A 'Wrath Demon' has descended upon them.

The guests: Lily, Vhalen, and Fear, were unable to stop themselves from trembling as malicious True Aura was poured in their direction. Their eyes were unable to believe what they were actually seeing...!

'He is like... My Lord...!' Fear thought.

This unbearable presence was on the same level as the leader of the Cult she once followed.

The fact that he could bring out such overwhelming pressure, despite his incomplete transformation into a Immortal Demon, was a testament to his potential. Who knows how strong he'll become after truly becoming a Demon?

'Will that guy survive?' As the weakest person in the mansion, the Second Prince was worried,

Vhalen's face paled as he prayed that the scholarly freak could protect them. He had no idea how Arthur had suddenly fallen into becoming a 'Half-Demon', but he hoped someone will stop him.

Lily too felt the same, but she was unable to stop herself putting her faith in Alex at this time...

She had seen how the scholarly freak had surprisingly been able to stop the berserk Warrior's initial assault without relying on Magic Skills or a Spell Slot. All he used was his fists to send the brawny youth flying like a kite just moments ago!

Perhaps, he could stop Arthur before those demonic flames fully engulfed the youth's mind...!

This was Lily's wish, but good look was never 'kind' just because it benefited her. For all her life, the only things that ever happened was either her own bad luck befalling others or things happening in a way that would eventually help her in some way...

'It is happening again...' Samuel, who was sitting on the roof, sighed after looking at the wolf girl, not understanding how her mysterious luck worked.

He even started to believe that this really was just a coincidence… considering how irrelevant it was to the young girl. It wouldn't make sense if her mysterious luck was to affect these two fighters.

...No, he had been fooled once by her innocence before. That's why the spearman reached into his inner pocket and took out a card. This was a personalised Major Arcana card that was given to him by 'the man who lived inside the Epilogue'.

That person was just like all iterations of Alex Stuman, someone who hid battle craze underneath a smile...

He gave a meaningful look at the Healer called Vhalen, who was fearfully praying on his knees, and was trying to ask the 'Holy God' for mercy, all while not understanding the META of his actions.

Only someone like Samuel could see this situation in a light no other individual ever could...

His thoughts were unfathomable.

The spearman wasn't sure when, but now berserk Sword Warrior definitely came into contact with the true Wrath Demon once in his life... He probably hadn't formed a connection with the Demon back then, but he was definitely touched by corruption.

This was how the Wrath Demon was able to take advantage in the opening in the brawny youth's heart to try and pass on its Curse.

As long as the Wrath Demon succeeded, Arthur would lose his sanity and fall into being a Evil Attributed Classless Beast. Something akin to a 'True Demon' of Gaia heretical to the Church.

An impurity to be killed...

He needed to be brought down quickly without holding back, something Alex too had recognised.

His Intense Red and Flexible Blue was deactivated in return for reapplying the Evil Rune on his body.

The freak lost his patience. Alex himself started to draw a more potent 'Wrath Rune' in his body to counteract the True Aura weighing him. He let out an intense battle roar before charging at Arthur.

[Mana Burst- Flickering Light!]

[Runic Skill- Lightning Rapture!]

Two different set of Runes appeared on his legs before he vanished from where he stood and travelled the distance between them with unnatural speed. He wanted to end this in one strike, but was unable to get closer. The fiery figure retaliated.

[Mana Burst- Wrathful Devastation!]

It looked like Arthur's fighting techniques and intuition were brought of his subconscious.

He used the 'Mana Sword' Sword Skill their Mentor had always been trying to teach him for so long...

Even though the brawny youth sucked at being able to use Mana Burst, having it and not being able to utilise it properly were two different concepts. It altered the user's mindset.

Those who COULD use it were able to bring out their strength without heavily relying on Skills, while those who didn't would feel more restrictive in the ways they utilised their Mana.

Having the Mana Burst technique, even if a not very polished one, could essentially take away the limitations faced by Warriors and Mages alike, to the point they'd be opened up to a new world...!

For once, Alex got on all fours to heavily duck under the blade of flames that let loose a fiery flying slash to his mansion. It took the most the defensive programs of his home security system going on red alert to bring up a sturdy barrier!

"Get down...!" The former priestess called Fear pulled Vhalen away from the window without thinking. The sound of an explosion could be heard as the flying energy slash had broken the shield.

When the masked girl regained her senses, she pushed the shorty away and went to look at what was happening. Even if she was scared, the former priestess felt she needed to see the battle herself.

She watched as Alex did a barrel roll backwards to get out of the way of the assault of Arthur's enhanced combo rush.

His fist was so strong that craters formed every time he missed a punch and hitting the floor, as well as creating cyclonic blazes just from punching the air.

The scholarly freak had his initiative taken from him as he dodged around.

They exchanged blows and drew blood from each other multiple times, causing him fall into a frenzy.

