In other words, Leon was pushing the Alchemical Golem to its limits by exerting his own extreme control, forcibly boosting its combat power.
But such an increase is impossible to sustain...
Keep in mind, the Alchemical Golem is controlled by more than a hundred and thirty runes. In a battle where everything changes in an instant, each rune must be used with almost zero margin for error. Even Leon, in such high-intensity, low-tolerance combat, couldn’t possibly keep it up for long.
This battle between two non-human entities looked brutal on the surface, but the one truly bearing the greatest pressure was Leon, controlling the Alchemical Golem.
Fortunately, Leon didn’t have to wait long for his chance...
After another savage collision, the two non-human creatures tangled together once more. The adamantine spear, blazing with fire, pierced straight through the Bone Demon's chest. A surge of fiery magical energy exploded out, and the Bone Demon let out a piercing, agonized shriek. Driven mad, it didn’t even glance at the spear in its chest—instead, it lunged and knocked the Alchemical Golem to the ground.
"Bang, bang, bang..."
With each sickening thud, the Bone Demon’s skeletal fists crashed down again and again on the Alchemical Golem. The thick adamantine chest plate was already deeply dented, and every blow seemed to make the entire cavern tremble.
Under normal circumstances, Leon would have ordered the Alchemical Golem to break free from the Bone Demon’s grip. If this kept up, the damage would soon be beyond repair.
But this time, Leon’s command was to hold onto the Bone Demon...
The Alchemical Golem weathered the onslaught, driving the adamantine spear inch by inch deeper into the Bone Demon's chest. Waves of fiery magical energy burst inside the Bone Demon like fireworks, and with every explosion, it let out a piercing, anguished howl.
"It’s here!" The long-awaited opportunity finally arrived!
Leon gripped the Soulbound Staff tightly, channeling a surge of magic through the Igniswood into his body. Then, using his other hand, he activated the Sage’s Chapter. The Meteor Volley spell icon on the Sage’s Chapter flashed brilliantly...
With a soft "whoosh," the sound was lost in the Bone Demon's howls, barely stirring the air.
But the Meteor Volley, trailing a long tail of flame, tore through the air and exploded on the Bone Demon’s skull.
Against a Grand Mage, the Bone Demon’s body was almost invincible—its hardness and resistance were terrifying. Even a Fireblast would leave little more than a charred mark.
But this Meteor Volley, enhanced by the Sage’s Chapter into a Limit Spell, erupted with power on par with a Magus.
With a deafening boom, the first Meteor Volley exploded on the Bone Demon’s skull. Fire erupted everywhere, shards of bone flying in all directions. The skull that could make even a Grand Mage despair now had a gaping hole blasted into it by this spell.
Traumatized by the blow, the Bone Demon howled in agony, forgetting all about the battered Alchemical Golem beneath it. It hurled the golem—adamantine spear and all—against the stone wall. At that moment, the Bone Demon spun around, the flames in its eye sockets blazing wildly, locking onto Leon as it charged at him like a mad beast...
In an instant, the entire cavern shook as if the earth itself was quaking.
The side tunnel where Leon hid was barely over a meter tall, while the Bone Demon’s massive body stood several meters high. By all logic, there was no way the Bone Demon could crash into the narrow passage.
But the Bone Demon’s strength was simply monstrous. Though it couldn’t force its entire body in, half of it managed to wedge through. Worst of all, the Bone Scythes on its arms were already visible, slashing back and forth. With each swing, chunks of stone wall tumbled down, and in moments, the passage had been widened from just over a meter to more than two.
At this point, the distance between Leon and the Bone Demon was less than five meters...
Just a few more swings of those Bone Scythes, and Leon would be exposed directly to the Bone Demon.
Yet Leon remained perfectly still, as if he hadn’t even noticed the frenzied Bone Demon. The Soulbound Staff in his hand glowed brilliantly, pouring vast amounts of magic into his body. The second spell icon on the Sage’s Chapter lit up once more.
Then, another soft "whoosh" echoed through the air...
Meteor Volley struck the Bone Demon’s head again. But this time, there was no skull left to block it—the Soul Fire, the vital source of the undead creature, was exposed, bare as a maiden without her clothes, right in front of Leon...
The instant Meteor Volley collided with the Soul Fire, the power of the Limit Spell erupted. Amidst the earth-shaking roar, Leon felt a wave of heat blast toward him, flames shooting skyward and filling his vision. The fire element, already lively, seemed to burst into jubilant song...
The Bone Demon, which had just been howling and raging, suddenly froze—as if all its strength had been drained away. It collapsed, stiff and lifeless, the Soul Fire in its skull extinguished. The Bone Demon’s existence ended here.
It was finally over...
Almost at the same moment the Bone Demon collapsed, Leon dropped to the ground as well. The Sage’s Chapter fell beside him, greedily absorbing the last remnants of Soul Fire. The Soulbound Staff lay at his side—after two immense expenditures, the Elemental Amber within had been completely drained of magic.
But right now, Leon couldn’t care about any of that. He just sat on the ground, gasping for breath...
He’d only used two spells in this battle.
But the pressure he felt was far greater than casting two hundred spells. Those two Limit Spells were Leon’s last trump cards—if he couldn’t destroy the Bone Demon’s Soul Fire, he’d have no hope of turning the tables. That constant tension between life and death... Even for someone who’d survived countless battles in the end times, Leon found it almost unbearable. Now, with the fight finally over, he felt utterly drained...
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Sorry I couldn’t keep up with the gold standard of more than 12 updates today. My condition really wasn’t great, plus I was out all afternoon dealing with personal matters, so today’s update is a bit lacking. Bowing, and my apologies.
Also, this week’s strong recommendation slot isn’t very promising, so I’ll have to rely on everyone’s support. If you can spare a vote or two, I’d really appreciate it!