“Lady Iluna!”

A voice of urgency pulled me back to my senses.

From an alley, a bunch of knights came flooding in. SIS tells me they are Templar Knights assign as guards. Just as I wondered why wasn’t there any near her, I notice the corpses lying around me.

They are all done in, huh.

The knight who shouted out for Iluna, positions himself between me and the Elf. The other knights surrounded both the Elf and the girl, forming a phalanx around them. Maybe phalanx isn’t the right term here since they are without shield.

“Are you unharmed, milady?” The knight asked without taking his eyes off me. I don’t have any basis for where his eyes actually are since he has a full-face helmet on.

“I’m fine, Captain Xeres.”

“And you!” shouted the captain. “State your name.”

“Captain, stand down. This person here is my savior.”

“If that’s the case, why the secrecy with his or her identity?”

Their exchange went down a really odd path. They talk as if I’m wearing a mask but I feel nothing in my hand as I touch my face. Come to think of it, something feels off about me. Like I’m being draped over with an incredibly light silk cloth. I check my status only to see it with an unfamiliar term; Recognition Inhibited.

Further information entails that I’m shrouded in an intangible field that inhibits any recognition of my identity. My rough body contours and height are the only things people are able to perceive. As I read more of the details, I understand that this effect is caused by Citra.

Hmm… Nilin did called out to me when I ran off but I didn’t catch it. Did she perhaps sent Citra to me as a deterrence for recognition?

“Captain, you’re being rude to the one who rushed to my aid. So, stand down. That’s an order.” The Elven Priestess named Iluna stared the captain knight down.

Upon hearing the word “order”, he immediately complies and instructs his men to do the same.

“Once again, thank you but I’m afraid I didn’t quite get your name.” Iluna bowed.

Before I can offer a response, the captain knight boorishly cuts in. “Milady, now’s not the time for gratitude.”

“Captain Xeres, you are being terribly ru—”

“Young Cleric Liliana has been taken by Au’ruum agents.”

Iluna who was going to reprimand the captain knight pauses in shock.

A cleric’s being kidnapped?

“Lily has been taken? B-by whom?”

“It’s the Au’ruum, milady. A squad of my best men is in pursuit. For now, we need to get you to safety.”

I search my “radar” for any individuals that might be in distress.

—Found!

Well, I didn’t found the cleric, exactly, but I found a small group of six pursuing three individuals. Based on their speed, they’re probably on horses. They are already out of the town and heading to the borders of Bluebell Territory. I can vaguely make out an additional presence near the one taking point.

Plus, that faint presence is emitting some divinity. The last time I felt a faint traces of Divinity is a Bishop I have met back in the Imperial Palace who has Holy Magic of level nine. This young cleric must be some child prodigy of Holy Magic to able to emit a degree of divinity.

The captain knight and the High Priestess are still talking and I didn’t want to interrupt them, so I take off on my own without a word of anything. All this while, the only one who has their eye glued to me is the apparent daughter of Hyx, Zoey.

I have a lot of questions right now but a life is grave danger right now. But I made a mental note of asking Hyx once this is over.

By the time the Templar Knights and Iluna notice my absence, I was already a few miles away from them.

I wonder if Senna knows of this.

And I wonder how far I should evacuate should the worse happen.

“Kyu~!” Citra pointed with her body at the pursue a little in front of us and below us.

I figured running through the streets would be slow and a hassle, so I decided to use the sky. My identity should be masked right now by Citra’s ability. Looking at her MP, it’s draining little by little. If this drain amount is anything to go by, I say I have about half an hour before this inhibition field drain Citra dry. The name of this magic is; Stygian Veil, a magic spell under her racial ability, Arcane Serpent.

This is my first time so high up in the sky. I have never ridden a plane before, so this is a brand new experience for me. One thing I didn’t take into account is how much dust and dirt could interfere with my vision. I have to use Breeze to in front of my eyes to manipulate it in a way so that dust wouldn’t get into my eyes.

Looking down at the three individuals being chased by the Templar Knights, I confirm that they are indeed Au’ruum Cultist. The kidnapped Cleric is in the hands of the one riding at the fore front as I thought. The Cleric is bound at the back of the ride. Since she’s unmoving, I assume she’s unconscious. And she’s quite young at fourteen years old. She has Light Magic and Holy Magic. She has a rank of B which is quite impressive but as expected of a child prodigy.

