Wrath of the Re-climber

"Goodnight!" Ethan shouted as he leaped towards the sky, aiming for Derek's location. He readied his punches with absolute strength.

Bam!

?!

Ethan smiled bitterly at the unexpected counter from his opponent. Despite the spear embedded in his chest, Derek had managed to stop Ethan's punch.

"He is more resilient than I thought," Ethan muttered, preparing to unleash a flurry of punches towards Derek, who wouldn't let that happen.

Derek's feet sank into the floor, and his body doubled in size, muscles bulging with power.

"This movement!" Ethan exclaimed, immediately trying to back away…

Gang!

"Damn!" Ethan braced himself for the impact, forming an X with his hands. Eliana, not far away, also got ready as she rushed forward and grabbed hold of a shield.

Derek's mouth spread wide instantly, releasing a strong and monstrous sound.

[Scream of a Defeated God]

BOOM!

The surroundings were devastated as the ground erupted, causing destruction to fill the room. Even Derek's chains were not spared.

The area near Derek's door trembled uneasily from the impact, and the shockwave continued to expand, reaching as far as a hundred kilometers away. Katnese and the others, who were preparing to explore, felt it as well.

"What's going on again?" Alex questioned, looking up at the giant eye in the sky. Meanwhile, Katnese's attention was elsewhere; she wondered how he was doing.

The dust settled slowly, revealing the aftermath of Derek's devastating attack. The once-solid ground was now a cratered wasteland, with cracks spidering out in all directions. Ethan coughed, blood dripping from the corner of his mouth as he was pushed back several steps away, he struggled to stay on his feet. His arms, still crossed in an X formation, trembled under the strain of absorbing the brunt of the attack. The sheer force of Derek's [Scream of a Defeated God] had left him battered and bruised.

Eliana, who had managed to shield herself just in time, emerged from behind the debris. Her shield, glowing faintly with protective runes, bore deep scorch marks but had held firm. She rushed to Ethan's side, her eyes scanning him for injuries. "Ethan! Are you alright?" she asked, her voice tinged with concern, not because she cared about him, it was mostly because, if he died, she would be next.

"I'm fine," Ethan replied through gritted teeth, though his body told a different story. His breathing was labored, and his movements were sluggish.

{That's a lie, my body, I don't want to die!}

Ignoring his younger version complaining, he misjudged the strength and resilience of Derek, now he understood why a battalion was needed to take him down. "He is clearly not an opponent of this floor," Smiled Ethan; his reaction made Eliana smile, too.

"This is good news," She said; Ethan nodded; their eyes had suddenly changed; it wasn't an emotionless or idiotic gaze, but that of greed.

Once, in the original timeline, he was saved by a friend, John Dohi, the shield warrior, from attackers; after killing them, he helped Ethan strengthen up before sending him to the next realm.

"Why are you helping me?" Asked Ethan, still carrying his baby facial innocence, but the dark atmosphere around him showed how bad he was going through, his view of the world decomposing within him.

John looked at him and smiled, "I don't know, I just did what I was told," Said John. It was requested by someone close to his friend, so he did it, but he came to like the boy as he trained him.

"Let me give you some advice as your teacher, as you climb up, remember, keep in mind that, anything you encounter strong has a great chance of giving you a strong reward, get it, be greedy with it, and kill anybody that tries to steal it from you" He pointed towards the crying giant eye in the sky, "the road to the end is near"

Ethan got ready as he glared at Derek, he stood at the center of the destruction, his massive frame radiating raw power. His muscles bulged unnaturally, veins pulsing with energy that seemed almost otherworldly. The chains that had once bound him lay shattered around his feet, their fragments glowing faintly before fading into nothingness. His eyes burned with an intense, unrelenting fury.

"He is at his limit," Said Ethan; Eliana nodded, but it was also the most dangerous moment; a wounded beast is always the most dangerous when cornered.

Ethan's eyes narrowed as he analyzed Derek's movements. "He's strong, but he's relying on brute force. If we can outmaneuver him and exploit his openings, we might have a chance. I'll distract him—keep him focused on me. You look for an opportunity to strike."

