The Annihilator: Killer Of Gods

< Ding! Requirement met. Your Fire Beam skill has evolved. >

< Congratulations! You have unlocked a new attack mode for your Fire Beam skill: One Slash Kill. >

[ One Slash Kill ]: Once every 2 minutes, you can unleash an attack that carries 400% of your total attack power.

[ Note: Continued use of this skill will harm your body. ]

"I guess there's no gain without a little pain," Karsha said with a grin, feeling pleased with his new ability despite the dangers he faced. He had nearly died from using his own skill. If not for his stronger body and careful use of fire essence, his arms might have been obliterated.

"I guess the Agni Sword will be added to my trump cards and should never be used lightly," Karsha said with a touch of satisfaction. He then took out the Book of Annihilation.

[ Task Accepted ]

[ Shadowcoil, the Soul Lord. One of the dangerous ones. With a colossal dark body and terrifying green eyes, those who meet its gaze are doomed to die no matter what.

A little advice: Don't look it in the eye, or your soul will be in serious trouble. ]

[Name: Shadowcoil]

[Rank: Tier 7 Terror Mutant]

[Title: The Soul Lord]

[Strength: 12,000]

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[Defense: 12,700]

[Stamina: 12,000]

[Health: 30,000]

[Speed: 10,000]

[Attack Power: 11,600 ~ 18,700]

Skills:

[Soul Gaze]: A look into the eyes of the soul lord is all it will take to trap your soul in its soul space and feed on it.

[Terrifying Gaze]: A soul attack that can vaporize the soul can be shot from the eyes of Shadowcoil and can bypass most soul defense.

[Shadow eyes]: The shadows are its eyes and window to your soul. Looking into them will leave you exposed to soul attacks.

===============

Weaknesses:

Eyes: Shadowcoil relies on its eyes, by destroying those, you will strip it of its power to harm you making killing it less difficult.

Light: because of its high affinity for shadows, using light to counter the shadows will grant you a shot at killing it.

Reward: [ Phoenix Blood ]

[Bonus: Kill it within a day for a hidden reward ]

"How am I supposed to fight something I can't even look at?" Karsha wondered, feeling at a loss. He'd finally found an opponent with stats higher than his own, but the challenge was that he couldn't look the opponent in the eye during the fight. Despite having powerful senses, he had never fought with his eyes closed before.

Moreover, the element that could have assisted him in this situation—the darkness element—was currently at a low stage.

His mastery of darkness was limited, which meant his control over shadows and the darkness itself was restricted. He couldn't use it as effectively as the light element. Fighting without visual input was going to be extremely challenging.

"Hey, Ayarr, how strong is your connection with the darkness element?" Karsha asked, seeing no other option but to seek help from the expert. Ayarr looked taken aback by the sudden question, and the other shadow guards were equally surprised. It was the first time Karsha was asking for assistance.

"I'm currently at the High level with the darkness element," Ayarr replied. "So, I have a fair amount of control over it."

Karsha nodded thoughtfully and then asked, "If you had to fight with your eyes closed, would you be able to use the shadows of your opponent to track their movements?"

"Yes," Ayarr responded. "The shadow can be tracked, but it requires a deep understanding of darkness. Just like you can track a living being using your senses, you can track their shadow. However, you need to understand how darkness shifts. Shadows are formed from darkness, so to map out an opponent's movements, you need to perceive how the darkness moves and shifts.

The best approach is to learn how to feel and interpret the darkness itself."

Karsha kept nodding, though internally, he was at a loss about where to start. Ayarr noticed his confusion and, understanding that it wouldn't be easy for him, decided to share her techniques. It took about 30 minutes, but Karsha only managed to grasp small fragments of her explanation.

Ayarr and nearly her entire family are Assassins, born with an innate affinity for the darkness element. For them, mastering it is relatively straightforward. Even her mother possesses a Perfect affinity for darkness, while little Starr, the Tier 4 snake child, has a Medium affinity. This means that even the young Starr has a better grasp of darkness than Karsha.

"Thanks, Ayarr," Karsha said, appreciating her help. He closed his eyes and began meditating, though he couldn't shake his fear of the darkness within him. Despite his direct connection to the darkness element, he had never tried to communicate with it before. He intended to gain some understanding before taking that step.

