In one distant corner of the universe, Serafina carved her path through galaxies, roaming the cosmos in search of an opponent worthy of facing her.
At the same time, on planet Earth…
Ryo sat within a pocket dimension, immersed in deep meditation.
Hundreds of thousands of dimensional gates floated in the void around him, absorbing cosmic energy from every corner of existence and pouring it into him like streams of pure water, radiant light, and raw emptiness.
His small body brimmed with billions of infinite cosmic energies.
Suddenly, a massive horde of monsters appeared and charged at him all at once.
Ryo opened his eyes without moving and said coldly:
— "System… seal all my powers, all my skills, even my verses."
The System replied:
— "Seal activated."
Stripped of everything, only his raw physical strength remained. He didn't want to use Azo or Kagutsuchi. Instead, he chose a simple sword he had once bought from an obscure vendor in the Fire Kingdom.
He whispered with a faint smile:
— "This will be the perfect weapon."
In the blink of an eye, he vanished. Before the monsters even realized what happened, their heads were falling from the sky like a bloody winter storm.
Coldly, he muttered:
— "Weak… Maybe I should lower my stats even further. System, reduce everything to level (1), and make the weapon level (0)."
The System hesitated:
— "Level zero? That means the weapon can't even kill an ant!"
Ryo, confident:
— "Just do it."
And so the command was executed.
Moments later, the System announced:
— "The next group will be twenty million monsters of earth and lightning elements."
Ryo smiled faintly:
— "Let them come."
The twenty million beasts rushed toward him, but he faced them with a frail weapon and a broken body; only one arm, and completely blind. Yet he slashed heads faster than perception itself. Whenever a monster prepared to attack, its head was already rolling before it knew what happened.
Four days passed nonstop. During that time, Ryo slaughtered four hundred thousand monsters without food, water, or sleep, smiling like a beast thirsty for battle.
Then, a colossal ogre appeared and struck him, sending him flying three meters back. Ryo only smiled. This time, he wanted to try something different… his fist.
One punch, moving at the speed of sound, drove the ogre deep into the ground. Blow after blow followed until no trace of it remained.
… After three full weeks, Ryo had annihilated all twenty million monsters.
He asked the System:
— "How long have I been fighting them?"
The System replied:
— "Three weeks."
Ryo sighed in disappointment:
— "I wanted to finish them within just one week… what a letdown."
But the System replied firmly:
— "What you accomplished is beyond extraordinary. Someone like you—with no sight, one arm, a fragile sword as weak as clay, and a young, undeveloped body—still managed to wipe out twenty million monsters with raw strength alone! Without food, water, or rest. This feat is unbelievable."
Ryo smiled:
— "Thank you. Now… I just remembered food. I'm craving something."
Meanwhile, in a distant city, a vendor was selling sushi, rice, and chicken. Suddenly, a portal opened beside him. A strange hand stretched out, snatched all the food, and closed instantly.
The man froze in terror, convinced a ghost from the underworld had come for him. He shut down his shop immediately and fled the city.
Ryo muttered coldly:
— "What's the matter? I was going to pay him in a few days, why all the drama?"
The System commented flatly:
— "You just destroyed someone's business."
Ryo smirked:
— "Do I look like I care? Even if I'm the cause, I'll still consider myself innocent."
The System went silent, as Ryo added:
— "Anyway… back to training. That's what matters now."
---
Elsewhere in the universe, space trembled as though it were dying.
From a cosmic rift emerged a colossal entity known as The Corrupted—a twisted creature of darkness and chaos, its body a sea of eyes and teeth. Every step it took burned the surrounding stars.
Serafina stood before it, her silver hair flowing in the collapsing gravity, her glowing eyes shining like twin suns of defiance.
Her voice shattered the silence:
— "Finally… an opponent worthy of blood."
The Corrupted roared, waves of dark energy consuming nearby planets, yet Serafina stood unfazed.
She raised her hand, summoning interlocking magic circles that glowed like puppets of light, and unleashed cosmic arrows that pierced its shadowy flesh, exploding inside it with fragments of stars.
But the monster laughed, its voice like a raging storm:
— "This universe will return to chaos… and you cannot save it."
It lunged forward, its body devouring even light itself.
But Serafina spread her cosmic wings and vanished from sight, reappearing behind it in an instant. With a blazing crystal blade, she severed one of its limbs.
A deafening scream shook the galaxies.
The battle became a storm beyond description:
The Corrupted unleashed void storms that devoured moons, while Serafina answered with meteor showers crashing into its body.
Every clash between them tore space apart, leaving rifts stretching millions of miles.
Finally, light and darkness collided in a cataclysmic explosion. For a moment, stars vanished, and even time seemed to stop breathing.
From within the blast, Serafina emerged.
Her wings gleamed, and a cold smile curved across her lips:
— "Not bad… but not enough."
Yet The Corrupted still clung to survival.
Serafina laughed darkly, like a demon thirsting for blood and slaughter:
— "Good! But this is the end!"
In an instant, she unleashed a devastating strike, shattering its body and soul into cosmic ash that scattered into the void.
She sighed in disappointment:
— "It was strong indeed… but still not strong enough to fight me! Is there really anyone who can defeat me?"
To be continued…