Alex felt his cells decomposing and dying at an alarming rate, his body succumbing to the invasive poison, with his skin cracking and crumbling like dried earth, each fissure spreading rapidly across his flesh.

Alex could feel the venom coursing through his veins, burning like wildfire as it ravaged his system. Even when he pushed his Ancient heart to its limit, pumping the purest of darkness through his veins, it only slowed down the advance of the poison but failed to stop it.

The agony was excruciating, and every breath felt like a struggle against an unseen force tearing him apart from the inside.

Once Alex realized the severity of his situation, he did not hold back and used Chaos Purge, one of his new creations, capable of dealing with both physical and mental debuffs.

The pillar of energy dissipated with a mighty roar from Zarathrax, his immense form appearing before Alex, casting a shadow over him.

Zarathrax swiped his tail like a supersonic whip, sending Alex flying into the hole that led him down into this chamber. The impact was so forceful that his body skidded across the winding passes for a number of seconds, leaving a trail of destruction in his wake.

Zarathrax followed right behind him, catching Alex in his jaw. His jagged teeth pierced through the veil of growing chaos energy around Alex and dug into his flesh as he slithered his way to the surface, his giant maw bubbling with a concentration of destructive energy.

As they reached closer to the surface, Alex was done dealing with the poison destroying his body, so without a moment’s delay, he firmly gripped the jaws of the giant naga and forced them open, freeing himself.

Alex waited a moment as he stared the beast in the eyes, and as if seeing his intention, Zarathrax slowed down, trying his best to pull back as both his hands, free from their respective weapons, moved to free him of his grip.

However, Alex acted faster and made the chaos energy burst forth, mixing with bubbling crimson force in Zarathrax’s open maw before he slammed the jaws shut just in time for the Breath of Destruction to well up inside the creature’s throat.

The two lethal energies collided and mixed, disturbing the balance, and as the struggling energies tried to escape with no outlet, they built up with a terrifying intensity, causing the naga’s body to shudder and convulse.

Despite the razor-sharp claws of the beast digging into his arms, Alex kept the naga’s jaw firmly shut, forcing the breath to remain trapped within Zarathrax’s maw, its deadly force desperately seeking an escape and causing his scales to crack and glow ominously from the strain.

Alex only let go of his grip after a few seconds, when his head was about to be ripped clean off, but in the small window, he had returned the favor and delivered significant damage.

The crimson furey burst forth from his massive maws, and Alex protected himself in a cocoon of chaotic darkness as he was launched through the winding passes into the surface.

Zarathrax emerged from the ruins of the passage, his eyes glowing with a malevolent light as he met with Alex’s gaze, whose eyes were two pools of bottomless darkness.

Alex’s bruised and battered physique healed at an astonishing rate, his wounds closing and his skin regenerating under the influence of the aura of chaos that oozed from him, radiating a palpable energy that distorted the very fabric of space around him.

The poison was still not fully neutralized and was rampaging through his body, albeit at a very slow pace and under the influence of the chaos energy circulating through his body, he knew it would be dealt with in a few minutes.

Alex had seen enough of Zarathrax, and unless he had some hidden trump cards, it was time to end this battle, and that’s what he planned to do.

Alex took his sword out of the space ring, his chaos wings stretching back, appearing like flowing smoke of gray and dark, and with a powerful flap, he disappeared in a dark flash, reappearing in an instant to deliver a strike before Zarathrax could even react.

Alex was no longer holding back, and each strike was aimed at crippling the giant naga since he needed him alive.

Zarathrax was not going down easily as he defended against each strike, his massive great sword set ablaze with crimson destructive force, cleaving through the fabric of space and leaving behind trails of twisted gravity and windows open to the void.

Zarathrax’s massive lamia form slithered and twisted at an unnatural speed, but Alex was faster and stronger, and with each passing moment, the end appeared clearer.

Zarathrax also realized this, so without wasting a moment, he placed his shield on his back like a protective shell and slammed his sword into the ground, his aura suddenly flaring out like a gushing ocean.

A tide of crimson gushed from him as the center in all directions. The ground was drowned in a crimson flood that twisted between shades of stark crimson, pitch dark, and even hints of white, while the fabric of space was painted with a similar blend of shifting colors.

In mere moments, the ground changed, and the landscape turned into a desolate expanse of cracked and broken earth, with jagged fissures glowing a deep crimson.

Chunks of earth were lifted in the twisted gravity, getting erased by the force of destruction, leaving nothing but fine black dust drifting aimlessly in the still air.

Columns of crimson energy spiraled upward from the ground like ethereal geysers of decay and entropy, disassembling the fabric of reality itself.

Above, the sky was a tumultuous sea of swirling crimson and black clouds, and this sight stretched for nearly four hundred meters.

Alex could feel his control over the elements of darkness and chaos growing weaker by the moment, his skin tearing as the destructive energy tried to erase it, and every breath felt like inhaling shards of glass.

Alex knew this was a false domain, an extremely rare accomplishment among sixth-rank individuals but not something impossible to achieve. By the vast and pure presence of the element of destruction, it was in the upper league.

While Alex could also create a false domain and create a stronger one, he knew he didn’t need it to finish the battle.

Alex moved to strike again, his aura of darkness blended with chaos growing to give him protection, and as he got closer, he was met with a mighty roar from the naga and the fury of his domain.

Zarathrax summoned pillars of destruction through the ground and sky while a spiraling vortex of destruction formed in his jaw, ready to welcome Alex in a breath of annihilation.

Alex zipped his way through the pillars and met the crimson breath head-on, his blade infused with the unified blade intent, carving a path through it, only to be welcomed by the giant great sword.

Alex’s mana heart was pushing its limits, and his mind was racing against reality under the influence of the thought acceleration skill, allowing him to watch everything fold in near-slow motion.

Alex used the greatsword that came from his right as a stepping stone, pushing it down and throwing the giant naga off balance, even if only for a moment, but it was enough.

Alex moved with his sword ablaze with unified blade intents and the concept of nothingness, winging it with all his might, his blade digging into the shoulder of the giant an instant later, slicing through his scales and flesh with little resistance.

The strike was meant to slice Zarathrax in half and end the battle, and that’s what it did, but the smile creeping across the giant naga’s face told Alex that this battle was not over.

Alex was not given any time to react when two giant clawed hands moved with a lightning-swift pace not for him but for the ground, and instantly, a storm of destruction began to envelop him and Zarathrax, growing so fast that he was not given any time to move out, and by the time he tried, it was already too late.

Alex reacted in an instant, his mind working on its own, knowing a moment’s delay and he would be erased, and he would dammed if he let that happen.