My SSS-Rank Innate skill: Infinite Adaptation core

Nobody knew where they had gone. Azren and Voren could only watch helplessly. Their eyes widened with despair as they screamed at the top of their lungs.

”NOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!”

As Nova and the Demon Lord’s heart disappeared from the battlefield, the overwhelming demonic aura and pressure vanished along with them.

Azren’s and Voren’s bodies blurred as they instantly appeared at the spot where Nova had died.

All they saw was a massive pool of blood that had poured out from Nova’s body, clearly implying that no one could survive such an amount of blood loss.

Azren immediately spread his senses across hundreds of kilometers, trying to track down his lord’s aura or the Demon Lord’s heart.

But he found nothing. He then tried to search for Nova’s mana signature as well, but he couldn’t find that either. He assumed it was because Nova was already dead.

However, one question kept tormenting him.

Why had their lord’s heart broken free from the container and flown toward the dying Nova? Was it because Nova’s demonic energy was as pure as the Demon Lord’s...

...or perhaps even purer?

He didn’t know. Panic slowly began consuming him. Turning around with bloodshot eyes filled with rage, he glared at Albert and Ron, who had already assumed defensive stances in case the two Demon Generals attacked.

But Azren couldn’t afford to waste time fighting them when their lord’s heart had disappeared. He roared,

”You fucking cowards are lucky... that we can’t waste our time dealing with bastards like you right now!”

Albert and Ron remained silent. They both knew Azren was telling the truth. Now that the heart was gone, Azren and Voren would no longer hold anything back, and defeating them would be nearly impossible.

The light-infused daggers had only managed to paralyze them. They hadn’t been able to inflict any truly fatal damage.

Because of that, Albert and Ron stayed on full alert. Fortunately for them, the Demon Generals’ priority had now become searching for their lord’s heart.

Azren then turned toward the remaining Blood Moon Cult members, who were slowly getting back on their feet, and roared,

”You bastards, don’t just stand there! Search the entire kingdom and find our lord’s heart!”

With those words, Azren’s and Voren’s figures vanished from their original positions. Their overwhelming auras disappeared along with them.

After hearing their orders, the remaining Blood Moon Cult members also scattered in different directions, disappearing one by one. Albert and Ron didn’t try to stop them.

After both Demon Generals disappeared, only the King Realm experts of the Twilight Order, the Holy Knights, the Royal Guards, and a few Peak Grandmasters like Enzo and Ragnar remained alongside Albert and Ron.

The rest of both the human and demonic armies had perished. The massive battlefield looked so horrific that it would soon become known throughout the entire kingdom.

Albert looked across the battlefield and let out a heavy sigh.

”Sigh... This is the price we had to pay. But at least the heart is no longer with the Demon Generals.”

Ron looked at Albert with a worried expression. ”You are sure that kid is dead, right? And why did that heart fly toward him?”

Albert let out a chuckle. ”I left a massive hole through his chest and destroyed his heart along with several vital organs. I personally felt his breathing and heartbeat stop.”

”He was completely and utterly dead.”

”As for why Demon Lord Raze’s heart went toward him... that is still unknown to me. Hell, even those Demon Generals didn’t know.”

”But the real question is...”

”Who pulled the daggers out of their bodies?”

Albert and Ron fell silent as they thought about it. No matter how they looked at it, it didn’t make sense. Just then, a Peak King Realm Holy Knight stepped forward and reported,

”I saw those black shadowy creatures belonging to the Slaughter Monarch pull out the daggers.” Ron and Albert’s eyes widened.

Only then did they realize what had happened.

And sure enough, Nova had taken advantage of the brief moment when the Demon Lord’s heart released its overwhelming aura and pressure, distracting everyone.

During that moment, he had secretly ordered his Deadborns to pull the daggers out of the two Demon Generals.

It had been his final command before dying...Just so he could teach Albert one last lesson.

....

Far away from the battlefield, where the massive and horrific battle had taken place—a battle that would soon shake the entire kingdom, perhaps even the empire, if not the whole world—

At an unknown place...The land was completely barren. The sky was pitch black.

There was no greenery in sight, only dried, charred trees standing like lifeless corpses. As far as the eye could see, not a single living being could be found.

Suddenly, the space in the area began to fluctuate. A portal-like rift appeared. The next moment, something fell onto the ground. It was Nova’s dead body.

A massive hole pierced through his chest, while the black heart continued hovering above him, releasing its overwhelming demonic aura.

Thump! Thump! Thump!

The heartbeat grew stronger and stronger.

The heart seemed excited as it absorbed the dense and incredibly potent demonic energy surrounding the area.

Inside the System Training Space, which was now continuously crumbling, Liya sat silently. Her eyes were red and swollen as tears streamed down her beautiful face while she looked at Nova’s lifeless body.

She couldn’t say a single word. The system itself was collapsing due to Nova’s death. Then her gaze fell upon the black heart again.

The moment she saw it first, she understood what it implied. A tiny spark of hope ignited within her. It was the only anchor she had left if it could Only not harm that tresure...

The black heart hovering above Nova’s body thumped excitedly as it continuously absorbed the dense, potent demonic energy surrounding it.

Thump! Thump! Thump!

Time passed. No one knew how long.

After absorbing enough demonic energy, the heart’s powerful beats gradually slowed.

Its violent pulsations became calm. Then, it released an enormous surge of demonic energy that gently lifted Nova’s lifeless body into the air.

The next moment...Nova’s half-destroyed heart was forcibly pulled out of his chest.

His lifeless body continued to float in the air, suspended by the overwhelming demonic energy radiating from the black heart.

If someone else had been subjected to such dense and incredibly potent demonic energy, they would have died within mere seconds.

Even high-ranking demons wouldn’t have been able to endure it. Even Demon Generals would have struggled to survive in such an environment.

Yet Nova’s lifeless body remained completely unharmed for some unknown reason.

Perhaps it was because the black heart was acting as an anchor—not for his life, which had already faded away—but for his body.

Then, something unexpected happened.

From within the crumbling System Inventory, an Unknown Grade treasure that Nova had obtained from the Gacha suddenly shot out on its own.

It resembled a droplet of dark gray water, yet it radiated an overwhelming aura that far surpassed even the aura of the Demon Lord’s heart.

It was...Chronos Tear.

The moment it emerged, it released a gentle yet overwhelming light that enveloped Nova’s entire body.

Inside the crumbling System Training Space, Liya watched everything unfold. Tears continued streaming down her face.

For the first time since Nova’s death...A glimmer of hope appeared in her eyes.Her host....might be resurrected after all.

As the light enveloped Nova’s entire body, the space within it began to fluctuate, as if time itself were being forcefully reversed.

To be more precise...Only Nova’s body was being turned back in time. Nothing else, not even the surrounding space. Inside the sphere of light, Nova’s body gradually began to recover.

The massive hole in his chest slowly started closing. Flesh, muscles, bones, and organs regenerated one after another. Even a brand-new heart began to form.

This miraculous scene continued until Nova’s body was completely restored.

Then, suddenly—

Thump! Thump! Thump!

His heartbeat returned. At that exact moment, the Chronos Tear crumbled into countless particles of light and disappeared.

The black heart instantly shot into Nova’s chest and forcefully merged with his newly restored heart.

**

Thanks for reading...