Apocalypse Baby

"One thing you should know about my ability is that its power can get stronger at will."

He snapped his fingers.

BOOM!

More explosions ignited across the battlefield, each one brighter, hotter, stronger.

The air itself rippled from the sheer force. The ground beneath him cracked, glowing veins of molten energy spider-webbing outward.

Alex wasn't just setting off blasts—he was pushing them to the absolute limit.

He didn't know if the undead guide's domain could be broken from within.

But if there was even the slightest chance.

Then this?

This would be enough.

The undead guide's expression twitched.

His skeletal brow furrowed.

"Get stronger on will? What the hell is that supposed to mean?"

Alex grinned.

His stance was loose, confident—untouched by the heat and chaos around him.

"It means…" he said, raising a hand.

The flames around him spiraled, intensifying, their glow reflecting in his sharp gaze.

"I can amp my explosions to become as powerful as I want. And most certainly…"

He let the words sink in—dragging out the pause.

Then, he tilted his head slightly.

"…it would be strong enough to decimate your domain. Wouldn't it?"

The undead guide flinched.

For the first time—a crack in his confidence.

He could create endless monsters. He could shape the terrain.

But there was a limit.

And this domain?

It wasn't invincible.

If pushed hard enough, the domain could be broken.

Still, the guide scoffed, forcing confidence into his voice.

"Hmph… Even if you could pull it off, you'd never survive. The power required to do that would consume everything—including you. There's nowhere to run, no way to escape. You'd certainly die."

Alex didn't blink.

Didn't even flinch.

Because he wasn't worried about dying.

He had an escape.

Instead, he simply tilted his head, eyes gleaming with amusement.

"Maybe you should worry about yourself."

The undead guide's expression twisted.

"Enough of your bluffs! Infernals—ATTACK!"

The command ripped through the air, and instantly—

The monsters charged.

A tidal wave of molten fury.

The behemoth stomped forward, each step sending quakes through the scorched ground.

The flame-wrapped specter howled, its blazing form warping the air around it.

The wolf, its molten fur seething, lunged with a snarl, its burning fangs ready to tear through flesh.

Alex grinned, unbothered by the horde of monsters closing in on him.

Why?

Because this was already over.

His fingers twitched.

And then, he snapped.

WHOOM!

The air twisted.

Reality warped as an invisible force yanked everything inward, crushing, pulling, devouring like a vortex about to implode.

And then...

BOOM!

BOOM!

BOOM!

The detonation ripped through the domain.

Flames erupted outward in a blazing tidal wave, consuming everything in sight.

The explosion didn't just spread—it surged, climbing higher, hotter, hungrier.

A fiery inferno shot toward the dome above.

KAABOOM!

It shattered on impact, exploding into a storm of debris that rained down like meteorites.

The maze walls? Gone. Read new chapters at My Virtual Library Empire

Obliterated.

The molten creatures? Disintegrated.

The force of the blast was so immense, so unstoppable, that the entire Deathmaze trembled.

Deep underground, every corridor, every pathway shook violently, like a beast awakening from slumber.

Far off, in unseen chambers, other players froze mid-step, eyes widening as the ground beneath them quaked.

They had no idea what had just happened.

But they knew one thing for certain.

Something big had just gone down.

Then, the tremors faded.

Smoke and heat lingered in the air, swirling over the battlefield.

At the center of the devastation, a massive crater stretched deep into the earth—a scar left by the sheer force of the explosion. The once-solid ground was now a jagged pit of molten rock and broken stone.

Neither Alex nor the undead guide were anywhere to be seen.

Then outside the death maze, there was a low, ragged cough.

A dark figure staggered forward.

The undead guide.

His once-pristine form was tattered, black cracks splitting across his skeletal frame. He hacked up black blood, the thick, inky substance splattering onto the ground.

It was a sight that shouldn't have been possible.

Undead didn't breathe.

Undead didn't cough.

And most certainly—undead didn't bleed.

Yet here he was. Weakened. Damaged.

The sudden loss of his domain had done more than just strip away his control.

It had hurt him.

How?

How was that even possible?

The undead guide staggered, his skeletal frame trembling as another ragged cough tore through him. Thick, black blood dripped from his mouth, staining the scorched ground.

He didn't understand.

This wasn't supposed to happen.

The players standing before him, new arrivals to the trial froze.

Confusion and fear etched onto their faces.

The undead guide's fingers twitched.

He forced himself to stand, straightening his tattered suit. His usual eerie grin returned, but this time, it was strained.

He couldn't show weakness.

He had a role to play.

Brushing off the black blood as if it were nothing, he let out a forced chuckle.

"Welcome to the Third Trial, Player 667, 668, and 669," he announced, his voice eerily calm.

*

Meanwhile...

Deep within the maze, one of Alex's clones suddenly halted mid-step.

Then...

BOOOOM!

A resounding explosion ripped through the entire structure. The walls groaned as the force of the blast shook the entire maze. Dust rained from above, cracks splintering across the stone pathways.

Alex's clone stumbled, nearly losing his balance.

But he caught himself, just barely, his fingers gripping the brim of his hat as he steadied.

Then he laughed.

A low, amused chuckle at first, then a full burst of exhilaration.

His heart pounded.

"Interesting..." he muttered under his breath, eyes gleaming with excitement.

It was the original Alex.

At the exact moment he had snapped his fingers, he had swapped places with one of his clones, ensuring he wouldn't be caught in the sheer destruction of his own attack.

And it was a damn good thing he did.

The moment Alex had switched places, his clone had been caught in the maelstrom of fire and force, its body ripped apart instantly.

It never had a chance.

The explosion tore it to shreds, its form disintegrating into ash and embers, consumed alongside the hundreds of lava undead.

It didn't even get the chance to scream.

Alex shuddered.

Even though he was safe, he could feel it.

That brief, horrifying moment of obliteration.

It lingered—a ghost of pain, an echo of being torn apart.

His hands clenched into fists.

He shouldn't be treating his clones like this. Using them as disposable pawns.

He'd seen a movie once—where the clones turned against their original.@@novelbin@@

A rebellion.

The thought sent a chill down his spine.

He let out a slow breath, shaking his head.

He needed a better defense.

Something solid. Reliable.

Because right now?

He was scared of his own power.

For a defensive skill, [Aegis Arcane] was the top contender.

And Alex was dead set on ranking it up to the max as soon as he got out of here.

He had the points.

He had the stats.

Now, he just needed the opportunity.

{Total Nightmare Points: 29,400}

{Total Stat Points: 16,500}

His Nightmare Points had dropped.

Wait…

Alex's eyes narrowed as he quickly did the math.

Oh.

He had lost 5,000 points as that was the entry fee for this trial.

And had gained 1000 points from killing the infernals.

Thus this new total.

He exhaled, rolling his shoulders.

No big deal.

His clone—the one he had swapped with—had been the one that had made it the farthest ahead.

And with how much mana he had just burned through, keeping his other clones around was wasteful.

Alex's next move was simple.

Keep going.

And keep blasting his way through.

He didn't bother with twists and turns.

He didn't care about dead ends or hidden paths.

A straight route.

A shortcut.

Call it cheating if you wanted, but…

Who was going to stop him?