The former Grandmaster had started to forget why he was fighting, or what he was doing.

The destructive heat threatened to burn Alex alive before Arthur could even land a clean hit on him.

'Screw this...!' Perhaps it was also the Wrath Mana he injected into his body taking control. He used the strongest moves in his arsenal from his past life as they brawled with each other at a close range.

[Secret Art- Black Blood Dragon's Pulse!]

He didn't completely cover his fist in pure Mana, but expelled some Dark Mana from his Devilish Physique in the heat of the moment… similar to how Arthur could tap into Mana of different elements from his God Physique alone.

Then threw out a punch!

Darkness rippled upon impact...!

This was punch that was the favourite technique of his past life's father when going into battle. The fist was an 'Art', which used smaller amounts of Life Energy with his quality technique, rather than a Skill, which poured in higher quantities of energy.

A transparent dark flame inconspicuously covered his entire arm before he pulled back his arm, then threw a hook that hit Arthur's head, smashing him to the ground after stamping the floor with his foot.

[Secret Art- White Bone Dragon's Ripple!]

The strain on Alex's body was heavy, but that didn't matter to him as he partially released Light Mana from his Devilish Physique to fuel the Secret Art he inherited as a former holder of the title 'Black Dragon'. The transparent glow wrapped his foot before he stamped down, his sole aiming for chest of his brawny friend without any hesitation.

Light pulsed upon impact...!

But even as he did so, he realised that the these attacks were far from the strength they had in his past life due to multiple factors.

Even though he was the inheritor of the 'Earthly Devil Sealing Horn' and the progenitor of the 'Heavenly God Locking Halo', he didn't have the bodily qualities necessary to execute these Arts.

His Devilish Physique was like a turbocharged engine paired with an old and rusted car's frame.

His 'Body Slots' that acted like four Qi Centres as a power source, while each technique as a home appliance. Applying this logic. the failure of executing his 'Secret Art' completely was like his martial technique 'short-circuiting' by accident.

Even though these two strikes made him realise he had no choice but to rely on Skills rather than his now weaker 'Arts', this miscalculation had left him open to Arthur retaking the initiative to attack...!

Alex quickly shifted his body to the side.

An uppercut made a swishing sound through the air and lightly grazed him, causing blood to spray out of a gushing wound before it was charred black by the heat.

Arthur's knuckle was like a burning blade.

The blazing figure seemed to become more and more intuitive. Like a feral beast hunting its prey.

It's attacks became increasingly varied over time.

At first he was relying solely on clenched fists and sudden full-contact kicks, but slowly started incorporating sword-hand chops too. This signified an evolution, one that would only bring misfortune to any opponent fighting Arthur.

The scholarly freak was pressured as wounds and injuries started appearing all over his body. He too traded blows with Arthur and had been able to make sure the fiery berserker couldn't land a clean hit. However, his fists had no killing intent in them.

With only enough fighting spirit to injure his brawny friend, he was slowly losing the battle as Arthur overwhelmed his techniques with the sheer physical might of his God Physique.

Though this was the case, Alex's fighting style was surprisingly annoying from his opponent's perspective. It was to the point that the barely conscious Arthur was getting really irritated.

'A-Attack... Attack!' This thought became a poison to Arthur as he started to release all his potential at once to the point even his God Physique found it unbearable.

The fiery berserker continued his rush. The five Body Slots and two Spell Slots expelled their energy all at once at this moment into into the strongest attack that had ever been conceived.

[Supreme Spell- Hellflame Destruction!]

[Attribute Overlay- Wondrous Riot!]

Those demonic flames were imbued by the seven Attributes inside his body before releasing out into a chaotic maelstrom of Mana that annihilated anything in its wake. Should it be fully executed, all life within a hundred mile radius would die instantly.

This was especially true considering there was oddly an enormous amount of Dark Mana within him just waiting to be released. Arthur had turned himself into a ticking time ready to explode!!!

That didn't stop Alex, nor drove him into despair.

Alex realised his 'response' had been wrong from the beginning. He couldn't snap his friend out of his frenzy by punching Arthur a lot. Instead, what he needed was a bit of sympathy for the Warrior.

He stopped using Wrath Runes and thought about what he truly needed to stop his brawny friend from fully becoming a Demon, but before he could do that, he chose to break Arthur's strongest Spell first before it could fully form, and his deactivation of his Wrath Runes fortunately helped him in that endeavour. To the fiery berserk, Alex disappeared.

Arthur's frenzied mental state had gotten used to the presence of a Wrath Attribute similar to his own, causing him to suddenly fall into a state of confusion when that burning flame that was countering him all this time suddenly went out.

He had been blinded by rage since this fight started and was only drawn to Alex by pure instinct after the initial collision, but after clashing a few times, and remembering his opponent's burning presence, he became lost when it just vanished...

