The third zone of the Devil’s Abyss unfolded before Stark like a vast underworld wasteland as now there were even volcanos in the distance, each of them letting out a ton of lava.
“Damn,” it became difficult to even breathe as the smoke and scent hit the boy’s nose, but Stark still kept going.
From a distance, Stark could see the new breed of demons awaiting him. Their forms were more grotesque and intimidating, their presence exuding an aura of impending death.
Stark cracked his knuckles, his eyes gleaming with excitement, “Let’s see what you’ve got.”
The first wave of demons rushed him almost immediately.
These creatures were known as Hellfang Brutes, towering figures with thick, armor-like skin and jagged claws that dripped with dark energy.
Their eyes glowed a sinister red, and they moved with surprising agility, locking in onto Stark the moment he appeared before them.
He was basically intruding hell, after all, wasn’t he?
But Stark barely blinked as they closed in, their snarls filling the air.
He didn’t hesitate.
Summoning his crimson energy, Stark infused his fists with Holy Infusion, combining his own overwhelming aura with divine power.
As the first brute lunged, he sidestepped and delivered a single, explosive Aura Smash to its chest.
The holy energy coursed through the demon, shattering its defenses and causing it to explode in a burst of light.
One down, but more were on their way.
Not gonna lie, they were taken care of in under three minutes.
The next wave consisted of Voidshriekers, winged demons that hovered in the air and spat corrosive black energy from their mouths.
They were faster than the brutes, their attacks more ranged, but Stark didn’t falter.
He summoned Crimson Spears and used “Spam” from Aura Smash to aim at the flying Voidshrekers, enhancing each one with Holy Infusion and launching them into the air.
The spears and fists tore through the Voidshriekers like divine lightning, burning through their wings and sending them crashing into the ground.
“Too easy,” Stark muttered, his smirk growing.
As Stark pressed deeper into the zone, the demons began to grow stronger, and their forms more twisted.
“I am the legitimate doom slay-” Stark tried to laugh, but he was struck by lightning.
-100!
“Damn.”
The next set of enemies was a terrifying hybrid of the previous ones: Hellshriek Berserkers.
These demons were both large and fast, their bodies covered in thick plates of armor, while wings allowed them to dash across the battlefield in quick bursts.
They wielded massive, molten swords, each swing powerful enough to split the ground.
Stark darted between them, his movements a blur as he dodged their attacks with ease, using Invincible Dodge to weave in and out of their strikes.
When the opportunity presented itself, he would land a devastating blow ismply by using his fists, two to three punches enough to kill them.
Despite their increased strength and speed, they were no match for him.
[Your level has increased to level 103, granting you five skill points and a boost in stats.]
The sound of his leveling up didn’t surprise Stark anymore as, well, he was killing hundreds of demons at this point.
The third zone was actually the one that introduced the highest amount of demon types, advancing one after the other toward him.
When he reached the edge, there was a massive horde of them, at least 500, from each and every type waiting for him.
“Kill… human…”
“KILL! KILL! KILL!”
“We got the human!”
All of them looked like they were waiting to ambush him, but Stark wasn’t scared.
He wiped some of the blood on his face with his finger and looked at them with a smile.
“Alright, let’s see who’s going to go.”
10 minutes later, all of the demons were dead.
[Your level has increased to level 104, granting you five skill points and a boost in stats.]
[Your level has increased to level 105, granting you five skill points and a boost in stats.]
But as he defeated the last of the demons, the ground trembled beneath him, signaling the approach of something much larger.
Stark braced himself, eyes scanning the horizon as the final creature of the zone appeared—an enormous, fire-spewing Dread Infernal.
The Dread Infernal stood at least twenty feet tall, its body wreathed in hellfire, and its hands crackling with molten energy.
It stomped forward with thunderous steps, its gaze locking onto Stark with an intensity that sent ripples through the air.
Despite its terrifying appearance, Stark was unfazed.
“Not gonna lie, dude, if you were smart you would have come while your teammates were ambushing me,” Stark spoke, though he didn’t know if that thing could understand him.
With a surge of energy, Stark charged at the Dread Infernal, dodging its initial barrage of fireballs.
He closed the distance and summoned his [Wielding Cross] AGAIN, and slammed the massive crimson-and-holy cross down on the demon’s fiery body.
