LGHTNOVELBOOK Chapter 34: Chapter 34
As countless Gorrs summoned an endless army of shadow creatures, they surged forward at terrifying speed. Their sheer numbers threatened to overwhelm everything in sight. Yet, instead of reacting with urgency, Ashborn exhaled slowly, his posture relaxing as if he had already won.
"Mega Mind," Ashborn called out, his voice calm. In an instant, Mega Mind tapped into the collective power of all Ashborn's shadows and made his move. But he didn't target Gorr—no, his sights were set on the summoned creatures. Every single monster was connected to Gorr's mind, an extension of his will. And that connection? It was a fatal flaw Ashborn had been waiting to exploit.
From the moment Gorr had summoned his first creature, Ashborn had begun formulating this plan. Mega Mind had confirmed it was possible, but Ashborn had played the long game. He had allowed his shadows to feign struggle, to make it seem like they were evenly matched, all to lure Gorr into summoning more and more creatures.
As the battle raged on, Ashborn had orchestrated a strategy to gradually overwhelm Gorr, forcing him to summon more and more shadow creatures just to keep up. However, the unexpected element of cloning had thrown a wrench into the plan. If the damage was divided among the clones, would it be enough to truly incapacitate him?
The seemingly endless army of Gorrs let out cries of agony as Mega Mind's attack struck, their collective consciousness writhing under the assault. Yet, despite the overwhelming mental damage, they refused to fall. Their minds were battered, but not broken. They could still fight—and worse, they were already beginning to heal.
"Monarch's Domain." Ashborn unfused with his shadow, allowing it to merge with the reality Warper had created, forming a world of complete darkness. The battlefield transformed—nothing but an endless abyss under his absolute control.
"Infinite copies of yourself or not… you'll all die the same way." Ashborn's voice echoed through the void as his domain expanded, absorbing all of Gorr's summoned creatures and turning them into fuel for his power. He closed his eyes, feeling the surge of strength coursing through him, his control over darkness reaching unprecedented heights.
"ROAR!" The countless Gorrs erupted in fury, their anger shaking the very fabric of reality. With mouths gaping, they unleashed beams of pure darkness, each one carrying destructive energy strong enough to erase Eternity, all converging toward Ashborn.
"Mega Mind didn't just attack your mind to harm you… he made sure you'd attack me too." Ashborn smirked, his ever-changing weapon shifting into a massive shield in his palm.
Gorr's pupils shrank in realization.
"GG." With a wave of his shield, Ashborn met the endless barrage of beams converging toward him.
"Supreme Monarch Counter." A surge of power exploded from him, and in an instant, every single attack was reflected back—twice as strong as before.
Boom.
The sheer force shattered Warper's reality, sending ripples across existence. The impact didn't stop there—it reached far beyond, slamming into Eternity itself, drawing a pained cry from the embodiment of the multiverse.
Ashborn cast a glance toward Eternity, but he had no time to concern himself with its pain. He was exhausted. Supreme Monarch Counter was an unrivaled technique, boasting a 100% success rate, but at the steep cost of draining 99% of both his HP and MP.
"Let's go," Ashborn said, intending to return to the multiverse and prepare for Knull. But just as he was about to move, he vanished—dodging in the nick of time as a dark spear whistled past where his neck had been a moment ago.
A deafening roar echoed through the void.
Gorr had returned, stronger than ever. His once-multiplied selves had fused into one, pushing his power to unimaginable heights. He was no longer just a threat—he had become a force of destruction, a true monster beyond reason.
"That has to be cheating," Ashborn muttered, watching Gorr's transformation with a deep frown. The idea of forming clones, fusing with them to grow stronger, and then repeating the cycle—it was absurd. If there was no limit, could he just keep stacking power endlessly?
"Thanks, Quicky," he said, acknowledging his fastest Shadow—a fusion of five of the speediest beings in the universe—who had just pulled him away from the fatal strike in time.
"I'm out of ideas. Just kill this son of a bitch." With those words, the shadows that had been holding back finally unleashed their full might.
(A/N: Ashborn refuses to go all out because he likes keeping trump cards. The less his enemies know, the more windows for a surprise attack he would have.)
Power surged forward, wielding the combined strength of every Shadow in Ashborn's army. Energy Master closed in, siphoning Gorr's power to fuel his own. One by one, the strongest warriors among Ashborn's forces engaged, each striking with overwhelming force.
Gorr, despite his monstrous evolution, was now facing the full fury of the shadow Monarch.
The battle shook the Outside, forcing Eternity to retreat from the battlefield to avoid being caught in the chaos. Gorr was quickly overwhelmed, outnumbered, and steadily overpowered by an army that wasn't just holding its ground—but growing stronger with every passing moment.
How many shadows had the ability to absorb energy? Too many for Gorr to handle. While a single shadow might not have been able to contain the sheer magnitude of Gorr's power, they spread it out among the rest, ensuring the army as a whole continued to evolve mid-battle.
But the true turning point came when Power, the fusion of Rogue and Hope, felt herself breaking past her former limitations. In the past, her abilities had been bound by two conditions—copying the powers of mutants and physically absorbing the powers of non-mutants. But now, those restrictions had shattered.
She could copy any power within range, seen or unseen, mutant or not. Even Gorr's terrifying strength wasn't out of reach. However, she needed time, as Gorr's power was just too much for her to instantly copy it all.
Warper was beginning to understand how to warp his own reality, and in doing so, he realized something profound—being outside of reality didn't limit him; it freed him. Without the constraints of an established existence, he could reshape himself at will. It was like having an endless stat screen where he could tweak his abilities, grant himself new powers, and evolve without limits.
Meanwhile, Ashborn watched his shadows steadily grow stronger with every clash, their abilities sharpening and adapting as the battle raged on. The more they fought, the more refined and unstoppable they became.
"Are you making any progress, All Sight?" Ashborn asked, glancing toward All Sight who stood at his side, observing the battlefield.
"Yes… it seems like my eyesight is evolving. I believe soon I will be able to see everything, and beyond the multiverse, beyond the Outside," All Sight said, his eyes, which seemed to hold all of outer space, locked onto the battle unfolding before them.