After a few hours of flying, they arrived at their next hunting ground just before evening. Instead of diving straight into action, they decided to take a break. They enjoyed some food and fruit juice that Ayarr had brought, a precaution from her overly protective mother. The rest allowed Karsha to relax and mentally prepare for the challenges ahead.

That night, they talked about a lot of things, and Karsha learned more about Ayarr's senior brother, Morr. By the next day, the sixth day of their quest, Karsha and his guards were back in action. After a few minutes of battling, Karsha decided it was time to confront the Overlord.

He had struggled to master the art of darkness sensing, so he came up with a plan. Unable to sense the snake and unwilling to use his domain, he decided to try out the Mask.n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om

Unfortunately, he underestimated both the Overlord and its domain. When he used the Mask to blink away, he found himself in an incredibly eerie place.

Shadow Gorge was a deep, dark chasm that plunged into the earth, perpetually shrouded in darkness. The sides of the gorge rose steeply, casting long shadows that obscured the canyon floor. Strange, glowing fungi clung to the rocky walls, emitting an otherworldly, phosphorescent light. The air was cool and damp, filled with the sound of dripping water and the occasional rustle of something unseen.

It felt like stepping into a haunted tomb filled with unknown horrors. Karsha quickly became alert, but it was too late. As he turned toward a rustle, his gaze locked with that of the Overlord. It was a massive, green eye, lined with dark, shifting lines that seemed to move within its depths.

In an instant, Karsha felt his soul being drained, and his vision darkened. Everything happened in a split second, but when his vision cleared, he found himself standing in the middle of a cemetery. Ghostly figures moved about, their forms barely visible. A voice spoke, followed by the appearance of the largest snake Karsha had ever seen.

"Welcome to my domain, Human. You tried, but this is where your soul becomes mine," the Overlord's deep, menacing voice echoed as its 150-meter-long, enormous body slowly came into view. "In here, I am the Overlord. Your soul is mine, everything about you is mine." The snake's eerie laughter filled the air as its head slowly moved toward Karsha.

"Too bad for you, Human. After killing six of us, you never even got close to where the true rewards lie. You must be disappointed in your employer, aren't you?" The snake's voice dripped with mockery, but Karsha remained calm and composed.

"That's right. I know all about the curse and the treasures hidden within us. Care to ask how I know?" The snake, now fully in control of Karsha's soul, grew increasingly cocky. Karsha, knowing his situation was dire, did not attempt to resist, though he appeared to be passive.

"You're going to tell me anyway, even if I don't ask. But since you're offering, why don't you tell me?" Karsha responded, maintaining his calm facade.

"Ah, because my control over the soul is so profound that curses have little effect on me. I like you, Human. You defied the odds and killed six Overlords. That's commendable. Too bad you have to die by my hands," the snake teased, its tone almost playful.

Karsha, however, had other things on his mind. "Since I'm about to die, why not tell me more about your allies and your boss?"

"I don't mind," the Overlord hissed. "Even if you had managed to kill me and the Ice and Lightning guys, you wouldn't have survived even a second against Leviathan. You're lucky I'm ending your suffering quickly."

"But since you want to know, winning against the last two guards comes with a massive reward. One that could have set you on a path no one could ever match. Even killing them could have turned you into a heavenly monster. Too bad you failed just at the final stretch." The snake's eerie laughter echoed ominously.

Karsha smiled inwardly and asked, "If your soul were hypothetically stolen, what would happen to your body outside?"

"I would die, of course. A body without a soul is nothing," the snake replied, then hummed with satisfaction. "It's been nice chatting with you, Human, but it's time for you to go."

The ghostly figures around Karsha paused and turned to look at him.

"No, I should thank you for giving me the information I wanted," Karsha said with a dark, sinister edge to his voice. Suddenly, a large demonic eye appeared behind him, and the ghostly figures began to be absorbed. Shadowcoil tensed, but before it could act, a dark, terrifying mask materialized on Karsha's face. The eyes of the Mask shifted from green to purple.

"Absorb," Karsha commanded. The entire place began to shake as Shadowcoil tried to escape, but it was already too late. "No, not possible! How do you have that?" The last words the Overlord managed to utter before the Mask completely absorbed its colossal soul form.

"Thundercoil, Crystalisk, and Abyssal Leviathan, you're next," Karsha declared in a chilling tone before vanishing from the destroyed soul space of the dead Overlord, who had perished in less than ten minutes—one of the quickest battles so far.