The blow caused the Dread Infernal to stagger, chunks of molten rock breaking off its form as it roared in pain.
The battle was fierce, with the Dread Infernal launching wave after wave of projectiles and energy at Stark, forcing him to dodge with precision.
But Stark with a single movement of his hands summoned the [Spear of Judgement], which followed the elite around and drilled into its body, killing it instantly.
-938,372!
[You have slain the Dread Infernal! You gained 1,200,000 experience!]
[You have full cleared the third zone!]
[Zone 4: The Hellforge Plateau]
This zone wasn’t even that hard compared to the last one to be honest, it was pretty much the same demons except for the introduction of another type: the Hellforge Guardians.
They were monstrous golems made of molten metal, with burning swords the size of a small building.
Their bodies glowed with the heat of a forge, and each step they took left behind a trail of molten lava. The heat in the air was intense, but Stark didn’t flinch.
He dodged their swings with Invincible Dodge and retaliated with Aura Smash, each strike infused with his holy energy, cracking through their defenses.
At this point, there wasn’t even a point of using any skills beside [Aura Smash] and [Crimson Spears] (infused with Holy Infusion), as well as [Crimson Purification] and [Wielding Cross].
The battle was longer, but Stark’s skills and power were overwhelming.
One by one, the Hellforge Guardians fell, their bodies crumbling into molten debris.
[Your level has increased to level 106, granting you five skill points and a boost in stats.]
Despite the ever-growing strength of the demons, Stark continued pushing through.
The fourth zone was challenging, but Stark cleared it with relentless efficiency.
Crimson Purification was still his most effective weapon, but even when the demons resisted, he adapted, combining his skills to break through their defenses.
The elite wasn’t even a challenge to be honest, as he just used [Holy Combo] from [Wielding Cross] to kill it on the third strike.
And so, he moved to the fifth and final zone.
[Zone 5: The Abyssal Core]
As he entered the fifth zone, Stark could feel the energy shift.
“Blah blah whatever,” Stark sighed as he killed a demon after the other.
He even encountered a new type of demons! Woohoo!
The Abyssal Fiends were huge, hulking demons with glowing red veins all over their bodies.
They were also fodder to his holy attacks, though, not that different from the others in that regard.
And then, as he reached the heart of the zone, he came face to face with the final boss
[Name: First Abyss Commander, Vorak the Destroyer (Calamity)]
[Level: 400]
[HP: 2,300,000]
“Foolish human, don’t you realize that even defeating all these demons is nothing?” Vorak laughed, “For I am the strongest of the abyss!”
Vorak stood towering above Stark, his body covered in jagged spikes and molten armor.
His eyes glowed with a deep, crimson light, and he let out a thunderous roar as he swung his massive, lava-forged axe toward Stark.
The battle was brutal, Vorak’s hits causing shockwaves with every swing.
Stark dodged most of them, but when he tried to dash toward him to the boss to take it down with his fists, an axe swing took him off guard.
“Flash Axe,” Vorak used his skill, launching an INSTANTANEOUS attack.
“Damn, you’re tougher than the others,” Stark muttered, but his smile didn’t fade.
Crimson Purification… PROTECTION BURST!
[Upon activating this perk, a powerful aura of holy energy envelops the user, shielding him from the attacks of undead creatures for a brief 10-second window. During this time, any undead assaults against him are reduced by a staggering 95% in damage.]
BOOM!
He was slammed by the axe, but received only 743point of damage, which was quite literally nothing.
“Huh,” Vorak was confused, but before he could even say something else, the crimson cross already hit him.
[You have slain “Vorak the Destroyer”! You gained 3,800,000 experience!]
As the giant demon crumbled, Stark stood victorious, unharmed.
[Congratulations, you have completed the ‘Devil’s Abyss!’]
And as Vorak was technically the final boss of the rift, then the panel appeared.
“Yeah, no,” but Stark wasn’t convinced.
It was just like the colosseum: surely there was somewhere where he could find the apostles, the three probably looking and laughing at him right now.
But as the giant demon crumbled, Stark stood victorious, his body bruised but his spirit unbroken.
In front of him, a path revealed itself, but it was locked, a glowing symbol of a key hovering over it.
“…” Stark smiled, realizing that this was where he needed to go.
