Past Life Returner

The elastic force that numbed my wrist also broke through my defensive barrier. My field of vision was blocked by its hand, and its huge body was standing in front of me like a gigantic wall. However, I could clearly feel a sharp gaze beyond Doom Entegasto, within the area I could reach with my Sense.

It was incredibly powerful without even having to see it with my naked eye. That was when instinctive alarms rang throughout my body. A thought flashed through my mind, and goosebumps began to arise as I felt a sudden chill.

Woooong-

The pressure increased even more, and Doom Entegasto seemed to have noticed that it would need to exert greater force to entrap me than it did before!

[Warning: Silvanus’s Bracelet of Fertility is on the verge of destruction.]

[Silvanus’s Bracelet of Fertility has been destroyed.]

[Remaining time (Item Equipment): 59 minutes 59 seconds]

That was one of the items that I had hastily stored away without extracting Mana from it. It had the effect of reducing my skill’s cooldown time.

Shattered fragments passed by me.

[Warning: Leave the Doom Entegasto’s area.]

Burning pain overwhelmed both of my eyes as if they were about to burst with heat. A high-pitched ringing began in my ears as well.

However, I didn’t stop. It was true that my entire body felt heavy due to the pressure pressing down on me. It hindered me from flapping my wings, swinging my Alpha and Gamma tails, and jabbing the spear. Although my natural speed and strength were locked down, I wasn’t entirely restrained either.

Ssssst. Zing-!

Sparks and lightning streaks scattered across. Doom Entegasto’s hand was now closing in, and the space narrowed. The pressure from its hand intensified even more.

[Warning: Samantabhadra's Lotus Helmet is on the verge of destruction.]

[Warning: Nagini's Necklace is on the verge of destruction.]

[Warning: Dionysus’s Horn is on the verge of destruction.]

[Warning: Ra’s Sun Cape is in danger.]

Fuck. My vision was covered in a red hue as a blood vessel had burst in one eye. I changed the angle that I wielded the spear. When I turned my head, I saw blood gushing not only from one eye but also from my nose and mouth.

Even though the impact was lessened by the protective barrier, Doom Entegasto was indeed powerful to deliver such a shock. Its hand, just about to grab me, was vivid. Despite the severe headache, my instincts had heightened my Sense due to the impending danger.

Damn it! Why now!

[You have used Shiva’s Sword.]

[Cooldown time (Shiva’s Sword): - 60% (12 seconds)]

[Doom Entegasto’s Bone Ring that the Dead Revere - 30%

Ṛṣabha's Reverent Anklet - 10%

Nagini's Necklace - 5%

Anubis's Death Guide Ring - 5%

Samantabhadra's Lotus Helmet - 5%

Dionysus’s Horn - 5%]

I concentrated my strength on the movements as I spread my wings and tails. Explosion in a confined space!

Thud-!

The flames couldn’t escape anywhere within the area created by its hand and only swirled inside its palm. The world turned red. Its hand that had tried grabbing me was now trying to crush me by snubbing me. Its palm was above and right below me, forming a floor, walls, and ceiling.

The fire from Shiva’s Sword clung to those walls and both of my hands that were clutching the spear. I used the spear as a support and clenched my teeth, enduring the force.

Zing-!

[You have used Nagini's Necklace.]

The snake-like summoned creature didn’t last long.

[You have used Anubis's Death Guide Ring.]

The item with the death attribute didn’t inflict any damage on it either.

[You have used Ṛṣabha's Reverent Anklet.]

Thanks to the healing ability of the anklet, my vision in one eye was restored. However, it was only temporary as I realized there was a problem with my other eye. The tinnitus in my ears grew louder since the sound of raging flames didn’t subside.

Ugh… However, it was bearable. Besides holding on to the spear with all my strength, I used my wings to support my back and tail to stand still. The sense of being able to emit fire from my wings and tails felt as natural as if I had been born with it. Because of this, the flames in the confined space only intensified and did not diminish.

Why is the cooldown time not ending? 12 seconds has never felt so long.

A sudden thought crossed my mind that perhaps one of Doom Entegasto’s powers was affecting cooldown times, but that wasn’t the case. It was just exerting more strength.

Then, right after…

[You have used Shiva’s Sword.]

It exploded once more, and it flinched its grip for the first time.

Why the hell hasn’t Forerunner activated yet?

If I could enhance Odin’s Wrath into Odin’s Thunderstorm, then I would have done something more right now!

I suddenly became very dizzy, so I clenched my teeth tight. An intangible pressure was concentrated on my head.

Something fell, and it was the fragments of my destroyed items. Considering that the sensation of the chain around my neck was gone, the necklace must have been broken as well. Then, a useless message appeared.

[Samantabhadra's Lotus Helmet has been destroyed.]

[Nagini's Necklace has been destroyed.]

[Cooldown time (Shiva’s Sword): - 50% (15 seconds)]

[Warning: Ṛṣabha's Reverent Anklet is on the verge of destruction.]

[Warning: Lunea’s Light is in danger.]

The number of times the hand that had been forming walls in all directions was flinching increased. Now was the perfect time as the flames from Shiva’s Sword had filled the entire area with scorching flames. On top of that, Doom Entegasto wouldn’t be able to tolerate the lightning bolts from the spear.

