Chapter 150: Judgement Bolt
Fifty-eight demons lay dead.
The ground where they’d fallen was scorched black, still smoking from the heat.
Survivors on both sides had backed away from the impact zone, staring at the destruction with expressions that mixed horror and disbelief.
[+29,000 Death Tokens]
[+145,000 EXP]
[Lightning Apostle: Level 1 → Level 8]
[Current Progress: 8,200/125,000]
[DING!]
[Demonic Frenzy Trigger Threshold Met]
[25+ enemies slain within 90 seconds]
[Initiating Frenzy...]
Jack tensed, preparing for the familiar sensation of losing control, of his consciousness being drowned beneath primal hunger. But it didn’t come.
The crystal in his hand blazed with a bright crimson light, and warmth spread through his entire body.
The red energy that should have consumed him instead settled into the crystal.
[Frenzy Crystal Detected]
[Effect: Maintain consciousness during Demonic Frenzy]
[Demonic Frenzy: ACTIVE]
[+25% Damage]
[+25% Agility]
[+15% Lifesteal on all damage]
[-5% Max HP per second]
[DING!]
[Sanguine Set 2/5 pieces equipped]
[Passive Skill Activated: Blood Resonance]
[Effect: Multiply all damage by 2.5x while Demonic Frenzy is active]
Jack’s grin widened. He was in a frenzy, had all its benefits, but retained complete control. The crystal S had given him was worth more than he’d realized.
"Thank you," Jack said quietly, knowing S could hear him.
From Fluffy’s back, S’s laugh carried across the valley. "Don’t thank me yet. You still need to survive what comes next."
Jack looked down at the battlefield. Every demon, Aurion and Thal’Gorin alike, was staring up at the ridge. At him. The figure wreathed in lightning who’d just killed fifty-eight of their kind in seconds.
Time to make an impression they’d never forget.
Jack leaped from the ridge.
Fluffy was easily a hundred meters up, but Jack didn’t care. His Endurance and Vitality meant the fall wouldn’t kill him.
He plummeted toward the scorched earth below, lightning still crackling across his armor.
He landed in a crouch, his boots hitting the blackened ground with enough force to crater it.
Cracks spread outward from the impact point, and dust billowed around him.
When Jack stood, every demon in the valley could see him clearly.
Red eyes. Blood-stained hair and armor. Lightning dancing between his fingers. The Lightning Spear in his hand pulsing with barely contained power.
He walked slowly toward the nearest corpse, an Aurion light demon whose wings had been burned away by the lightning. The creature’s body was broken, one arm missing, but Jack could still feel the faint echo of its soul lingering.
Jack extended his hand toward the corpse.
Jack’s voice boomed across the battlefield and carried to every demon in the valley. His tone was absolute, brooking no argument or resistance.
"Your soul is mine. Kneel before your king."
The Soul Warden’s power flooded out, seizing the lingering soul and binding it back to the broken flesh.
Dark energy wrapped around the demon’s body.
The corpse twitched. Then convulsed. Then stood, its remaining limbs moving with jerky, unnatural motions.
The light that had once filled its eyes was gone, replaced by hollow darkness.
The reanimated demon dropped to one knee, its head bowed in submission.
Demons on both sides. Aurion and Thal’Gorin, warriors who moments ago had been trying to kill each other, froze.
They stared at Jack, at the reanimated demon kneeling at his feet, at the display of power that transcended their tribal differences.
The Soul Warden. A being most demons knew only from legends and nightmares.
The being who could claim souls, who could raise the dead, who stood above all.
And Jack had just announced himself in the most dramatic way possible.
For a moment, the valley was silent except for the crackling of Jack’s Thunder Mantle and the soft whisper of wind across the scorched earth.
Then, from the Aurion side, a figure stepped forward.
Massive. Easily four meters tall, wrapped in armor that gleamed like a valiant knight.
Wings spread from his back, each feather sharp as a blade and glowing bright.
"I am Vel’thor," the demon’s voice boomed across the battlefield. "Champion of the Aurion. You dare attack our sacred war with your parlor tricks, Soul Warden?"
He spat the title like a curse. "Let us see if your power matches your arrogance."
From the Thal’Gorin side, another champion emerged.
Female, her form seeming to be woven from living darkness. Shadows coiled around her limbs like serpents, and when she moved, the air itself seemed to darken. Her eyes were voids that swallowed light, and her voice carried the weight of the abyss.
