Eldritch Assassin: Reincarnated With An SSS-Rank Devouring System
Chapter 104: Trial of Suppression Reversal (IV)

Chapter 104: Trial of Suppression Reversal (IV)

The cavern trembled, loose pebbles skittering across the floor as ancient mechanisms deep within the Ascension Pagoda groaned to life, their metallic resonance echoing like a dirge.

Kael limped toward the center of the chamber, each step leaving a crimson footprint on the stone, a trail of his defiance.

He didn’t bother bandaging his wounds—there wasn’t time. Four minutes was a fleeting reprieve, not enough to rest, not with injuries that cut so deep. If he collapsed now, he knew he wouldn’t rise again.

He stopped beneath the torch, his body swaying, breath ragged, sweat dripping down his jaw and stinging his eyes. The flame pulsed—once, twice—then dimmed, its golden light retreating as if gathering strength for what was to come.

[FINAL PHASE – INITIATING]

The golden light exploded outward, a blinding burst that consumed the chamber, swallowing sight and sound in a radiant tide. Kael shielded his eyes with his arm, his Predator’s Instincts sharpening as the world around him shifted, reality bending under the pagoda’s ancient will.

The stone floor vanished beneath his feet.

He landed hard, boots skidding across rough gravel, his wounded legs buckling as he staggered upright. A hot, dry wind howled around him, carrying the acrid scent of scorched earth and molten stone.

The sky above was a void of black, devoid of stars, choked with swirling ash that stung his eyes and coated his tongue. Before him stretched a massive crater, its jagged edges glowing with veins of molten rock, the air shimmering with heat.

From its smoldering heart came footsteps—not one, not two, but five, each one heavy with purpose.

Kael’s eyes narrowed, his heart thudding in his ears. Five shadows emerged from the smoke, their forms tall and imposing, cloaked in flame-touched armor that gleamed with an otherworldly sheen.

Their faces were hidden behind masks of bone and steel, carved with runes that pulsed faintly in the dim light. Unlike the feral Wyrmkin Reapers, these Infernal Sentinels moved with calculated grace, their silence more menacing than any screech.

They unsheathed curved black blades in unison, the metal singing with a low, mournful hum.

[Trial Restriction: Cultivation Suppressed to Level 11. No Primal Energy Allowed.]

The System’s voice was a cold blade in his mind, its words sinking deep. Kael’s breath caught, the weight of the restriction pressing against his already battered spirit.

Eldritch Reversal was spent, its power locked away for at least another hour. These Sentinels weren’t beasts—they were warriors, killers forged in the same crucible that now sought to break him.

The Trial of Suppression Reversal was no mere test; it was a crucible designed to strip him bare and see if what remained could endure.

Kael spun Abyssal Fang in his hand, testing his grip, the motion a quiet defiance. The smaller dagger in his off-hand was lost, buried somewhere in the chaos of the previous phase, but it didn’t matter. He wouldn’t run. He couldn’t. He’d already bled for this trial—now he’d burn for it.

The five Sentinels stepped forward as one, their movements synchronized, a silent promise of death. Kael didn’t wait for their verdict. With a snarl, he dashed toward them, ignoring the scream of his wounded legs and the throbbing agony in his ribs.

Gravel crunched beneath his boots, molten cracks glowing like veins of fire beneath his feet, the heat searing through his soles.

The first Sentinel swung, its blade tracing a high arc meant to cleave him in two. Kael ducked, sparks exploding above his head as the sword cut through the air, the heat of its passage scorching his skin.

He lunged low, Abyssal Fang slicing across the enemy’s thigh, carving through armor like parchment. Ichor welled, dark, and viscous, but the Sentinel didn’t falter. Its blade reversed, the hilt slamming into Kael’s ribs with bone-crushing force.

The blow knocked him back, breath exploding from his lungs, pain flaring like a wildfire. Before he could recover, the second Sentinel struck, its thrust aimed at his gut.

Kael twisted aside, the blade grazing his side, fresh blood joining the crimson already soaking his robes. He slammed his shoulder into the enemy’s chest, unbalancing it, then spun and slashed behind him, catching the third Sentinel across the face.

Bone shattered beneath Abyssal Fang’s edge, sparks and ichor spraying into the ash-choked air.

The fourth was already there, its fist crashing into Kael’s jaw, rocking his head back. A boot followed, slamming into his stomach and sending him flying.

