∼ Pastimes of Demon ∼

Chapter - 076

The gloom of the room seemed to claw at the walls, the lantern fighting a losing battle against the darkness to cast light upon what hid in the shadows. Nyx scrutinized his surroundings, his golden-yellow eyes peering with a searching gaze. They were able to pierce the dark, but not the illusion. The barest of realization managed to touch Nyx as he remembered how the townsfolk described the bandits as ghosts. How they attacked and vanished without ever being truly seen. Apparently, this human must've somehow gotten hold of a very powerful magical artifact.

A faint whistle alerted Nyx's peaked senses to another attack, this one even harder to notice than the first. It was faster - deadlier. The invisible blade grazed his robe, cutting a furrow along the neck of his hood. He had just barely evaded it. Nyx's face scrunched up with the faintest feeling of consternation.

"It's useless," A steady voice came from the demon's left.

Without hesitation, Nyx flung a barely-formed [Demonbolt] in the direction, hoping to catch the damned human off guard. But the spell found only air, flying into the hard rock wall of the alcove, cracking and searing the stone but doing little else. His blind attack was met with a disdainful sneer.

"This human!" Nyx cursed under his breath, deeply frustrated. His [Mark of Sin] flared indignantly. The demon had less than two points of mana left, and whilst [Demonhide] made him resistant to most dull blades and attacks from weak-bodied men, the power and speed behind this human's every swing or slash would be more than enough to cut deep into his body.

A cut that left a burning sting across his cheek suddenly appeared. The blade of the human had found its way under the hood, only inches from his eye. Regrettably, Nyx's quick reflexes began failing him as the human's pace picked up, Nyx scrambling to back up whilst Fisty was swiping wildly at the air to ward off the human assaulting her master but ultimately hitting nothing.

Try as Nyx might, neither [Wither] nor [Drain] could help as the former needed an actual visual of the target to take hold and the latter was an aimed spell like his [Demonbolt] and [Impfire].

[You have taken 15 damage!]

Nyx gasped after a moment of incomprehension to what happened, the cold of metal spreading out into his shoulder and sending spikes of pain lancing through his body. But despite the pain, Nyx reacted rapidly, an opportunity laid bare in his hour distress. A plan was quickly unfolding in Nyx's mind, however, before he could even manage to react or command, Fisty came sailing over him, jumping in the direction of the click of another sound. That was a mistake, for it was a trap.

Unfortunately for Fisty, she did not possess a perception nearly as extreme as Nyx's. So before she ever found her mark, the reckless demon was impaled on the invisible blade of the human. The blade had been pulled from Nyx's shoulder so fast that he barely even noticed it leave his flesh.

Fisty croaked and flailed her large meaty hands about as she tried to violently swing at the human. Her savagery did not abate in the slightest, even as she had been landed a fatal blow and the movement tore at her organs. Nevertheless, Fisty was dropped without managing to retaliate with even a grazing hit. She landed on the smooth rocky ground with a thud, her blood running slow as her heart had been pierced clean through. The familiar was dead within moments.

[Your familiar has died!]

∼The demonic soul has returned to you and reformation of the familiar soul fragment has begun∼

[Familiar can be re-summed within - One Day]

Nyx wanted to curse and scream - but he didn't. His plans to hold the blade in place as he rained magical fire upon the stinking human was a bust. Yet, an opportunity remained. For he suddenly realized her death might in fact not have been in vain. It was only for the briefest of moments, but the human's blade was clearly visible as blood coated its transparent surface.

The blood that remained soon turned invisible alongside the blade under the bracers' effects, however, it was still just enough time for Nyx to center in on the man's location, his eyes immediately trying to find any discrepancy in the magic. And so he did. An incredibly faint blur, even harder to spot in the room's gloom. But it was still there, outlining the human's figure. He could see him!

Nyx realized that íf he truly had any advantage here, then it was his perception. Nyx's intelligence was so high that his perception and cognitive function were beyond what any creature of his level should be capable of. The diminutive demon couldn't help but smile impishly. That artifact might be an incredible feat of magic ingenuity, fooling most. But Nyx was not most. Nyx was anything but that.

Another swipe, a lunge - the human threw everything at Nyx. But the demon deftly dodged every single one. Eyes trailed every attack, not daring for the faintest of moments to lose track of the human-shaped blur. Despite the human having gone quiet, Nyx could almost hear the incredulity and frustration in the human's movements as his advance failed to score any hits. He had not expected Nyx to last this long. Even so, his foe had yet to land any blow or counter either. The fight moved to an impasse.

