Unlimited Power 02 - The Ranger's Domain
Chapter 452 - Thanatos

 In the draconic form, Ryan wouldn't be able to enter the dungeon. So, they decided to enter the dungeon after sunset, but Femradiel was the one who would deal with the specters. She was better suited for that kind of job, anyway. Meanwhile, Ryan would prepare one heck of a Power Shot to deal with any possible bosses waiting for them. However, they didn't replace a single specter…

"I don't like this…" Ryan said and then sighed.

 That kind of thing only could mean that some serious problems were waiting for them in the last of the dungeon. As if that wasn't enough, the eerie atmosphere inside the dungeon and the skeleton-like faces engraved in the walls, ceiling, and ground only made everything much more nerve-wracking.

 In the end, Ryan didn't replace the last part of the dungeon. Well, he did it, but a massive shadow completely sealed the place. Ryan couldn't use his beloved full-powered preemptive strike.

"I guess there is a boss waiting for us inside it," Femradiel said. "You shouldn't use Power Shot on that thing, it will probably be useless."

"Oh, really?" Ryan asked. "If you hadn't said, I would have never imagined that."

"Anyway, I will prepare my attack inside your head and if things get dire, I will show myself," Femradiel said. "… I am just saying, but you shouldn't fall for the enemy's words."

 Ryan sighed… in the end, even from his perspective, it was insane to wish for that power. Still, if there was a chance that he could control death… maybe he could revive some humans, or at least his parents, but what would be the price of that power? There are certain skills that Ryan didn't even have enough mana to use, so to do something of that level… perhaps not only mana was necessary… and that was only the cost to activate a possible skill. There was still the cost Ryan had to pay in order to defeat the god of death or at the very least become his minion.

"… The chances are too small, and no matter what, I can't join the monsters' side," Ryan said after a long sigh. "I can't throw mud in the name of my family."

 After activating several defensive spells, Ryan touched the shadow. Nothing happened aside from the fact that his fingers passed by it, but Ryan couldn't sense anything inside it. Although it was a defensive spell, the shadow couldn't prevent those who wanted to clear the dungeon from proceeding, only from attacking.

 When Ryan crossed the shadow barrier, he found himself in a place similar to where he fought the undead hag, Yomotsu Shikome. It was really spacious, but what grabbed his attention was the numerous armored skeletons on the ground. It looked like a battlefield that happened years ago where two massive armies annihilated each other. A few hundred meters ahead of him, Ryan could see the purple crystal and a massive specter flying above it. A few seconds after that, a new specter was spawned, and the bigger specter immediately sucked it.

 Reaper Lv 150

 Health: 9500/9500

 Mana: 13.500/13.500

 Stamina: 7500/7500

 Strength: 450 (+130)

 Dexterity: 1500

 Speed: 1300

 Intelligence: 1750 (+320)

 Endurance: 800

 Control: 1750 

 Mentality: 900 (+350)

 Luck: 350

 Recovery: 5000

 Willpower: 900 (+350)

 Coins: --

 Status: --

 Skill List

 Offensive Physical Skills: 

 Passive Physical Skills: Alert Lv 90, Focus Lv 90, Spearmanship Lv 80, Intangibility Lv 120

 Spells: Health Steal Lv 90, Mana Steal Lv 90, Stamina Steal Lv 90, Spectral Absorption Lv 120

 Support Skills: Fire Resistance Lv 80, Cold Resistance Lv 80, Shock Resistance Lv 80, Death Sense Lv 100

 "Hey… how come that thing obtained that much power in just half a day?" Ryan frowned.

"Well, it isn't an opponent that you will have trouble with, right?" Femradiel asked.

"That is not the issue here," Ryan replied. 

 The issue was about the potential those monsters had; Ryan was pretty sure that the monsters were as strong as the original boss of the dungeon. In any case, Ryan pointed his Titanium Electric Bow at the creature. Still, the beast created a mana barrier around itself and even managed to use Mana Steal on Ryan at the same time. Still, what surprised me most wasn't that…

"Are you the human who defeated my servants?"

 Ryan heard a deep, grave voice coming from the creature. He also saw some dark eyes appearing in the faceless mass of shadow. It made Ryan recall the eyes of the reapers… the god of death. Thanatos decided to assume the form of one of his minions. Just like before, the monster received a massive boost of strength, but the same thing that happened with Mephisto happened there as well. At a fearsome speed, the body of the creature began to crumble.

"No, they are alive and relatively well," Ryan replied and then fired his arrow.

 Ryan activated all his buffs and skills to increase the power of his attack at the last moment. Despite that, Thanatos pointed his hand toward the projectile and made it disappear completely. He didn't even break a sweat…

"What?" Ryan opened his eyes widely in surprise.

"Hey! Something is-" Femradiel tried to say something, but her voice suddenly vanished when Ryan was teleported to the outside of the dungeon.

 Ryan frowned when that happened, and he panicked when he noticed that he couldn't control his body. As if that wasn't strange enough, his body began to move itself backward. Little by little, the speed at which he was moving backward increased. Until he returned to his domain and then noticed that something was off when he stopped moving.

"What the hell…"

 Ryan couldn't even speak… but the shock only increased when he realized that the sun was moving in the opposite direction. Then Ryan finally realized what Thanatos did. He was accessing his memories backward. His guess was confirmed when he took Furball and the Steel Eagle back to the dungeon. The speed at which his memories were being read increased even more until it reached a point where Thanatos could see Ryan's entire day in a single second… for what he was doing that. Ryan had no clue.