The Innkeeper

After facing the first Kraven, the challenges of the tower once again returned to those of combat, and they quickly became genuinely challenging. It was no longer a matter of one or two hits, but rather of a fight.

The Kraven, who had become his constant foes, proved themselves to be extremely worthy of the exceptionally deadly reputation they had in the Crystal realm. Soon, not only did Lex go back from being able to defeat them easily, but he even went from being on the offensive to being on the defensive.

For a moment, Lex even considered just ending the trial there and then. It was not like he was interested in the reward, and more importantly, he didn't want to waste time here. He had other things to do.

But his instincts warned him otherwise. Since he was already inside the tower, his instincts were no longer being interfered with. It was not that he would be in danger if he tried to quit or didn't finish the tower, but rather that he would regret it.

As soon as he reached that conclusion he thought for a moment. Was this the right time to pull out Naraka? Then he grit his teeth, and pulled out the Butter Knife, and put on the Invincible Tyrant Mask.

This was the first time in a long, long time that he was being pushed to the limits of his abilities - at least the abilities he could exhibit under the effects of the seal - and didn't need to fear the repercussion being death. As such, Lex was forced to use everything he had trained during the past fifteen years, and his combat prowess began to evolve continuously.

Each challenge he faced was tougher, and yet he rose to meet the challenge. If Z saw him now, he'd scoff again and claim that Lex was holding back. He could not be blamed for underestimating the rate at which he was actually growing stronger.

He became more and more precise in his actions, planning each and every action, and just as Lex was getting into the flow of combat, he witnessed the end.

The last obstacle of the human race was not even a fight. They were unworthy to even approach that battlefield. Instead, defeated, beaten, battered, the few remnants of the dwindling human race watched from afar as the very core of the realm was shattered.

The finishing blow was not delivered by a Kraven, surprisingly. It was a distant figure that emerged, surrounded by kneeling Kraven. It was too far for Lex to see properly. All he saw was a large thing walking upright, its four wings spread behind its back, each one significantly larger than its body.

It struck a single blow, and the entire realm shattered, and the human race of this realm finally experienced their final defeat, resulting in their total annihilation.

When the challenge came, Lex felt oppressed in a way he hadn't experienced for a long time. He was severely weakened in front of the forces of annihilation that were targeting him, and he clearly felt the gap in power between himself and the blow that was about to land on him.

Yet even if he was weaker than his foe, he was much stronger than he once was. He did not need to watch helplessly, unable to react in the face of an impending attack.

Lex used his Heavens Furnace to contain the attack. It was, at the moment, his strongest defensive technique. Yet it literally served as no obstacle to the falling attack.

It did not break or shatter under immense pressure. It simply ceased to exist when the attack hit it. It seemed that there was no hope - yet that was not true. If nothing else, at least his furnace was able to deplete a portion of the attacks might.

A split second before it touched Lex's skin, he employed every tactic available to him. He split space itself, increased his defense, used various techniques, and even used his spiritual energy to manipulate the laws to protect him.

Of everything, only the laws put up a momentary resistance. Then the attack landed, and from the very depth of his being, Lex felt a challenge. His very existence was being challenged, and he was too weak to resist it. He realized then that what he was facing was a very powerful application of the annihilation law.

It was too late to put up any other kind of defense now. The laws had chained itself to his being, and the only reason it had not directly destroyed him was because the attack was linked to a challenge.

The challenge was to prove that he deserved to exist, and that he deserved to survive the fate of destruction that had been rendered for an entire realm.

This was not a challenge he could plan for. He could not put up a fake front. There were no plans. In fact, he could not even react to the challenge himself to begin with. It was one that would be answered on its own.

Deep within Lex's body something reacted on his behalf. Lex's destiny was unordinary, he could deduce that much even if he did not understand destiny itself. But destiny was not nearly as irrefutable as many assumed. It was not nearly the shackle everyone always assumed, though it could also be that on occasion.

When the challenge came, Lex felt oppressed in a way he hadn't experienced for a long time. He was severely weakened in front of the forces of annihilation that were targeting him, and he clearly felt the gap in power between himself and the blow that was about to land on him.

All of that was irrelevant at the moment. The only thing relevant was that Lex's name was in the top of the Guest registry, which afforded him many prizes in the form of anchors. Every guest who had a name in the top 10 of the registry had a Destiny anchor.

When the law of annihilation challenged him, from deep within Lex, for the first time, the effect of his Destiny anchor manifested itself.

The law of annihilation, at least at the level it was being displayed, was unworthy of challenging his destiny and his existence. Lex passed the challenge, even if he did not know how exactly he passed.

At the same time, countless realms apart, the very being that appeared in the final vision of the realm before it was destroyed felt something. After a moment, it smiled.

"Interesting. Two successful challengers…"

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