Awakening: Reincarnating With the SSS-Level Extraction Talent

After the fusion with the [Skeleton Monarch] had ended, Lich’s appearance was no longer the same.

The transformation had altered more than just his power, it had changed his very essence.

His once pale, bone-white skin had darkened into an ashen gray, rough and lined with faint cracks pulsing with green necrotic light.

His eyes had turned a haunting emerald, but what was most disturbing was the shape within those pupils, small, spinning skulls glowing faintly inside, as if they were peering through him and into another world altogether.

His long, white hair remained untouched by the transformation, flowing behind him like faded silk, creating a disturbing contrast against his twisted form.

But it was his armor now that demanded attention, a jagged, black-and-bone plated [Skeleton Armor], exuding a thick undead aura.

It seemed to hum with death itself, shadows rising off it like smoke, wrapping around him like the breath of forgotten spirits.

His scepter had also changed.

It was longer now, its tip crowned with a dark, grinning skull that pulsed with deep violet energy.

The weapon reeked of decay and ancient power, its aura making the air around it feel colder, heavier.

A message hovered above him for all to see.

[Lich, Undead Monarch Form]

And yet, despite the shift in power, Alex only smirked.

“Is… that… all?” he asked, voice deep, almost amused.

A wide, feral grin stretched across his face as crimson flames flared from his eyes.

“You’ll regret ever forcing us to reveal our forms,” Nocteron snarled, the green flames swirling around his body growing wilder.

Hades’ spectral form floated behind him, its expression unreadable but undeniably ominous.

Chains of divine judgment hung from his wrists, and his hollow gaze was already fixed on Alex.

“The Monarch agreed to kill you,” the Lich added, his tone cold and final.

“It is rare for my strongest summon to lend me its full power, that alone proves that you are meant to die.”

“We… shall… see,” Alex growled, his voice shifting lower as his figure ignited in a wave of red and black.

His [Wings of Hatred] spread out wide with a thunderous flap, sending tremors across the battlefield as he shot into the air like a rising storm.

On the ground below, his [Undead Lord] lifted its sword and spun it in a tight arc.

The crown atop its head shimmered, feeding it more power from the deep wells of undeath.

Its skeletal jaw tightened as it stepped forward, ready to fight by Alex’s side.

And then, in the middle of this heavy silence, a new panel appeared between all of them.

[Surprising.]

[We said we would not intervene, but this battle has reached a scale even we did not predict.]

[I suppose this is the true final two-on-two, the winners will meet us—the Creators.]

[You’ll learn the truth behind it all.]

But just as the panel began to fade, another voice broke through.

“I think you mean three-on-two.”

A portal split open behind Alex, dark and swirling, and from it stepped a familiar presence, one that immediately drew all eyes.

A shadowy figure emerged, cloaked in a miasma of dread.

The [Undead King] had returned.

“I have finally assimilated the [Heart of Endless Dread],” Astolf announced, stepping forward, “Time to show you all what that means.”

Alex blinked, surprised, but his face softened slightly.

“Oh… you’re back…” he muttered, his tone steady despite everything. “Good… thing…”

But just as Astolf was about to unleash his power, something snapped into place.

His body froze mid-step.

[Summons are allowed, but not an entire external entity.]

“What?!” Astolf snarled, his body trembling as unseen chains locked him in place, “That’s complete bullshit! That guy literally summoned the God of the Underworld! And the Lich summoned a damn [Shadow Monarch]!”

[They fused with their summons to reach stronger forms, they did not summon external allies.]

[You, however, are another entity entirely.]

“Fuck you,” Astolf spat, enraged.

[Your insults mean nothing to us. Goodbye.]

Suddenly, dark shackles burst from the same portal Astolf had stepped through, wrapping tightly around him and yanking him back into the [Undead Space] within Alex.

Alex turned slightly, just enough to look at him.

“It’s… fine…” he said softly. “I appreciate the help… but I do not need it.”