But my concerns lie on the cultists’ rides. Those aren’t horses though.

Unlike the knights, the cultists aren’t riding horses but something like a Velociraptor with bat-like wings as its fore limbs. These creatures are called Vexwings and they are rank-D magic monsters. They cannot fly but they can glide. They can even glide from as high as a mountain and land safely at the bottom. Strangely, they are carnivorous but they are not considered monsters.

The Vexwings sure are fast given that they are at least a size larger than a horse. Although, Vexwings aren’t ridden for its speed but its versatility. So until they reach the borders which is a rocky mountain area, they would not be able to lose their pursuers.

But it appears they aren’t that naive. The cultists, that is.

The six knights fell into a pit that was obviously a trap set by them way beforehand. None of the are in the red of their health, so I didn’t stop. Is this what organized crime looks like in another world?

I guess it’s up to me now.

I lower my pursuing altitude until the three cultists are in range for my appraisal. I check their abilities and titles.

They have normal array of abilities and magic. Their titles don’t really separates them from your usual thugs and cutthroats. The two riding on the back is only D-rank with ECS in the upper half of three digits. The one in the lead is rank-C and he has about a thousand ECS. Surprisingly, he has Light Magic and two Arcane Arts that I’m seeing and hearing for the first time, Domination and Demon Arts

Domination is a magic that lets the caster dominates a person’s will. The victim will have clear conscience but they can’t defy the caster’s orders, although they are able to resist if they have immense willpower but those cases are quite rare.

Demon Arts are array of spells and magics related to Demons. That was the whole information. I guess the Arcane Art was too broad to have clear explanation of the magic.

I store Avent into Arms Inventory and retrieve Talia back out. The moment she leaves Arms Inventory, magic forms into an arm from my right stump. I grab Talia with that arm.

“It’s been awhile, Shizuka.” She greeted me.

“It hasn’t even been half a day though?” I’m not sure if she was serious or just being sarcastic. I didn’t ask since I wasn’t too bothered about it. Instead, I updated her on the recent and current situations.

“Go for their heads. It’s the surest way.” Talia suggested.

It’s kinda grim but it is the logical route. Saying my condolences and apologies to the Vexwings, I descend in a speed that makes a wind-scratching noise to my ears. I slow down once I’m on their level and I cancel Gale Rush and Lightning Walk. I’m running along them with only Sky Step and Aerial Drive.

With Spell Edge and Shadow Blade coated on Talia, I slice the two at the back into half along with their rides with the elongated blade. I don’t think they even knew who or what killed them.

Skill Point(s) gained +2

Ability Point(s) gained +2

Eh? So little?

Pushing that complaint to the back of my mind, I move on to the one in the lead.

It seems like he notices me and utter a few curses when he realize his companions are gone. I see his lips moving but his voice is barely audible. He’s chanting and SIS tells me he’s using the Domination magic.

Log: Domination effect has been resisted

I knew this would happen considering I resisted instant death magics from a Greater Demon.

I could just off the last one but I don’t have the confidence to catch the Cleric if they flipped. So I accelerate my speed and land in the cultist’s path. I draw a line on the ground with Wind Slash which successfully prompted the cultist to stop.

I have cornered him but he doesn’t look faze in the least. Something in his eyes tell me that he still has a trick up his sleeve.

Our gazes locked.

Unlike in fiction where the villains begin to monologue while looking smug, the cultist merely descended from the Vexwing and walk towards me with resolution on his face. He splays his arms out.

“Well, what are you waiting for? Kill me then. Or are you taking me in?” Well, now he’s looking smug.

“Don’t, Shizuka.” Talia warned me.

“I know,” I whispered back.

Something is definitely wrong and he is definitely baiting him into killing him. Going through his status, I see he is under two status abnormality, Contracted: Eternity and Bound: Eternity.

Okay… but contracted and bounded to whom?

Just as I think that, his master’s name is revealed SIS. A Demon named Jagun but not just any demon, it’s an Arch-Demon which is a level higher than a Greater Demon.

