51 Chapter 51: Awakening.

The spear of Ornstein ripped through his chest but he didn't notice, lost in the depths of his own soul he pushed the door open without hesitation.

'I refuse to fear myself.'

The thousands of bloodied eyes on the door judged me but I still kept pushing against it. I refuse to pretend to be something I'm not anymore.

The sheer pressure emitting from the door felt like it threatened my very existence yet I pushed on.

'It is still me. If I buckle from the pressure emitated from something within me then how can I call myself John Moore?'

This power doesn't control me. I may not be able to control it, yes. But I sure as hell won't let it control me.

I am not the "chosen undead".

I am not a beast who revels in cruelty.

I am not an inferno aiming to burn the world down.

I am simply John Moore. And there isn't a chance in hell I will let some goofy ass door say otherwise.

Withstanding the endless pressure I pushed the door fully open as something overwhelmed me. As if trying to overwrite my very self, turn me into a mere beast that only acts for its want.

Sinking...

...

Thousands of blacked-out arms reached out from the sea of black-like chains and wrapped around every part of my body. Trying to turn me into a slave to my own desires. Forcing me to fall and lose myself inside my own humanity, turning into a mere beast and nothing else.

Like Manus.

Suffocating.

I can't move.

I can't speak.

(This isn't that bad is it? Let's just give up. Release ourselves from the suffering. Please. I don't want to wake up just feel pain once again.)

It's fine, isn't it? Just let myself be freed from this. No more burdens. No more challenges.

We don't have to suffer anymore.

...

''Mr. Undead, please do not lose yourself. You are strong, much stronger than me or my sister. I don't know what I would do if I lost you. I'm not talking about the Blight. I can feel you are struggling, but I know you are strong mister undead!''

Like hell am I going down like this!!!

No more suffering!? I was born from suffering! There are goddam people waiting for me and I'll be dammed before I let myself become the reason I can't see them again!

I won't let anyone hold me down! Not even myself!

I pushed against the chainlike hands with all of my power. The abyssal hands were far too strong.

'I am the one who took down a giant fucking demon by myself. As a mere hollow nonetheless!

I took down the Taurus demon!

I beat the Capra demon with my own bare hands!

I have slain the gaping dragon without help!

I have slain the immortal serpent!

All impossible feats! Some mere fucking hands and the abyss can't tell me what I can and can't do! So what if it's impossible for me to kill Ornstein and Smough!? I did it before, didn't I? I won't let myself be controlled like a puppet!'

The hands shook and broke as my struggle become more frantic. How long have been struggling for? Seconds? Hours? Days? Months? Years? I didn't care, I was going to break these damn hands. They were me and I won't let them control me!

'I am not a tool to feed the flames! I am not a slave to my own desires!'

I have always tried to distance myself from my past and my future. Always trying to scurry away from my problems. Trying to push them down like a coward. Trying to distance myself from myself to not face what I had become.

'I am John Moore!'

The hands yielded as they entered inside me to fuel me with strength.

< Your existence is changing >

The humanity and souls in the environment around me got attracted to me like a magnet and fueled me. I broke off the chains one by one.

< Error: Insufficient *********** . Solution substituting >

Everything inside me was changing.

< Error: Insufficient. Sacrificing : [Sorcery (Catalyst lv.10) ] >

<Calculating... Error: Insufficient. Converting: {Drake Slayer} and {100-man slayer} back to ************ >

Numerous lines inside myself disappeared turning back into raw energy.

<Error: Insufficient. Converting: All souls to energy.>

<Error: Insufficient.>

<Solution: Converting */*-/[]&%* achievement into energy>

< Success >

Suddenly the overwhelming energy inside of me coalesced into a singularity, bringing something within me.

<{Curse of Undeath} has evolved into {Undeath}>

<{Deranged} has devolved into {Mental Corruption} >

<Form Shift has subsumed {Dragon Form}, {Iron Flesh}, Extracting skill from {Havel's Shield} -> {Stone Skin}>

<{Form Shift} has evolved into {Transformation}>

< Error: Insufficient -> Skill grade degration >

< Solution: [Skill Evolution Token] has been spent >

< You have unlocked the skill {Affinity} >

I felt my entire existence become more compact. More powerful. But most of all I felt chains holding me down break. Freedom from the shackles that had been holding me down.

