Primordial Awakening: I Can Evolve My Skills Infinitely - Chapter 234

Chapter 234: You Cannot Escape Judgment, The Last Platform
The [Judge Monarch] had lost two of its four arms in the fight against Sam, leaving only two left to wield judgment.

“You know,” the monarch said as it stepped forward, its voice calm and detached, “the more you struggle, the more meaningless this all becomes.”

Sam said nothing.

“Judgment will be given to you regardless,” the monarch continued, its tone almost taunting. “Even you must feel it deep inside by now, that instinct telling you this is pointless, right?”

Sam stayed silent, his stance unmoving.

Yet, in the back of his mind, he knew the monarch wasn’t entirely wrong.

Beyond all the sensations of battle, there was always that underlying feeling.

That small whisper inside him that asked whether any of this even mattered.

[You wonder if all of this isn’t meaningless.]

That message had never appeared, but he could feel it.

Even after defeating the [Forsaken Lords], after enduring the missions, and even after killing the [Pale Monarch], the feeling never left.

It was like a curse of its own, quiet but relentless.

Still, Sam had learned long ago that paying attention to it did nothing but slow him down.

He ignored it now, as he always did, and kept his focus locked on the [Verdict Bar] hovering above the monarch’s head.

It was climbing steadily, glowing brighter each time the monarch’s black blood dripped to the ground.

Now, Sam understood the meaning behind [Blood Verdict]. The more blood the “guilty” spilled, the closer judgment came to being delivered.

And once it was full, the final verdict would fall.

The [Judge Monarch] spun the rope it held, forming a lasso that whirled through the air before darting toward Sam like a striking serpent.

But Sam didn’t retreat.

He dashed forward in the same instant—faster than the rope could reach him.

Slash! Slash! Slash!

The sound echoed through the collapsing arena as his blade cut through the monarch’s third arm, severing it cleanly.

“This… isn’t going according to plan.”

“What should we do?”

“What else, finish it.”

The three sides of the monarch’s rotating head argued among themselves, each voice distinct and layered with irritation.

Sam didn’t give them a chance to act.

He lunged again, his crimson eyes sharp, his aura flaring.

[Hatred Boost] still burned through him, but he could feel it fading fast.

Five seconds, that was all it ever gave him, and he knew at least three had already passed.

The [Verdict Bar] above the monarch’s head now pulsed at ninety-five percent, the glow so bright it painted the fractured arena gold and crimson.

It just needed one final push.

But Sam could feel the toll inside him.

The curse he had broken earlier still clung faintly to his soul, a whisper of shadow wrapping around the edges of his mind.

He had forced his way through once, but he could tell his determination—his very essence—was nearing its limit.

Even so, he refused to let it end here.

“Alright then,” the monarch said, its tone dropping lower, “this ends now.”

It leapt high into the air, its form blotting out the dim yellow sky above.

Then—

BOOM!

It crashed down with tremendous force, both feet slamming into the ground.

The entire arena trembled violently as cracks spread outward like lightning, shattering what remained of the structure.

Fissures split open, swallowing chunks of the blackened floor, and within seconds, most of the arena had crumbled away into the abyss below.

Only a small circular platform remained—just large enough for Sam and the monarch to stand upon.

“Soon,” the monarch said, its three voices speaking as one, “the ground will disappear too.”

Sam’s expression didn’t change.

He didn’t flinch or retreat.

Primordial Wings!

In an instant, his wings flared out from his back, their edges glowing with dark light as he prepared to take flight.

But before he could even move—

[You cannot escape judgment.]

The air vibrated with an otherworldly tone as the massive golden scale above the arena shifted its position, aligning perfectly in front of him.

Then—

BOOM!

A blinding beam of light shot down from the scale, slamming into Sam’s chest before he could react.

The explosion shook the entire platform.

“ARGH—!”

His body convulsed as searing light burned through him, frying his nerves and making his eyes bleed.

“Trying to escape judgment is the greatest crime of all,” the monarch laughed. “We knew you would try it, little primordial.”

The laughter from its three mouths echoed through the chaos.

Sam’s body trembled violently, his skin scorched and smoking, his breath ragged and shallow.

But he refused to fall.

He gritted his teeth and forced his shaking legs to hold him up, his hands still gripping the primordial sword so tightly that his knuckles bled.

Beside him, the clone stood firm as well, its face twisting into that familiar, eerie smile.

“=)”

“Oh, wow,” the monarch said, almost impressed. “You survived!”

Its tone carried both amusement and annoyance.

“Well,” the judge continued, “we all know now that a single hit is all it’ll take to finish you off.”

Sam couldn’t argue.

Every muscle in his body screamed.

Every breath was a battle.

He knew that if he took even one more solid strike, he would die permanently this time.

But even that didn’t stop him.

“If I can’t escape,” Sam roared, his voice echoing through the hollow arena, “then neither can you!”

Primordial Hellscape.

[Description: Hell will come to them before you even send them to it. The primordial hellscape will surround them and burn their very souls.]

Sam poured everything he had left into the skill.

Flames erupted around him, crawling up his arms, swirling around his sword, and spreading outward.

Fwish! BOOM!

Hellscape Domain!

The ground around them ignited, the air itself twisting under the weight of the heat.

A sea of fire rose across the edges of the remaining platform, enclosing both him and the monarch in a circle of roaring crimson inferno.

“Huh,” the monarch muttered.

The flames climbed higher, reflecting in the yellow glow of its eyes.

These weren’t ordinary flames, they were powered by Sam’s aura, forged from every affinity he possessed.

A combination of everything that made him what he was.

The monarch extended one of its fingers toward the fire, brushing it lightly as if testing its strength.

The result was instant.

Ssshhhhh—

When it pulled its finger back, it was melted to ash.

It stared at its hand in silence for a moment, then nodded once.

“I see,” it said calmly. “So, we’re both dying then.”

Its expression didn’t change, still blank and unreadable.

“No matter,” the monarch said, “as long as the [King] is satisfied with our performance.”

Then, the scale above the arena began to glow again.

Divine Regeneration!

A radiant golden light descended from the heavens, bathing the monarch in its brilliance.

Sam instinctively raised his arm to shield his eyes.

Ding!

[“Hatred Boost” has run out.]

The crimson veins pulsing across his body began to fade, and the wild energy in his eyes dimmed back to their usual intensity.

But his focus remained sharp.

When the light faded, the monarch stood tall once more—though now it looked different.

The severed arms that Sam had cut off had grown back completely.

And worse, each of its four hands now carried the same weapon: the scale.

“If you had cut off the arm that held the scale earlier,” the monarch said with a devilish grin, “we wouldn’t have been able to use this.”

It chuckled darkly.

“Too bad you left our strongest weapon intact.”

Sam’s eyes narrowed.

The scales radiated a terrifying aura, their golden edges humming with divine energy.

[A single touch of those things and we’re dead.]

‘Yeah,’ Sam thought grimly, ‘I can feel it.’

The flames continued to roar around them, sealing the two inside their burning prison.

There was no escape left for either side.

This was the end.

Sam felt the clone’s presence standing beside him, steady and fearless as ever.

“=)”

“We need to end this quickly,” Sam said under his breath.

The clone nodded silently.

“Or at least…” he muttered, eyes flicking upward to the glowing [Verdict Bar] above the monarch’s head.

It was nearly full now, pulsing faster with every heartbeat, every drop of blood.

“Just stay alive a bit longer.”

Because once that bar reached its peak, judgment would be delivered.

And this time, it wouldn’t be for him.