"Well, if it isn't the Traitor himself!!"
The Black Hound's voice cracked into a frantic scream as he identified the man standing before him. Even with the Tower's heavy 'Restrictions' and the volatile 'Mana' supply from the Ice Heart, Melchior had managed to manifest roughly fifteen percent of his original power. For a creature like the Hound, that was fifteen percent too much.
"[Notice: Due to the 'Probability' and 'Restriction' of the Lower Floors, the effects of the 3-Star Barrier 'Eclipse of the Inner Gate' will only last for 5 minutes!]"
Melchior didn't bother to answer. His silence was the ultimate insult, an icy wall of indifference that drove the Hound into a localized frenzy.
"[Activating 'Abyssal Touch' Lvl ???!]"
The Hound's sickles were instantly coated in a viscous, pitch-black darkness. He launched himself across the sand like a blur of shadow, his speed reaching a terminal velocity meant to end the confrontation in a single strike. Melchior, however, didn't even shift his stance. He simply raised one hand and pointed his index finger at the incoming blur.
"[Activating The Exclusive Skill, 'Blood Authority' ???!]"
The Hound froze mid-air, his momentum dying instantly as if he had slammed into a diamond wall.
"You... your head is too high," Melchior spoke, his voice vibrating with a frequency that made the very air feel heavy.
He flicked his finger downward. The effect was instantaneous. The immobilized Hound was slammed into the desert floor with enough force to shatter the hardened glass beneath him. He was forced onto his knees, his face crushed against the grit in a posture of forced worship.
"This is where your eyes should meet mine," Melchior added, looking down. The Hound struggled, his muscles bulging as he tried to defy the invisible weight pressing on his spine, but he remained pinned, staring at the dust.
"Keukk!! Ahhh... Yo—you—" The Hound managed to grumble through gritted teeth, his breath coming in ragged, suffocating hitches. His eyes were a frantic mess of terror and ancient hatred.
"I do not give you permission to speak."
With those words, the Hound's lips were physically sealed shut. No matter how much he strained, his jaw wouldn't budge.
"MMMMPPPP!!!! Ummmpph!!!!!"
The sounds coming from the Hound were nothing more than pathetic, muffled vibrations. He might have been begging or cursing, but to a Patriarch, the words of a mere dog were trivial.
"[Activating....!]"
"[Activating....!]"
"[Activating....!]"
System windows flickered around the Hound as he desperately tried to trigger his Skills, but each one failed before it could even manifest. Trying to use blood-based magic against a Pureblood Patriarch was like trying to burn a fire-god with a matchstick. It was a level of absolute authority that mirrored my [Absolute Cancel], but rooted in the very lineage of their kind.
"I do not give you permission to breathe."
The Hound's body convulsed violently. His chest heaved, but the air around him refused to enter his lungs. It was a slow, agonizing demonstration of what it meant to face a 'True King' of the Bloodlines. Even at fifteen percent power, Melchior was a god in this cage.
"[Activating 'Blood Spears' Lvl ???!]"
After letting the creature suffer in the silence of its own lungs for a moment, Melchior gestured vaguely. A spear of dark, concentrated blood manifested in the air and drove itself directly through the Hound's heart.
"[Notice: The 'Black Hound' of the Abyssal Bloodline has been defeated!]"
"[Contributors: Jean D'Arc, Arthur Tempest, and Melchior Von Crimson.]"
"[You have Leveled Up!]"
"[You have Leveled Up!]"
The five-minute timer hit zero simultaneously.
"[Notice: The Time Duration for the 3-Star Barrier, 'Eclipse of the Inner Gate' has ended!]"
As the barriers dissolved and the Mana rift to the Ice Heart snapped shut, Melchior stood amidst the cooling sand. The manifestation of the Black Hound had vanished, leaving only the broken body of Zang Wilong behind. Melchior stared at the sky for a long moment, then turned his crimson eyes toward me. He had an expression I couldn't quite read, something between pride and a deep, ancient weariness, before he disappeared back into the ring.
I walked over to Wilong. He was barely clinging to life; Melchior had been precise, killing the manifestation while leaving the vessel just north of death. Lying near his hand was a black book decorated with intricate, gothic silver designs.
I picked it up, and the System rang out.
"[Notice: You have obtained an SS-Rank Item: 'Abyssal Tome'!]"
"[Info: A high-tier Spellbook containing the crest of the 'Abyssal' Bloodline.]"
This was an incredible harvest. The fact that Wilong had this meant he was definitely hunting for 'that'.
"[Activating 'Nymph's Song' Lvl 1!]"
A gentle green light flowed from my hands, mending Wilong's shattered ribs and stabilizing his breathing just enough for him to wake up. I wasn't going to let him die until I got my answers.
"[Opening the Dimensional Subspace: 'Zero Ground'!]"
I grabbed Wilong by the collar and dragged him into Cero's frozen domain. Out here, the sand was still hot, but in my subspace, it was time for a very cold interrogation.