Astolf met his eyes and gave a small nod.

“Then kick their asses,” he said before vanishing completely.

The powers he had earned from the [Heart of Endless Dread] would have to wait.

But even now, Alex allowed a single whisper to pass his lips.

“You’ll use those powers if I fall or succeed… and you have to rebuild Undead Land…”

And just like that, the stage was set.

[As said before, it is now a two-on-two battle.]

[Alex Rogue, Full Hatred Form and Undead Lord, Crown of the Undead Form] VS [Nocteron, Underworld Ruler Form and Lich, Undead Monarch Form]

[BEGIN!]

The battlefield was heavy with silence.

Until Alex’s wings cut through the sky with a harsh gust of wind, the air vibrating with pressure.

His body burned with power, the [Scythe of Hatred] in his hands glowing with pure fury.

‘I can’t fight long-range anymore,’ he realized, glancing down at his blade.

His current form didn’t offer spells or complex techniques, it only gave him hatred—pure, unrelenting hatred that turned his body into a weapon.

Every thought, every muscle, every movement was consumed by the need to destroy those in front of him.

But that came with its own curse.

His fear was gone, his doubt burned away, but so too was his restraint.

Alex had to fight to redirect the hatred, to control it, or risk turning it on anything and everything—including allies.

He looked down.

The [Undead Lord] had power, but it wouldn’t last long against the two monsters they faced.

It would be dead within a minute if left alone.

But even so… Alex didn’t feel like he’d lose.

He didn’t care how many lives Nocteron had.

He didn’t care how strong the Lich had become.

Something inside of him told him that he would find a way.

“Hey,” Alex called to his [Undead Lord], “Hold off the Lich… even just for a minute. That’s all I need.”

The undead knight nodded and rushed forward, its eyes glowing with white-hot energy as its sword surged with unholy strength.

“FOOL!” the Lich bellowed. “My new form allows me to summon legions!”

With a snap of his fingers, a dozen [Undead Lords] emerged from the ground around him, identical in shape and strength to Alex’s own summon.

Their hollow eyes locked on their target as skeletal arms burst from the soil to grab and crush.

But Alex’s [Undead Lord] didn’t slow down.

It surged forward, slicing through the skeletal arms with brutal efficiency.

Its blade glowed as it cleaved through the summoned Lords one after another—heads, limbs, bodies torn apart with each swing.

Within seconds, every last one had been destroyed.

“What is wrong with this undead—?” Lich barely had time to speak before the [Undead Lord] slashed his neck clean off.

His head reformed thanks to [Life Drain], but he was stunned all the same.

“You… are not an ordinary undead,” Lich growled. “Fine. Then I’ll stop holding back.”

Meanwhile, Alex flew straight at Nocteron, wings wide as energy radiated off him like waves of blood-red fire.

“The end is near, child,” Nocteron said as he floated higher, his voice now layered with a hundred echoes.

Behind him, the colossal figure of Hades raised its chained arms and glared.

“The God of the Underworld has made his judgment,” Nocteron sneered.

[This battle will end in under five minutes. One of you… will die.]

The voice of Hades rang out, calm, deep, and absolute.

Alex heard it. He felt it. That divine authority.

That confidence of fate.

“Hades’ verdict is never wrong,” Nocteron laughed. “And I don’t see you killing me millions of times in five minutes.”

Alex didn’t respond at first.

He felt the truth of those words deep inside.

And yet… even if the gods said it, even if the world told him to surrender—

He wouldn’t stop.

If he was someone who gave up when the odds turned impossible, then he never would’ve come this far.

He wouldn’t be the [God of Determination], nor the vessel of boundless hatred.

And so, just as he reached Nocteron, a new panel appeared before him.

[Determination Meter: 90/100]

[Keep going. You shall erase them soon. They can’t survive forever =).]

Alex’s eyes narrowed.

They could talk about divine judgment all they wanted.

He would shatter their fate, burn their verdicts, and bury their gods.