The Extra's Rise-Chapter 812: Necrotic Sovereign (3)

The battle erupted with devastating intensity as our summons clashed across the training grounds. Valeria flowed back into my shadow, her bone symbiote form merging with my body to reinforce my physical capabilities while Luna and Erebus engaged Valen’s trio of legendary undead. The clash between ancient powers sent shockwaves through the reinforced barriers, the very air crackling with competing magical energies.

Luna moved like liquid starlight, her small humanoid form belying the immense power she wielded as she intercepted Valen’s massive Bone Dragon. The collision between qilin and undead drake sent ripples of force that cracked the training ground’s foundations, rainbow light clashing against unholy fire in a display that would have been visible from orbit without the containment barriers.

Meanwhile, Erebus engaged both the Dullahan and Death Lord simultaneously, his enhanced form weaving between scythe strikes and greatsword swings with supernatural grace. Dark magic met darker magic as the Arch Lich demonstrated why he had earned his legendary classification through battles that had lasted centuries.

But my attention remained fixed on Valen himself as twin daggers materialized in his hands, both weapons gleaming with the distinctive energy of Deepdark affinity enhanced by perfect Dagger Unity. The blades seemed to absorb light around them, creating distortions in space that spoke to their legendary-grade enchantments.

Without warning, Valen’s hands blurred into motion, and dozens of shadow-wreathed daggers filled the air around me. Each blade carried the full force of his mastery, while a nine-circle spell matrix blazed to life beneath his feet.

I exhaled slowly, feeling time stretch as I raised Nyxthar and brought it down in a perfect vertical arc. The blade’s tip touched the ground with surgical precision as I activated one of my most refined techniques.

Fourth Movement of my Grade 6 art: Pond of Tranquility.

The space around me became absolute stillness, a sphere of perfect negation that dominated the immediate battlefield. Every dagger struck the boundary and simply ceased to exist, their kinetic energy and magical enhancements unraveling like morning mist. The nine-circle spell collapsed in on itself, its carefully constructed matrices dissolving into harmless sparks.

’You’ll be fine handling the dragon, won’t you Luna?’ I asked through our mental link while keeping my eyes fixed on Valen.

’Of course,’ she replied with amused confidence, rainbow energy flaring as she drove the massive undead back with contemptuous ease. ’Take care of the King. Try not to break him too badly.’

Valen’s eyes narrowed as he processed what had just occurred, his analytical mind working through the implications of seeing his strongest opening assault negated so effortlessly.

"The Martial King’s blade," he said quietly, his gaze fixed on Nyxthar with the kind of recognition that spoke to deep historical knowledge. "I wondered if the reports were accurate."

I didn’t respond immediately. Words felt unnecessary when the weapon in my hands spoke volumes about the level I had reached.

Not all Legendary-grade artifacts were created equal, and we both understood this fundamental truth. Valen’s Black Heart artifact pulsed within his chest, providing him with vast reservoirs of mana to fuel his necromantic summons and shadow manipulation. It was a fearsome tool that had secured his position as one of the world’s most dangerous rulers.

But Nyxthar existed in a different category entirely. The blade wasn’t merely a weapon—it was a legacy of power that approached the threshold of Mythical-grade classification.

And Valen could sense the difference.

"Let’s finish this," I said, raising Nyxthar as its surface began to emit that characteristic dark radiance. The air around us grew heavy with unspoken promises of devastation. Astral energy coated the blade, created from my Sword Heart but also boosted by my Sword Unity.

Valen’s lips curved into a grim smile as he spun his daggers, the weapons alive with astral energy that warped reality in their vicinity. "Agreed. I’ve wasted enough time trying to reason with you."

He exploded into motion, becoming a blur of shadow and steel as he closed the distance between us. My enhanced reflexes tracked his approach, Nyxthar rising instinctively to meet his assault. When our weapons collided, the impact sent shockwaves radiating outward that shattered the reinforced stone beneath our feet.

