Chapter 370 Tanking the Reflection of the Moon, EGO's Strength
Stark stood his ground, unwavering, his crimson aura blazing like an inferno.
The reflection of the moon descended, a harbinger of utter destruction.
The sheer pressure from the falling celestial body caused the ground beneath him to crack and groan.
Stark, however, showed no sign of retreat, only pure determination.
[Third Option: Face the Lunar Cataclysm head on.]
The choice was madness itself, but Stark had made it without hesitation.
He took his stance.
"Wait a damn minute." Aphex, hovering above, stared wide-eyed at Stark, his smug grin faltering. "What the hell are you doing?"
Even he was surprised.
Stark didn't respond. Instead, his body tightened as he braced for what was to come.
The outside world erupted into confusion too.
"What's happening?"
"MOVE, CHOSEN!"
"Save yourself, Chosen!"
Yet, Stark's focus was unshakable.
He decided to use [EGO] as his [Ego Meter] had been at 100/100 for a very long time now.
The demon materialized above Stark, Its massive frame cast a shadow over the crater, its crimson aura mirroring Stark's own.
The demon's eyeless face turned upward, mimicking its master's resolve. It knew what was expected. Stark could feel its understanding without words.
His [Asura's Arms] were still on cooldown, destroyed earlier in the fight, leaving him with nothing but this desperate gamble.
So instead, he put his entire focus on [EGO].
"You're final hope, EGO," he mumbled, staring at the demon with such intensity even it knew it couldn't fail.
EGO's massive arms rose as the moon bore down, the air vibrating with unrelenting force.
"Are you serious?!" Aphex roared. "You think you can stop that?"
The world watched in stunned silence as EGO raised both arms, catching the reflection of the falling moon.
A deafening shockwave erupted on impact, flattening everything within miles.
EGO strained under the immense weight, its monstrous body trembling.
Stark stood below it, blood trickling from his mouth as the pressure threatened to crush him.
He refused to move.
"Hold it!" he growled, his voice hoarse but commanding.
"Unbelievable," Aphex muttered, his expression one of both shock and rage.
The broadcast caught every moment, every bead of sweat on Stark's face, every tremor in EGO's frame.
"C'mon, Chosen!"
"Don't give up!"
Despite the overwhelming support, the struggle was far from over.
If he wanted to truly win, he needed to completely erase this attack from existence.
And there was only one way to do it: [Negate Explosion], one of [EGO]'s perks!
For three agonizing minutes, Stark and EGO held the moon at bay, the celestial body spinning violently as if attempting to force its way down.
The ground beneath Stark buckled, his knees trembling but unyielding.
"NEGATE EXPLOSION!"
A panel appeared before him.
[Negating an immortal skill may take some time...]
[Do you want to use your two "Negate Explosions" to shorten the time required to negate this skill?]
"No." Stark growled through clenched teeth.
Surprisingly, Stark refused, wanting to keep his second in case anything else similar happened, and to take Aphex off guard.
[Very well, then hold on, master.]
It was the first time EGO ever spoke to him, even it sensing that this attack was danger.
And while holding down the moon with Stark, it began to channel its energy to completely eradicate it.
"OH, NO, YOU DON'T," Alphex shouted, activating [Moonscourge Storm] around Stark.
[Description: Aphex summons a massive vortex of lunar energy that traps all enemies within a 100-meter radius. The storm rains down energy crescents every second, they don't deal damage but weaken the enemy.]
A whirlwind of energy crescents descended upon Stark.
The crescents didn't deal damage, but each one sapped his strength.
Stark's muscles burned, and his vision blurred, but he didn't falter.
"Keep going, EGO!" Stark roared.
The outside world was a cacophony of shouting, pleading, and cheering.
And right as the climax is about to happen, both EGO and Stark about to give up as they couldn't hold it any longer...
"HE'S GOING TO DIE!"
"CHOSEN, KEEP GOING!"
"Fuck, it's over..."
It finally happened.
NEGATE EXPLOSION!
[The perk has been charged up, do you want to use it?]
"YES!" Stark shouted at the top of his lungs, "GET THIS SHITTY ASS THING OUT OF HERE!"
"???" Aphex and everyone else were confused.
[Very well.]
An explosion emanated from EGO at that moment, covering the entirety of Termina, and cancelling every single skill in it.
The moment the energy touched the moon's reflection, it flickered and began to dissolve.
The [Lunar Cataclysm] skill was eradicated, the silver glow faded, and silence followed.
"HE DID IT!"
"HOLY SHIT!"
"I LOVE YOU CHOSEN!"
The entire world went in an uproar, absolutely baffled that yet again, that black-haired boy somehow managed to find his way out of this situation!
Actually, Stark's fan club probably had millions of people by now.
"This is insane," Aiden Heartsouls had a hard time understanding the situation, "This isn't normal."
"Dad, what the actual fuck," Jay gritted his teeth, HE was supposed to be the strongest sibling! Enjoy new chapters from empire
HE was supposed to get all the praises, have a fan club and get beauties to join him.
Why was the little brother luckier than he was?
"..." Lara and Nissa didn't say anything, none of Nissa's friends even texting her anymore, too absorbed in the broadcast, not wanting to miss a single second.
On the other hand, the Gardenis family was having a party.
"LET'S GO KIDDO!" Mike Gardenis shouted, jumping in excitement, "DAMN RIGHT, YOU STAYED BACK FOR THEM!"
Elise chuckled beside him, "He must love her very much to stand back and take that..."
"Yeah," Mike sighed, "I don't even know anybody crazy enough to do what he did."
When you think about it, those outside the trial could only understand one thing: Stark was given a choice, one that could extremely easily protect his life, but in exchange for the two girls'.
And yet, Stark just refused to take any of the options, creating a third one out of nowhere, and one that was infinitely more dangerous than the other two.
Only someone that cherished the other party very much would do that.
Meanwhile, Aphex stared at the scene below, stunned.
Stark stood amidst the crater, bloodied and barely upright, but alive. The two girls, Lilith and Sora, remained unharmed.
"Chosen..." Aphex gritted his teeth, "You're about to fucking die, looks like you forced my hand."
But you know what's worse than just surviving an immortal-skill, being exhausted yet still forced to keep fighting?
Well, it was to survive ANOTHER Immortal-Skill.
"Huh?" Stark barely had time to catch his breath when he noticed something: the moon above shimmered again.
"If you survive this, I'll kill myself," Aphex mocked as he used the entirety of his power into this next attack.
MOONLIT OBLITERATION!
[Moonlit Obliteration: Aphex channels the entirety of his power to unleash a devastating explosion of lunar energy that annihilates everything within a 1-kilometer radius. The explosion leaves behind a barren wasteland where no skills or abilities can be activated for 20 seconds. This skill halves Aphex's current HP upon use.]
He was truly crazy.
But to be honest, Stark was too.
"Ah... shit..." Stark was exhausted, barely able to stand up.
And now...
The sky turned blindingly bright as Aphex poured every ounce of his power into the skill.
BOOM!
He was going to die.