Road to Mastery: A LitRPG Apocalypse

Jack and Brock faced Overlord Fiend King in a pyramid floating in the middle of the sky. It would have been shocking if it wasn’t as dangerous.

Fiend King laughed. “You and what army?” he asked. “I don’t know how you got here, but this is where your journey ends. Go back. Don’t throw your lives away.”

“We got here the right way. By earning the qualifications,” Jack said.

Fiend King’s laughter was cut short. “You were classified as Eternal?”

“That’s right.”

“Both of you?”

“Yes.”

“That’s the stupidest excuse I’ve ever heard. We’ve never had a single Eternal talent—two at a time is impossible.”

There was envy in the Overlord’s voice, clear as day. He was one of the two rulers of this entire world, yet the Hall of Trials was a consistent reminder of his inadequacy. He’d only reached the fifth floor as a youth—anyone able to reach the sixth or the impossible seventh would only humiliate him indirectly.

“It doesn’t really matter, does it?” Jack asked. His aura slowly rose out of his body, cascading in ever taller waves. The dense ambient Dao was pushed back, the shattered bricks and tiles beginning to float. Even the suction force of the golden light abated momentarily. Brock followed a moment later, releasing his own golden aura, the air filled with chants and sparkles.

Fiend King narrowed his eyes. “You are not suppressed. And this aura, so high above your level… Did you really qualify as Eternal talents?”

“There’s only one way to find out,” Jack said, entering a battle stance, arms raised before his face like a boxer. He couldn’t hide his grin. He roared, “Show us the strength of an Overlord, Fiend King!”

The Overlord frowned for a while, then his face warped into a snarl. His own crimson aura erupted, meeting Jack and Brock’s in the middle of the hall, shattering the tiles further. Winds picked up, whipping their hair. The Fiend King’s tail swished through the air, carrying muscle and violence, capable of demolishing planets with a single touch—his claws and teeth were bared, sharp edges glinting in the light, while the muscles under his gray skin expanded. He became a creature of nightmare—a being made to slaughter.

“Just die,” he spat out. Crimson erupted between sweeping claws. The light raked the floor and walls, drawing thin lines, sending more bricks and tiles flying. Jack leaned to the side, dodging the strike, and used his own Dao to suppress the other’s brutality. As for Brock, he only raised a palm, blocking the claw energies head-on.

Jack smiled. “It’s been a while since we fought side by side, bro.”

“My favorite kind of battle. Together, we are unbeatable.”

“You think too highly of yourselves!” Fiend King roared. He moved so fast he disappeared. Jack narrowed his eyes, then instinctively raised an arm to defend. He activated the four-armed battle form and Thunderbody instantly. A gray shoulder smashed into him from the side, sending him flying, nailing him into the far wall.

“Bro!” Brock shouted, but the gray tail was already before him. A giant golden brorilla manifested—the same one which had easily defended against Fiend Prince and Strawpin. The gray tail smashed into it, warped the golden light, and shattered it, carrying on to strike Brock in the chest and blow him backward.

“How dare you challenge me!” Fiend King shouted. “I am the King of Carnage. I’m invincible!”

“Oh yeah? Go fight the Immortals then,” Jack said, having already escaped the pile of rubble. He charged the Fiend King and punched out, purple trailing his fist, a meteor crossing space. The Overlord grabbed it in his palm, the meteor fizzling out. His skin was tougher than the hardest steel—and his eyes, as he held Jack by the fist, murderous.

A claw came slashing down. Jack was about to decisively sever his hand to escape when a golden palm smashed into the Overlord from the side, shaking him. Jack put all his strength into escaping—a massive yank ripped his hand free from the Fiend King’s grip, long bloody lines drawn against his skin.

The Overlord wasn’t injured by Brock’s hasty attack. If anything, he was more surprised at Jack escaping. “You’re this strong!?” he asked in disbelief. His eyes flashed. “All the more reason for you to die.”