Valen fought like the master warrior he was, his daggers creating intricate patterns of attack that tested every aspect of my defensive capabilities. Shadow-wreathed strikes came from impossible angles while spectral afterimages multiplied his apparent positions, forcing me to rely on Soul Vision to track his true location through the maze of deception.

"You’ve improved significantly," Valen admitted between exchanges, his voice carrying grudging respect even as his attacks showed no mercy. "But raw power isn’t enough to challenge someone who has spent decades perfecting their craft."

"That blade chose me," I replied calmly, allowing Nyxthar’s resonant energy to flow through my movements. "And I’m finally beginning to understand why."

I shifted to the offensive, Nyxthar blazing through the air in precise arcs that carved through Valen’s shadow constructs like they were made of morning mist. Each strike carried the weight of perfected technique, forcing him to give ground as his defensive formations crumbled under sustained assault.

But Valen was far from finished. His shadow armor surged outward, manifesting as a tide of obsidian spikes that erupted from the ground in complex patterns designed to trap and impale. I countered by spinning Nyxthar in tight defensive circles, the blade’s edge unraveling his attacks at the conceptual level before they could reach me.

"Impressive," Valen said, his tone growing more serious as he recognized the futility of conventional assault. "But you haven’t faced the true extent of power."

His mana signature began to shift, growing denser and more oppressive as he prepared something that made the very air tremble with anticipation. The shadows around him deepened, while his three legendary summons began to glow with enhanced energy as their connection to their master strengthened.

"You’ve forced me to reveal techniques reserved for continental threats," Valen continued, his voice carrying notes of finality. "Domain Expansion: Throne of the Eternal Necropolis!"

Reality twisted as Valen’s Domain exploded outward, transforming the training grounds into something from the deepest nightmares of the living. The sky turned the color of dried blood, while massive obsidian towers erupted from the earth, each one carved with the names of the dead and crowned with floating skulls that served as eternal sentinels.

A great throne of black bone materialized behind Valen, its surface inscribed with necromantic runes that pulsed with malevolent power. Spectral armies marched in endless processions between the towers, their ethereal forms adding their strength to their king’s reserves. The very ground became a necropolis, with tombstones and mausoleums stretching to the horizon, each one representing a soul under Valen’s dominion.

Within this realm of death, his power amplified exponentially. His three summons grew larger and more terrible, while new undead began emerging from every shadow and crevice. This was the true might of the world’s strongest necromantic ruler, displayed in all its terrifying glory.

"This is my kingdom," Valen declared, his voice echoing from every surface as though the domain itself spoke with his authority. "Here, death reigns supreme, and I am its absolute sovereign."

The oppressive weight of his domain pressed against me from all directions, testing the limits of my mental fortitude. Lesser mages would have been crushed instantly by the sheer concentration of necromantic energy, their souls torn from their bodies to join the eternal army that served the Necropolis King.

"Impressive," I admitted, my voice cutting through the oppressive atmosphere of his necropolis with surprising clarity. "You’ve created something worthy of your reputation. But you’re about to discover why some powers transcend even death itself."

I raised Nyxthar high, feeling the blade respond to my breakthrough with resonant energy that made the weapon sing with anticipation. The ancient script along its fuller began to glow with increasing intensity as I channeled everything I had learned into a single moment of perfect focus.

"You’ve relied on your mastery over death to maintain dominance," I continued, my voice growing stronger as power flowed through me in waves. "But there are forces in this universe that even the Eternal Necropolis cannot contain."

Valen’s eyes widened as he sensed the shift in my energy signature, his instincts recognizing the approach of something that threatened the very foundations of his domain. His undead armies pressed closer, while his three legendary summons abandoned their battles with my companions to converge on my position.

But it was too late.

Now, I begin to manifest my own Domain for the first time since my return to this world. Reality around me started to shift, responding to will and power that had been forged in battles against beings who could reshape entire dimensions.

"Domain Expansion," I said quietly, my words carrying weight that made the necropolis itself tremble with uncertainty.