Chapter 158: The Hollow Crown [11]

Outside the Hollow Crown Tower, the massive leaderboard flickered once more.

1st - Klein Faress - 40th Floor

Silence fell across the clearing for a heartbeat.

Then the reactions erupted all at once.

Cameras swung toward the board so quickly that several reporters nearly dropped their equipment.

Live feeds across multiple networks cut mid-sentence as anchors stared at the sudden jump in ranking.

The name that had already caused chaos by tying Austin at the 35th floor had now climbed five more levels in a continuous dive.

Evelyne stood near the front of the observation area and her hand rose halfway toward her mouth before she forced it back down.

"Forty... He’s on the fortieth floor."

Around her, other arbiters and academy affiliates began speaking over one another in rising disbelief.

"That’s i-incredible. Austin only reached thirty-five and nearly died."

"A first-year? He’s still listed as first-year from Grayhaven."

"Did the board glitch? Check the feed again."

"No glitch... look, the tracking signature is confirmed. Klein Faress, active on Floor 40."

"Call and tell our headmaster about this first."

Austin’s jaw dropped seeing that he actually crossed the 35th floor and is on 40th floor now. "What the hell?"

"He passed the phoenix? H-How did he defeat that phoenix?"

Reporters who had been clustered around him earlier surged forward again.

"Austin! Klein Faress has just reached the fortieth floor... more than five levels beyond your new record! Any comment?"

"Do you believe a first-year can survive the guardians past the thirty-fifth?"

"Is this still within the realm of talent, or is something else going on inside that Tower?"

Seeing the reporters, Austin snapped out of his surprise "I... have no comment."

"It already shocks me that he managed to kill the 35th floor boss and we don’t even know what kind of nightmare he is facing on the 40th floor."

---

Back at the house, Arwen was sitting on the couch with one leg tucked beneath her, a half-finished mug of coffee cooling on the table.

Cynthia was stretched out beside her with her head resting against Arwen’s shoulder, idly scrolling through her phone until the sudden change in the news anchor’s tone made both of them look up.

The live broadcast from the Hollow Crown Tower filled the screen.

1st - Klein Faress - 40th Floor

Cynthia sat up straight so quickly the phone nearly slipped from her fingers.

"...Kay reached the fortieth floor?"

The anchor’s voice continued, overlapping with footage of the crowd outside the Tower and the shocked faces of reporters.

"-unprecedented for a first-year climber. Klein Faress, who only minutes ago tied the previous record at the thirty-fifth floor, has now advanced to the fortieth."

"Experts on site are calling this one of the most aggressive continuous ascents in recent Tower history-"

Cynthia leaned forward, white hair falling over her shoulders as she stared at the glowing ranking.

Her voice carried a mixture of pride and sharp worry. "That idiot is going to give me gray hairs before I turn thirty."

Arwen reached for the remote and raised the volume slightly.

"If it’s the Klein we know... I would have stopped him from entering. But our Klein has memories of his past, so I trust him..."

A soft breath escaped Cynthia’s lips

"He’s stubborn and reckless. And he promised us he’d be careful."

A small, wry smile appeared on her lips "I’m going to kill him when he gets home. After I hug him. Then I’m going to kill him again."

Arwen’s lips curved into a faint smile, though her gaze remained fixed on the Tower footage.

"Get in line, bitch."

---

Inside the 40th floor of the Hollow Crown Tower, the battle continued.

The giant black dragon staggered on three limbs, dark blood pouring from the cleanly severed joint.

The severed limb lay several meters away, still twitching faintly against the cracked stone.

Klein stood amid the spreading pool of black blood, and the air around him continued to warp under the density of his released power.

The spear in his hands hummed with Spear Intent, dripping with the dragon’s blood.

The dragon did not retreat.

Even missing a limb, it launched itself forward with terrifying speed.

*swoosh* Its remaining foreclaw swept in a wide, crushing arc while its jaws gaped open as black-violet breath already gathered in its throat.

The damaged wing on its left side beat unevenly, but the sheer power behind the charge was still enough to shatter the platform.

Using the information from his previous death, he slipped inside the arc of the attack at the last possible moment and the spear flashed upward in a tight spiral.

