The Lord Who Levels Up by Devouring - LLD Chapter 85: Commander of the Abyss

Devotees of the Fallen Souls.

The true name of the Dark Merchant Group—not a merchant group in the traditional sense, but more like a religious cult.

These fanatics worshipped the Monarch of the Abyss, who resides beyond the negative dimension. They believed that when he descended to rule this world, true order would be established.

Thus, the foremost goal of the Devotees was singular:

To incarnate the Monarch of the Abyss—who dwells in the shadowy depths—onto this continent.

To achieve that, they spared no offering, no sacrifice.

In return, the Monarch lent them power—and at times, granted them access to his lieutenants.

The Chosen Devotees.

The Allied Forces had a name for these select few:

Abyssal Commanders.

By that definition, Avarus was not an Abyssal Commander.

He was merely granted a “True Name.” He was not chosen by any Abyssal entity.

Even the Infinite Elixir Avarus created—originally, it was meant for Serapia, not for himself.

Avarus never received power directly from the Monarch of the Abyss or any of his kin. Therefore, calling him an Abyssal Commander was a stretch.

But Iratum was different.

Iratum was one of the chosen. He had formed a bond with an Abyssal entity and received power directly from it.

However, as the translucent system message earlier had shown—Iratum was dead.

So the entity now hidden within that blood-red mist was—

Something from beyond the deep reaches of the negative dimension.

The very being Iratum was bound to, the one who granted him power… the entity who served the Monarch of the Abyss more closely than any other.

And now, from within the crimson fog… it began to emerge—

Using Iratum as a vessel, it forced its incarnation into reality—

That was—

The true Commander of the Abyss— Kraulgarr.

KRRRAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH─!!

A monstrous roar erupted from the blood-red mist, shaking all of Baoless’s sky.

“Guh…!”

The world rang with a deafening resonance, as if trying to rip through eardrums.

An instinctual terror surged up from deep within the chest.

A storm-like roar that pierced through consciousness itself.

Just when my mind felt like it was about to drown in crimson madness—

◆ Player’s Will [EX] resists the Furyborn aura!

A translucent message flashed before my eyes.

My mind snapped back to clarity.

And another message followed:

◆ Furyborn [?]
: The user can absorb, generate, manipulate, or control emotional/mental disturbance energy such as rage from themselves, others, or the surroundings.
They can intensify or suppress fury, create new rage energy, or convert it into power.
The user can transform accumulated fury energy into physical form to use as destructive force.

Kraulgarr’s power—Furyborn [?]

Kraulgarr was born from the negative emotion of rage.

He was its embodiment, its ruler.

A being of the Abyss who governed wrath itself.

Iratum was merely a medium who borrowed his strength.

In other words—

Kraulgarr was a being on an entirely different level.

BOOOOOOM!!

Kraulgarr slammed the ground with a massive arm like a steel club.

The earth shook violently beneath the blow, an earthquake ripping through the land.

Having absorbed Baoless’s fury energy, the destructive power was overwhelming.

It was no coincidence that the Allied Forces’ Heroes and every division commander had to band together just to take it down.

That’s why they had tried to eliminate Iratum as quickly as possible.

They fooled him completely, lured him into carelessness, and took a single chance.

As a result, Dragon Rage [E] had blown Iratum away.

But now—

KRRRAAAAAHHHHHH─!!

I yanked an oil can out of my inventory and chugged it down. Calories surged through me as I locked eyes on Kraulgarr.

‘Unstable.’

Kraulgarr wasn’t in perfect condition.

‘Weaker than I remember.’

The force was terrifying, shaking the land…

But it wasn’t what it had been in my past life.

‘And way smaller.’

Kraulgarr was never this small.

Even now, he wasn’t exactly tiny, but in my previous life, he had towered close to 100 meters—over twice the size he was now.

Which meant only one thing—

‘The incarnation is incomplete.’

In my past life, around fifteen years from now, Iratum succeeded in fully incarnating Kraulgarr.

But now? That wasn’t the case.

Most importantly, the medium—Iratum—had suffered a critical blow from Dragon Rage [E].

Kraulgarr was forcing his incarnation through Iratum’s dead body.

You could tell by the way his form kept collapsing and reforming—he wasn’t stable.

In other words—

The plan had worked.

‘We have a chance.’

It was possible to win this.

‘We just need to buy time.’

But a head-on fight wasn’t realistic.

And Isolde…

“Hahk…!”

Her body swayed dangerously.

Having used Divine Power Transcendence back to back and engaged in a brutal duel with Iratum, her condition was dire.

“Are you alright?”

“I-I’m… fine…!”

She bit down hard on her lower lip mid-sentence.

Crimson blood seeped from beneath the Ogre Mask.

Even though her body was pure holy energy, she was no longer healing.

In short—Isolde was at her limit.

To expect anything more from her would be selfish.

She had already exceeded expectations.

Which meant now—

“I’ll draw his attention this time.”

It was my turn.

A massive roar shook the skies above Baoless.

To Isolde, it felt as if thunder had exploded inside her skull.

Her balance crumbled in an instant, her mind turning hazy.