"Nyx’ira, Shadow Blade of the Thal’Gorin," she said, her tone cold as death. "The Soul Warden interferes where he is not wanted. We will show both clans that legends can bleed."
Both champions began walking toward Jack, their steps measured, confident. Soldiers stepped out of the way.
They didn’t charge, didn’t need to. These were Nightmare-class demons, creatures who had earned their positions through countless battles.
Jack’s reanimated servant shifted, its hollow eyes turning toward its new master.
"My lord," the undead demon’s voice was hollow, echoing. "Shall I handle these... clowns?"
Jack looked at his servant, then back at the approaching champions. His red eyes gleamed with something that might have been amusement.
’Clowns? Interesting word choice, that’s for sure. Could only get any worse if he called them Jabroni’s’
"No," Jack said, his voice carrying clearly across the battlefield. "Watch. I’m going to destroy these clowns myself."
He activated Flawed Sight, analyzing both champions simultaneously.
[Target: Vel’thor - Aurion Champion]
[Level: 47]
[Rank: Nightmare]
[Strength: 100]
[Stamina: 95]
[Agility: 72]
[Vitality: 150]
[Endurance: 78]
[Magic: 101]
[HP: 75,000]
[Target: Nyx’ira - Thal’Gorin Shadow Blade]
[Level: 47]
[Rank: Nightmare]
[Strength: 100]
[Stamina: 95]
[Agility: 72]
[Vitality: 150]
[Endurance: 78]
[Magic: 101]
[HP: 75,000]
Jack’s grin widened. Nightmare-class. Strong. But nothing he couldn’t handle, especially with his current buffs active.
He planted his Lightning Spear in the ground, the weapon crackling as it sank into the scorched earth. Both champions paused, confusion flickering across their faces at the gesture.
"No weapon?" Vel’thor’s laugh was sharp. "You mock us, human."
"Not mocking," Jack said, raising both hands. Blue lightning began to coalesce in his palm, forming into a bolt that pulsed with concentrated power.
He activated Judgment Bolt.
The skill channeled his faith, his absolute conviction in his own survival, into pure destructive force.
The lightning bolt solidified, taking on a violet hue that seemed to burn brighter than any normal electricity.
’System, how much will this hurt demons?’
[Severely]
Jack hurled the first Judgment Bolt at Vel’thor.
The lightning crossed the distance between them in a fraction of a second, moving faster than the champion could react. It struck the Aurion demon square in the chest, and the explosion of light and electricity lit up the entire valley.
[-45,490 HP]
Vel’thor staggered, his armor cracking, holy light bleeding from the wound like luminescent blood.
His eyes widened in shock and pain, his confident expression shattering.
"What..." he gasped, one hand clutching his chest where the bolt had struck.
Jack was flexing his fingers, getting them ready for the next strike. Lightning crackling between his fingers with the same intensity as the first. He didn’t give the champion time to recover, didn’t allow him to mount a defense or counterattack.
"Judgment Bolt."
He threw it.
The second bolt caught Vel’thor before he could even finish his sentence. It punched through the champion’s damaged armor, through his chest, through the very essence that gave him his power.
[-45,490 HP]
The Aurion champion’s eyes went wide, wider than should have been possible.
His mouth opened as if to speak, perhaps to beg, perhaps to curse, perhaps simply to scream, but no words came. Only a wet, gurgling sound as his body began to fail.
The light in his eyes dimmed. Then flickered. Then died completely.
Vel’thor’s massive body toppled backward like a felled tree, hitting the ground with a thunderous crash that sent dust and debris billowing into the air. His wings, once glorious and radiant, crumpled beneath him like broken glass.
[Target Eliminated: Vel’thor]
[Total Damage Dealt: 90,980 HP]
[Enemy HP: 75,000]
The valley fell into absolute silence.
Every demon, Aurion and Thal’Gorin alike, stared at the fallen champion.
At the impossible display of power that had just ended a Nightmare-class warrior in seconds. These were creatures who had fought for centuries, who had survived countless battles, who had earned their ranks through blood and violence.
And Jack had killed one of the strongest among them with two attacks.
Nyx’ira had frozen mid-step, her shadows coiling defensively around her body like shields.
Her void-like eyes were fixed on Vel’thor’s corpse, watching as the last traces of light faded from his broken form.
Jack turned his red eyes toward her, lightning still crackling across his fingertips. His expression was calm, almost bored, as if killing a Nightmare-class champion was barely worth his attention.