Free Web NovelChapter 77: The Will of Darkness
Alen felt as if his body was going to burst apart when the sonic boom hit him. His entire frame was pinned toward the ground by the tremendous force of the sound magic.
The earth beneath his boots began to crack, sending a spiderweb of deep fractures rolling through the crimson sand. The immediate area blasted outward with debris, the sound wave packing enough raw power to tear the surrounding dried trees straight from their roots. freёwebnoѵel.com
Alen’s ears began to bleed. He tried to clamp his hands over them to suppress the pressure, but it was entirely impossible to defend against a Peak B-Rank attack with physical force alone.
’Ugh! Now I finally understand why my opponents suffered so much from my Sound magic in past battles...’ Alen thought through the blinding pain.
’Sound magic is an incredibly overpowered element when used appropriately—no less dangerous than space magic.’
’My eardrums are going to shatter at this rate. I have to change my tactics immediately.’
Relying on his high elemental comprehension, Alen quickly channeled his own Sound element throughout his body as a localized counter-defense. Because the monster’s output was vastly superior to his own, his magic couldn’t completely negate the sonic boom, but it gave him just enough protection to break free from the paralysis and move out of the optimal attack range.
[Phantom Step!]
Alen instantly sprinted away, leaving a flickering afterimage behind. He accelerated his pace, darting toward the flank as the giant Leviathan began twisting its head, attempting to sweep the destructive sound wave along his running path.
’Can this thing actually track a moving target while screaming?’ Alen gritted his teeth.
Suddenly, Alen skidded to a halt, his back initially facing the beast. He spun around, casting a cold, entirely emotionless glance at the massive creature as thick, dark energy began to coat his right fist.
"Enough of this. It’s my turn."
[Phantom Step!]
He exploded forward with incredible speed, rocketing directly toward the giant Leviathan. The monster clearly didn’t expect a sudden, head-on charge from a human it assumed was incapacitated. As Alen leaped high into the air directly in front of its face, the Leviathan frantically began pooling mana in its throat for another sonic blast.
But Alen was faster.
[Nexus Elemental Art: Dark Type - Shadow Punch!]
Alen slammed his fist directly into the open wound near the hilt of his embedded sword. Since the Leviathan’s thick hide was already torn open in that specific spot, the dark energy instantly burst deep inside the monster’s internal structure.
*BOOOOM!*
A localized explosion erupted from the side of the monster’s head. The concussive dark force caused its massive skull to slam heavily into the ground. fɾeewebnoveℓ.co๓
Alen didn’t give the creature a single second to recover. He landed on the beast’s neck and sprinted along its thrashing spine with incredible speed, his figure blurring into a shadow. Reaching the hilt of his sword, he gripped it tightly. Instead of pulling it out cleanly, Alen dragged the blade forcefully along with his momentum, tearing a massive, bleeding gash down the monster’s face as he ran.
The monster howled in agony, violently thrashing its body to shake him off. To counter this, Alen imbued a continuous stream of mana into the soles of his boots, utilizing it as a powerful form of magical adhesion to lock his feet onto the scales and keep driving himself forward.
Arriving right above the beast’s face, he ripped the sword out completely and aimed a lethal strike straight toward its giant eye.
[Nexus Elemental Art: Dark Type - Dark Fang!]
The blade, completely coated in dense dark magic, unleashed a massive vertical arc across the monster’s vision. The dark energy materialized into the shape of a giant, shadowy claw, tearing straight through the sensitive iris and completely blinding the Leviathan’s left eye.
*SCREECH—!!!*
The beast let out a frenzied scream, rolling continuously across the crimson sand. Striking its weak spot had successfully severely weakened the monster’s combat capabilities, breaking its ironclad mental defense.
Alen dropped safely back onto the ground as the Leviathan thrashed blindly in the distance. Holding his blood-stained sword, he calmly wiped the sweat from his forehead. Normally, this would be the perfect opportunity to use his speed to run away while the beast was incapacitated by pain.
But Alen didn’t run. He stood his ground without a single trace of worry.
An ambitious, risky idea had formed in his mind. During his journey with Zane, Alen had carefully observed the boy’s shadow-taming and summoning methods up close. Alen wanted to see if he could replicate a crude version of a summoning contract using pure magical dominance.
He dashed forward again, leaping back onto the rolling beast and climbing rapidly toward its crown. In a desperate attempt to protect itself, the blinded Leviathan began blindly discharging sonic booms in random directions. Because it was completely disoriented, the sound waves missed Alen entirely, instead ricocheting off the hard ground and further injuring the beast itself.
Finding the perfect opening, Alen slid onto the very center of the monster’s head. He chose not to use his blade this time; he didn’t intend to kill it.
He dropped to his knees, pressing both palms flat against the creature’s skull, and violently unsealed his mana core.
[Nexus Elemental Art: Sound Type: Calm Mind]
[Nexus Elemental Art: Summon Type - The Will of Darkness!]
A massive, overwhelming quantity of dark energy flooded out of Alen’s body, traveling through his hands to coat the Leviathan’s entire gargantuan frame in a shroud of shadows. This particular deployment didn’t inflict physical harm; instead, Alen channeled his absolute Will into the dark mana, attempting to forcefully conquer the beast’s mind.
Simultaneously, Alen channeled a soft, rhythmic pulse of Sound magic through his palms, sending a steady, calming frequency straight into the monster’s brain to suppress its chaotic rage.
The physical blinding had already shattered the Leviathan’s mental fortitude, leaving its ego exposed. Under the combined assault of the soothing sound frequency and the heavy, suffocating pressure of Alen’s dark Will, the monster’s mental resistance finally snapped.
The violent, thrashing movements stopped instantly.
The shadows completely swallowed its aura. Because Alen didn’t possess a dedicated summoner’s soul-space, he didn’t bind the monster directly to his own soul. Instead, he heavily imprinted his own mana circuits around the beast’s spiritual core—forging a strict, temporary magical binding contract that would force the Leviathan to obey his commands as a temporary summon until its own natural willpower eventually recovered.
The giant wasteland predator now lay completely motionless at Alen’s knees, entirely subjugated.