“If you’re not going to act, then allow me. Lords of Darkness and Shadows, a debt is due. Come forth and claim thy servant’s soul”

Oh great.

His Mana then begins to surge. I can see some dark corruption spreading in his Mana flow. It feels dreadful and eerie but nowhere near Valuma’s level. His skin is even turning dark red and smoky black aura leaks from his body freshly opened wounds.

Seeing as how it kinda makes no difference now whether I kill him or not, I close our distance in a blink of an eye and beheaded him. I still feel some hesitation in my actions but not so much as before. The “spartan” training imbued into my bones by Djin must be really getting to me.

And my hair all stood up.

“Shizuka!” Talia shouted.

“I know!” and I shouted back. I immediately use the double-edged spell Air Burst to propel myself away from the danger.

The cultist’s empty neck burst out Abyssal energy which instantly solidified and turned into spikes.

“Kyu~!” Citra cried as she set up a barrier just in time as the spikes came flying over. With her barrier still persisting and armoring myself with Mystic Skin, I lunge back at the transforming cultist.

I unleash a Vorpal Draw that bisected the cultists cleanly into half. Looking at his Health bar, I grimaced.

It didn’t even drop a bit.

With Talia still in my right grip, I punch the upper body with my free hand and kick the lower parts away from me as more darkness burst out from his body.

“Kyu!!!” Citra shrieked as she dove further under my clothes. I can feel her tiny body trembling which kinda tickles.

The darkness coil around the cultist’s body as if to swallow him whole. From the mass of undulating darkness, a form is slowly taking shape.

I cast Ashen Flames on the transforming cultist.

Eh?

The gray Ashen Flames are immediately doused by some invisible force and the flames could not burn the black sticky-like substance covering on the grotesque mass which was once the Cultist’s body. SIS tells me those sticky substance is an Abyss Magic, Black Hide but Abyss Magic isn’t listed as one of the cultist’s Arcane Arts though? And the invisible force is actually Gravity Magic: Gravity Shift.

Before I can read the details, a black stake with purplish tinge flew at me like an arrow. I easily slice it into half without flinching.

Now that I have a good look at his status, the cultist is already dead. The HP bar that I saw belongs to the Arch-Demon who took over his soul, Jagun. The Demon is a B-rank with an ECS only two hundreds worth of value apart from mine. Its Attack, Magic, and Resistance are at five hundred while Speed and Defense is at two hundred fifty each. So to say, my speed is the only stat better than it. For its abilities, the Arch Demon has Abyss Magic, Death Magic, Gravity Magic, and Mana Control.

No way… Its Gravity Magic is level ten and Abyss Magic is Eight.

Although its high level magic should be taken extreme caution of, what truly shook my spirit is the Arch-Demon’s HP. It quadruples my maximum amount and its MP is six times the value of mine.

This is some serious bad news.

Jagun is twenty feet tall by my guess when it stood straight before me. It has a very humanoid shape, to my surprise. Jagun is the most humanoid looking Demon I have seen by far.

“Demons who use a host often have a form resembling its host,” explained Talia after somehow catching on to my unasked question.

The Arch Demon’s whole body is something of a knight’s armor except the armor is its skin. The material looks to be the tendrils from before but hardened and clump together to form the current shape. The Demon is all black and dark purplish instead of the usual Demon-y dark reddish due to Black Hide.

Our eyes met as we judged each others capabilities. Staring into its hollow flaming eyes is like staring into a furnace without end.

“Citra, take the girl and go.” I told her without daring to take my eyes even a second off the Demon. Although Citra doesn’t speak Sagax’s languages but I think she understands them.

She titled her head and went “kyu?”

“Take the girl and head back to Nilin and the others. It’s too dangerous around here.”

When I thought she doesn’t understand my words, she tighten her wrap on me.

“Kyu, kyu!” She shook her head with zeal. She does understand me but she didn’t want to leave me alone.

“Citra, I’ll be fine but the girl won’t be if she’s—”

“Incoming!”

Abaddon flashes an alarm in my head just as Talia warned me.

I two handed Talia and raised her to block two large black blades swinging down at me.

