Di'at wouldn't have given it to me if I wouldn't be able to kill the demon since it'd be in his best interest for the sake of the contract and the impending apocalypse for me to stay alive. I hadn't wanted to practice [Synchronize] in case it sent me back to that nothingness place where he'd taken me before. Or, worse, somehow call him back to this plane and pester me in person.

Fuck it was right. I accepted the Quest and I activated [Synchronize].

[Notice]

Congratulations! You have completed the first part of your Mission [Kill the Demon Drolgizal]. Mastery of [Synchronize] has increased by 1%.

[Notice] You have activated your Skill [Synchronize]. Based on your Mastery, your Soul has gained 1% Quality. Your Soul is now E-Class, Stage 1. Reconfiguring your Stats based on your new Soul Class with +10 Energy. I'm just going to shove them at you to save time. Drolgizal is about at the level of someone with a D-Class Stage 1 Soul. Be careful.

Name

Gerard Viscoti

Primary Class

Noble Assassin

Secondary Class

Mage

Soul

E-Class (Stage 1)

Strength

36

Cunning

30

Perception

60

Energy

40

Skills

Lucky Number 7 [10.50%]

Silver Tongue [1.60%]

7-Lives-Bloodlust [5.00%]

7-Times-Returner [1.01%]

Synchronize [1.01%]

Demeot Eyes [3.56%]

Would these Stats really be enough though? I didn't have time to care if it'd be enough. If I couldn't save Danio from dying like I couldn't save my sister, then I deserved death. A world where innocent people could be so senselessly murdered didn't need to be rescued. And certainly not by me.

Drolgizal cracked a grin--as if mocking me for being too weak. Then the demon turned from us and lunged at the door to Danio's bedroom. He slammed his fists down so hard on the wood that it splintered and exploded, the wall on either side fracturing and crumbling along with it. Danio screamed, a look of terror overtaking his face.

I raced across the space separating me and Drolgizal without another thought. I pulled out one of the knives I had hidden in my clothes. Even if he was as tough as a diamond, my knives should be able to slice right through. Magic was good for that, too.

When I sliced along the back of his ankles, sure enough, he released a distorted sound that could only be described as demonic wailing, a deep and throaty noise that at the same time pierced through me like an earsplitting scream. He dropped to his knees, and my knife was waiting for his neck. One clean slice later and blood poured down his front.

He clutched his neck, roaring this time something distinctly from another plane of existence, and grabbed me by the front. Slicing his neck wouldn't do it then? Hadn't anticipated that. Bastard. I hated a fight that dragged out because someone was slow to die.

I knew the moment he started to throw me. I grappled to clutch onto him so he couldn't do what I feared, but the fucker was too bulky. There was real momentum behind his throw, too, so resisting wasn't an option. I self-corrected in the air to land on my feet because although the distance was good for me, it was bad for Danio.

"I got a barrier up!" Rajal yelled to me as I rushed forward again. "If you can take him down, do it before he breaks through it, too."

[Notice]

Congratulations! You have completed the second part of your Mission [Kill the Demon Drolgizal]. Strength has increased by 5.

I wanted to know how many punches it could withstand, but I figured it was safe to go with none. One punch, it'd break, and Danio would be dead. Why was this demon so hellbent on killing Danio? Was the contract still in effect somehow?

The demon's ankles were healing on their own, muscle and tendon and rock hard skin knitting back together. That was handy for him. Not for me. How many slices would it take to kill him? How deep did I have to go so he couldn't heal it?

I got to him again before he could heal all the way, lodging a knife deep into both ankles and ignoring the torturous bellow that ripped from his throat. I sliced his throat again, but what I needed was a place I could stick a knife that would end it all.

He swiped for me, and I dodged him as I studied him for a weak spot. The chest was always protected, and often the head. The eyes were always good to go for, or even the mouth when it was open. I could get him to scream and put one through to the back of his skull. If I couldn't get close enough for that or I didn't get a good opportunity, then another option would be his joints. It'd be taking down Goliath.

Suddenly I felt pressure against me, then it was a solid force pushing me back as if I'd been caught in an explosion. My back slammed against what must've been Rajal's barrier. I was pretty sure Danio was screaming, but it was hard to hear with the pressure threatening to crush my bones. Had the demon cast a barrier spell as well?

I didn't have a [Dispel] Skill. Just my knives. The demon was removing them from his ankles now, buying me time and freeing up some knives at the same time. I strained against the barrier, then recalled a wind spell. I cast it, burning through enough Energy to push back against the barrier enough that I could slice through it with a magic-enhanced knife.

My timing wasn't great, though. The demon was barely standing and blood was gushing from his ankles, but he pulled his fist back. I saw what he was trying to do. Lined us up so he could take me and the barrier out at the same time. Interestingly elegant for such a hulking form, but everyone had a style.

I had no hope of dodging his punch because I was too close.

Slipping out a second knife, I added them to my block as I braced for his fist. A fist that would break me like it broke Danio's door. The moment his punch connected with the metal of my blades, I knew I would barely survive if I didn't try to deflect this. I'd underestimated the difference in our Strength.

[Notice]

Perception has increased by 10.

As quickly as I could, I cast the wind spell again, and I barely managed to roll out of the way in time.

The demon cried out in frustration as his punch landed against the barrier instead of me. I felt the sound of the connection in my bones. My forearms ached, but I pulled for more Energy, using the wind spell again this time to counter the force of the demon's punch. In the air tunnel I'd created, I darted in front of him.

[Notice]

Mastery of [Synchronize] has increased by 1%.

[Notice] Based on your Mastery, your Soul has gained 1% Quality. Your Soul is now D-Class, Stage 2. Reconfiguring your Stats based on your new Soul Class with +10 Energy.

Name

Gerard Viscoti

Primary Class

Noble Assassin

Secondary Class

Mage

Soul

D-Class (Stage 2)

Strength

115

Cunning

75

Perception

175

Energy

85

Skills

Lucky Number 7 [10.50%]

Silver Tongue [1.60%]

7-Lives-Bloodlust [5.00%]

7-Times-Returner [1.01%]

Synchronize [2.01%]

Demeot Eyes [3.56%]

For the first time, I felt Energy--raw and intoxicating and pure--surging through me. It was as if my entire being had dulled to what constituted existence itself and was now suddenly alight with new vigor, new life. I could see why people might want to sell their soul for it, but to me, it'd feel better if it was mine. Truly mine. Not temporary or borrowed power but wholly my own.

So fuck this bastard for killing his wife for nothing. Fuck him for using her death as an excuse for more violence. Fuck him for using her death to help him summon a demon. Fuck him for selling his soul to that demon, for letting that demon possess him entirely, for contributing to the downfall of this world. He might already be dead and gone, but that was who deserved to die right now. Who gave a fuck about this stupid demon?

I stabbed the dagger up through the demon's jaw from blow and then pushed it toward the back of his head. Blood dribbled down my arms, black blood that smelled like rot and decay. An unrestrained screech of pain ripped from the demon's throat. I cast a fire spell on the dagger, and when I let go, it burst into flames from the hilt to the tip of the blade buried deep into the demon's head. The demon wailed like the dying thing that it was as it burned from the inside out.

The flames engulfing the demon licked at my skin. For a second, I felt content to die along with him. To burn to ashes and return to dust and all that. I'd at least saved Danio. I hadn't been able to save my sister, but I'd saved him, and that could be good enough.