"Got it," Eliana replied, determination flashing in her eyes; this was a plan to team up; they didn't say much but knew that they needed one another to defeat this guy, and their experience taught them to always utilize anything around you to reach your goal, even human sacrifice if needed.

Without wasting another moment, Ethan charged forward, his body screaming in protest but his resolve unwavering. Derek roared and lunged to meet him, the ground shaking with every step. Ethan feinted to the left, narrowly avoiding a crushing blow from Derek's massive fist, and countered with a swift punch to Derek's ribs. The impact barely fazed the giant, but it was enough to draw his attention; Derek sent another massive punch at Ethan, who jumped backward; it wasn't over, as a series of dead punches came flying.

Ethan dodged and blocked what he could sustain and counterattacked with a punch at Derek's ribcage again and again, his gauntlet glowing with runes.

Ethan did not miss the strangeness of the shield, and the gauntlet showed they were embedded with rune stones of strength, speed, and resistance to physical damage. His gauntlet, in particular, had strength and the ability to double the physical damage inflicted on his opponents.

[Artefact]

These weren't weapons but artifacts; Derek's dungeon had hidden artifacts apart from the weapon he was looking for; this is one of the reasons why he wanted to finish fast with Derek; he needed to thoroughly search the area and equip himself.

Boom!

He dodged another strike and struck Derek's chest multiple times; the gauntlet glowed as time passed, accumulating strength; this could be seen as steam energy kept gushing out of the gauntlet.

Meanwhile, Eliana circled around, her movements precise and calculated. She waited for the perfect moment, her shield glowing brighter as she channeled her energy into it. As Derek raised both fists to deliver a devastating overhead smash, Eliana saw her opening.

"Now!" Ethan shouted, dodging backward to give her space.

With a battle cry, Eliana leaped into the air, her shield aimed directly at Derek's exposed back. The runes on the shield flared brilliantly as she brought it down with all her strength.

CRACK!

The impact sent a shockwave rippling through the room, and Derek staggered forward, roaring in pain. For the first time, his movements faltered, and his monstrous form seemed to waver.

"Ethan, finish it!" Eliana yelled, landing, preparing to defend against any retaliation.

Ethan didn't hesitate. Summoning every ounce of strength he had left, he launched himself toward Derek, his fist glowing with a fiery energy that seemed to burn brighter with his determination. "This ends now!" he shouted, driving his punch straight into Derek's chest.

BOOM!

Swoosh!

A large hand flew out of the dust and landed on the ground. Eliana frowned, and her expression grew dark and worried.

"This bastard," murmured Ethan as his hand shook; the impact did not go well, and Derek gave up his right hand to reduce the impact; the monster wanted to drag alongside one of his opponents to hell.

Derek's remaining arm flew with a murderous strength towards Ethan's face, Eliana could not stop herself from shouting his name, "Ethan!"

Boom!

However, even Ethan wasn't going to sit there and wait for his dead, his experience as a veteran warrior who has walked and climbed the ladder to the summit knew that a battle was never over as long as one of the opponents was still up, his fit sank inside the floor as his waist twisted dodging the giant fist who flew right brushing his left ear, his left gauntlet glowed in an intense heat bursting out uncontrollably.

[Soul analysis completed, the user granted energy weapon standard form]

His gauntlet was immediately swallowed in a fist of rainbow color consisting of dark gold and blue electricity as it smashed toward Derek's face.

The force of the blow sent Derek flying backward, crashing into the far wall with a thunderous impact. The room fell silent, save for the sound of rubble settling and the heavy breathing of Ethan and Eliana.

As the dust cleared, Derek's massive form began to shrink, his muscles deflating and his aura fading. He slumped to the ground, headless. The battle was over—the first of a series to come.

Ethan, with a steaming gauntlet clenched hard, said, "I need to become stronger; even with this infant body, I would climb back and stop them." his determination was clear.