Chapter 306 - 100%

"Three minutes?! You think taking a bite out of my servant will make you any stronger?!"

Leo held up his hands as a familiar light shone out of his fingers.

"I have control over both light and corruption! And I have a secret technique I will save just for you, Jacob. You can be my test dummy! Be grateful!"

Jacob scoffed and raised his sword in front of himself. He didn’t have any more words to say to his uncle. All he needed to do was act. He whispered lightly to himself as he leaned forward.

"Three minutes starts now."

Leo grabbed held on to his flail tighter. Half of its shape was glowing brightly while the other darkened immensely. Suddenly, a spear broke down through the sky, forcing Leo to turn his body sideways to dodge. Jacob’s eyes widened, he stepped deep into the ground below, and using all his strength, he dashed forward.

Despite being caught off-guard, Leo managed to block Jacob’s sword with the light end of his flail. He swung it around wildly, each hit making Jacob’s arms feel weak from deflecting heavy blows. Explosions rang through the air, his sword groaning under every strike.

A cold wind carried itself across Jacob’s back. He dodged to his right as a mountain of ice shot from the ground upward, aiming to penetrate his back. Jacob danced around the area as dozens more frost shards were ripped from the ground in an attempt to impale him, all while Leo continuously ripped his flail as him.

He jumped over the pool of magma in hopes it would slow his uncle’s momentum. However, Leo clapped his hands together, encasing the lava with a strong sheet of ice, turning the magma a dark black, extinguishing it instantly.

Jacob pushed off a frost pillar and swung his sword down Leo’s neck. It was blocked at the last moment with his arm. Seeing how his sword was strangely unable to cut through his skin anymore was worrying. His idea was to start chipping away at his uncle to drain him of his energy, but that was no longer possible. He needed to think of something else.

Suddenly, the strange light started shining from the towers of ice around him. Both light and dark concentrated on the ends of each one, sending a chill up Jacob’s spine.

’Shit. He can move his power through the ice!’

Light and dark rained around him like cannon fire. To Jacob’s misfortune, a single beam of light managed to slice right through his magical eye, blinding it permanently. He bit his teeth and turned to find Leo as quickly as he could, but there he wasn’t there anymore. Slowly, he felt multiple spikes sink into the side of his head.

His world went quiet. Leo landed a perfect hit against Jacob with his flail, both the light and dark sides hitting perfectly in the middle with the impact. A shockwave uplifted the ice surrounding them as Jacob was thrown towards the ground.

Jacob woke up in a dark expanse, a familiar wet surface underneath his feet. The water was getting colder around him. He could feel bits of ice already starting to form on the surface as he moved.

Sitting in front of him, face-to-face, was himself. A perfect, spitting image of how he looked. Instead of questioning it, Jacob willed himself to open his eyes. As he did, the flail was already making its way towards his head. Jacob rolled away and narrowly dodged the attack.

Jacob dashed back to where Maria was, a crazy idea slowly forming in his mind.

Leo smiled devilishly and shot towards Jacob, catching up with every second.

"You took too much damage, my dear Jacob! Why can’t we just be a family. I’m so sad, you know?! What will I do without you?! WAIT! That girl must be holding you back still! Great idea, Jacob! I’ll make sure she won’t be a bother to you anymore!!"

Jacob wiped the blood spilling from his right eye and continued running, ignoring his uncle’s mocking words. He slid under multiple crashing frost pillars before finally reach Maria who was laying still inside of his dragon armor. He picked her up and dodged another flail attack before it could hit him.

"You’re slowing yourself down you-!"

Leo stopped moving, his eyes widening in horror.

"Y-You... monster!"

Jacob had ripped off the right sleeve of his dragon armor. However, that was not what Leo was scared about. Blood seeped from his mouth, pouring over the ice below him. Jacob’s eyes glowed black for a few moments as he chewed and swallowed his final bite. He gently kissed Maria with his blood-stained lips before setting her down gently.

Jacob had eaten her entire right arm.

His heartbeat fastened.

"Argh."

Jacob held on to his head, unfathomable power exploded through his veins instantly. He felt unstoppable. He was instantly made aware of his new power, but it was not something he had ever expected to receive.

Leo chuckled as put his hand over his face.

"I would have never thought you would get pushed this far!! You truly are just like your father! Willing to do anything for power, huh?!"

