Strongest Necromancer Of Heaven's Gate

"Is that the ability that allowed you to conquer the other gates as well?" Nero asked as he looked at the Dragon that was hovering above his head.

"Who knows?" Lux replied as he jumped off the Dragon's back and landed several meters away from Nero.

Nero grabbed the artifact that allowed others to see the things he saw and heard from his chest, and crushed it. This was to ensure that no one would see what was going to happen next.

"I've always hated you, Lux. You were only able to reach your current rank because you were born lucky," Nero stated. "Your grandma fished you out of the river, and brought you back to Wildgarde Stronghold to raise. Despite the fact that you were a cripple, she still loved you and treated you like family.

"If you weren't there in the tournament, Iris' fiance would have definitely been me. I would have become the Saint's son-in-law and my future would have been limitless. Having beauty, power, and influence by my side, my rise was guaranteed… and yet, all of that disappeared because of your existence."

Lux smirked and clapped his hands after hearing Nero's words.

"Salty much?" Lux asked after clapping a few times.

"You bastard Half-Elf. You have no idea on what it's like to be born a commoner." Nero clenched his fists making crackling sounds as he glared at the Half-Elf in front of him. "You do not know how many times I had to bow my head just to get the chance to enter Elysium. Someone as lucky as you won't understand my hardships. If only you didn't exist! Everything you have now should have been mine!"

Dark mists surrounded Nero's body as the power of Abyss took hold of his heart.

Lux knew full well what it was like to be consumed by such power because he had experienced it firsthand in the past. If not for the fact that Keoza had appeared to save him, he might have already lost his mind and became an Abyssal Monster who only wanted to destroy everything around him.

But, although Nero was tapping into the Power of the Abyss, he didn't allow himself to be consumed by it completely.

After being defeated by Lux, the Guildmaster of the Storm Dragon's Guild, trained tirelessly to control his Abyssal Powers, allowing him to only draw the power he needed, without falling into corruption.

'It seems that Sir Rainer taught him to control his Abyssal Powers well,' Lux thought as he looked at Nero whose strength had drastically increased. 'This is going to be a bit troublesome.'

Those who chose to wield the power of the Abyss knew the risk of gaining such a power. Because of this, they would train themselves to resist falling into temptation, and only draw out the power they needed.

Although the seed of the Abyss had taken root deep in Nero's heart, he still hadn't forgotten his ambitions to become the strongest among the young generation.

And for that to happen, he would have to slay the Half-Elf in front of him, in order to break free of his heart's demon.

"Before I kill you, tell me one thing." Nero growled. "When you died, did your Rank deteriorate?"

"Yes," Lux replied as he coated his body with his personal Battle Regalia that he had used when he fought against Nero in the tournament. "This will be enough of a handicap to fight against you."

"Don't think I'll show you mercy just because you are weaker than me."

"Weaker? What a joke. If you want to fight then let's fight."

Lux didn't care if his rank was now a realm lower than Nero.

He wasn't the same Half-Elf that would always faint just because his body had reached its limit. Things had changed since he entered Elysium, and right now, although Nero's Rank was higher than him, that didn't mean that the brown-haired boy could overpower him.

Afterall, his profession was a Necromancer, and his body constitution was the Immortal Dragon Conqueror's Legacy.

"Master, do you need help?" Bedivere asked.

"No," Lux replied. "Just keep a lookout in the surroundings and prevent anyone from interfering with our battle."

Bedivere nodded. "Understood."

Lux and Nero stared at each other for nearly half a minute before both of them took a step forward, and charged at each other.

Nero transformed into a black lightning bolt and reappeared in front of Lux, delivering a punch clad with lightning to the Half-Elf's chest.

Lux didn't back away and transformed his hands into dragon claws, and punched Nero as well.

Two resounding thuds spread in the surroundings as both of their attacks connected with each other's bodies.

Both of them could have dodged each other's attacks if they wanted to, but both of them wanted to prove something and that was they were not afraid to take a hit from the person they wanted to defeat.

Both took a step back, but soon recovered to strike against their enemy a second time.

Nero, who thought that Lux would suffer tremendous damage from his attack, was surprised that the Half-Elf was still standing, and managed to strike back at him as well.

Both of them had the power of the Abyss, and their attacks could easily bypass almost all defenses, dealing direct damage to the soul.

As the two exchanged several more blows without even bothering to block or evade them, their bodies started to accumulate damage over time.

However, in the end, it was Nero who broke away first as he distanced himself from Lux as he clutched his chest with a hand.

"H-How?" Nero asked as blood spilled from the corner of his lips. "You're only at the Apostle Rank, and I'm at the Initiate Rank. How are you able to endure my attacks?!"

Lux wiped the blood that had also spilled from the corner of his lips with the back of his hand as he looked at his adversary who had a shocked expression on his face.

"Because you're not Me," Lux replied. "Lucky? Yes. I consider myself lucky. I was raised with love despite my weak body constitution. Do you know how much I envied you back then? You were the strongest teenager in Wildgarde Stronghold and everyone looked up to you.

"There were days when I wished I was you, but I never felt salty about it. All I did was constantly train myself, so that one day, I would also get a chance to visit Elysium, and make my grandma proud of me."

Lux wanted to say that he and Nero were different not because his rank was higher than his, but because their constitution was different from each other.

An Initiate was equivalent to a Rank 5 Monster. However, even among monsters of the same Rank, there were vast differences between them, especially when it came to the type of Monster they were.

A Rank 5 Dragon was very different from a Human that had achieved the Initiate Rank. Although they were of the same Rank, the Dragon was still superior because of its race.

Also, Dragons, and other mythical creatures were very resistant to the attack of the Abyss. Not to mention, Lux's Health and defense was higher than Nero's because of the boosts he got from his Passive Skills, Dragon's Heart [EX], and Dragon Scale [EX].

—-----------

< Dragon Scale [EX] >

– Makes your skin as hard as dragon scales.

– Greatly Increase Physical and Magical defense as if you are wearing a set of armor that covers your entire body.

– Reduces Physical and Magical damage by 50%

—---

< Dragon's Heart [EX] >

– Increase your Health by 30,000 Points

– Increase Health and Stamina regeneration by 100%

– When facing an opponent stronger than you, Health and Stamina regeneration will be boosted to 200% Health and Stamina regeneration.

– Gain Selective Lesser Immunity passive ability. You may only choose one Lesser Immunity Passive. Once you do, you can no longer change the passive immunity that you have chosen.

—-

< Selective Lesser Immunity >

– Greatly gain increased resistance to chosen Lesser Immunity.

– Chosen Lesser Immunity will automatically decrease the damage you will receive from the chosen option by 30%

< Chosen Lesser Immunity: Physical Attacks >

– All damage acquired from physical attacks will automatically be decreased by 30%

—----------

Even if the two of them were to fight a slugfest, Lux's Abyss Touch dealt more damage to Nero because the latter had no way of countering its effects.

If Lux's remaining Health Points were in the 100's, Nero's Health was down to the 30's.

This was the difference in their body constitution, allowing Lux to have the upper hand in close combat.