The Last Paragon in the Apocalypse

“Mountain Cleaving Slash!” Danny raised his axe with full force as Mark moved in to distract the elephant.

“Die, motherf*cker!” Danny’s axe slammed into the head of the Tier 8 elephant, cutting a deep wound. Blood gushed out, spraying all over him. He was both in blood, taking the form of a gladiator.

The bastard looks scary.

“Hahahahah… Is this how it feels like to be a Gladiator?” Danny laughed loudly, his voice carrying a power none of his friends expected.

They all felt it—a surge of energy, as though their bodies were being filled with an otherworldly strength from his shout, Klaus included. This brought a small smile to Klaus’s lips. It seems Danny’s light element has more mysteries to it.

“Spear Enhancer!” Mark wasted no time and activated his ability, boosting his speed by 30 per cent.

“Spear Thrust!” He moved like the wind, unleashing dozens of thrusts at the elephant. Despite its overwhelmingly hard body, his strikes were so sharp that countless wounds appeared, draining 80% of its life force.

“Eat my axe again!” Danny, bathed in blood but having the time of his life, charged forward once more. This time, his body glowed with a yellow light, filling him with renewed strength.

“Overwhelming Axe Strike!” The axe struck again, and this time, the wound was far deeper, causing the elephant to falter.

“Spear Thrust!” Kilian exclaimed, finishing his move. After a few precise thrusts, the first Tier 8 monster fell to the ground.

“That’s what I’m talking about!” Danny shouted, grinning from ear to ear.

“Hey, brute, go help Lily. I’ll help Kathy,” Mark said before dashing off. He appeared before the Tier 7 monsters, relieving Kathy so she could focus on the Tier 8.

Hanna was holding her ground just fine—no wounds, no cuts. Kay was in the same state, and Anna was also keeping up.

Of course, the three are not hurt mainly because they are not fighting in close combat. Thanks to their cautious fighting style, getting injured wasn’t a concern for them.

“Lightning Burst!” Hanna shouted as her arrow exploded in front of the Tier 8 monster she faced. The explosion momentarily blinded it, allowing her to strike again.

“Exploding Bolt Piercer!” she unleashed another powerful attack.

Unfortunately, the monster countered by channelling its fire energy to defend itself before unleashing a wave of fire at Hanna. She dodged nimbly, then resumed firing lightning arrows while searching for another opening.

“Anna, try using a spell to restrict it for a second! I just need one second!” Kilian called out, recovering inside the ice domain and preparing to act as soon as Anna created an opening.

Meanwhile, Klaus was locked in a fierce clash with a Tier 9 and two Tier 8 brutes, neither side gaining the upper hand.

“Mr. Rory, just you wait. The moment my friends take down another one of your goons, I’ll kill your brute buddies and then beat the crap out of you. Trust me when I make a promise,” Klaus said teasingly.

“Your bragging rights are, without a doubt, one of the best, human,” the Tier 9 elephant snorted through its rather large nose.

It was to be expected—after all, it was an elephant in demi-human form. While its head resembled a human’s, the enormous nose gave him away.

It sounded and looked weird to see and hear a monster talk.

“Don’t worry; I’ll show you real pain and suffering,” Klaus replied before leaping back to evade a tusk thrust from one of the Tier 8 monsters.

‘Senior, why can’t we tame this brute?’ Klaus asked.

[That’s because this brute is a Transcendent. It means it has formed its own law of self or, in the process, too. In other words, this brute has gained recognition from the heavens, making it something that can’t be tamed by the current you.

To have a shot, you must first become a Saint, which none of you are at that stage just yet.]

‘Law of self? What is that?’ Klaus asked.

Queenie had mentioned it before and provided some explanation, but he figured a new perspective couldn’t hurt.

[It’s more like the path one chooses to walk. In the case of your Asura lady, she chose the path of blood, war, and carnage. So, her strength will continue to rise in battles where blood is flowing.

In the case of this brute, his law of self seems to be tied to defence. You’ve noticed that you never seem to gain the upper hand, no matter how you attack him and his companions. His law of self revolves around defence.

This means that until you have the recognition of a Saint, trying to form a contract with him will backfire. That’s how the heavens have designed it.

So, you can either kill it or let it go.]

‘I see. I guess Danny won’t be getting lucky this time. But there will be other chances in the future,’ Klaus sighed, then continued to wait for his friends to take down another brute.

This would allow him to reclaim his Spirit Weapons. Since he didn’t have time to use his two most powerful attacks due to the lack of an opening, he could only wait to create one himself.

He had wanted to tame the Tier Nine Brute for Danny, but as it stands now, that wouldn’t be happening. Unluckily for them, despite the Tier 8 being half-beasts, they were still dummies.

This meant having brutes with no brains wouldn’t do his pal any good. ‘So, I can only wait for a better opportunity in the future,’ he thought.

Back to his friends, with Mark taking the Tier 7 brute out of Kathy’s hands, she started gaining the advantage over the Tier 8 brute she was now facing.

Danny and Lily also gained the upper hand. Lily’s speed was being used to her advantage, making her an annoying insect to the brute, who failed to notice another brute timing it for a powerful axe attack.

“Kilian, get ready. I’ll create an opening—make it count,” Anna said, summoning five Ice Rhinos at once.

The rhinos charged at the brute, who immediately unleashed a wave of ice, destroying them instantly.

“Shit,” Anna cursed. “Hold on for now. I’ll look for another chance.” Thankfully, Anna was under the ice domain, so her energy was recovering much faster.

“Daniel, I don’t think this brute is taking us seriously,” Kay said, looking at the 3-meter-tall elephant bathed in dark energy.

“I know, right? All my attacks are being nullified before they can deal any real damage,” Danny responded, frustration painting his face.

“Let’s keep holding it back. I don’t think it can continue doing that for long—it has to have a limit,” Kay said, firing barrages of arrows at the brute.

It was their first time facing a darkness-type monster, so they failed to understand the strongest trait of all darkness-type monsters:

They don’t fear brute attacks.

Most dark elements can cancel such attacks. The only thing that can kill them is soul attacks or, well, if the brute attacks far surpass their limit. Experience tales with My Virtual Library Empire

Of course, if it runs out of energy, things can be hammered.

But that was a big “if.” After all, a darkness-element beast has high stamina—something that allows them to stay in a fight for hours.

“I am on fire today. Mountain Cleaving Strike!”