Guh… heavy. The blades are Abyss Magic: Abyssal Edges. The sizes are proportionate to the Arch Demon’s physique.

“N-now!!!” I screamed with a strained voice. Even whispering was too much for me at the moment.

“I’ll do it,” came a voice from my shadows.

Cormac jumps out of my shadow and nocks a few arrows or his shadow-esque bow. The arrows he then fired at Jagun are repelled before they hit. Apparently, Jagun used Gravity Magic: Gravity Shift. As the name states, it allows the user to control gravity. Jagun has set himself as the center of gravity and then reverse the effect of gravity pull.

As for Black Hide, its a protective magic that covers the caster in a thin black filament which has nullification against fire and strong resistance against light magic.

Those magic spells sure sounds troublesome.

Just when Jagun tries to retaliate, I flip back at and aim at its jaw. I feel my feet and its jaw cracking against each other. The flip kick staggers the Arch Demon a little but its enough to get its attention back at me.

My feet hurts but I didn’t break any bones thanks to Mystic Skin. I’m not so sure about Jagun though.

Jagun was about to move but I held it back with Ashen Flames. It didn’t scald the hide but it did stop it.

“Now, Cormac! Get the girl out of here!”

Cormac and I exchange nods while Citra is still looking worried.

Cormac pries Citra of my neck and carries her to the Vexwing where the young cleric is on. I thought it was weird for a Vexwing to be staying put but it turns, out it was scare stiff by what’s going on in front of it. I can see why Vexwings aren’t consider monsters.

Cormac puts the young maiden onto the back of Citra’s head who has turned back into her original size. A serpent thrice the size of a normal anaconda. Once Cormac too is on Citra, she slithers away at a speed that won’t lose to a Vexwing.

The Vexwing follows suit shortly after. It seems to be following Citra.

The Arch Demon howls and my attention shifts back to it.

Abyss Magic: Abyssal Hounds, appears in the pop-up beside Jagun.

Black liquid leaks out from the gap of its armor-esque skin before turning into a total of six Abyssal Hounds.

I unconsciously made a sneer at the feat.

The Hounds speed through me and chase after Cormac and Citra. I manage to make quick word of two but the remaining four are too fast for my reach.

I want to give chase but leaving the Arch Demon alone is just a plain recipe for disaster. Let’s just hope Cormac can deal with them. I have more pressing concerns right in front of me.

“Talia, what are my chances?” I asked. Besides Valuma, this Arch Demon is the strongest enemy I have faced. Not counting sparring partners, of course.

“Victory is certain but possibly with near perpetual damages.”

So I can win but not without suffering some wounds that would last a long time. Is that even a victory at all?

The Arch Demon Jagun fires eight Abyssal Javelins at me while I’m still contemplating the future. I block them all off with Infinite Trail. It immediately attacks me after I finish my swings, at the moment when I’m open.

I one-hand Talia and takes out Avent with the free hand to guard against the Arch Demon’s attack. A crack instantly appear on Avent’s blade.

With Supreme Might, I fend Jagun off with a kick. I can tell if Supreme Might is used on some normal person, their bones would snap. I have to take care of remembering that.

I store Avent back into Arm’s Inventory and begin locking blades using Talia with Jagun. It throws strikes after strikes, intending to overwhelm me with its superior strength. Thanks to my superior Speed stat, I’m able to fend off his attacks effortlessly. Every once in a while, he would unleash a heavy attack. I parried all of them but they all gave me chip damage. For a Demon, it has a very good form to its swordsmanship, in addition to its superior strength, and I’m slowly being push back.

Jagun does have a lot of openings but a repelling field was cast around him. My superior speed gives me a lot of chance to strike at his openings but it keeps bouncing off.

As our blades clash indefinitely, my whole body suddenly feels heavy. Jagun did not miss this chance. It dispels one of its Abyssal Edges and conjures up an Energy Sphere with that free hand. Given the difference in our HP, I would probably perish first in this point blank suicidal attack before his health even hit the half way mark.

I activate Aerial Drive and Gale Rush but the gravity pull is holding me down. Even Air Burst only hurt myself without moving me. My status says I’m under the effect of Gravity Shift.

