SSS Unknown: Dark Knight's Legacy

"Damn it! Don't mess with me!" Unknown roared, his voice burning with rage and defiance. 

The pain in his side was unbearable, but it didn't even cross his mind to stop. He charged forward with primal ferocity, determined to end this fight once and for all. Time was running out, and there was no room for hesitation. He was going to destroy the Death Knight, no matter what.

The Death Knight, headless and far from finished, glowed with an unholy light. Its movements were jerky and unnatural, yet it was fueled by a dark energy that made it more dangerous than ever. 

The cursed armor it wore pulsed with malevolent power, and its sword crackled with violent energy, swinging an unpredictable storm of destruction.

Unknown didn't care. He wasn't going to dodge or retreat. He was going to meet it head-on. Every strike the Death Knight unleashed only fueled his determination further. 

This was a battle to the death, and Unknown wasn't about to back down from the fight.

Dodge? No. He didn't have time for that. He was going to crush it.

He swung his sword with the power of a raging storm, deflecting each of the Death Knight's attacks with force and precision. 

The clash of metal reverberated through the air, but Unknown didn't falter. Every muscle in his body screamed with effort, but he surged forward, unwilling to give the Death Knight a moment of respite.

With a savage yell, he kicked the armored knight with all his strength, sending it careening into the air. He didn't wait for it to land. 

No, he was unstoppable. As the creature spiraled through the air, Unknown's sword cut through the space around him, a flurry of rapid slashes that pummeled the Death Knight with unrelenting force.

But that wasn't enough. Unknown wasn't going to leave anything to chance. He leaped into the air, spinning with deadly grace, and brought his sword down with a crushing, devastating slash. The Death Knight crashed back to the ground with a sickening thud, its body mangled but not defeated.

"Keep attacking! Don't stop!" Unknown's voice was raw, but his will was iron. His body was screaming for rest, exhaustion gnawing at him, but he pushed through it. There was no stopping now. This battle had to end. He had to tear the core out and end this fight before he bled out on the battlefield.

The Death Knight wasn't done, though. Realizing its imminent defeat, it let out a bone-chilling scream, unleashing a pulse of dark violet energy. Unknown's senses flared. He didn't need to think. He felt the danger. The wave of energy tore through the air toward him, distorting space itself. But Unknown didn't flinch. He wasn't about to back away. He knew what he had to do.

He wasn't going to dodge. He was going to take it head-on.

But the moment the sword returned to its sheath, Unknown knew what was coming next. The sword glowed violet, crackling with dark, raw power, as an aura of malice radiated from it. The air grew heavy with the weight of impending doom.

"Doom Slash."

Unknown didn't even blink. He was ready.

The moment the sword left its sheath, the Death Knight unleashed a massive wave of energy. The destructive force rocketed toward Unknown at supersonic speed, obliterating everything in its path. The force of the attack cracked the ground, creating a vacuum that sucked the very air out of the tower.

Unknown didn't hesitate. He didn't back down.

"Gah…" he grunted as the shockwave hit him. Blood sprayed from his mouth as the residual energy cut deep across his abdomen. His body was torn open by the blast, but there was no room for pain. There was no room for weakness.

He didn't flinch.

The Death Knight was vulnerable now. Its movements slowed, and the dark violet aura around it flickered. This was his chance. It was over.

With a roar of pure aggression, Unknown surged forward, his fist raised high. He didn't care that blood was pouring from his wound. He didn't care about the pain. The only thing that mattered now was ending this battle.

His fist smashed into the gap in the Death Knight's neck, ripping it open. He felt the core inside—the dark heart of the beast—and without hesitation, he reached in, tearing it free. The Death Knight fought against him, releasing one final wave of shadow energy, but it was futile.

"Out of my way!" Unknown snarled, his teeth bared as he ripped the core from the Death Knight's body. The black liquid spilled out, sizzling as it evaporated into the air. But Unknown didn't stop. He yanked the core free, his grip tight as the creature's body crumpled to the ground, lifeless.

It was done.

The Death Knight was no more.

Unknown stood over its crumpled form, blood dripping from his wounds. There were no tricks, no hidden moves. He had won, and he had done it with nothing but sheer, unrelenting force.

He hadn't hesitated. He had never even thought of backing down.

And he would never stop.

But even the most relentless warrior couldn't escape the consequences of pushing beyond the limits of the human body.

System: Limit Break deactivated. All stats are reduced for a day.

The moment the notification flashed in his mind, it felt like his body was suddenly slammed with the weight of its own limitations. 

The burning power that had fueled him moments ago began to fade, leaving behind an excruciating ache deep in his bones. His muscles screamed each movement now a laborious task. 

The adrenaline that had kept him going shattered, leaving his body vulnerable to the crushing toll of the penalty.

Unknown staggered, his knees buckling slightly as the full force of the aftermath hit him. His vision blurred for a moment, and his breath became ragged. He fought to stay on his feet, to remain unbowed by the punishment his body was now forced to endure.

The gaping wound in his side felt like it was splitting open, the blood continuing to pour from the deep cut. The pressure in his chest grew, as though his very heart was struggling to keep up with the toll his reckless power had taken. 

