The Last Paragon in the Apocalypse

It took just one exchange to show the kind of monster Klaus is now facing. So, without holding anything back, he attacked, and the Monk saw and felt the danger.

A sonic boom tore through space as Klaus reappeared at the monk’s flank, his scythe sweeping in a vicious arc meant to cleave him in half.

Blood-red energy trailed behind the scythe, filling the air with danger.

The monk’s foot slid back half a step, his body twisting just enough for the blade to graze past his robe, slicing an empty void.

He formed complex hand seals using his hand hidden behind his back, while the other remained in a prayer-like posture. Golden symbols suddenly flared beneath the monk’s feet.

The next instant, without Klaus even noticing, the monk’s palm struck forward.

It was a simple movement of his palm, and the blow landed without sound—but Klaus felt it.

His chest caved inward, ribs cracking as his body was hurled away like a discarded weapon. He smashed through several space bodies, his body exploding them to dust around him.

He caught a mouthful of blood, feeling an agonizing wave of pain move through his body. Before the debris could settle, Klaus forced his blood to surge.

His wounds sealed mid-flight, and the broken ribs mended almost as if he hadn’t sustained any injuries. Vampires can heal by circulating their blood.

So he used that to heal his injuries.

Just then, the monk moved and struck with his palm, manifesting a large golden Buddha Palm, which instantly caused the space to shake.

‘I suppose he was indeed a promising monk, wasn’t he?’ Klaus didn’t know if he should be impressed by this bastard’s talent.

He was impressed by how quickly he unleashed the palm strike.

However, he knew one thing, and that was, if he got his hand on his soul, he would be a perfect weapon for his [Ten Calamity Prayer Bead].

It was a weapon he won from a monk during his 4th incarnation after a duel. It harnesses the power of lightning to unleash three calamity-like attacks hidden within the beads.

Because Fruity (4th incarnation) only uses ice, its true power wasn’t realized back then.

Now, however, Klaus saw a promising candidate to bring out the terrifying power of that weapon.

‘But first, I must find a way to destroy his body.’

Klaus stabbed the pointed end of his scythe into space, causing it to crack.

“Blood Domain.”

The moment the words left his lips, the space around Klaus responded. The palm strike vanished, and a chilling blood energy filled the space.

Crimson light bled outward from the cracked point of his scythe, spreading like a living stain across space. In an instant, everything felt drenched in blood.

The darkness trembled, then folded inward as if kneeling before a king. In less than a breath, a vast domain bloomed into existence.

The world around Klaus and the Monk turned red.

A suffocating pressure descended, heavy and viscous, like being submerged in liquid blood. Countless phantom veins stretched across space, pulsing slowly, rhythmically, as though the domain itself had a heartbeat.

Every pulse carried killing intent.

Within the Blood Domain, Klaus stood at the center, his presence magnified tenfold. His aura surged violently, blood-red lightning crawling across his skin as his eyes burned with predatory hunger.

‘This is less than 5% of my Blood Domain,’ Klaus muttered, hoping his memories of the Asura god come next.

He had only awakened the class tied to the Asura god; however, he had yet to awaken his bloodline. This limited how much he could use.

Even so, using his understanding of blood from his 7th incarnation and Bloodwork’s connection to blood, he chose to use this domain since it would provide him with what he needed more quickly.

All he needs is a single wound, and Bloodwork would do the rest. If he manages to land a cut, the domain would slow down the healing long enough for Bloodwork to inject a poison.

The monk frowned for the first time, feeling a sense of dread press down on him.

Golden light flared around him, instinctively pushing back against the invading domain. His robe fluttered despite the absence of wind, and the symbols beneath his feet shattered one after another.

“So this is your path,” the monk said calmly. “A domain forged from slaughter.”

Klaus didn’t answer.

He instead vanished, and the Blood Domain screamed.

Klaus reappeared behind the monk, then to his left, then above, and then in front of him. His speed exploded, making him several times faster now.

His scythe continued to move with every movement he made, causing red lights to fill the already red environment.

The monk blocked again and again, golden light exploding from his palms as he deflected the scythe. However, this time, each impact forced him back a step. With every attack, the ground beneath him cracks, spiderwebs of fractured space spreading outward.

The pressure was mounting, and he could feel it. This made him move slowly, and while he tried to play it cool, he started to move his hand from behind him.

The composure he had was being exploited by Klaus, and as such, he knew if he kept holding back, he would be overwhelmed.

However, he failed to notice something crucial.

Within the Blood Domain, Klaus was absolute. As long as he remained surrounded by blood, he could do as he pleased.

“Blood Dominion Slash”

The moment the words were spoken, the domain answered with a primal howl. This sound shook the monk’s resolve, making him see the errors of his ways.

He had underestimated Klaus, and now he was about to pay the price.

The phantom veins pulsed violently, converging toward Klaus as the Blood Domain howled in resonance. The law of death resonated with the howl, causing an overwhelming sense of death to fall on the Monk.

Crimson light surged into Klaus’s scythe, condensing, compressing, folding in on itself until the weapon looked as though it had been dipped into a living ocean of blood and death.

With the descent of the scythe, the space before him split open.

A crescent arc of blood erupted outward, not fast, not slow, but inevitable. It held absolute death might, one woven from the law of death.

It carried no sound, only pressure—an overwhelming will that crushed everything in its path. Klaus added the law of death into the slash.

The monk’s eyes widened, dread filling his heart.

Golden light exploded from his body as he finally moved both hands, abandoning his composed stance. In the face of death, he had no choice but to make his move with haste.

Ancient mantras thundered silently through space as layers of golden sigils manifested in front of him, stacking one after another like divine shields.

But he didn’t end it there; he unleashed his Immortal ring, causing a beautiful golden ring to appear around his left arm.

[Master, it seems his ultimate weapon is his armor. You can implement the move now before he uses your own attack against you.]

Underneath the monk’s cloak, a metallic armor started to glow green, making him feel good in his heart.

With the amplification power of his Immortal ring, palm seals slammed together.

“Vajra Bodhi Barrier.”

The golden barrier that is linked to his armor formed just as the Blood Dominion Slash arrived.

However, just before the attack could land on the barrier, time runes appeared and formed a ring around Klaus’s right hand.

He grinned and made the kill move.

“Time Law: Time Stop”