I throw up Vacuum Wall, Lightning Aegis, and Dragon Aegis as the Energy Sphere explodes right in our face.

The explosion wave breaks through Vacuum Wall and Lightning Aegis but Dragon Aegis stands firm. When the explosion settles, there isn’t even a crack on Dragon Aegis. The only one end up receiving damage from this attack is Jagun itself. The Gravity Magic it cast on me had also disappear. Looks like Black Hide isn’t much of a protection against other kinds of attacks other than fire and light.

I think the reason for Black Hide’s niche resistance is probably because Fire and Light is the bane of Demon and Abyss Magic is considered a Demon-related magic. Spending most of my time in the Imperial Library back in Zerogian Empire was starting to seem like a good idea.

Using Dragon Aegis as a buckler, I batter its remaining Abyssal Edge away and aim for his head with Talia.

Like before, Talia’s blade also bounces off. With help of Sky Step, I regain my posture by kicking off the air to propel myself forward.

Jagun leaps back and launches Abyssal Javelins at me. It doesn’t look like it’s going to use another Energy Sphere. I’m guessing there’s a cooldown or the MP consumption is inefficient?

I cut down all the Abyssal Javelins and close our distance with Lightning Walk. The Arch Demon already has Abyssal Edges back in its hands.

Our swords clash again.

Our blade’s strength is equally match but what if I add some magic?

Coating Talia with Primed Edge, I shatter Jagun’s black blades with a single blow. With just a little gain in advantage, the difference in our weapon is made apparent. I should have just use this from the beginning.

Now’s my chance.

I use Grand Strike but my attack once again bounces off. In that case…

This time, I use Spiral Thrust.

Jagun desperately fires multiple Abyssal Javelins and two Energy Spheres at me. I summon four Dragon Aegis to shield myself against the onslaught, my Dragon Mystic Arts proof superior to these Darkness-Type Magics.

Thinking of returning the favor, I fire an Energy Sphere of my own.

Unlike the Arch Demon’s, mine is of a calm dark blue color. And the power is way stronger than the Arch Demon’s. The explosion disrupted the magic composition of the Gravity Shift field.

The weakened repelling field which repelled my previous strike is now ripped into shreds with the spiraling motion of magic around Talia’s blade. I would have like to use Ashen Flames here but Jagun’s Black Hide will just nullify it.

I feel some resistance again on Talia right before the blade touches its skin. This must be Black Hide. My thrust must have been weakened from penetrating the Gravity Shift field for it to be stopped by Black Hide.

I layer Talia with Spell Edge, Shadow Blade, and Torrential Rip to destroy the Abyss Magic, Black Hide. If I layer other swords with this much magic, it would have normally being broken beyond repair at this point but Onyx Steels sure are amazing. But I’m still worried on how much Talia could handle.

“I’ll be fine. I feel insulted to be underestimated, Shizuka.” Talia responded to my worries. How does she keeps doing that?

Black Hide is easily tore through and Talia’s blade finally reaches Jagun’s neck. With a little twist, I lob its head off its neck. Its HP drops at an exponential rate.

As I waited for the after results or any congratulatory messages to appear, my skin is chilled with cold shivers. I look at Jagun’s HP bar, only to realize it has stop dropping but instead, raising back up.

“Danger, Shizuka!”

Jagun has cast a spell called, Death Magic: Reaver’s Field. It drains a lot of the user’s Mana but it heals the user by draining the life force of the living things within the zone.

In an approximately twenty meter radius, the ground turns black. I feel weak all of a sudden. Looking at my HP, I see that I have lost ten percent of HP in an instant and it’s only continuing to drop. In return, Jagun’s HP is recovering back the amount it lost.

I want to flee from this zone but the gravity is strong.

As my life force is being seeped away, Jagun’s head reattaches itself with its HP almost reaching back to full.

While keeping the Gravity Magic and Reaver’s Field on, Jagun charges at me with two new Abyssal Edges. I notice its MP dropped significantly. The reason being Death Magic: Death’s Touch has been enchanted on both of these black blades.

A hidden triumph card, eh.

I use all available traversing-type magic I have and manages to avoid the black blades aiming for my head. In exchange, one of the Abyssal Edges claim my right arm.