Therefore, I believed that this would work. I brushed away any doubts I had. I tightly grasped the Thunder Spear, and my arm muscles writhed like snakes. Flames clung onto the spear once more.

***

The overlapping pressure had clearly become unbearable. My vision had been obstructed a while ago, but now it was almost impossible to distinguish anything with the naked eye. Everything was red.

The blue aura from the lightning streaks couldn’t reveal its true color in the crimson world. There were only the searing movements in the air. Therefore, there was no way the Dooms could see the blood I had vomited several times. Or it might have evaporated immediately due to extreme heat.

I was feeling utterly devastated, but there was one thing that kept me going. The blazing movement was caused by Entegasto’s grip wavering.

Therefore, there were two possibilities. Either Entegasto would succeed in grasping me, or it would try a different approach.

So… So…!

[You have used Shiva’s Sword.]

I somehow managed to unfold my wings and tails and smacked the surroundings… As soon as I pierced the ceiling with the spear, the turbulence intensified to the point that it shifted the center of my body toward one side. A torrent of flames was definitely forming as the accumulated flames escaped through some gap all at once.

A crack in its power?

My eyes widened. I also needed to ride the torrent and escape, but my body felt heavy.

Right after that, I threw my body in that direction. When I felt the pressure, which had been condensed as much as the flames, loosening a bit, something hit my spine. There was a flash before my eyes, and I collided with something and bounced off.

Ah…

When I opened my eyes, I wasn’t on the staircase. Instead, I was lying not far from Lunea’s stairs. Lunea was alternately looking at me and up the stairs, following the huge figure of Entegasto, with terrified eyes.

However, Lunea was not looking at Entegasto. The fire was spreading from the spot where I fought against Entegasto, and the fire was engulfing the staircases one by one as if to burn the whole world.

Mount was busy running away with its binding ropes attached to it. Caso also tried to jump down to the bottom of the stairs, but all it could do was hang in the middle of the stairs due to the binding rope.

Lunea shifted its gaze toward me.

[Doom… Man… Are you not going to die…?]

It looked at me with dread, while widening its eyes in that tiny face.

The asshole’s glance was directed to the back behind me. I realized that I couldn’t avoid it, so I needed to prepare for the upcoming shock. Therefore, I added more strength to the fist holding the spear. Fortunately, I was holding on to it unconsciously.

“Argh!”

I couldn’t tell how it happened, but the shock inflicted on me was indeed tremendous. When the impact that shook me back and forth stopped, one of my eyes burst without knowing how or when. It was fucking painful.

I looked up while adjusting my dislocated shoulder. Entegasto was powerful, but it also hadn’t shaken off the torrent of flames that had burst at the last moment. Its upper body was wrapped in fire.

[You have used the Punishment of the Moong Water God.]

[Your injuries have been significantly healed.]

[Cooldown time (Punishment of the Moong Water God): - 30% (21 seconds)]

[Doom Entegasto’s Bone Ring that the Dead Revere - 30%]

On top of the Punishment of the Moong Water God, the regeneration speed in the Overlord section had been added. I quickly regained my lost eye. When I was able to exert strength in my shattered bones and crushed muscles, I could stand up.

At that time, Entegasto’s upper body was still engulfed in flames. I definitely saw its red muscles that had been exposed through the gaps of armor were now burnt black. It couldn’t avoid the burns of extreme heat either! It was not invincible!

[You have inflicted a powerful blow on the target.]

Nice.

Starting with Night Eye and Explorer, the areas inside me in charge of the trait Forerunner reacted all at once. I had been waiting for Forerunner as it leaped my Agility to the ultimate level of the Overlord section. It felt like the Forerunner was screaming at me to take it out.

However, it was clear that due to Entegasto’s Power, the area responsible for Forerunner was showing a different reaction than usual. This was how Entegasto had been blocking the activation of the Man Who Overcomes and Adversity before.

[Your Power Resistance is insufficient.]

[Power Resistance: 60%]

[Doom Entegasto’s Unique Power ‘?’ has been interfering with the trait Forerunner.]

Despite this, I successfully activated Forerunner. Entegasto didn’t manage to block it completely, thanks to my Power Resistance.

[Forerunner has been activated.]

[Duration of Forerunner has significantly reduced.]

[Duration (Forerunner): - 90% (2 hours 24 minutes)]

[Doom Entegasto’s Unique Power ‘?’ - 90%]

When the power that could throw me to somewhere wriggled throughout my body, the flames clinging to Entegasto had evaporated like a lie. The charred muscles regained their red color in an instant. Instead, the flames that had briefly filled the place with red had now completely vanished. Instead, the flickering of the flames was now concentrated within Entegasto’s helmet, inside its eye sockets, swaying with more intense movements.

The anger contained within seemed to fall directly on me. I didn’t know what kind of Power it would unleash, but there was no need to be shaking.

“You seem weaker than before, Entegasto,” I taunted, looking up to break the silence. I hadn’t even started yet.

Strictly speaking, the activation of Forerunner was only the first awakening. If Sensitive activated, then that was the second awakening. Then, the third awakening was when the Man Who Overcomes Adversity came into effect. Only then did the real battle begin in its full form.

I had to detect the full extent of Entegasto’s ability before that. Therefore, I had to resist as much as possible with the determination to bring it down! I didn’t want to admit it…but this was the stage for me to prove my potential to Doom Kaos.