He pursued Jack. Jack struck, still retreating. “Supernova!” Fist met tail, purple explosion against crimson aura, and a shockwave erupted which battered the entire pyramid. Even Supernova couldn’t resist the Overlord. Jack’s hand shattered, all bones inside snapped, as the tail carried through and found him in the waist. He turned into a missile flying backward. If not for the pyramid’s hard walls, he would have flown for endless miles. In this case, he didn’t, but it was even worse. The materials making up the pyramid were extraordinarily tough. Jack smashed into them, losing all the air in his lungs, breaking his back.

The entire hall was a mile wide and only a few hundred feet long. It was an extremely tiny space for hosting a peak A-Grade battle, with the hard walls making any impact even more punishing. They couldn’t leave, either—the only two exits were barred by a golden suction force and a long series of rooms respectively.

Jack opened his eyes to find Fiend King tearing into Brock. A dozen golden brorillas were completely failing to stop him, their bodies destroyed as mere afterthoughts, while Brock’s defenses crumbled faster than he could put them up. Jack rushed out, charging up a Black Hole while the Overlord was busy elsewhere.

Claws raked Brock’s body, drawing long red lines which stretched from his shoulder to his waist. Red blood with hints of gold flew out. Brown fur littered the air. Brock coughed, more blood escaping his mouth, as he twirled his staff and smashed it into the Overlord’s shoulder. The impact was minimal. Fiend King gave a monstrous grin as he stabbed his tail into Brock’s stomach, not penetrating his body, but pushing him back again. He then turned to face Jack. ℞

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A black hole flew at the Overlord. A hint of horror crossed his face—he shot out his tail, striking the black hole at the maximum possible distance. The hard skin and tough flesh were warped, but the black hole also struggled. It was, after all, just an artificial one crafted by Jack’s Dao. It had its limits. The Overlord might have been suppressed to the level of a peak A-Grade, but his body remained beyond sturdy.

The black hole imploded. An intense shockwave struck the walls, shaking several bricks out of position and disintegrating the closest broken floor tiles. Jack was once again smashed against the wall by the impact. So was Fiend King, but besides the tip of his tail disappearing and some blood dripping down the corner of his lips, he seemed fine.

“You injured me,” he said, surprised at his own words. “I’ll make you suffer. I’ll tear you limb from limb!”

Jack frowned deeply. This had been his strongest attack, which had finished off every opponent so far. Even the fragment of Axelor had been no exception. That the Fiend King could resist it didn’t bode well.

“Are you okay, bro?” Brock asked, dusting himself off. He was injured, blood marring the fur on his chest, but he didn’t seem to mind.

“Good enough,” Jack replied, wiping the blood from his lips. “We can’t beat him as two individual fighters. We need to work together.”

“Right. He just split us before.”

“I know.”

The two fell into a common pace. A new aura suffused the hall. Fiend King snorted, then charged. “Useless!” he cried out. His claws sliced the air. Jack moved back to weaken the blow. A golden shield appeared before him, in time with his own Meteor Punch, meeting the strike and neutralizing it.

Fiend King took this time to smash the body of his tail against Brock, but a Supernova explosion sent it off course. Brock simply ducked under the strike, then smashed his staff at Fiend King, pushing him backward. His large golden brorilla compacted, turning into a sheet of armor over Brock’s body, as well as two extra golden arms.

“Big Bro Form!” Brock shouted.

Jack chuckled. “Is that supposed to be me?”

“You’re my big bro. Of course you inspire me.”

“What bullshit are you spouting!?” Fiend King roared, charging again. His power and speed were overwhelming. He was the perfect killing machine, possessing extraordinary aspects across the board. By themselves, Jack and Brock couldn’t hope to match him. Even a normal peak A-Grade would be above their powers.

When working together, however, their combined battle prowess was more than the sum of its parts. They hadn’t fought side by side often, but they were spiritual companions, each sharing a part of the other’s soul. Their connection was deeper than any other. They could read each other’s intentions, react before they even moved, perfectly coordinate their strengths.

Moreover, they were bros. Brock’s Dao circulated between their souls, empowering them in a constant cycle.

