Suddenly, all the bleeding Afflictions that Jacob layered on the Boss don't seem useless after all. Initially, on a massive frame such as the Boss's, it might have looked useless to stack Bleed over more punishing Afflictions.

  Yet, as more and more Devilish words roll off Jacob's tongue, synergizing with Baptism of Blood and Fire, everything starts making sense.

  Baptism of Blood and Fire was the resulting Skill from the fusion of Blood of the Ancients and Greater Fire Resistance. Blood of the Ancients was the infamous Skill that no Infernal could make sense of--something that Iskara herself had explained to the other Champions the first time that she had seen Jacob use it.

  Blood of the Ancients had proven so hard to use for any Infernal because it was supposed to restore energy from your own blood, at least the way most used it. Yet, it consumed more health than it gave back. That's why most Infernals treated it as a stepping stone to get much better Skills. Jacob, instead, guided by King Baalrek, managed to unleash its true potential. Combined with Embrace of Darkness, it's capable of funneling health to Jacob that he can convert into energy. But he had needed a Primordial Spell imparted by King Baalrek in order to maximize its effect--or, more precisely, being able to do something with all the energy created by the Skill.

  Now, thanks to its evolution and a new Primordial Spell contained in King Baalrek's Grimoire, he is able to create an effect that makes Blood of the Ancients pale in comparison to this.

  * * *

  Iskara sees Jacob recite a Primordial Spell and the body of the Boss seize and spasm, as if suddenly pierced by puppeteering steel wires.

  Blood starts pouring out of the Boss from all its wounds. It doesn't matter that the gashes on its thick skin are barely a graze for something of that size. Bleed kept them open, blocking the natural regeneration of the creature. Even though it's a True Diamond existence, it's only at the very threshold of the Rank. It's not capable of escaping from Jacob Grimoire-trained Affliction Skills.

  At first, blood pours profusely and the Boss starts swinging its multi-jointed limbs around crazily, trying to shake the Affliction away. Then, the gashes open wider and they start spurting blood like a fountain.

  Iskara's eyes widen. This is far from enough to kill the Boss, but whatever Jacob has just done is proof of incredible mastery over Primordial Spells. She's seen him read from a black Grimoire--which she assumes is the Grimoire. But she does not have any idea how that makes it possible for him to cast such Primordial Spells. Not until she realizes that his master...

  Baalrek the Mad was renowned for his Primordial Spells. The ones he passed down are still in use in my family as well.

  Some of the most vicious Primordial Spells that the Drazhal bloodline still uses to this day, including some terrifying ones, belong to Jacob's master.

  Suddenly, Jacob raises his blade in front of him. The silvery sheen burns for a moment with the red light coming from his eyes, and is bathed in the sandpaper-like words spoken in the tongue of Devils. Without a warning, he brings it to his own limbs and it hisses across his skin. Deep crimson spills to the floor with a wet splosh.

  With Jacob now leaving the sword, which floats in front of him in an uncanny way, his blood suddenly ignites with a violent burst. Blinding violet flames roar from his limbs. The heat is sudden and searing.

  The fire reaches out. The Boss’s blood quivers on the ground. It rises. It flies toward Jacob’s open wounds.

  Iskara puts a hand in front of her mouth, deeply disgusted, as the Boss's blood enters Jacob's veins and hisses like water touching superheated metal, releasing waves of steam in the process.

  * * *

  Liuthkrav is convinced that Jacob Cloud must have lost his mind.

  Unlike Iskara, he immediately understood that the black book is not The Grimoire Extraordinaire but an artifact bestowed upon him from Baalrek.

  The scariest thing, however, is what Jacob just did with it.

  Liuthkrav, being made of Mithril--not the most powerful, but definitely the most magical and mystical of metals--has a deep understanding of Primordial Spells.

  This one just created a connection between Jacob and the Boss. Jacob just created a battlefield of souls where his own willpower has been pitched against the monster's.

  Liuthkrav’s pulse thumps. Everyone knows the truth: monster wills are unbreakable. They are mountains of iron. He stares at Jacob. He sees a madman. No sane warrior uses this technique. To win this, a man needs a heart of pure crystal. It must be harder than the beast. It must be flawless.

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  * * *

  Iskara doesn’t even understand what Jacob’s doing, but she feels the shift in the air, and the fact that Jacob triggered a Primordial Spell. She wonders if he’s trying something like she’s seen him in the past, using the blood of his enemies to become stronger or trigger a Skill evolution. But it seems like this is radically different, like this Primordial Spell has a whole different aura to it than the one she had seen already.