Jacob ignored his words, his face emotionless as he stared at his uncle with an emotion, he never thought possible: pity.

Leo’s eyes turned red with anger.

"That look... it’s just like him too. I CAN’T STAND IT!!"

Leo threw his flail into the ground before holding his hands together. In one hand, the power of light was being manifested. Inside the other, the power of darkness began to show itself. Leo compressed the two opposites together, white and black lightning shooting out as he tried.

Jacob didn’t so much as flinch seeing the strange phenomena. He simply continued staring at his uncle waiting for him to throw any attack he could.

Once the impossible creation was complete, a multi-colored orb pulsated inside his hands, shaping the image of the world around itself.

"I’ve done it. I DIDN’T THINK IT WAS REAL!! I’VE FINALLY DONE IT! A perfect combination of light and darkness! An attack that goes beyond existence itself! Not even Zalo could handle such an attack! HE’LL BE NEXT AFTR I CLEAN YOU UP!!"

Jacob set a hand on his uncle’s shoulder.

"Three seconds left. Goobye, Uncle Leo."

Time slowed down, the image of what Jacob left behind was still being created in his eyes. He was just in front of him, yet he had managed to teleport right behind him.

’It was teleportation, right?! Did that girls power have teleportation?!’

The earth began to crumble under the spot Jacob was just standing, leaving black and purple plasma in its wake. The ground caved backward, until finally, Leo felt a shift in air around himself. Jacob grabbed hold of Leo’s hand that was still holding on to his ultimate creation and brought it towards his own body.

’It wasn’t teleportation... This brat pushed so hard off the earth he shook the entire planet!! He’s as strong as a Keep-’

As the multi-colored ball press against Leo’s chest, his mind went blank. Jacob had already started to move away holding Maria’s mangled body under his arm.

A pillar of corruption and light exploded straight upward into the sky, its radius dozens of miles wide. The attack landed right on the moon’s surface, creating a small but noticeable hole.

Staring inside the crater of what was, Jacob couldn’t feel anything. He held no remorse for an opponent so weak. He stared at Maria in his arms.

"I managed to take her old Zalo, her strength amplification. What does this mean?"

He looked down at his skull mark on his arm. It looked like the skull was laughing.

Suddenly, something began to glow in its other eye. A small, multi-colored swirl made itself known. Jacob began to float off the ground, Maria’s body close by his side. From the middle of the crater, dark black coils of energy shot towards him and spooled itself inside of his and Maria’s skull mark.

A dark voice whispered into his ear.

"You are complete."

Jacob’s left eye began to glow as the darkness that surrounded him turned into a hardened armor set. The white dragon scales Maria was wearing were slowly drained of their color until they were all ebony. Jacob’s hair floated off his head as energy seeped off his being like steam.

Suddenly, Maria began to move. Her body pulsated and broke itself free from his grasp. She floated alongside him, her body repairing itself as black mist poured from her wounds. Jacob could feel everything in his body fundamentally change, as if every molecule in his body was getting an upgrade.

After three minutes of this process, both of them gently fell back on to the charred earth where snow no longer existed. Maria shot awake, taking in long, heavy breaths every chance she could. Jacob bent down and helped her sit up.

"Maria?"

Jacob held on to his right eye. It had repaired itself along with every other wound he had received. However, both of his eyes had evolved. Everything he looked at, he understood. There was no need to read lines anymore, even though they still appeared. From a single glance, he could instantly comprehend every movement or action someone was going to make.

Maria held on to Jacob’s face, staring into his multi-colored eyes.

"Jacob?"

There were a few things now fundamentally different about their powers, all explained by a single line now at the bottom of both of their descriptions.

[God]: You have fully completed your transformation to becoming a God of Corruption. You no longer need to transform for power. You have regenerative capabilities greater than any enchantment. You have the strength to make planets quake. Corruption holds no influence over your will. Zalo awaits your return in Iron Kingdom.

Maria stood up slowly and faced a certain direction with Jacob.

"I can... feel him now."

Jacob remained silent for a moment.

"Me too."

Maria wiped her face.

"So... this is it, huh?"

Jacob nodded.

"They’re waiting for us."

Maria grabbed his arm.

"I’m scared."

Jacob wrapped his hand around hers and with a deep sigh, said his final words before travel.

"Me too."

With that, Jacob and Maria dissipated into shadows of darkness.