Then I came back to the real world. And the first thing I saw was the spear of Ornstein impaling my chest. It seems I had died once again huh? But instead of going down, I reeled my arm back as darkness covered it. Ornstein who expected me to be dead couldn't react in time as my fist smashed into his helmet.

*BAM!* *BOOOM!!!* *CRASH!*

I used {Emit Force} along with darkness as my fist smashed into Ornstein's helmet. Sending him flying and launching him into the cathedral wall over 50 meters away like an arrow, embedding him into the wall. I grasped my chest which had a watermelon-sized hole in it. Dreadnought along with my enhanced stats as well as my unusual state keeping me alive for now.

'[Great Heal]'

After casting that 5 times the hole in my chest closed. Even though I had done that my energy reserves barely took a hit. Which made sense considering I had absorbed almost everything in my inventory when going through that ''evolution''. Which has pushed me to the absolute limit of my body to handle all of the shit I had acquired.

{Vitality : 99}

{Attunement : 99 }

{Endurance : 99 }

{Strength : 99 }

{Dexterity : 99 }

{Resistance : 99 }

{Intelligence : 99 }

{Faith : 99 }

But considering that I had leaped from 50's to 99 the change wasn't as big as 10 to 40. 40 was already approaching the human limit. Even though my undead body was far stronger than a normal human it was still incomparable to a Lord. But the difference was still /BIG/.

I mended my armor as I spread my arms and walked forward, covering them in darkness with Umbra which allowed me to control darkness. Although I barely had any control over it and barely knew what it was capable of, my instincts and soul guided me. Which allowed me to use a basic application of darkness, the equivalent of sunlight blade.

''Round two: FIGHT!''

The moment the words left my mouth I threw myself at Smough while my hands were covered with orbs of black flame. Just as I was about to reach him Smough reacted and used his giant hammer to smash me down into the ground.

*Crash!!!!!* *Kahk!*

Smirking I wiped the blood from my mouth as dreadnought put my shattered body back together. 'Still hit hard don't you? You big fucker!'. Before he even had the chance to raise his hammer again, I shot up like a bullet and slammed my fist into Smough's helmet.

'{Shadow Flame Fist}!'

The heavy black flame-clad fist smashed into Smough and stunned him. But I didn't waste the opportunity as I put my hands together in front of me.

'{Armageddon Blade: Inferno}'

*BOOOOOOOMMM!!!!!!!!!!*

A giant explosion of violent chaos flame erupted from my hands and hit Smough head-on, sending someone with even his frame flying back. But due to the recoil, I was also sent flying back, though I managed to reorient myself using acrobatics. On the other hand, Smough had suffered a lot.

The front of his armor had been completely blasted off and melted exposing his ridiculously muscular physique. He charged at me shortly after as I was healing myself since most of my skeleton had been shattered to powder.

*Crash!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!* *tap.* ''Hi!''

I deftly avoided his down smash and landed on top of his hammer, giving him a polite and cheerful greeting.

*Bam!* *Ragh!*

Well, it was until my foot slammed into his ugly helmet. And he was sorely mistaken if he thought it would end with that. I took out the deadman's Blade and was about to slash but-

*Clash!*

'Seems like player 2 has reconnected.'

Ornstein parried my blade and I backed off before Smough got the chance to turn me back into a ragdoll. But it seemed like Ornstein wasn't a fan of me retreating as he gave chase. I was barely dodging his onslaught when I kicked Ornstein back with {Emit Force} as he took off my arm.

''Urgh!''

But as if responding to my will black tendrils sprouted out of my arm thanks to {Umbra} and {Transformation} working in tandem. Reaching my arm and holding it still as I spammed heal to reattach it. But now that Ornstein was far enough I could unleash my super.

The air grew hotter around me as I expended all of my energy and raised my sword in the air above my head. Searing red-black flames coalesced on my blade and grew bigger the more energy I poured. Smough was running toward me to stop me but he was too late. The blade of flame grew into a pillar of flame over 10 meters.

''{Armageddon Blade}!!!''

*BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!* *CRASH!*

The giant blade of hellflame hit Smough head-on before Ornstein could interrupt it. Releasing a giant explosion as the torrent of flame made contact with Smough. Blasting him away with a giant gash that nearly split him in half. His charred corpse slammed into the Gwynewere statue and stayed unmoving.

Although his energy was completely drained and he was overheating from using {Armageddon Blade} he still stood tall and faced Ornstein, raising his sword in challenge. And in response, Ornstein Raised his spear.

''Let's finish this!''

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