  * * *

  The monster’s soul looms large against Jacob's. It feels like a mountain of lead. The air turns heavy. It crushes its lungs even though it should be a meta-physical confrontation. Yet, it feels so-very-real.

  Jacob does not move.

  He stands like a lightning rod in a black storm.

  The connection clicks. The beast’s thoughts roar in his skull.

  Die. Die. Die.

  It smells like rotten carrion.

  He allows himself a brief thought while a serene smile stays on his face, so this is what a monster's soul feels like.

  He had been acquainted with Baalrek's soul. Even just a soul fragment of his old master had felt like a fortress of warmth and power. This feels like an dug up cemetery.

  Wrong.

  Jacob looks into the monster's eyes. He smiles. His teeth are white and cold.

  “You have no idea,” Jacob whispers. “You have no idea who my master was.”

  Jacob puts his hands together, summons another Primordial Spell from the black grimoire that appeared in front of him, and says, “I will be forever indebted to you, King Baalrek.”

  Now, not just the blood on the ground, but also the one that's spurting from the monster suddenly starts going out at insane speed and rushing toward Jacob. When it touches his flaming blood, it turns into pure Mana.

  Now, he uses the pure Mana to trigger a full resolution to the Flaws in the Skill.

  [The Devil's Engine (Diamond) reached Level 82]

  [The Devil's Engine (Diamond) reached Level 83]

  [The Devil's Engine (Diamond) reached Level 84]

  There's pain all over Jacob's body, from his pinky to the marrow of his bones, to the splitting ache reaching his brain. His soul is clashing with the monster's. The only way of fighting it is in silence while he fixes the most complex Skill he has ever put his hands on.

  But the second spell Jacob used from King Baalrek's grimoire allows Jacob to bruteforce the Flaws that he has individuated in the Skill. It takes a monster's soul, tremendous power, and someone capable of perfecting knowing what needs to be done with all the power that he's generating. But, thanks to the Grimoire, thanks to his master, and to the madness that perhaps he was infected with, he has no second thoughts about starting a ritual that uses a monster's soul as a catalyst and that could very well kill him if he did anything wrong.

  The violet flames rise higher and higher as a torrent of blood rushes toward Jacob.

  [The Devil's Engine (Diamond) reached Level 85]

  [The Devil's Engine (Diamond) reached Level 86]

  [The Devil's Engine (Diamond) reached Level 87]

  [The Devil's Engine (Diamond) reached Level 88]

  [The Devil's Engine (Diamond) reached Level 89]

  [The Devil's Engine (Diamond) reached Level 90]

  Jacob feels peace and, for a moment, turns toward Iskara.

  There's a moment of clarity in this.

  Don't betray me, he thinks. Please. Look at what I can do.

  Circles of bright red Mana appear alongside Jacob's arm, forearms, legs, forelegs, his chest, and his neck. They start emitting a rumbling sound, like lightning striking rock--but rhythmically. Then, in-between the explosions, they release jets of vapor.

  The sounds slowly escalate.

  [The Devil's Engine (Diamond) reached Level 91]

  [The Devil's Engine (Diamond) reached Level 92]

  [The Devil's Engine (Diamond) reached Level 93]

  [The Devil's Engine (Diamond) reached Level 94]

  [The Devil's Engine (Diamond) reached Level 95]

  Jacob reaches for the floating sword of King Baalrek in front of him, feeling the sword slowly morph, becoming longer and wider from the original slender form.

  You're finally showing yourself to me, Jacob thinks.

  [The Devil's Engine (Diamond) reached Level 96]

  [The Devil's Engine (Diamond) reached Level 97]

  [The Devil's Engine (Diamond) reached Level 98]

  [The Devil's Engine (Diamond) reached Level 99]

  He raises the sword above its head, feeling all the power from the Afflictions magnified by the Primordial Spell, which has triggered a cascade that spread more and more Bleed Afflictions over the Boss's body.

  The jets of steam and the exploding sounds keep getting louder and harsher until they reach a crescendo, a breaking point where Jacob's entire body starts shining red.

  [The Devil's Engine (Diamond) reached Level 100]

  There’s a massive release of steam and now the blasting and hissing can be heard throughout the entire plateau.

  It's like a gigantic heart beating and pumping steam.

  Please, Iskara. Please, look at this. Help me. Stay with me.

  Jacob gathers raw Mana on the edge of its sword, his limbs suddenly start releasing high-pressure jets of vapor that span for many feet.

  He's done absorbing blood.

  “This is what the Generation of Legends is!”

  He slashes.

  Suddenly, the entire plateau is split in two.