I Became a Ruined Character in a Dark Fantasy-Chapter 364

Boom!

Explosions surged forward with clouds of dust, rapidly closing the distance.

Ian didn't bother dodging; instead, he charged straight toward it. His instincts told him he could withstand the blast—though painful, it would be no worse than the constant agony he was already enduring.

Crash! Rumble!

Meanwhile, crimson-black lightning bolts rained chaotically around the battlefield. He knew some legionnaires would inevitably be hit. Even with the blessings they carried, some injuries were unavoidable. They had already lost too much—he couldn't bear to lose more.

Boom, boom, boom—

The explosion engulfed Ian's entire body.

Surprisingly, the pain wasn't as intense as he had expected. His vision blurred momentarily, and a loud ringing echoed through his body, but that was all.

Whoosh!

Swinging his Platinum Barrier to shake off the shockwave, Ian broke through the blast. His eyes locked onto the shimmering violet silhouette beyond the haze of dust. Fixing his gaze on the faint glow of the creature's eyes, he adjusted his grip on his Light Sword, now blazing with divine flames.

Swoosh—

The wind, mixed with dust, swirled around him as if in response—Wind Blade. While there wouldn't have been any synergistic effect with Platinum Claw activated, that wasn't the case now—not with the holy flame blazing on the blade.

Whoosh, crackle!

As Ian swung his Light Sword diagonally, a fiery arc surged forward. It struck directly between the glowing violet eyes, splitting them perfectly down the center.

"----!" With a scream, the flaming eyes twisted in agony. At the same time, the avatar's movements became erratic, its arms flailing upward in spasms.

To Ian, in his heightened state of Concentration, the avatar's movements seemed sluggish and clumsy. Seizing the opportunity, Ian swiftly retracted his raised right arm while thrusting his left fist forward.

Crunch!

The shield edge of the Platinum Barrier slammed into the center of the flaming eye, driving deep into it. Instead of bursting, the eye cracked and crumbled, fiery divine energy surging through it and burning it from within.

The avatar staggered, reeling from the blow. Using the rebound to steady himself, Ian swung his lowered Light Sword upward in a brutal arc.

Slash!

The avatar's awkwardly raised left forearm was cleanly severed. No matter how condensed and hardened its body had become, Ian's Light Sword, now infused with holy fire, was more than capable of cutting through it.

As Ian thrust his left arm forward to stabilize his stance, he added the force of his momentum into a powerful downward slash.

Crack—

The flaming arc severed the avatar's right arm just below the elbow.

Though not a mortal blow, losing both arms was a significant disadvantage. The avatar, now reduced to a height of about three meters, had grown more compact and resilient. However, it could no longer freely alter its form or rapidly regenerate its limbs as before.

Whoosh.

In the blink of an eye, Ian dismembered both arms. Without missing a beat, he pushed off the ground and leaped into the air. Effortlessly, he vaulted over the avatar's gaping maw with a midair somersault, twisting his body to prepare for his next move.

With his Light Sword raised high above his head, Ian brought it down in a blazing arc, the divine flames swirling with draconic energy flaring even brighter momentarily.

Crackle—

The blade struck true, aiming for the back of the avatar's head. However, even the searing holy fire couldn't completely cleave the creature in two. The sword lodged itself from the crown of its head, down the back of its neck, and stopped midway along its spine.

Ian could have forced the blade deeper with more effort, but he chose not to. Instead, he pressed the blade further into the wound while propping the Platinum Barrier against the avatar's shoulder. Each move was a calculated effort to drain the creature's chaos power more efficiently.

Crunch!

At the same time, Ian's lengthened and sharpened teeth sank into the avatar's neck once again.

Though its armor-like carapace had hardened even further, breaking several of Ian's teeth, he didn't care. Regeneration would draw from the chaos power, which was exactly what he wanted. The fragment of chaos within him greedily resumed its work, sucking chaos with an even greater hunger than before.

I feel like a damn vampire.

He couldn't help but think so. Come to think of it, this might have only been possible because Ian had absorbed true blood in the first place. With complete fusion, he gained access to the abilities of all his previous absorptions.

Thump—Thump—

The fragment pulsed within him, sending reverberations throughout his body.

Ian gave little thought to the possibility of the fragment growing larger from absorbing the chaos. His level had already increased, and his experience points had risen past the halfway mark again.

