The Last Paragon in the Apocalypse

Klaus stood tall, looking at the cloud formation.

This time, even without appearing, he could feel the danger building.

“I guess they don’t want me to reach the Void stage,” Klaus laughed, activating his living armor. It wrapped around his body, becoming a red and black leather armor.

It extended into a partial helmet that only covered his neck and some parts of his head before forming two horns that appeared on his forehead.

“Too bad I prepared for this,” Klaus said, taking out his saber and allowing the Lightning Source Diagram to appear behind him.

A few minutes into the formation process, Klaus saw something move within the cloud.

[Brat, listen to me very well. This tribulation is called Heaven’s Descent. It has just three forms; however, each form is made up of challenges aimed at breaking you.

You must protect your mind, soul, and body, and under no circumstances should you spare anything that comes against you.

Trust me, you will face some weird stuff, but don’t hold back.]

The senior who had been quiet for weeks now spoke, and Klaus nodded. “Don’t worry, senior, I am prepared for them this time too.”

Klaus kept staring at the clouds for the next few minutes before the first level appeared.

Klaus, who was standing on the red soil, suddenly found himself standing on a grassy field surrounded by thousands of knights riding battle horses.

[This is the first level called “The Never Ending Battle.” You are required to kill and keep killing till the heavens deem it enough.]

Without Klaus even having a moment to adjust, the knights moved.

“Sages,” Klaus smirked and stamped hard on the ground, causing a lightning field to burst from under his foot, spreading everywhere.

The advancing knights were all turned into tribulation runes and absorbed into the body by Klaus. However, things didn’t end there.

The next batch of knights charged at Klaus, but using the same method, he killed them all. Then came the third, fourth, and fifth waves. Eventually, Ascendant stage knights came, but using the same process, he killed them all.

“Losers, they never learn,” Klaus scoffed, looking at the Void stage knights appear. This time, he raised his sword, and the Lightning Source Diagram flew into the air.

The source diagram expanded, and soon, it created a diameter of 12 km, filling the space Klaus was in. With a snap of his finger, the lightning surge from within the large ring devoured all the knights.

’After reaching the Ascendant stage, I was able to awaken the first form of the Lightning Source Diagram. Now, I can devour anyone I want using the lightning stored inside the diagram.’

Klaus smiled, knowing the situation he found himself in now was perfect for the diagram. Instead of using the lightning stored inside it to devour the knights, he was storing more.

It was as if he was invited to add more lightning essence to the Lightning Source Diagram in preparation for the upcoming awakening.

More knights came, but they were all devoured, strengthening the diagram further.

Eventually, Chaos stage knights started appearing. Klaus merely stood there and allowed the diagram to devour them while, with casual swings of his sword, he killed those who managed to get within 10 feet of him.

This process continued for many minutes before suddenly, the space shuddered, and Klaus, who was standing still, suddenly moved to his left, evading a lightning blast.

Turning around, his eyes met a man clad in golden armor holding two swords.

“An Ascension stage,” Klaus smiled, “Still weak.”

With a smug smile on his face, he moved and appeared 3 feet behind the man.

A second later, the man fell apart, cut vertically.

He turned into tribulation runes, entering Klaus’s body.

“Challenge me, losers. Even if you don’t have something, at least make me feel something,” Klaus taunted the heavens, but this time they didn’t fall for it.

After the last of the knights were devoured, he was sent to the next stage of the tribulation.

“Fuck.”

Klaus swung his sword to meet a powerful swing from a club coming from a 9-foot-tall giant demon.

“Shameless bastards, they never even allow me to completely appear before attacking,” Klaus said as his eyes turned golden. A lightning beam shot from them, drawing two holes in the head of the bulky demon.

The tribulation runes flew into his body, but instead of entering his core, Klaus felt his soul grow stronger.

[This is the Realm of the Soul. Every attack here is backed by a soul attack, so be sure not to be cut, for every cut is a cut on your soul, and more cuts mean more soul wounds.]

Klaus nodded just as a shadow moved, and a panther man appeared, stabbing two daggers at him.

“An illusion.”

Klaus exploded lightning from his body, creating a net that blasted apart the panther man who stabbed him with daggers, but caught a second shadow.

“Just die.” His body was reduced to tribulation runes the next second.

However, Klaus hadn’t had a moment’s rest since right after killing the panther; a lightning arrow had arrived before him.

But Klaus activated the Void step, and instead of moving, he allowed the arrow to land on his body. However, the arrow went through him instead of piercing him.

He pointed his sword at the archer, and a beam of ice shot from it, turning the archer into an ice statue.

“This is rather engaging, but I need Ascension stage warriors.” Klaus vanished, and like the angel of death, he started killing the warriors challenging him.

After an hour, he had killed over 50,000 warriors, but they kept coming, including the occasional Ascension stage warrior.

After three more hours and over 200,000 kills, they stopped coming.

[Hmm. There is something wrong with this level. From what I know, it was supposed to be only 9,999 warriors and, in some cases, even fewer. So why hundreds of thousands for you?]

’I suppose we both know they are idiots, so they allowed me to get what I wanted before they stopped.’ Klaus laughed.

[I don’t think so, brat. Be prepared, the next level is coming.]

Klaus nodded, then looked up. “Make it fun.”

He wasn’t done when a palm appeared from the clouds, threatening to force him onto his knees.

[Oh shit, that is the Palm of Judgment. Brat, no matter what, don’t go down on your knees. Doing so will mean you failed the tribulation and you will die.]

Klaus’s eyes turned red even before the senior spoke. Without the senior’s words, Klaus already knew what the heavens wanted.

To Klaus, that was a big insult, one he never expected the heavens to make. However, they did, and so his anger burst out, causing him to look coldly at the descending palm.

“I was planning to go easy on you when I become a god, but due to today’s provocation, I will make sure everything you love, down to the last foundation, is destroyed.”

The heavens shuddered when Klaus spoke. Then his sword glowed red, and with a powerful swing, a thin arc flashed out from his sword, cleaving through the palm.

“Next time, we shall see who is the one to be on their knees.”

The sky cleared, and Klaus sat down. His body was encased in a cocoon formed around him.

—

Somewhere far away, a pair of golden eyes opened, radiating immense power. A few seconds after the eyes opened, blood fell from them.

“I have done all I could to help you, brother. The next will depend on whether you are indeed the Paragon of the Nine Stars.”

The eyes closed, unsure when they would open again.