The black frost axe descended with finality, the blade wreathed in dark ice that seemed to devour light itself.

Pho's blank white eyes gleamed with satisfaction, his three-meter frame towering over Jack's kneeling form.

The Soul Warden knelt there, Oscar clutched weakly in one hand, blood staining the frozen floor beneath him.

This was the end. The conclusion to a fight that should never have been close in the first place.

A human daring to challenge a Disaster-class lord, that's unheard of. The only one with the gall to attempt such a feat in the history of the tower was Malakai.

"This is the difference," Pho said softly. "Between us."

The axe continued its arc, moving with speed that made dodging impossible, with force that would split Jack in half from shoulder to hip.

True damage that bypassed any type of protection.

Victory was assured.

Except Jack was smiling.

That same ear-to-ear grin that had appeared when revealing Cho's fate.

The expression of someone who knew something his opponent didn't.

Jack had planned three steps ahead while everyone else struggled with the present.

Pho's axe slowed fractionally, confusion breaking through his certainty. "Why are you smiling?"

Jack's red eyes gleamed brighter despite his damaged state. "You'll see."

Then the explosions began.

The first detonation came from the eastern wing of the fortress, a bloom of blue lightning that erupted with enough force to shake the throne room's foundations.

Then another from the west. Another from the north. And another from the south.

Within seconds, dozens of explosions were blooming across the fortress simultaneously, each one a sphere of crackling blue electricity that expanded outward.

Static Orbs.

Thousands of them, placed methodically across every section of Pho's territory since Jack's arrival. Hidden, waiting for a single mental command to detonate simultaneously.

And Jack had just given that command.

---

In the barracks on the fortress's third level, a Dread-rank demon was sharpening his blade when blue light flashed.

The Static Orb detonated three feet from his position, the electrical blast washing over him and five other demons with devastating force.

[-3,034 HP]

The demon screamed as electricity coursed through his body, his armor providing no protection against the magical assault.

He collapsed, smoke rising from his charred flesh, his health dropping close to zero.

Four of his companions died instantly, their lower-rank bodies unable to withstand the damage.

In the slave quarters on the lower levels, another orb detonated among a group of guards. The blue explosion illuminated the darkness for a brief moment before fading, leaving corpses and the dying in its wake.

More souls were claimed with each passing second.

More energy feeding back into Jack through the ring's connection.

In the ice gardens where demons cultivated frost-resistant plants for alchemy, three orbs detonated simultaneously.

The carefully maintained vegetation was incinerated instantly, and the dozen demons tending the gardens were caught in an overlapping blast radius.

All were dead within a second.

This was an actual garden, and not Pho's garden of statues of unfortunate souls who passed off Pho.

The armory.

The training grounds.

The storage facilities.

Every major section of the fortress erupted in blue lightning as Static Orbs that had been lying dormant for over a week, suddenly activated in perfect coordination.

Pho's blank white eyes widened as he heard the explosions echoing through his castle.

His axe, which had been descending toward Jack's head, stopped completely as he turned to look at the throne room entrance.

"What... what is this?"

Another explosion shook the fortress. Then another. The detonations continued, a rolling thunder of destruction that spread across every level, every wing, every corner of Pho's domain.

Jack's ring pulsed red.

Once.

Twice.

Ten times.

Twenty times.

Each pulse marked a demon's death, each death feeding power back into Jack's system.

[Crimson Recovery Activated]

[Demon Killed: +1% HP and +1% MP per second for 4 seconds]

[Demon Killed: +1% HP and +1% MP per second for 4 seconds]

[Demon Killed: +1% HP and +1% MP per second for 4 seconds]

[Multiple Stacks Applied]

Crimson Recoveries' healing didn't stack in duration, it stacked in intensity.

Each demon death added another 1% HP and MP per second, the effects combining into a torrent of regeneration that flooded Jack's body with recovered vitality.

[HP: 2,000/3,375]

Jack's wounds began closing. The gash across his chest sealed itself, flesh knitting back together with tremendous speed.

The damage to his arms regenerated, burned skin replacing itself with healthy tissue.

His breathing steadied, the ragged gasps becoming normal respiration.

[HP: 2,337/3,375]

"How..." Pho stared at Jack's regenerating form, his blank white eyes showing genuine confusion. "How are you healing?"

Over forty demons had died in the first three seconds.

Close to fifty instances of the healing stacked simultaneously.

The regeneration rate was astronomical, approaching 50% of his maximum health per second.

[HP: 2,674/3,375]

But Jack wasn't done. He reached into his system storage, his movements still slow but gaining strength with each passing moment.

His hand emerged holding two vials filled with dark red liquid that gleamed from the blue lightning still crackling across the throne room.

Demon blood. Harvested and stored specifically for this moment.

Jack poured the first vial over his armor, the dark liquid splashing across the black and red plating that covered his chest.

The blood didn't drip off or pool on the surface, it was absorbed instantly, disappearing into the armor itself as if the material were drinking it.

Cho's essence, bound into the armor's construction, fed on the demon blood.

Cracks that had appeared from Pho's devastating attacks began sealing themselves.

Dents popped back out.

Scratches vanished.

The armor regenerated with the same speed as Jack's body, the crafted demon remains consumed the blood to repair the damage.

The second vial followed the first, splashing across his shoulder guards and dripping down his head.

More cracks sealed.

More damage reversed.

Within seconds, the armor looked pristine again, as if Pho's Black Ice Soul attacks had never connected.

[HP: 3,011/3,375]

"You are strong, Pho," Jack said, his voice regaining that flat tone despite the grin still splitting his face. "I'll give you that."

He planted Oscar into the ground and used the spear to lever himself upright, standing on legs that no longer trembled, facing Pho with eyes that had regained their characteristic intensity.

[HP: 3,348/3,375]

More explosions echoed through the fortress. The Static Orbs continued their work, detonating in sections Jack had seeded days ago.

Each blast caught multiple demons, each death fed more power back through the ring, and though Jack had hit his maximum health, the ring kept pulsing as more souls were claimed.

[HP: 3,375/3,375]

"But so am I."

Jack yanked Oscar free from the ground, the four-bladed tip gleaming as blue lightning resumed crackling along its length.

His body language transformed from wounded prey to predator.

"And I won't let some worthless demon think he can throw me around."

Pho took an involuntary step backward, his blank white eyes darting between Jack's regenerated form and the continuing explosions that shook his fortress.

The confidence that had defined him moments ago cracked, replaced by something he rarely felt.

Uncertainty.

"Those explosions," Pho said slowly, his massive frame tensing. "You planned this. All of it."

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