The phantasmal right arm of mine begins to rot away at an alarming rate.

Talia deactivates Arcane Phantasm in order to prevent the Death Magic from spreading to my actual body. When I lose my grasp on Talia. I summon her back into my left hand.

Before Talia can recast Arcane Phantasm on my right arm, Jagun has returned his assault.

Granted, I’m not left-handed nor am I ambidextrous. It’s hard to parry with only my left hand. The chip damage I receive from its heavy attack increased due to my lack of skill in the parries.

My drop in skill quickly allows one the Abyssal Edges to slip past my guard and graze my right shoulder. I was fast in conjuring up a small Dragon Aegis to deflect the strike and Mystic Skin protected me against the blow which has lost its strength.

I didn’t know I can control Dragon Aegis’ size but now I do.

A wild idea struck my mind, even while my HP is slowly being drained away. Now should be fine since Black Hide is destroyed and Jagun isn’t putting it back up.

When my phantasmal right arm is conjured back up, I deliberately left my right side open by continuing to wield Talia in my left hand.

Talia seems to have caught on to my wild plan. She pulse her Mana as a positive response.

I grab the black blade which Jagun thrust it at my right shoulder with fervour using my right arm. I block his other attack with Talia in my left hand.

Confusion dwells in Jagun’s eyes. It’s bewildered by my foolish action but a grin forms on its face. It enhances Gravity Shift’s effect.

For someone with so much MP, Jagun’s remaining MP is now at half its maximum value. Its abilities must have cost a lot.

As my right arm begins to decay and my body feels heavy once again, Jagun charges up multiple Abyssal Javelins around him and an Energy Sphere in its mouth.

I’m using all of my might to hold on to the Abyssal Edge in my grasp with Supreme Might.

This is stupid but here goes nothing.

I burn up fifty percent of my MP as I cast Mystic Skin and multiple small Dragon Aegis to cover my whole body. I then unleash full power Ashen Flames from my right hand which was rotting away.

The smoky flames then consumed everything, including me.

It burns away the dark javelins, the ball of dark energy in the Arch Demon’s mouth, the pair of black blades in its hands, and the very Demon itself. The Arch Demon tries to put back up its Black Hide and Gravity Shift field but the wildfire isn’t allowing the magic formation to even form.

As for me, Ashen Flames is barely scalding Dragon Aegis but nevertheless, it still feels extremely hot.

Talia is fine. She’s not even complaining.

The Arch Demon screams while bathing in flames. Its HP is only reduced by thirty percent but its cries are that of agony. Even its status reads; Anguish(Physical: Great).

It must have really hurt.

Its Reaver’s Field and Gravity Shift has finally given out. I seize that chance to widen our gap.

As Jagun is writhing in pain, I calm myself and invoke the Spirits around me to recover my HP and MP. This is a magic spell called, Spirit Magic: Spirit Mend. Hyx has mentioned of this spell to me but this is my first time using it. It’s no different than a meditation. Since it’s only level two, it’s not doing a lot.

Jagun shouts into the sky. Abaddon tells me that the shout made a lot of animals and magic beasts alike turn tail and ran. There are even a few humans in the vicinity who have run away instead of sating their curiosity. I guess they’re adventurers or locals.

Jagun conjures up a sword similar to Abyssal Edge but thrice the size. The black sword is brimming with some seriously sinister energy. It’s a advance-tier Abyss Magic called, Arm of the Abyss. The details told a story of a Demon Lord once fell a kingdom with a single swing of this Spell Sword.

That’s worrying.

Which is then, I notice something going on with Jagun’s Mana flow. It’s undulating like a wave.

After much inspection, I can see its Magic, Defense, and Resistance is lowered but its Attack and Speed has increased.

Apparently, Jagun used Mana Control: Essence Shift. An advance-tier spell that allows the user to temporarily shift the values of its stats.

Its anger and frustration from being “immolated” by my Ashen Flames must have gotten to its head.

Its speed is unlike before.

Jagun reaches me before I can even utter a surprise. It swings the overly huge sword.

Using Shadow Blade to give Talia a little bit of volume, I manage to parry the blow. After that, I parry another one.

