There was a pause to it, Novus finding himself in a standstill, his senses, his mind, Sensory Expansion itself giving him a clear vision of it all as if he found where to pull that one final bit of strength, and he saw it, he saw a split-second moment where the enemy would never be able to reach him.

Just a single moment.

There it was, the biggest opportunity for him to just allow himself in the embrace of peaceful rest amidst the never-ending wave of exhaustion that crashes through his body, but instead of giving in to the temptation, he answered the question with words that any other would never.

"Why the hell would I not?"

And there he was, instead of using that final bit of strength to die with a satisfied smile, he chose to push himself just a step further instead, raising his hand up in an attempt to control what he is about to forge just a little bit more.

’That’s it... just one last thing... no way in hell I’ll be satisfied dying pathetically like this...’ he mutters to himself as he finally realized that he already went way past his previous limits, the way he moves, the way he dealt with all attacks that came to him before while maintaining his combat prowess despite his dwindling endurance and stamina forcing him to a singular conclusion, his death is coming close.

It’s only a matter of whether it is severe exhaustion or his enemies’ attacks that will get to him first.

Still, he decided to push on.

[Immortal Energy:32/200]

’I have enough...’ staring at the dwindling Immortal Energy that he so sparingly used previously, he thought to himself as he faced the endless wave of slime approaching his being, the trembling of the ground, the numerous colors of variants he had never known of, variants that didn’t even reach his previous location, their sheer number making him close his eyes.

He gradually pulled his senses back towards himself, the paths shown by Sensory Expansion no longer overlayed on his sight, returning him back to his weakest self, completely defenseless against Shadow Slimes’ sneak attacks.

He discarded mana reinforcement as well, the body that was once barely holding on as he infuses mana all throughout in order to keep himself from standing now threatening true collapse, a weight pressing down on him like never before, as if he’s a giant forced to hold a mountain upon his shoulders.

Eventually, as tiredness hits him, he closes his eyes, shutting down everything, not letting any external stimuli enter his own mind.

It isn’t an act of surrender, no.

It is an act to defy the limits of a single being against creatures of the same, if not a stronger level than himself.

A final burst of brilliance from a madman.

Raising his hand, mana starts gathering from all across the air, but he never noticed it, as all his senses receded without fail, he was left with what he had started with, barely able to control mana in its wake, and with mental fatigue piling up with it, his mind also struggles greatly just so he can continue to take hold of this little bit of control.

[Immortal Energy: 31/200]

[Immortal Energy: 30/200]

[Immortal Energy: 29/200]

As expected, Shadow Slimes caught up to him first, this time, as if knowing full well that the target is already in the brink of collapse, as if they posses the same twisted mind to play around and torture their prey, they opted not to go for the kill, instead tearing apart their target’s body bit by bit as he just stood there frozen, hands up the air and trembling, barely keeping that small blob of mana from collapsing to nothing.

’More... faster...’ while all of this happens, Novus continues with whatever it is that he wants to do last before going out of the Evolution Domain, his mind seeing nothing initially due to the lack of signals from his senses, now gradually seeing something, as if, despite the darkness from the lack of sight, he can see it.

He can see light.

A lot of it, in fact, as it flows from the grass, from the ground beneath him, from the air all around, from the skies above and from the sun beyond, the light flows, from nature, all the way on top of his hand, forming a wobbly, circular mass of mana that threatens to collapse should any outside interference affect it in the slightest.

[Immortal Energy: 27/200]

[Immortal Energy: 25/200]

[Immortal Energy: 23/200]

But he continues to hold on, gritting his teeth amidst the pain threatening to pop his dwindling concentration, each slash from the great number of Shadow Slime now feasting around, playing around with his motionless figure, making his body bleed even more, flesh falling apart and revealing his bones in the process.

’It doesn’t matter... just keep the organs intact... as long as the Evolution Domain considers me alive, then I can finish them all off in one go...’ he comforts himself as his jaw gnashed in utter pain, his body not only being dismembered, but also being flayed from each strike making it all the more difficult for him, the sphere of mana rumbling even more as a frown appears on his bloodied face.

[Immortal Energy: 19/200]

[Immortal Energy: 15/200]

[Immortal Energy: 11/200]

Eventually, Amber Slimes caught up with him as well, each one of them dashing through his trembling figure with great speed and tremendous force, backing each of their attacks, each one of them forcing his body to scream in visceral pain while Shadow Slimes continues to flay his skin and cut his flesh.

[Immortal Energy: 7/200]

[Immortal Energy: 3/200]

[Immortal Energy: 1/200]

With just a little more push, his legs eventually gave out, the thinned-out muscles from the Shadow Slimes’ consistent slashing turning his lower body weak.

And even then, he holds on, forced to kneel on one knee in front of the enemy’s force, yet still keeping his hands raised up, the mana swirling around the ball he had formed being more and more powerful, forming a raging whirlpool that pulls every little amount of mana caught in its flow.

"Gahck... cough..." finally, the azure slimes reached him as well, the attack not the violent torrent of acid that melts anything in its path, but rather a weak, pathetic pounce that sticks flesh melting acid on his body, causing him to cough up blood as he felt all articles of muscles and skin remaining on himself begins melting down, a searing, burning pain wrecking his mind, a complete opposite of the chilling cold he felt when he was paralyzed.

[Immortal Energy: 0/200]

That was all there was to it, no way out, no way to recover himself from the great number of enemies that surrounded him completely.

Or at least, it should’ve been like that.

[True Immortal Blood (EX-Rank Growth-type Innate Talent)]

[Growth Progress: 0.3% (99.7% before Talent Rank Up)]

[Mastery: Entry-level (37.29%)]

[Grants the possessor of the skill a level of vitality that transcends mortal limits.

Nullify all consequences of physical damage through instantaneous regeneration of all damaged body parts.

Allows full recovery of the physical body from a remnant as small as a droplet of blood.

Cellular decay and degradation are completely halted, allowing the body to exist in its prime state perpetually, giving the possessor basic immortality.

In exchange for immortality, the soul is condemned to bear torment more than the burden sustained by the body. Pain felt through physical damage is amplified by a magnitude of around 3000% (Reduced as mastery over the talent and its abilities increase).]

The talent that he combines with the ability born from it, Immortal Energy, keeps him hanging by a thread, and with him no longer focusing on anything else but keeping himself alive, keeping his body functionally "living" in the eyes of the Evolution Domain, his raw recovery rate reaches a level rivalling his regeneration when he is fueling his talent with Immortal Energy.

This grants him enough time to infuse the property of fire in the massive amount of mana he had gathered during that crucial, little more time that he so desires.

As he sensed that scorching heat upon his exposed nerve endings, it was not pain, but rather joy, ecstasy that he had felt, prompting him to open his eyes as his body completely gave out, forcing him to lie flat, back on the ground.

There, he saw it, the unstable mass above him trembles as it threatens to explode, and from deep inside him, something churns, as if just like that fireball, pain gathers, forging something else deep within him.

"You will never be able to do this again to me next time..." still, with all that he is feeling, it felt just as painful as everywhere else in his body, hence he just looks at the skies, he musters all his strength to let those words out of his lips, that same, maniacal grin appearing as he does so before he was finally caught by the consequences of pushing himself too hard.

His vision was engulfed in darkness, but...

The battlefield basked in the radiance of his last "gift".