Solo Leveling : 10 Shadow Technique

Finn, now clad in his armored skin, stood with Mahoraga looming behind him. Resting the newly regenerated musket on his shoulder, he grinned.

"Hey, big guy, mind if I test out that axe?"

Mahoraga obliged, handing him the Infernal Axe—a massive weapon nearly the size of Finn's upper body. Transforming the musket into a flintlock, Finn let it hover by his waist while gripping the axe, spinning it experimentally.

"Man, I really need something like that inventory curse. I want more weapons," he muttered.

Before he could dwell on the thought, two monstrous figures charged toward them: Virex, a molten, blackened draconic titan, and Thanex, a titanic, armor-plated humanoid whose very presence negated magical purification and enhanced all toxic afflictions. Each step Thanex took left behind a landscape of living poison.

Finn's grin widened as he rushed toward Thanex, swinging the Infernal Axe. The impact sent a shockwave rippling through the battlefield, staggering the titan. As Thanex retaliated, a massive hand lunging for him, Finn flipped mid-air, landing on its arm. With each step he took, the titan's hide corroded beneath his feet. Dragging the axe behind him, Finn spun and delivered another devastating strike, sending Thanex crashing to the ground.

Seizing the opening, Finn leaped onto the titan's chest, raising the Infernal Axe for a finishing blow—only to be suddenly yanked backward. Suspended mid-air, he found himself pulled by Zekthar, an eyeless, floating abomination whose chest had split open, creating a powerful suction force.

Narrowing his eyes, Finn smirked. In his right hand, a draconic head formed, exhaling a thick black miasma straight into Zekthar's open chest. As the creature reeled, Finn twisted mid-air, vanishing behind it. His right arm shifted back into a clawed gauntlet, and venom-fueled rockets emerged from his bicep. With explosive force, his enhanced fist rocketed forward, caving in Zekthar's chest and sending it crashing to the ground.

Landing gracefully, Finn flexed his hand as it returned to its razor-sharp state.

Meanwhile, Mahoraga clashed with Virex. A looming dark mist solidified into a massive, sword-wielding entity behind the draconic titan. Just as it swung its colossal blade toward Mahoraga, a bullet fired from Finn's flintlock pierced through its form, causing its body to erode instantly.

"Knew it—that thing had more defense than health," Finn muttered.

Mahoraga, undeterred by the molten wasteland Virex created, cleaved through the draconic titan with a single swipe. Ice spread from the wound, rapidly encasing Virex's entire form before Mahoraga delivered a gauntleted punch, shattering the frozen titan into oblivion.

Finn barely had time to admire the victory as four Plague Kings remained:

Lord Malrith – Abyss Serpent: A colossal, twelve-eyed serpent secreting a poison that corrodes time and reality. Valthorin – The Dread Reaper: A shadowy executioner wreathed in necrotic fumes, wielding a Death Fang blade that liquefies anything it cuts. Thanex – Venom Colossus: The titan Finn had knocked down, still stirring with toxic might. Sythrax – Shadow Stag of Ruin: A divine yet malevolent stag whose presence reverses vitality, causing everything around it to wither.

Finn assessed his odds. Thanex was the best target.

Leaping to dodge a charge from Sythrax, he barely evaded Valthorin's blade before diving into his own shadow, escaping Malrith's tail strike. Mahoraga intercepted the serpent, already adapting to its reality-corroding venom—though half its body had eroded, it regenerated in seconds.

Emerging from Mahoraga's shadow, Finn launched himself at Thanex once more. This time, as he swung the Infernal Axe, the shockwave tripled in power, sending the titan reeling. Finn's muscles bulged as toxic enhancements surged through him, further amplifying his strength. With one final mighty cleave, Thanex's head separated from its body.

Turning back, he watched as Mahoraga, momentarily liquefied by necrotic fumes, solidified once again and sliced Valthorin in half. The Shadow Stag was already beheaded, leaving only Malrith.

The twelve-eyed serpent lunged at Finn in a final act of defiance. Before it could strike, Mahoraga multiplied, revealing one of its hidden abilities. The clones overwhelmed Malrith, relentlessly battering the abyssal serpent until, at last, it fell.

Finn stood victorious alongside Mahoraga. The Ten Plague Kings had been defeated.

//--\\

But then, the largest pillar began to tremble violently. The long-dead Plague King stirred, releasing a wave of corrupted mana that slithered through the air like living venom. The toxic energy surged straight toward the pillar where the true boss lay dormant.

Finn, now evolved and stronger than ever, felt something shift within him. His combat mode deactivated, and a wave of clarity washed over him. His connection to his Shikigami had returned—no, it had deepened. He narrowed his eyes, sensing the overwhelming pressure radiating from the cracks in the pillar. A glimmer of excitement flashed in his gaze.

Then, with an earth-shattering crack, the pillar exploded. Shattered fragments hovered in the air for a brief moment—only to twist and reform, reconstructing themselves into something monstrous.

A dragon emerged, its form born from venom, poison, and acid—an amalgamation of pure toxicity.

The Venom Tyrant.

A catastrophic poison-based dragon, its serpentine body was draped in black and purple scales, pulsing with veins of glowing green venom. Semi-liquid wings oozed a corrosive miasma, melting the air itself. Its sickly golden eyes burned with predatory malice, and its very presence corrupted the land, turning the battlefield into a festering, decayed wasteland.

Finn's smile widened.

He willed Mahoraga back into his shadow, and as he did, he felt an unbreakable bond form between them. The connection had evolved—Finn could now wield all of Mahoraga's abilities as his own. His shadow, once a deep abyss, bled into an eerie white—the color of his most corrosive venom.

And then, he felt it.

The corruption had fully overtaken him.

His Shikigami had ascended, growing stronger than ever. His mana, once vast, had become bottomless, an infinite well of raw, chaotic energy.

And now…

It was time.

Finn's body began to shift, his form twisting and unraveling like living poison. A black and green mist coiled around him, his very essence dissolving into something beyond mortal comprehension.

This was his final transformation—his ultimate state.

Plague God Mode.

In this form, Finn became a massive, semi-liquid entity of living, contagious venom. His entire body pulsed with a toxic, ever-shifting fluid, an amalgamation of every plague, poison, and disease in existence.

Nothing could touch him—any attack that made contact was instantly consumed, corrupted, and contaminated beyond salvation.

Finn grinned, his voice echoing like a death knell through the battlefield.

"Let's begin."