He gritted his teeth, clenching his fists tightly, but even his grip was weak. The pain coursed through him like an unstoppable wave, threatening to drag him under.

But no. He wouldn't stop. He had to keep going. There was still work to do.

Unknown stumbled forward, his steps unsteady, but his resolve remained as unbreakable as ever. 

Despite the agony, despite the fact that his body had been reduced to a barely functioning mess, Unknown's mind remained sharp. His thoughts were clear, unyielding. He wasn't done yet. Not even close.

"Let's go, forward…" he muttered to himself, his voice low but firm. He raised his sword, the weight of it feeling heavier with every step. Slow, deliberate steps, each one more exhausting than the last. He wasn't fooling anyone. He was too tired to run. Every wound felt like a curse, his body barely holding together after the brutal battle. 

Just surviving this fight had been a stroke of luck. He had never expected more.

The energy within Unknown was nearly depleted. What little remained was being used to keep his battered body from falling apart, leaving him with barely enough strength to continue. 

But the core... this core... still hummed with untapped power. It pulsed with a force that he could feel, even from a distance, its dark energy almost palpable in the air around him.

Being this close to it, the core's signal suppressed his own, cloaking him in its power and shielding him from the skeletal creatures that roamed above. 

The skeletal monsters didn't so much as glance his way as he moved through their ranks. Not a single one acknowledged his presence. It was as if he was invisible, an afterthought in the endless, creeping darkness. 

The only sound in the air was the rhythmic thud of his steel boots against the cold, silent stone, each step carrying the weight of a war he'd just barely survived.

Step by step, Unknown kept moving, each one deliberate, as if the very act of walking forward was a defiance of everything that had tried to stop him. 

The stillness of the space around him, the way the darkness stretched on endlessly, didn't terrify him anymore. It felt... peaceful. Oddly so. The very vast emptiness that had once made him tremble now seemed strangely comforting. He had no idea how long he had been in this place, but it didn't matter.

His thoughts no longer raced with panic or dread. Instead, they wandered, disjointed, like the rest of him.

Strange how emotions work, he thought. One moment, I'm on the edge of excitement, barely holding it together, the next, I'm drowning in frustration and confusion. Everything's scattered. Nothing consistent. 

His brow furrowed as the chaos in his mind threatened to take hold, but he pushed it aside. 'Maybe it's the memories I've lost. Maybe it's just who I am.'

'Can't change that.'

Unknown's gaze drifted upward, his eyes locking onto the faint green light flickering at the top of the tower. Something was up there, something he couldn't fully make out yet.

He hoped it was a good thing.

But he wasn't foolish enough to get his hopes up. Caution was always the better approach in situations like this. 

Whatever lay ahead could very well be another monstrous threat, just like everything else in this twisted place. He couldn't afford to assume anything.

His survival had always depended on staying alert, never rushing into a situation unprepared.

Speaking of caution, his attention returned to the core still clutched tightly in his hands. 

It was flickering again, pulsing erratically like the beat of a dark heart. It was almost as if it were alive, sending ripples of energy through the air with every flicker. 

'If this truly was the heart of a demon creature,' Unknown thought, 'then separating it should be enough to bring the whole thing down.'

He'd learned that much. When the core was destroyed, so too would be the creature bound to it, with it brought along a huge amount of experiences. 

But he hadn't felt any different from when he first found it. No strength had surged through him, no newfound power. Maybe he would only feel the effects once the core was destroyed for good. That was useful information—but what good was it now?

Then he blinked, rubbing his eyes as he looked at the core once more. Something wasn't right.

The flickering... it was increasing. The core's glow was intensifying, almost like a lightbulb growing brighter and brighter by the second. Wait… Was it really glowing more, or was he imagining it? He squinted, trying to confirm what he was seeing.

No, he wasn't imagining it. The core was definitely glowing more brightly now, the once erratic flicker stabilizing into a steady, intense radiance.

This was bad. This wasn't just an odd fluctuation. It's about to explode!

A wave of panic hit him, but there was no time to hesitate. "Shit!" Unknown hissed through his teeth, his instincts kicking in. Without thinking, he threw the core down the stairs with all his remaining strength.

The dark purple core shot through the air like a meteor, its brightness cutting through the darkness, leaving a streak of light in its wake. It hurtled downward, faster and faster, before crashing into the ground below.

The instant it made contact, all hell broke loose.

"Boom!" The explosion was deafening, a violent burst of dark purple light that tore through the silence like a thunderclap. The ground beneath him shattered, the force of the explosion sending a shockwave out in all directions, rattling the very air.

Fragments of stone and debris flew into the air, the blast sending them spinning in all directions. 

A thick purple cloud of smoke, energy, and destruction enveloped the area, crackling with the raw power of the explosion. Lightning arced through the air as the air itself seemed to crackle and hum with energy, the world around him thrown into chaos.

Unknown barely had time to react as the blast shook the very foundation of the tower. 

The calm he'd briefly felt vanished in an instant, replaced by the overwhelming power of the destructive force that had just been unleashed. But through the chaos, one thing was clear:

He had no time to waste. The explosion was just the beginning.