The Mirror World slammed into existence around Jack.
And, he was no longer inside the Glorious Demon. The creature's immense willpower ejected him with violent force. A spectral expulsion.
Jack shot upward, a translucent blur. For a moment. But, he immediately took control of the movement of his spectral body. Instinctively, his translucent form shimmered. And he vanished. Invisible.
He hovered. Assessing the new landscape. It was still the throne hall of the Mist Palace. Undeniably. But everything was a precise, horizontal inverse.
Where a broken pillar stood on the right in the real world, its mirrored twin stood on the left. The shattered throne. The collapsed archways. The scattered debris. The blood puddle. All were reflected with uncanny accuracy.
Even the very air seemed to possess a subtle, unsettling shimmer. A visual hum of unreality. The air was colder, too. Infused with a static chill that prickled his spectral essence.
The Glorious Demon stumbled. Its body was contorting within the strange new space. It roared. A sound of challenge that tore at the fabric of the mirrored air. A guttural shriek of confusion and rage.
Its eyes, glowing purple, darted around. Searching. It sniffed the air. Its monstrous snout was flaring. But it found nothing.
Jack watched. Unmoving. His [Mythical Existence] passive trait was working. Much better than what he expected. The demon, despite its colossal power, was blind to him. It could perceive only the distorted reflections of its own fury.
The demon's frustration escalated. Its roars were growing louder. More desperate. It thrashed. Its razor claws gouged furrows in the floor. Its tail lashed out and demolishing an inverted column.
Suddenly, the wall to Jack's far left exploded inward. A huge, white-scaled creature, appeared. Looking like an impossibly muscled gorilla. Wearing scaled armor.
It launched itself into the hall. Its scales were wide and thick. Its eyes glowed with an icy blue light. And its fangs were long, curved ivory tusks.
It let out a deafening, challenging bellow. A primeval roar that seemed to shake the very foundations of the Mirror World.
The Glorious Demon focus his rage at the beast. Its four eyes locked onto the new arrival. It roared and charged.
The ape didn't hesitate. It moved with astonishing speed. Covering the distance in three massive bounds. Its huge fists slammed into the demon's chest with the force of a battering ram.
CRACK!
The sound was sickening. A wet crunch of displaced bone and sinew. The demon staggered. A gurgling sound was escaping its throat. Its thick hide, which could have shrugged off ancient magic and modern weaponry, actually buckled.
Jack watched, fascinated. This was no ordinary beast.
He activated his [Eyes of Judgement].
[Name: -]
[Affiliation: Mirror World Creatures]
[Karma: -]
[Power Level: Very High]
[Species: Valiant Ape]
[Current Status: Perfect Health]
[Specialty: Physical Power, Fighting Spirit]
[Personalities: Stubborn, Fearless]
[Crimes: -]
[Inheritance: None]
The data confirmed his assessment. 'Very High' Power Level. Identical to the Glorious Demon. And, as he suspected, no name, no karma, no crimes. This creature was native to this strange, inverted realm.
It had no history of interaction with the living world. No moral ledger to balance. It simply existed. A force of nature.
The Valiant Ape pressed its advantage. It followed up its initial assault with a flurry of blows. A blur of white scales and bone-crushing force. Each punch landed with a concussive thud. Rattling the hall.
The Glorious Demon was clearly on the back foot. Despite its slightly bigger size than the opponent. And its recent power-up from consuming Silas.
It roared in agony and frustration. Its claws were slashing wildly. But the Valiant Ape was too fast. Too relentless.
It weaved and dodged. Its movements were surprisingly agile for such a massive brute. Avoiding the flailing talons with ease.
One of the demon's claws was finally connected. Breaking the scales. Tearing a shallow gash across the ape's arm. White blood, thick and phosphorescent, welled up.
But the ape barely reacted. Its blue eyes narrowed. A primal fury ignited within them. It retaliated with a brutal uppercut that lifted the demon partially off its feet. Sending its head snapping back with a sickening crack.
The demon's roars became a series of ragged, pained gasps.
The fight devolved into a savage brawl of destruction. The Valiant Ape was a whirlwind of pure, unadulterated speed and strength. It used its massive forearms to block. And its short yet powerful legs to pivot and drive its weight into every punch.
It didn't limit its fighting style. It bit. It clawed. It headbutted. Its fighting spirit burned like a supernova. Pushing it beyond what seemed physically possible.
It moved with an instinctive grace. Yet, brutal wild drives. Predicting the demon's slower, less dexterous attacks.
The Glorious Demon, on the other hand, relied on sheer brute force. And its innate demonic resilience. Its demonic aura that corrupted and weakened opponents didn't work here.
However, it was still a juggernaut of corruption and power. Capable of absorbing tremendous punishment as if nothing happened.
And it was stronger. Its attacks were less refined. More like a chaotic barrage of swings and lunges. But each one carried enough force to pulverize stone.
