, but so did many other of his emotions...'

[Castle Town ***** tries to stabilize your emotions]

[Castle Town ***** tries to stabilize your emotions]

'His Trait did everything it could to try and bring him back, but Philip felt himself stray further and further away, he knew something was wrong, but just like a dream where you can't punch your aggressor, he felt stuck in a pool of pure black pitch.'

[My apologies]

'But with the sonorous sound of Lavinda's gentle tone, Philip took a deep breath as he saw color return to his eyes.'

[Castle Town ***** stabilizes your emotions]

/Shake.../

'He had a lot to process, but he brushed all of those away because…'

/SHINE!/

[The Temporary Skill, Stone Burial Lv0 has automatically activated]

[DING!]

"URG!"

[Your body cannot handle *****]

'A brown Pillar of raging energy materialized around them, engulfing Latur in its presence and Philip in its grandeur.'

'It looked like a layer of water as if they had been submerged in a honey-like liquid.'

"AHHHHHHH!"

"!!"

'For the first time, Latur screamed in pain like a normal person, baffling Philip, but he didn't need to think much to understand why as he felt just the same.'

'As if a mountain had fallen on his back, his knees begged him to sit down as his back arched over.'

'The Skill, Stone Burial, is the special Skill created through the resonance between the Titles, he didn't know what it did but it was working.'

'But different from him, Latur seemed very aware of what was happening as he raised his two hands in protest.'

"AHHHH!!! La-V!/nD@!!!" Latur exclaimed in a distorted language as his body slowly turned into stone

/TREMBLE!/

'He raised his hands, and a strange power started to gather above him chaotically, making even Philip step back in shock as he didn't expect his dying enemy to have such means…'

"Enough."

'A voice echoed from within Philip's mind, and without his knowledge, his eyes turned brown.'

/Disperse…/

'Latur's suicide Spell was forcibly dispelled as his legs shattered, leaving his upper torso staring upward in disbelief… Or as many emotions a skeleton could display.'

"..."

'Latur raised his hands upward, trying to claw at something as the symbol on his forehead dimmed, but Philip couldn't tell what he was looking at.'

/Mumble.../

'With a string of nonsense he couldn't understand, Latur completely turned into stone.'

"Phew…"

'And together with it, the pressure and the strange feeling of "fulfillment" he previously had vanished, as if it was never there.'

[DING]

[DING]

[DING]

[DING]

[DING]

[D...]

"Urg…"

'But barely had Philip stopped to breathe, his System blasted his ears with even more notifications.'

'At this time he was unaware of what he had done, but due to a series of choices that led him to commit something borderline impossible, Philip had once again caused trouble...'

'Something way above Dae's most wild imaginary scenarios.'

…

.

.

.

Notes

Way, chap end.

I wanted Latur's fight to be more meaningful, but, considering everything I build to this point I understood there was no need to make Latur heavily injure Philip as it wouldn't make sense and it would only be dramatic for the sake of it.

Perhaps if Latur had prepared more, was fully aware of himself, had made use of all his tools, and his power was at a maximum, Philip would've been considerably more damaged if not outright lost.

But he wasn't.

What do you think of the mystery?

What do you think his notifications were about?

What else do you expect to see? I'll read all of your comments.

Goodbye, I shall post my other Novel for now.

PS: Not many images due to me being lazy, I spent the last 2 days making 300 images for my other Novel and posted them on Patreon.

As always I'll slowly reveal them to everyone, but if you are interested in seeing them, you can always ask me and I can post them too if I have the time, not all, that would take fucking forever.

Perhaps another time XD.