Fiend King charged, but Jack and Brock fell on either side of him. They moved in perfect sync. When the Fiend King focused on one opponent, the other struck back. Their attacks were perfectly timed, forcing him to only defend against one. Their defense was a combination of two outstanding Daos. Jack was the stronger party, but they even accounted for that, balancing their contributions to achieve a perfect fusion.

They received injuries at first. One gash here, one tail smash there. Yet, the more they worked together, the better they flowed around each other. Their souls were singing in harmony. Fighting became instinctive, requiring no effort, as if they slowly merged into a single being with two bodies. Their efficiency rose. The Fiend King had held a slight advantage at first, but he was pushed back now, his strikes ineffective. The attacks he did receive weren’t too threatening, but the damage added up.

The Fiend King roared. He balled his claws into a fist and struck at Brock, but a purple and golden shield blocked him. It was like hitting a wall. A punch struck the back of his knee, bending it, as a staff strike landed on his now-exposed chest. Before he could recover, a second punch exploded against the back of his head. The strikes accelerated as they kept coming. The Fiend King tried madly to defend but was unable to, fists and staffs pummeling his body from all sides. Bones cracked. Bruises appeared. The skin he took such pride in tore, letting hints of gray blood leak out, while his regeneration failed to keep up with the onslaught of attacks. They came from everywhere all the time.

He tried to strike back, to break the chain, but it was like they knew the future. His attacks were predicted and blocked before he even made them, the lapse in defense causing him more damage from the ongoing pummeling.

The Fiend King lost control completely. He was confused by the many strikes, unable to tell up from down or left from right. He was helpless. For the first time in millions of years, he felt he fear of death.

He roared, finally snapping, his crimson aura exploding out of him and wrecking his own body in the process. His eyes madly scanned the hall for the golden beam of light—it was there, in a now wide region of destroyed floor. He feigned an attack, then dashed sideways, letting more strikes land on him to escape.

A strong hand grabbed his tail. Fiend King felt his momentum evaporate, and true horror rose in his heart. He pushed forward with all his power. A second pair of hands grabbed onto his tail, yanking him backward, and the Fiend King saw to his horror the beam of light grow farther away. True panic took him over—his survival instinct overriding every other function.

He severed his own tail—a function of his body he’d never used before, nor did he think he’d ever have to. The severing pushed him forward with extreme momentum, reaching the golden beam in an instant. He dove for it. Great Silver could be waiting below, but the dragon was compassionate. It wouldn’t kill him. Fiend King could live.

A massive fist smashed into his backside. His already great momentum grew to unstoppable heights. Even the golden beam was unable to capture him, and Fiend King was forced to watch as he overshot it, flying straight through the suction force and impacting the wall on the other side.

“NO!”

He roared, blood escaping his mouth. He turned around to try again, but his pursuers had already caught up, and he had no more tails to sever. A golden staff stabbed into his abdomen, bending the Fiend King over and releasing all air from his lungs. A black hole was pushed into his open mouth, guided by a green-tinged arm.

Fiend King looked up, sensing his skull collapse, to find a pair of cold eyes locked onto his. This had all happened too fast. A few moments ago, he was the ultimate winner, earning the entire seventh floor for himself. He was going to reach new heights. And now, he, an Overlord of the Space Monster World…was dead. Dead to some low-level brats.

Fiend King roared in impotent fury and denial as the black hole warped his head, sucking it all in, then exploded. Bits and pieces of gray flesh flew everywhere. The Fiend King’s body collapsed, a headless thing, while Jack and Brock watched it coldly to make sure there were no surprises coming.

When they were finally sure it was dead, they both collapsed. It hadn’t been as easy on them as the Fiend King had thought. His attacks had found purchase multiple times, sending streams of carnage through their veins, and the constant high-speed attacking had pushed them to their limits. Jack’s Life Drop had almost ran out of energy—it hadn’t had much remaining after his battle with Axelor. It was a good thing the battle lasted so little.

But they had won.

They looked at each other. “Good job, bro,” Brock said, giving a bloody smile.

“You too,” Jack replied, unable to hold his laughter. “Do you realize it, Brock? We killed an Overlord. We secured ourselves the seventh floor rewards. We finally…won!”

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