Only I Am A Reader
chapter-473

Leo wasn't just a Reader, he was also someone who traversed between worlds!

Getting stamped by some obscure entity wasn't an option. Not only could it remain on him when he went back, but there was also a possibility that this could prevent him from returning, to begin with.

Most importantly, there was no way Leo would allow himself to become someone's slave, especially not for the sake of power.

'I will deservedly make it my own!'

Although the monstrosity couldn't be tricked to take out the Enigma Stone by itself before it imprinted the receiver, the Enigma Stone itself had no requirements.

One didn't have to possess the imprint to use it. It was just like any other Enigma Stone that enriched its user with something new.

The only difference was that it was a special one. Even the strongest monster on Earth couldn't produce something with a similar effect, and that was all because the monstrosity was made that way.

Not something built to utilize that power, but a vessel that contained it until it would reach its intended owner.

That was precisely what gave Leo the confidence in attempting to become its owner by force!

Although this Horror might look intimidating, this was also just a design characteristic, something that supplemented the hypnotizing effect of the summoning stage.

'Shadow Domination is really terrifying.'

Obviously, all of this information was originally just a hypothesis that Leo based on his vast knowledge of the story, there was no way the novel itself explained all of that for a behind the scene moment like this.

However, after Leo took the bet and believed in himself, Shadow Domination's instant analysis basically confirmed all of his suspicions. This battle might be a bit tough, but it was definitely doable!

[You will regret this!]

The enraged Horror's tendrils stretched forward, trying to grab hold of Leo. Unfortunately, all it caught was nothing but air.

Rising from his shadow a few steps behind, Leo took one last long breath before unleashing his first ability, Shadow Armament!

Instead of recreating the Black Dragon once again, Leo created a slim lance. Only, with another surge of power, it increased in size ten times over.

"Bring it on."

In order to hold something like that, Leo could only increase the weight so much. That being said, the sharpness that surrounded every inch of the spearhead wasn't decreased even one bit.

'It's pretty consuming…'

Although Leo had to inject quite a bit of his Enigma into this surprise attack, first impressions were always important.

And there was no better first impression than making the arrogant Horror into a squid skewer!

Black blood gushed from both sides as Leo's throw hit its target. Not to mention his newly improved throwing skill, both the dart and the bullseye were just too big.

In addition, it didn't seem like agility was one of the Horror's fortes.

[Impossible!]

Despite the lance seamlessly going through the center of its body, the monstrosity didn't scream in pain. Unlike anger and pride from its Master, it had no such emotions.

Instead, what it felt at this moment was utter disbelief!

Up until this moment, it had wondered how this unworthy speck had even made it that far. There was almost no form of proper energy inside the speck's body.

It thought it would crush Leo within seconds, it even started thinking about how it could torment him before he met his inevitable death

However, once Leo's shrouded Enigma fully bloomed, the horrifying monstrosity suddenly realized that it had messed up!

It wasn't designed to think far enough to understand that it had fallen into a trap, but Leo's energy signal was just as terrifying as the Horror's own presence was made to be.

This was something at the level of its Master's direct servants! Not the strongest of them, of course. Still, it was equal to those that had yet to unleash their full potential.

As much as it felt threatened by him, the monstrosity felt a hint of excitement that it almost never felt before.

If it made such a spec- No, such a Talent join their ranks… Its Master would be elated! This was the kind of excitement that could only be enjoyed by fulfilling its true purpose of life, picking worthy seeds!

[You. Are you sure you don't want to accept the Master's offer? It really is absolute power-]

The Horror itself wasn't sure what it was doing at the moment. Convincing someone to accept was never programmed into its restricted consciousness. Yet somehow, its mind went straight into improvisation mode.

It felt like it had to do this no matter what!

"Not interested."

Leo's next move was to summon his Shadow Nightmares. Just like he did earlier, he didn't skimp on Enigma, letting his shadow grow to a quarter of the monstrosity's size.

Since he didn't want to wait until he fell into a precarious situation, Leo had to pull all stops right from the start!

[I… understand. I just have to make you believe.]

The sound in Leo's ears was no longer organized, it now sounded all broken up and glitchy as if the creature that spoke it wasn't in its right mind.

The Horror itself was acting on auto-pilot. The only thing it truly understood was that it couldn't beg Leo to accept the offer, verbally convincing him wasn't an option either.

In fact, if it had full mental capacity as most humans did, the Horror itself would have felt a slight fear of losing to Leo without achieving anything.

However, the reaction mechanism that its mentality was built around only had one more reaction. It had to overpower its target by any means possible.

It had to make him feel powerless, left with no option but to accept the offer to change the status quo!

"Yes, try to do so."

At the same time, Leo welcomed the change in the monstrosity's thoughts. As long as it had a target, it was more unlikely to run away in the middle of the battle.

This was now a battle of equal chances as both sides had a similar level of strength. However, whether it was convincing Leo or the precious Enigma Stone, only one side could grasp their objective!