Zang Wilong glared at me with an intensity so sharp it felt like he could shoot lasers directly through my skull. It was a reasonable reaction; after what I had just done. However, an S-Rank isn't so easily sidelined.
"[Activating 'Body Recovery' Lvl 3!]"
A soft green hue began to coat his frame, stitching muscle and skin back together at a visible rate. The man was a walking toolkit of high-level Skills, but I had no intention of letting him recover in peace.
"[Activating The Class Exclusive Skill, 'Shield: Weaponry of Shield'!]"
Harnessing my Passive authority I had already activated before, I conjured a flurry of shields, molding them instantly into a lethal arsenal. [Shield Spear], [Shield Sword], [Shield Lance], and [Shield Plate] snapped into existence, and with a mental flick, I launched them toward him at a terrifying velocity.
"[Activating 'Accelerate' Lvl 3!]"
"[Activating 'Blink' Lvl 6!]"
Wilong blurred, his body flickering across the sand as he evaded the barrage while his wounds continued to knit. His party wasn't idle either; the 'Reaper' members began layering buffs like [Speed Boost] and [Recovery] on him, while their mages threw up [Wind Wall] and [Earth Hands] to intercept my shield projectiles.
The battlefield was a chaotic symphony of high-tier magic, but the pressure wasn't coming only from me.
"[Activating The Exclusive Skill, 'Blessings of the Stars: Holy Swords' Lvl 6!]"
Jean D'Arc descended from the sky like a vengeful angel, raining down scores of ethereal blades forged purely from 'Divinity'. Despite the overwhelming odds of facing two S-Ranks simultaneously, Wilong showed no signs of breaking. In fact, he seemed to be reaching for something deeper.
"[Activating The Exclusive Skill, 'Dance of the Red Hare'!]"
The moment his recovery finished, Wilong's Aura underwent a violent transformation. A sleek, pitch-black "skin" began to coat his body, etched with intricate carvings that pulsed with a rhythmic red light.
"[Notice: Offense and Defense have increased by 500%.]"
"[Notice: Due to the effects of the Exclusive Skill, any damage inflicted by Zang Wilong's Star Relic 'Green Dragon's Bone' will cause a permanent 'Status' effect.]"
A Star Relic combined with a permanent debuff, was it? That was a terrifying trump card. If that spear so much as grazed us, the consequences would be irreversible. Of course, that was only a threat if he actually managed to land a hit.
"[Activating 'Absolute Cancel' Lvl 1!]"
As Wilong coiled his muscles to charge, his momentum suddenly vanished. The black skin dissolved, the red carvings flickered out, and his transformation was forcibly undone. My [Absolute Cancel] was an SS-Rank Authority, which was a full tier above his S-Rank 'Status'. In the face of a higher-order law, his Exclusive Skill simply ceased to exist.
"[Activating The Exclusive Skill, 'Blood Authority: Blood Roar' Lvl 1!]"
I released the full weight of my 'Status,' a suffocating pressure that acted as a physical weight. I walked toward him slowly, my boots crunching on the sand. Wilong collapsed to one knee, gasping for air as he suffered from 'Aura Depletion.' Even for an S-Rank, the essence of a Ranker isn't infinite; using that many high-level Skills in a row had finally drained his well dry.
I stood directly in front of him, my [Red Demon's Eye] locked onto his. He looked back with defiant, exhausted eyes, but then I noticed something. A thin trail of dark blood began to drip from his tightly closed lips.
Immediately, the System windows erupted in an alarming, blood-red hue.
"[Notice: The final ingredient for 'The Ritual of Blood Sacrifice' has been confirmed!]"
"[Notice: The Individual 'Zang Wilong' has been selected as the Vessel!]"
"[Warning! The 'Status' of a Mid-Floor Being has been detected!]"
"[Warning! The Tower's 'Restrictions' and 'Probability' have been applied!]"
"Damn it," I hissed, stepping back.
It was another manifestation. There was no 'Demonic Energy' this time, which meant we weren't dealing with a 'Demon', but whatever was forcing its way through the rift of Wilong's body wouldn't be any better.
"[Notice: Due to the vessel being an S-Rank, partial manifestation has been allowed!]"
The air around Wilong began to turn cold, a freezing, unnatural chill that defied the desert sun.