Bounding about the small room, the smile on Nyx's face twisted in a devious smirk as the demon suddenly - turned and ran.

It was so unexpected that the almost invisible figure of the human just stood there, startled with surprise. But only for as long as it took him to realize what was happening. As Nyx ran for the exit, magic was forming at his fingertips - a fiery orange of runes taking shape. He cast [Impfire], and threw it not at the human, but the wooden wall sealing off the hollow to the rest of the alcove. Closing off the only exit in a wall of creeping flames.

Nyx ran right through the exit, not caring about the flames even as they ate at his robes. The blurry figure of the human tried to follow after but jolted back with his arms drawn to shield his face from the roaring heat, standing in the opening with anger turning to panic. The fire had already begun to rapidly spread across the dry wood, its speed unnaturally fast.

"W-wait!" The human tried, immediately turning to plead. "It-it doesn't have to be like this!"

But Nyx just stood there, some distance from the entrance, cackling maniacally despite the dull ache of having nearly emptied his mana pool for that one last spell. The human was trapped in an oven of his creation and he was already coughing like crazy, the smoke billowing out in waves.

"Please! I wasn't lying. I was going to leave Meadesborough! Please, you can even take me in alive!" None of the human's cool or calm remained. Only his desire to live did.

Nyx couldn't help it, his petty nature demanded it. So he smirked mockingly, deciding to throw the human's words right back at him."It's useless,"

The illusion had already failed, whether he dispelled it or it ran out of mana, it didn't matter, fear and regret were clear as day on the bandit's face. Soon the human was barely visible through the smoke anymore. The blaze had set fire to the entire wooden panel now, the heat of the magical fire having created its own flames.

Nyx wasn't sure what the human was doing now as the human was shrouded in billowing black smoke. But he could hear him inside. Coughing and yelling, things being thrown around and toppled over. But in one last desperate attempt to stay alive, the figure of the human bandit came suddenly flying through the burning exit, his body already scalded red from the heat alone. Now on fire, however, he rolled around, trying pitifully to put out the flames. It was to no avail as the sticky [Impfire] clutched to his body, revealing burnt flesh as it ate away at his clothes with a ravenous speed.

That was the terrible thing about [Impfire]. It wasn't nearly as hot or powerful as [Demonbolt], making its victim die a long and agonizing death before ever doing enough damage to claim their lives. It was truly an imp's weapon. Even as screams began to tear from his lungs, Nyx didn't move to end the human's misery. Sure, it might not have been the most honorable way to slay your foe. But as if Nyx cared. He was a demon! And that stinkin' human had earned it after daring to kill his trusty servant.

When the [Impfire] had nearly gone out, Nyx was surprised that the human still drew breath. Although he was on a fast track to meet his ancestors, his high level had helped him survive for this long. For better or worse - in the way you look at it. Having reveled in the suffering of the previously arrogant human, he decided he had gotten his fill.

There was one thing he had yet to try though, and now injured, he was now conveniently equipped with a perfect test subject. He extended his hand, eyes closed, and mind turned inwards. In the darkness, came to him the runes of magic. Nyx cast [Drain]. The magic flew from his hands, the tendril latching itself onto the human's burnt corpse.

Now, rather than the empty blackness, the tendrils of red and purple seemed to coil around a stream of bright green. The color immediately reminded Nyx of Aria's healing magic. Barely a shade different. This was lifeforce. Contrary to her magic though, he wasn't conjuring it, he was reaping it.

The instant the stream of green reached him, Nyx could feel the surge of warmth envelop his body, focusing on his wounds. It closed superficial wounds at a visible rate, an incessant itching following. His shoulder flared with pain, but that too started healing. The bleeding stopped entirely, and though it didn't manage to close up, it had scabbed over.

Glancing over his wound as he channeled the spell, Nyx recognized that the healing wasn't nearly as comprehensible as what Aria was capable of. Probably even regardless of how much lifeforce Nyx could drain, it wouldn't truly be a perfect fix. It was more of a patchwork than a full recovery. If he was to continuously heal the same wounds multiple times, he feared that'd it probably have grave consequences. Watching the health points tick up, almost a point per second, he wanted to continue until he was mostly healed. But the stream soon turned black, no more life to drain. The human was dead, now but a charred husk of his former self.