After a few successful parries on my part, Jagun lost it. It swings the sword without any form but with only brute strength.

But that too, was parried away while leaving traces of lightning and a sound of a thunderclap. Unlike other times, I received no chip damage. This was due to Storm Riposte, a perfect move of parry. There’s no cooldown but the Mana consumption is massive for a single move.

That riposte has broken its posture completely. To that, I sheath Talia into a scabbard that she conjured up with Arcane Phantasm.

“Talia, between Dragon flames and Onyx Steel, which one will come out the victor?” I asked with a flat tone.

“That depends entirely on the wielder.”

Satisfy with her answer, I resolve myself to end it on the next move before Jagun recovers its pragmatic sense. I can feel myself getting tired even my HP is still kinda in the green. I have to really train up my physical and mental stamina.

I go into a battoujutsu stance. In the scabbard, I apply Shadow Blade to its fullest on Talia. This is by far the most amount of Shadow Blade I have used. I’m starting to get a headache.

As Jagun recovers from the stagger and confusion, I taunt the Arch Demon with a smirk.

When Jagun kicks off the ground and break into a bullet dash, the ground behind him exploded. Its Arm of the Abyss raised all the way up to the sky.

As it enters my range and I enter its…. we begin to swing our swords. Instead of drawing from my waist, I hold the scabbard up and draw Talia from the air.

Before Talia’s blade completely leaves the scabbard, I activate Vorpal Draw, Storm Talons, and last of all… Ashen Flames. I cover myself with Mystic Skin and multiple small Dragon Aegis. This set of activation has drained my MP dry.

And our blades clashed… Suns and stars exploded with myriad of colors. After the intense burst of light settled, the aftermaths came… With an obvious winner…

Talia.

There is just no winning against Onyx Steel.

And she continues on her path, after charring the Arm of the Abyss into cinders, she found the face of Jagun. And she continues on. From the top of its head right to its toes. Jagun has been sliced into half and even the halves continues to burn in the Ashen Flames.

The flames are in the way of my vision. I can see anything beyond the flames. I can’t even read Jagun’s status and HP.

A feral and fierce wave of smoky fire scatters around. Drowning me along in the sea of smoky flames. Burning away every last Dragon Aegis and begins to scorch Mystic Skin.

Oi oi. That’s not what happened last time.

I was afraid for a moment there since Ashen Flames didn’t manage to burn Dragon Aegis back then.

I know I put more Mana into Ashen Flames this time but I didn’t expect the power to be raised by this much. Is it because of Talia?[1]

However, my worries are needless…

Log: Arch Demon - Jagun has been slain.

Skill Point(s) gained +10

Ability Point(s) gained +10

Health Point(s) gained +300

Mana Point(s) gained +150

Title acquired - Demon Slayer (Arch Demon)

And lastly… but not least…

Title acquired - Maiden’s Hero

Hirano Shizuka's Status Information

Name

Hirano Shizuka

Status

Exhaustion: Mild

Fatigue: Great

Contracted: Talia Lox

HP

900 (600 ~ 900)

MP

450 (300 ~ 450)

Age

17

Class / Job

Scout Hero

Dragon Knight

Gender & Race

Female / Human

Standing

Hero of Zerogian

Arcane Arts

Magic Melee Arts – Lv. 5

Body Strengthening – Lv. 4

Wind Magic – Lv. 5

Spirit Magic – Lv. 2

Lightning Magic - Lv. 10

Water Magic - Lv. 1

Aerial Dance - Lv. 3

Legacy

Dragon Mystic Arts - Lv. 5

Unique

Tempest Wings - Lv. 5

Title & Deeds

Abaddon’s Apostle

Scout Hero

The Elusive One

Demon Slayer (Arch Demon) (New)

The Audacious One

Resolute One

Mondra's Companion

Dragon Blade

Culling of Serpents

Maiden's Hero (New)

Overall Power Ranking

S

Effective Combat Strength

2000

Attack - 450

Defense - 250

Magic - 400

Resistance - 200

Speed - 700

Remaining Skill Points: 22 (1 ~ 22)

Remaining Ability Points: 18 (0 ~ 18)