The Last Paragon in the Apocalypse

They say that when the odds are stacked against you, that's when your true strength awakens. Well... they lied to you. People just say stupid things just because they want to...

Klaus, whose odds were stacked against him, was struggling at that very moment. He was being tossed left, right, and center.

The feeling of helplessness overwhelmed him, and for the first time in god knows how long, our very own paragon was truly helpless.

Thankfully, he was wearing early-stage alien armour which was lessening the attacks...

Whenever the alien wielding the green-hilted odachi tossed him, the dual-wielding horned swordsman would also hurl him toward the shadowy assassin, who seemed to take joy in leaving shallow cuts.

Then, the orc shaman would bombard him with elemental spells. And finally, the last person who always made him curse in different languages was the red-skinned troll, who always sent him crashing to the ground with a thunderous thud.

He was screwed.

Luckily, the Succubus and the Dark Elf archer were being held back by the Dragon... perhaps that was for the best, considering the dragon was doing everything possible to stop the Succubus, who was helpless against its flames.

The Dark Elf, however, was looking for an opening to attack, but there was none. The dragon was doing a good job while also ensuring it wasn't killed.

That would be dangerous.

'Fuck, they aren't using any tangible skills, so I can't determine how to counter. But that's for the best. Aside from the assassin, the rest are tempering my body quite well.'

Klaus laughed inwardly as he wiped blood from the corner of his lips.

What a maniac... using his body as a meat shield to find openings and the attack patterns of his targets.

Outwardly, he was suffering; inwardly, though, he was helpless.

The attacks were coming from different angles, and for the past twelve minutes, he couldn't figure out how best to handle them.

Thankfully, his armour and quick reactions prevented him from getting completely overwhelmed. They would need to do much more than they were doing now.

'One...'

Klaus was struck by the horned demon, sending him crashing to the ground, only to be tossed back up by the orc shaman, who used an elemental attack to hurl him into the air.

Klaus's skin burned but was repaired almost immediately.

This change was due to the armour he was currently wearing. His natural healing abilities seemed further amplified as the armour continued forming.

In fact, he never expected this to happen, but it seemed the more hell demons he killed, the more this armour would take shape.

He was happy.

He was suffering... but it was for the best.

He only needed to kill all seven of them, and he would be free from his danger. Naturally, he hated the idea of facing seven Ascendants, but he welcomed it.

Why?

Because Klaus wanted to ensure that after today, he wouldn't be overwhelmed even if he had to face a level 4 or 5 Ascendant.

He wanted to ensure that once he left this trial, Ascendant-level experts wouldn't pose a threat to him. Of course, that was wishful thinking, but as a Saint, this was perhaps the most shocking thing to witness.

'Two...'

The troll struck Klaus's side with its massive mallet, forcing him to cough up blood. A sight like this would make his mother weep tears of anguish, but what could he say? The boys do crazy things like this for no reason.

The orc shaman cast a spell, conjuring a Layer 5 spell circle that immediately began raining down fireballs. These fireballs pack more punch than one might think.

Each explosion sends shockwaves several meters wide, making it difficult to completely defend against them.

Klaus used his star qi to raise a protective dome around himself, deflecting most of the onslaught. Of course, the shockwaves were far from pleasant.

"Enough!" Klaus roared, delivering a powerful kick that landed a brutal strike on the horned demon swordsman, drawing blood and sending him flying. His boot has spikes on it...so.

This opening allowed Klaus to charge toward the shaman, who had summoned hundreds of fireballs. He cleaved through them with his sabers, arriving in front of the shaman.

But instead of attacking, Klaus leaped backward just in time to meet the descending odachi of the alien warrior.
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The clash sent both of them flying, though Klaus was less fortunate. A shallow cut appeared on his neck—not deep enough to be fatal but painful enough to make him wince.

Perhaps the dagger was enchanted, but Klaus could tell there weren't any enchantments; it seemed the enemy's cutting technique had perhaps amplified the pain several times over.

The shadowy figure vanished and reappeared four meters away.

Klaus's wound healed quickly as he locked eyes with the shadow.

"I'll kill you first," he snarled, dodging a descending mallet and leaping sideways to evade a thrusting sword.

A fireball—much stronger than the previous ones—struck him, sending him flying again. Klaus coughed up blood but maintained his unyielding strength.

"Die, human!" The Troll attacked.

His heavy mallet cast a shadow over Klaus, who smirked and then moved. A bone-breaking sound echoed the next second as a giant hammer met flesh.

"I have waited for this moment, bastard." A giant hammer appeared in Klaus's hand, delivering a powerful strike to the troll's knee, sending its mallet flying toward the Shaman.

The Orc cast a defence spell around himself, but at the last minute, he caught Klaus's smirk and instinctively turned to his right.

There, the mallet swerved and aimed at the horned demon swordsman. Klaus is a spirit master, so he uses his mind to move the mallet flying toward the shaman.

This forced the Shaman to wave his staff desperately, casting a new spell that surrounded the swordsman at the last second, stopping Klaus's precise strike.

But perhaps he shouldn't have done that.

Klaus's smile widened, almost teasing, as he glanced at the Shaman. The Orc felt a bad premonition, but it was too late to know why Klaus was smiling.

In his attempt to save the swordsman, the Shaman's staff exited the defensive barrier he had built, exposing it. Of course, he never expected that to matter.

But it mattered.

Klaus had waited for that moment, and just when the Shaman thought he had saved his teammate, the Void Piercing Needle tore through the mysterious gem inside the staff.

Klaus noticed this unique gem always glows when he casts a spell.

The gem exploded, making the Orc Shaman scream his heart out as blood flowed from his orifices.

"Now, you can read your spells like a true shaman," Klaus muttered before ignoring him as three attacks and a shadow converged upon him.

'Plan One was a success. Time to create the third backup plan so I can use the second plan too.'

Klaus laughed inwardly, giving himself a pat on the back.

His first plan was to take care of the gem inside the Shaman's staff. With his abundant soul energy, he had figured out the true nature of the gem—it was a soul item.

This allowed the Shaman to cast spells several times faster without even speaking them, which made things exceedingly difficult for Klaus, as those spells were his biggest obstacle.

So, he had to take care of that.

Thankfully, his brain hadn't disappointed him.

Ah well, he had dedicated two whole brain segments to reading the battle and coming up with a plan while trying his best to survive.

So, one point for his quick thinking and decision-making...

Now, he had to kill the shadow assassin, and to do that, he must not fail with his second plan...thus, he needed a third plan.