The void insects and sentinels, the Abyssal Priest, and countless monsters and mutants eliminated by the legion—all their accumulated experience points had flowed in. Killing the avatar would likely level him up again.

Even if the fragment grew several stages stronger, he was confident he could maintain control.

Crack—Crunch!

Changes coursed through Ian's body once more. The chaotic parts of his form expanded and hardened further, spreading their influence as if the fragment were trying to fuse with him completely.

Whoosh.

However, the gods were not merely watching idly. Holy energy surged down Ian's left arm with renewed intensity, the divine ember within him blazing hotter, branding his soul like a searing mark.

Insane bastards.

And all those clashes came back to Ian as pain so intense that his consciousness wavered. His entire body burned so fiercely that it felt cold.

But Ian didn't give up.

Just as Ian expected, the clash between divine power and chaos drained the avatar of its chaos power. This strategy might not have been recognized in the game, but that didn't matter. All that drove him was his unyielding determination to avenge those who had fallen.

Let's see who dies first.

Crunch!

Ian drove his teeth deeper into the avatar's neck, pressing it down with relentless force.

"Oh, my... he's insane..." The sight drew every gaze on the battlefield, including Miguel's. Propped against a rock, Miguel watched in stunned disbelief. To him, it looked as though Ian was devouring the avatar alive.

Boom! Crackle!

Intense violet light glowed vibrantly from the avatar. Before long, dark crimson lightning converged around them. A few bolts struck and passed through Ian, but he didn't seem to feel them at all.

Swoosh.

The intense crimson divine energy burning around Ian seemed to shield him, its glow protecting him in the chaos. The Light Sword lodged in the center of the avatar's chest burned even brighter, the holy fire flaring with radiant ferocity.

Even as Ian's appearance grew more monstrous, more like a demon than a man, the divine flames continued to blaze with undeniable sanctity. Miguel couldn't take his gaze away, mesmerized by the contradictory and awe-inspiring sight—an embodiment of something both unholy and sacred.

"What are you trying to do? Do you mean to become a god?" The words left Miguel's lips, but Ian couldn't hear them. He wouldn't have heard them even if Miguel had shouted them directly into his ear.

Fuck... ing!

Ian was far too consumed with pushing the limits of his endurance, testing just how much pain he could withstand. Instinctively, Ian opened his status window and increased his Mental Fortitude by a few points.

Boom, swoosh!

Yet he refused to retreat, not when he could finally see the end of the seemingly endless chaos flowing from the avatar. Ian had no intention of stopping until the creature was dead.

"------!"

It seemed the avatar had sensed his unyielding resolve. Faint traces of its emotions bled into Ian—fear and confusion. It panicked, trying every desperate move to rid itself of him, though Ian was too focused to even notice.

Rumble—Crackle!

The creature's once impenetrable body suddenly softened and swelled.

Crack!

The Light Sword, embedded firmly in its back, slid out effortlessly as though slicing through tofu. Flames erupted from the blade as the avatar's form grew even larger, swelling uncontrollably.

In an instant, the creature's body enveloped Ian's face as it expanded.

A violent, chaotic explosion followed. The force of the impact propelled Ian and parts of the avatar through the air. It was a desperate, last-ditch effort by the avatar—and it had succeeded.

I was so close.

Spinning in midair, Ian clicked his tongue in frustration. The explosion caused him no pain. Instead, his mind grew clearer as the absorption of the chaos power ceased.

He landed unsteadily, his gaze drawn to the crimson divine energy burning brighter than ever before. It was massive and radiant, an overwhelming presence. If not for his grotesque appearance, he might have resembled the incarnation of Karha himself.

Based on his heightened abilities, it wasn't entirely untrue.

"----!"

A piercing scream erupted, shredding the air. The avatar's voice carried raw terror—a primal fear of death it had never experienced before.

Instinctively, Ian raised the Platinum Barrier as he rolled across the ground.

Rumble!

A crimson-black bolt of lightning slammed into the shield, and soon after, the sky poured with an onslaught of chaotic lightning.

Crash! Boom, boom—

The relentless rain of bolts struck like a storm, their source an instinctive spell or power unleashed by the avatar in its panic. Holding firm against the barrage, Ian locked eyes on his opponent.

"----!"

The avatar had returned to the colossal size it had been when Ian first encountered it. The avatar's form, now resembling a massive beast, prowled on all fours. It moved with the primal menace of a wild predator.