Dark Moon: Seventh Form - Eclipse Spiral

Black blood sprayed across Klein’s shoulders as the spiral tore a long, ragged wound through the thicker plating.

"GRAARGHHH!" The dragon roared and twisted, trying to catch him with its jaws.

Klein dropped low, rolled beneath the snapping jaws, and drove the spear into the soft tissue behind the dragon’s front leg joint.

Spear intent flared, and the blade sank deep.

He twisted savagely and ripped the weapon free in a spray of dark blood.

The dragon’s remaining forelimb buckled.

*thoom* It crashed down onto its side with a ground-shaking impact, and the breath it was saving in its throat discharged.

*feeeen*

Black-violet energy and crackling lightning carved a glowing trench across the distant roof, sending massive chunks of stone raining down around them.

Klein did not give it time to recover.

He sprinted up the length of the fallen dragon’s body.

The next form of the Dark Moon Technique gathered at the tip of his weapon as he aimed for the base of the dragon’s neck, where the scales overlapped in a slightly thinner pattern.

The dragon’s head snapped toward him, preparing to simply bite him in half.

Klein twisted his body in the last moment and dodged its attack, landing on the ground.

Even missing a foreleg, teh dragon spun with terrifying agility, lashing its remaining claw and out in coordinated arcs.

*swoosh* *swoshh*

Klein dodged between them, and his four cores are still running at their peak.

Fresh cracks split across his shoulders and arms from the continuous overload, only to seal themselves again under the relentless regeneration of his trait.

He continued cyclinghis Dark Moon technique.

Dark Moon: Sixth Form - Blood Moon Fang carved shallow but bleeding lines across the dragon’s chest.

Dark Moon: Seventh Form - Eclipse Spiral ghouled deeper into the wound already opened along its side.

Dark Moon: Eighth Form - Absolute Lunar Severance nearly took a section of the damaged wing when the beast tried to take flight.

’Now that I have cycled through all the forms of the Dark Moon...’

He planted the spear against the stone and straightened fully.

The red light in his eyes deepened until it looked almost black.

Dark Moon: Final Form - Eternal Night Scythe

An enormous domain expanded outward from his body.

The ruined cavern of the 40th floor vanished.

What remained was a vast forest with dead trees and black skies.

High above in the skies, an enormous dark moon hung suspended, radiating a cold, crushing pressure that smothered every other light.

The giant black dragon found itself standing in the center of that domain with its remaining limbs half-sunk into the ground.

Its crimson eyes looked at the figure standing calmly in front of it.

Klein.

The spear in his hands was gone.

What he was holding was a long, elegant scythe of absolute blackness as the curved blade reflected the dark moon above like a mirror.

He raised the scythe once.

*FWOOOOM *FWOOOM*

From the black sky, enormous spears began to rain down.

*THOOM* *THOOM*

The spears struck the ground in a perfect circle around the dragon, each one driving deep into the dead earth with enough force to send shockwaves rippling outward.

Ash and splintered wood exploded upward as they formed a tightening cage, cutting off every direction of escape.

The dragon roared and thrashed.

Its remaining claw slammed against the nearest spears and its wings beat furiously, trying to lift its massive body into the sky, but the spears continued to fall, adjusting their trajectories mid-air, always staying one step ahead.

One particularly massive spear drove down directly in front of its chest, forcing the dragon to rear back or be impaled.

Klein walked forward through the falling spears while resting the scythe loosely against his shoulder.

The dark moon above cast his shadow long across the dead forest floor.

He stopped just outside the ring of spears.

The dragon’s crimson eyes burned with pure hatred.

Klein tilted his head slightly as the curved blade of the scythe gleamed under the dark moon.

"You already killed me once. Now it’s my turn."

The absolute pressure emanating from the domain crushed upon the dragon and its eyes... slowly began to soften.

The killing intent from it faded, and the deep crimson eyes stared at Klein with an intelligent look as the madness slowly vanished.

"...lp me."

Hearing the voice, Klein frowned slightly ’Don’t tell me, this is a True Dragon.’

"...Help... me."

After hearing those words, Klein was certain ’That language... so it really is a true dragon.’