Chapter 84: The Spiral of Wrath
The world was reduced to fire, stone, and blood.
The arena cracked under the weight of relentless fury. From every direction, monsters surged—claws scraping, jaws snapping, eyes ablaze with crimson rage. Some were armored like siege beasts, their backs lined with molten spikes. Others slithered or galloped on twisted limbs, dragging chain-hooks or serrated bone cleavers.
They had no formation. No tactics. Only wrath.
Isaac was already in motion.
He dashed into the front lines, Silverveil gleaming in one hand—its blade flowing like liquid moonlight, dancing through the air with the elegance of a duelist's final strike. It carved a clean arc across a horned brute's neck, then reversed through its companion's chest with barely a pause. Two heads hit the stone. Their bodies didn't even fall before Gravemaw slammed down like a judgment hammer.
The impact cratered the ground.
Fragments of bone and black blood sprayed outward.
Behind him, Lira extended her arm.
[Stormlash – Rank A]A jagged bolt of lightning leapt from her fingertips, exploding through a formation of six charging beasts. The first was vaporized on impact—the second and third charred as the energy chained, limbs spasming, eyes flashing white. The rest collapsed in heaps of twitching smoke.
[Resurgence Bond – Rank A]A translucent tether pulsed between them, sending restorative waves of vitality and mana every five seconds. The moment Isaac took damage, the bond closed the gap.
Still they came.
A lizard-headed brute slammed into Isaac's side, but its blow bounced off his rapidly hardening physique. He spun, conjuring the Skyrender Pike in his left hand and thrusting it clean through the beast's abdomen. Lightning etched across the spectral spear as it pierced armor and organs in one smooth motion.
Another monster lunged—this one a quadrupedal horror with jaws that split in three directions. Isaac crouched beneath its strike, twisted, and brought Gravemaw upward in a brutal, rising cleave. The beast was bisected vertically, its organs slapping wetly against the arena wall.
[Soul Devourer Matrix – Passive Triggered]+10 STR, +9 AGI, +9 END+5 INT, +5 WIL, +4 CHA
And another. And another.
He could feel it—the spiral accelerating.
His vision sharpened. Muscles responded faster. His thoughts were clearer, more aggressive.
[Soul Devourer Matrix – Passive Triggered]+10 STR, +10 AGI, +9 END+6 INT, +5 WIL, +5 CHA
Isaac's silhouette began to blur, a phantom afterimage trailing his every motion. He moved like a predator in a world of prey.
He conjured the Twinblades of the Forgotten Oracle—a pair of curved daggers that left behind arcs of refracted shadowlight. He spun into a horde, each slash carving symbols into the air.
Two steps, four kills. Another half-second, five more.
Blood mist coated the arena.
[System Notification – Soul Devourer Matrix: Chain Absorption Stack Reached]Cumulative Stat Gain: +540... +720... +890...
Lira panted behind him, her free hand clutching her side. Her blade defended, but her real weapon was lightning.
Another wave charged.
"Back off!" she shouted, slamming her foot into the stone.
A glyph circle ignited beneath her.
[Stormlash – Overcharge Variant]
The bolt that tore through the ranks wasn't blue—it was white-hot, screaming through the horde with such speed it left only shadows where monsters once stood. The arena shook. Scorched bodies crumbled into ash.
Isaac didn't thank her.
He didn't have to.
He was already sprinting.
He leapt into the air—high above the swarm—and conjured all four phantom weapons at once: Silverveil, Gravemaw, Skyrender Pike, and the Oracle Twinblades. He dropped like a meteor.
When he landed, the arena cracked open.
Shockwaves buckled the earth. A ring of corpses flew backward, bones snapping mid-air. Even Lira had to brace herself against the magic blast.
[Soul Devourer Matrix – Passive Triggered]+60 STR+50 AGI+45 END+24 INT+20 WIL+18 CHA
[System Override – Rank EX+]Limit Break Chance: Success.Bonus Stat Awarded: +500 (Randomized Distribution)Level Up: 21 → 22 → 23 → 24
The kill count passed one hundred.
Then two hundred.
And still they came.
But they were slower now. Smaller. Not because they were weaker—but because he was stronger.
Isaac spun, ducked, stabbed, crushed. His coat was torn, soaked in blood, his eyes glowing faintly with unnatural power. Each breath he took was deeper. More controlled.
And he smiled.
"They thought berserk rage was power," he muttered. "But rage without growth… is just noise."
A six-armed monstrosity lunged.
Isaac didn't move.
He just raised a hand—and Silverveil answered, gliding through the air on its own. It pierced the creature through the skull mid-lunge.
Dead before it touched the ground.