He rolled across the gravel, skin tearing on jagged rocks, ash stinging his wounds. Coughing, he spat blood, the metallic taste flooding his mouth, but he rose, his stance wavering but his silver eyes burning with unyielding resolve.

’They’re coordinated,’ he thought, his mind racing despite the pain. ’Testing me, taking turns, watching my rhythm.’

The Sentinels weren’t fighting to kill—they were probing, learning, and adapting to his every move.

Kael clenched his jaw and charged again, zig-zagging through the crater to keep them from surrounding him. Abyssal Fang danced—fast, brutal, a blur of precision targeting knees, elbows, shoulders, the weak points in their armor.

They struck back, their blades cutting into his arms, his side, each wound a fresh agony. Blood flowed freely, pooling in the gravel, but Kael was faster, deadlier, his movements fueled by a fire that refused to be extinguished.

The third Sentinel fell, Abyssal Fang buried deep in its throat, ichor gushing as it collapsed into the ash.

[DING! Infernal Sentinel Eliminated – 1/5]

Kael ripped the blade free, spun, and ducked a wild swing from the fifth. Dropping low, he swept the warrior’s legs, sending it crashing to the ground.

He drove his boot into its chest, bone crunching under the impact, but the second Sentinel struck from behind, its blade slicing into his back, stopping just short of his spine. Kael screamed, twisting to face it, his vision swimming.

He caught the hilt, yanked the blade free, and threw it aside, blood spraying with the motion. Slamming his head into the Sentinel’s mask, he drove Abyssal Fang through its neck in a single, savage thrust.

It fell, twitching, its body dissolving into ash.

[DING! Infernal Sentinel Eliminated – 2/5]

The final three closed in, no longer hesitating, their blades gleaming with lethal intent. Kael’s vision blurred, his right leg numb, and his left arm barely responsive.

His breath came in ragged bursts, each inhale laced with fire, but his grip on Abyssal Fang never wavered, its weight a silent vow to endure.

They struck as one—a synchronized assault of low, high, and flanking strikes. Kael ducked the low slash and twisted to block the high, but the third’s blade cut across his shoulder, blood spraying in a crimson arc.

He ignored the pain, dropping to one knee as the flanking Sentinel leapt. With a desperate heave, he threw Abyssal Fang upward, the dagger whistling through the air and burying itself in the enemy’s gut.

The Sentinel choked, dropping mid-air, and Kael caught it by the throat, using its momentum to slam it into the ground, bones crunching under the impact.

Without pausing, he grabbed the fallen warrior’s blade and hurled it through the chest of the second, the steel piercing armor and bone with a wet thud.

[DING! Infernal Sentinels Eliminated – 3/5]

Kael collapsed to his knees, blood streaming from his nose, mouth, and ears, his body teetering on the edge of failure.

The final two Sentinels charged, their blades a storm of death. He had no dagger, only broken fingers and bloodied fists, but Kael pushed off the ground, letting the first strike pass inches from his ear.

He drove his knee into the enemy’s gut, the impact staggering it, then grabbed its arm and sank his teeth into the flesh between armor and glove, tearing through muscle and sinew.

The taste of copper flooded his mouth, the warrior’s scream echoing through the crater. Kael ripped a dagger from its belt, twisting to drive it backward into the last Sentinel’s chest—once, twice, three times, each thrust a defiance of his crumbling body.

[DING! Infernal Sentinels Eliminated – 5/5]

The sky split open with golden light, a radiant cascade that bathed the crater in warmth. The ground trembled, molten veins pulsing brighter as if the pagoda itself acknowledged his victory.

Kael stood in the center, soaked in blood and ichor, swaying on unsteady feet. His glassy eyes, dim with fatigue, lifted to the final torch as it ignited, its flame no longer gold but white-hot, a beacon piercing the ash-choked void.

[Phase Four – COMPLETE]

Kael didn’t smile. He didn’t celebrate. He simply stood, barely alive, his body a ruin of wounds and exhaustion, yet unbroken, undefeated. The trial was over, and he had won—not through strength or power, but through sheer, unyielding will.

The air stilled, the wind dying to a whisper. The pagoda’s hum faded, replaced by a silence that felt almost reverent. Kael’s breath steadied, each inhale a testament to his survival.

Abyssal Fang lay somewhere in the ash, lost in the chaos, but its presence lingered within him, a silent partner in his defiance.

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