She squeezed out what remained of her Divine Power to reinforce her mental barrier, but it was no use.
Her body, already overstrained from repeated Divine Overdrive, no longer obeyed her.

“Haahk…!”

The echo of the roar made her entire body tremble, and it felt as if something immense was pressing down on her.

Even breathing was a struggle.
Her legs could no longer support her weight.

The reverberations of that roar circled endlessly in her ears, eroding her mind—until, suddenly:

“This time, I’ll draw its attention.”

Adrian’s voice rang out softly.

There was no emotion in it.

But to Isolde, wandering through the fog of suppression and fear, it felt like a calming anchor—like someone shaking her awake from a nightmare.

She slowly raised her head—
“Lady Isolde, get as far from Baoless as you can.”

With those final words, Adrian launched himself into the air like a bolt of lightning.

BOOM!

With transcendental leg strength, he soared over 10 meters in a single leap and began bounding effortlessly between the still-standing buildings.

He didn’t have wings, but as long as there was a place to step, his movement was no different from flying.

And yet—

The monstrous beast was like a walking mountain: skin like stone, covered in glowing crimson markings.

The markings shimmered faintly like a living organism, growing brighter with the escalation of its fury.

Its eyes, filled with that same glow, burned like flames—yet beyond rage, they harbored a far more terrifying emotion.

Murderous intent?

No… this wasn’t mere intent to kill.

It was pure malice.

The kind of malice that made the fine hairs on your body stand up and your very soul recoil.

That overwhelming aura of evil shook Isolde’s consciousness to its core.

Something from beyond the Abyss whispered without end.

And yet—

Adrian leapt toward the monster with relentless ferocity.
He climbed up its leg, claws outstretched, tearing into its stone-like hide.

‘How…?’

How could he still fight after all that?

Just sensing the residue of that malice was enough to send her into shivers of dread.

And yet Adrian’s attacks continued. Every time his claws scraped the beast’s skin, they left behind faint fractures.

But the difference in scale—
That overwhelming gap between them—
That was something no amount of effort could truly overcome.

RUMMMMMBLE…!
The beast moved, and the earth cracked beneath it.

KWAANG!!
As its massive fist slammed down, the air itself was ripped apart with a booming explosion.

The impact fractured the ground, sending soil and debris flying.

“Gahk!”

The shockwave hurled Adrian like a skipping stone—but even so, he rose again.

Once more, he leapt with transcendent force, diving between the beast’s legs to throw off its gaze.

This time, he didn’t use his claws.

Instead, he clenched his fist tightly and struck the creature’s leg.

BOOM!!

The beast faltered, its massive frame rocking slightly—
KRRROOOAAAAARRRR!!

An immense shockwave swept across all of Baoless once more.

The monster’s blazing red eyes locked onto Adrian, now burning with pure fury.

Its hand—larger than a building—swung again.

KWA-BOOOOOOM!!!

Dust, dirt, and fragments of stone surged into the sky, darkening Baoless’s heavens.

The cracks across the earth deepened, and the booming tremors shook the entire land.

“Leave this to me—get to safety!!”
Adrian shouted urgently.

Isolde clutched her gauntlets—but then slowly released her grip.

Her body was overloaded from repeated Divine Overdrive.
Objectively, she couldn’t fight any longer.

Trying to help now would only get in Adrian’s way.

In truth, retreating now was the best support she could offer.

But—

She couldn’t move so easily.

“U-Urgh…!”
“Ughh…!”

The vagrants of the ruined district—

Those who hadn’t evacuated in time due to Iratum’s attack—

Were now convulsing on the ground.

Were they crushed by the shockwave?
Or was it simply their broken minds giving out?

Their eyes had rolled back, bodies trembling in place.

If Isolde ran now—

Silence.

And then—

KIIIIIIIIIIIIING—!!

A strange noise erupted from the glowing markings on the monster’s skin.

They pulsed with living, flaming red light—
And in an instant, they collapsed the very boundary between day and night.

“No one can survive this!! Get out of here—NOW!!”

Adrian screamed again.
His tone made it clear—Divine Power wouldn’t be enough.

Isolde didn’t know what that thing was,
But she knew—everyone would die if they stayed.

Around her, the scenery decayed into a full-blown wasteland.

…Can I do this?

Isolde clenched her gauntlets tightly.

…I have to.

Without hesitation, she rushed forward.
Crossing her arms, she expanded her Divine Power—

FWOOOOOSH!

A sacred barrier radiated outward from her crossed arms, enveloping the people behind her.

Divine Martial Fist: Celestia Style—
Celestial Guardian.

CRACK-CRACK-CRACK—!!

An invisible energy slammed into the barrier.

Isolde immediately understood—

…This won’t hold.

The wrath blazing through the sky dyed the heavens red.

KRRROOOOOOOOOAAARRRR!!!

The hope that once guarded the skies was being devoured.

That wrath—it had no end.

Only pure, unbearable malice remained.

It was impossible to drive out such infinite evil…

“You never listen—now or then!!”

But someone had to endure it.
Someone had to fight back.