This time, the scholarly freak was hit at point-blank range with True Aura filled with savagery and malicious intentions. His body felt like it was burning under the flames of killing intent that started to paralyse his body as if being burnt black.

Perhaps this True Aura would stop him before, but he had already gathered enough courage to face even the scariest Demon of them all with courageous resolve. His roasted nerves forcibly worked in order to help him stretch his hand.

His creaky muscles sent pain signals in refusal of his order, yet he still pushed on for the sake of saving his childhood friend. Alex felt like he was dying just from taking the blast of True Aura coming from the fiery berserker standing before him. However, he still chose to reach his hand forward until it finally touched Arthur's chest.

He gave up half the total Life Energy in both his Body Slots of Light and Darkness in order to feed it into a move he formed in his time being known as the 'Ouroboros Dragon', albeit with a few slight alterations for the sake of adapting the technique.

[Finishing Move- Ouroboros Impulse!]

The Dark Pulse and Light Ripple he released inside Arthur's complemented each other, before turning into a spiral of energy which devoured the seven power sources equivalent to Qi Centres inside Arthur's body.

He blanked out for a good half a second, yet forced himself to continue even as those injuries all over his body were still bleeding.

Normally this attack would be focused on destroying an opponents insides, not stabilising it like how the scholarly freak was currently doing with his wrecked body.

It was through willpower alone that he was still able to stand long enough to pull this off.

It was through this sacrificial act of putting his own life in danger for his friend that he was able to draw a very familiar Rune inside him.

Just like how each 'Curse of a Demon' was named using deadly sins, each 'Blessing of a Hero' was named using virtues loved by Gaia. The one most valued being the Attribute known as 'Sacrifice'.

Rather than applying the Attribute to his own injured body, he directly drew the Sacrifice Rune onto the volatile spiral of energy before it could explode his brawny friend into fleshy mess of blood and gore.

He was having a hard time it is keeping the Wrath Spell from detonating at it is into a beautiful, but deadly rainbow.

One that'll kill everyone!

The Sacrifice Rune he formed sank into fiery berserker's God Physique before fighting against the evil influence that had corrupted Arthur's sanity. The power of his Rune was strong, but it wasn't enough to overcome the flames of hatred.

It fought fiercely against the demonic flames, only for the gently glowing cream white Sacrifice Rune to crack in a few places... Alex wanted to draw more quantities of Runes to reinforce it, yet found himself unable to do so thanks to his injuries.

His nerves were already fried... Even if Arthur's scorching True Aura had been deactivated the moment the Sacrifice Rune entered his body, the scars and bleeding wounds all over the scholarly freak's body was still there... dyeing the grass red.

He put his entire being into fighting the influence in his last stand.

Alex was ready to die for the sake of bringing his friend back to sanity, and had become understandably shocked when he realised that his Holy Rune seemed to be growing stronger.

This was despite him not doing anything to improve his Runic Skills. It was only then did he remember an important part of Holy Spells.

Something he had forgotten...

The scholarly freak wanted to confirm something crucial, so he turned his head a little before noticing that there was someone praying to the Holy God through the window of his mansion.

Comprehending what he needed to get done, he brought up the prayers he had been taught by his Mentor years ago; The ones still fresh in his memory… before praying for Arthur's safety.

Even if he was required to have his palm touching the brawny youth's chest in order to stop him from exploding, his other free hand was enough to form a half prayer sign essential to actually 'pray'.

Fortunately, his thoughts were spot on. He was able to start exorcising the demonic influence.

Seeing that the pure intensity of the demonic flames were too strong and had covered his friend's entire body, he twisted his palm a little and sent the Sacrifice Rune straight into the spiralling Mana...

One that was slowly going out of his control the more he forced himself to keep it stable.

The white Rune and Mana spiral blended together before:

[Amalgamated Burst- Holy Purge!]

He detonated the Mana spiral, but not in the way you readers may have been expecting. There was traces of sacred lightning covering Arthur's body before an explosion of creamy white light forced out all the dark demonic flames corrupting him.

The evil influence was overwhelmed without the ability to fight back.

That dense white light continued into becoming an equal force that exorcised the demonic flames.

It was only when the flames were no longer visible did he stop praying, which caused all the electrified Mana around and inside his brawny friend to disperse... leaving him completely powerless.

Arthur stood there in a daze, which annoyed Alex enough to lightly slap the idiot on the cheek.

"...Bro?" His pupils focused as an old mental image of Rebecca overlapped with the dying figure of his childhood friend. He defeated like a balloon filled with holes, which shook him down to his very core.

He quickly grabbed onto the scholarly friend of his, who collapsed onto him, after finally purging the evil influence that had taken over him. The frail youth's breathing became weaker as he spoke:

"Don't do that again..." His voice was absolutely serious as he started to bleed out on the spot.

"ALEX!!!" Was the last thing he heard as his heart stopped beating after struggling to breath...

Death came knocking at his front door...!