Its grotesque head now bore two newly formed eyes, writhing erratically as they locked onto their target.

Crackle!

The crimson-black lightning bolts raining down around Ian grew thicker and fiercer. Surrounded, he could do little but hunker down, shielding his head with the Platinum Barrier as the storm raged on.

Crack—

Behind the avatar, a massive pair of membrane wings sprouted from its back, unfolding grotesquely, as if tearing through its flesh.

Before the wings had even fully formed, the avatar suddenly bolted. On all fours, it sprinted like a feral beast, not sparing a single glance behind it.

Is it running away?

Ian blinked in surprise, but quickly realized the truth.

His bloodshot eyes widened as they darted beyond the avatar. Standing motionless in the distance, bathed in radiant divine fire, was Lucia.

From the very beginning, it focused on Lucia. Its intent was clear: to devour the Apostle of God and restore its strength. Lucia, fully immersed in her prayers, remained motionless even as the avatar charged toward her.

Boom! Crash!

Gritting his teeth, Ian didn't hesitate. He hurled himself straight through the torrent of lightning, ignoring the pain and the risk. And he wasn't the only one who realized what was happening.

"Damn it... no!" Miguel, panting and struggling to move, clawed at the ground, dragging his uncooperative body forward. The sight of the monstrous avatar bearing down on Lucia pushed him beyond his limits, though his body refused to obey him fully.

Thud— Whoosh.

By the time Miguel pulled himself to his feet, the avatar was already upon Lucia. Its massive clawed hand stretched out toward her still, unflinching form.

"Lucy—" Miguel screamed, reaching out desperately as the avatar's hand closed around her, engulfing her in its grip.

Crackle!

The divine flames around Lucia flared even brighter, but they weren't enough to stop the avatar. It ignored the searing pain in its hand as it lifted her limp body into the air.

Miguel's eyes filled with bloodshot rage as he shouted, "Let her go, you damned beast!"

He hurled a talisman toward the creature, raising his arm to aim a crossbow with trembling hands. The bolt streaked toward the avatar, but did nothing to stop it. The creature neither consumed Lucia nor looked back at Miguel. It only glanced behind itself with visible fear before spreading its newly formed wings wide.

Swoosh—

The avatar then leaped into the air. A powerful gust of wind sent Miguel sprawling across the ground again. Miguel, thrown to the ground again by the raging whirlwind, quickly lifted his head.

"No, Lucy! No!" A groan of despair escaped his lips.

The avatar, now soaring over ten meters high, flapped its massive wings, climbing steadily. In its burning hand, Lucia remained limp and unresponsive, her body dangling like a rag doll.

Miguel didn't realize that the creature had changed direction toward the edge of the darkened boundary, seeking an escape route rather than soaring aimlessly. All he could do was stare helplessly at the sky.

Rumble—

In the corner of his vision, a streak of crimson shot upward, blazing toward the sky. It was Ian, of course.

Soaring in a massive arc through the air, Ian was closing the gap between himself and the avatar. His mutated body and the blazing divine energy around him made such a feat possible. Upon closer inspection, powerful gusts of wind unleashed in rapid succession seemed to propel him forward.

"By the gods."

At the tip of his raised arm, the blade gripped tightly in his hand blazed not with the dragon's power, but with a dazzling holy flame. The crimson arc Ian created streaked toward the avatar, which was soaring upward with its wings flaring.

Crash!

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When the two collided, the impact sent the avatar lurching violently in midair. The blazing arc carved a deep gash through the creature's forearm, slicing diagonally across its back and reaching the center of its spine.

"-----!"

The avatar's piercing scream echoed through the sky as its body spun erratically, spiraling downward. The avatar's wings flapped erratically, almost spasmodically, immediately afterward.

Miguel's jaw dropped as he looked up.

The avatar, now carrying Ian, soared higher into the sky. Its chaotic flight path, zigzagging wildly, seemed like a desperate attempt to shake him off. The two figures, entangled in their struggle, disappeared at tremendous speed into the distance.

"Damn it, bring it down! Keep striking!"

"Hack them to pieces! Don't let up!"

"L-Look over there! The Great Warrior is flying off with a demon!"

The legionnaires' shouts echoed across the battlefield, but Miguel didn't turn to them.

"Oh, Lu Entre." His gaze remained fixed on the distant sky, where streaks of violet and crimson light intertwined, shooting endlessly upward into the sea of dark crimson storm clouds.