It tried to grapple. To pin the ape. To tear it limb from limb. Its fangs snapped. Trying to chomp on the ape's thick neck. Its tail, tipped with a jagged bone blade, lashed out like a whip. Leaving deep grooves in the mirrored floor.
Jack watched, utterly absorbed. He was just a specter. An observer. But his mind was like a sponge.
He saw the ape's feints. The way it shifted its weight before a power punch. The subtle lean of its body to absorb a blow instead of breaking.
He analyzed the demon's relentless, unthinking aggression. How it tried to overwhelm with sheer volume and mass.
These were combat patterns. Raw and brutal. Stripped of any aesthetic infusion of art.
He stored them away. Filed them in his mental database. The muscle memory. The kinetic transfer. The pure unadulterated violence of it all... He saved them for when he needed them.
He imagined himself. In his Judge Jack form. Wielding Judgement Warhammer with the same devastating power. The same unflinching relentless aggression and techniques.
Or perhaps, as Jack Night. Using the Steamrune Shotgun to create openings for a similar hand-to-hand brutalization. These were lessons in pure, primal combat efficiency. He could adapt them. He would adapt them.
The battle raged on. Tearing through the mirrored throne hall. Pillars crumbled. The floor cracked. And the very air thrummed with the concussion of colliding titans.
Both creatures bled. Both roared. Both fought with an intensity that defied logic.
However, the demon was slowly being worn down. Its movements became chunkier. Its roars were more ragged. The ape, though wounded, seemed to draw strength from the fight itself. Its blue eyes were burning brighter.
The Glorious Demon let out a particularly pained shriek. Its body was slammed against a stone column. Causing it to shatter into a cascade of impossibly sharp reflections.
Suddenly... a familiar chime echoed in Jack's incorporeal ears.
[LEVEL UP!]
A new screen materialized before him, overlaying his view of the ongoing battle.
'The hell...?' Jack was flabbergasted. What did he do to level up? He was supposed to level up through 'right' judgement. Did dragging the demon to this Mirror World and letting it be beaten count as a successful judgement?
[AVAILABLE NEW SUPERNATURAL TRAITS] CHOOSE ONE:
[WEREWOLF'S LYCANTHROPY]
[LICH'S NECROMANCY]
[MINOTAUR'S VIGOR]
Jack paused his observation of the fight. Turning his full spectral attention to the system. No explanations, as usual. Just the names.
He sighed inwardly. A spectral puff of exasperation. This was troublesome. He had to guess, analyze, and infer the choices. Based on his past knowledge of fantasy lore and mythical creatures.
Thankfully, these three in the choices weren't some obscure, forgotten entities. Werewolf. Lich. Minotaur. They were cornerstones of western fantasy genre.
He started with the first option.
Werewolf's Lycanthropy... Werewolf. Human cursed with half-wolf transformation. His knowledge immediately brought to mind images of heightened senses. Incredible speed. Formidable strength. And rapid regeneration.
A bestial transformation. Claws. Fangs. All potent melee combat abilities. Especially for his Judge Jack form. Or even as Jack Night. The idea of tearing through enemies with bestial fury had a certain appeal.
However, the drawbacks were equally notorious. The loss of control. The bloodlust. The susceptibility to silver. And, most prominently, the curse of the moon.
The curse was already bad on Earth. With a single moon. This world had twin moons. Much too risky.
Next, Lich's Necromancy... Lich. Undead mage with death-themed magic. This was a power set that immediately conjured images of dark magic. Controlling undead creatures. Draining life force. Delivering potent curses.
For a specter like him, the idea of commanding legions of the dead was tempting. Perhaps it might even enhance his spectral abilities with death magic. It offered a different kind of power. A strategic depth that could complement his existing forms.
However, the ethical implications were immediate and stark. His mission was to deliver judgement. Only the living, or undead, should be judged. The dead... should be free from judgement.
Necromancy, by its very nature, involved desecrating the dead. Robbing them of their eternal rest. And turning them into tools. It was an inherently malevolent path.
While he was willing to be 'evil' to the guilty, he always drew a distinct line at preying on the dead. Or the innocents.
He was already a... monster. He didn't mind that. But he used to be human. He didn't want to completely lose his humanity. He didn't want to become a monster without cause. Merely a monster of convenience.
Jack focused on the last choice. Minotaur's Vigor... Minotaurs. Humanoid bulls. Strength. Resilience. Endurance. Stubborn determination.
A creature of immense physical power. Capable of withstanding incredible punishment and delivering bone-shattering blows.
This trait, he reasoned, would likely grant a significant boost to his physical capabilities. Enhanced natural strength. A tougher skin. Increased stamina.
There were no obvious downsides like lunar dependency. Or moral dilemma. Unless the trait granted him random dumb downsides like direction-blind characteristic. Just because Minotaur in Greek myth lived in a labyrinth.
Anyway... It didn't compromise his methods or his morality. But it would be pretty much useless for his specter form.
What should he choose?