512. Verge of Death

It was a Grand Skill. A temporary Grand Skill. Levithus knew he wouldn’t have any other chance after using it. He hadn’t even known if it would work. After all, his real Grand Skill— the ability to transform into other Primeval Demons— wasn’t infallible.

While he had transformed into a [Cerberus] to counter Belzu’s little pocket world, Levithus couldn’t have just become any Primeval Demon in the world and gained access to its Grand Skill. No, there were limits to his transformation. He could only inhabit the body of Primeval Demons he had slain in the past, and he could only copy the Skills he had seen from it.

So if he had killed an [Archarachne] without fighting against its Grand Skill, he might have been able to transform into an [Archarachne], but he couldn’t have employed its Grand Skill. That was the reason why he had only gained half a dozen Skills from the [Cerberus].

And he had to hope it was enough to break through. Levithus watched as the image of a [Cerberus of Hell] appeared behind him. One formed from black fire. It let out a terrible howl before the black flames exploded out, consuming everything.

It ripped apart the earth, and it shattered mountains. The whirling tempest of stone was blown apart in an instant as the fiery figure around him shot up towards the sky. It broke apart into three flaming spheres— each hundreds of feet in diameter. They each formed the head of a [Cerberus] before they deformed.

And all at once, they struck the sky as a crimson crack tore through the red dome.

Belzu had seen the Grand Skill coming. He sensed the overwhelming mana radiating from Levithus, and made his decision. The Lord of Lies had been ready to die in his own reality. He had been prepared to do everything he could to fend off the [Hellprince]-turned-[Cerberus].

But when he saw Levithus cast the Grand Skill, Belzu knew there was no point staying there any longer. The Grand Skill would have shredded apart that false world. And Belzu fled.

There was no point dying there. He emerged back in the real world— back in the Mortal Realm. A small sphere— a crystalline orb— lay on the ground, resting against some rubble. His body deformed as it twisted out of that orb, until he was fully out of his reality.

Colored drained from his vision. Everything around him was in shades of gray, which confused the Lord of Lies for a moment. But he recalled he was still in Clayton Skyshredder’s [Antimagic Field] moments after and dismissed his confusion.

Belzu looked down at the reflective surface of the orb, and he saw a crack forming in its surface. The Lord of Lies backed up quickly, only to see space distort around the orb. His eyes grew wide as a silver-haired girl pulled herself from the false world.

Salvos stumbled forward as her figure took shape, returning to normal. Well, mostly normal. Belzu’s eyes narrowed as he saw her charred skin. The entire left side of her body was burning— smoldering and sizzling. She groaned and quickly produced a healing potion. She splashed it over herself as the worst of her injuries faded away.

“Ouch— everything hurts.”

She nearly collapsed next to Belzu as she shook her head. Salvos lay there, her Divine Nebular Scythe gone. The feathers on her wings had been burned off, leaving behind what seemed like bone-like protrusions beneath.

Belzu looked past her as she continued downing both mana and stamina potions now.

“Get up. There is no rest for us.”

“Hm?”

Salvos raised her head, and she saw it too. Her gaze followed Belzu’s and landed on the crystal orb sitting right by a pile of debris. The glass surface was breaking open, and a black light shone within. Belzu could feel the immense mana radiating from it. He backed up warily as Salvos got to her feet.

“Uh-oh…”

She murmured. And the orb shattered.

All at once, a powerful pulse of magic shot out. It knocked both Salvos and Belzu back. The pair braces themselves, managing to keep themselves standing. But what came next was a lot more dangerous than just a shockwave.

A deluge of black flames poured out as Belzu clicked his mandibles together. The Lord of Lies took to the skies as an unending sea of fire insinuated the real world. It spread out quickly— like a tsunami that burned everything it touched. It reached even beyond the ruined city of Inorr, expanding to the battlefield beyond.

The raging black flames drew the attention of Demons and Humans alike from a distance. But Belzu waved a hand and painted an illusion over the area. From outsiders peering in, they’d see a raging Levithus unleashing a storm of black flames against both Mori Gladius and Salvos.

Thanks to [Passive - Enhanced Superior Senses], Belzu could hear the cheers in the distance. The illusion served its purpose. It emboldened the Human army— it restored their morale as they made one final big push to shatter the remaining wild Demons and the army of Demons.

They saw their Champion of the Human Lands fighting. They saw their Lesser God in battle. And they let out a deafening war cry that sent even the wild Demons fleeing.

Belzu shook his head and turned his attention back to what was happening below him. He was doing what needed to be done with his illusions, but now he had to focus on the threat at hand. He watched as space twisted at the center of the blast of black flames.

The world distorted around the broken orb. Levithus slowly crawled his way out of the rift, before everything returned to normal. He was still a [Cerberus]. His true Grand Skill hadn’t come to an end yet. He turned his three heads around, searching for both Belzu and Salvos.

The Lord of Lies wondered how he was going to defeat this opponent. But Salvos didn’t wait to figure out a plan. She appeared next to him, blinking into existence with a teleportation spell. She raised a scythe-like limb created from [Faux Limbs], and black flames wisped off its sharp edge.

“[Divine Radiant Slash]!”

Salvos yelled as she struck into the back of the [Cerberus]. Levithus saw her coming. He spun around, and black flames wisped off his body, forming an armor. He barely reacted in time as she partially sheared through the dark coat and through his already-burnt flesh. He growled and snapped up at her with his three heads, but Salvos was already flying out of the way.

“[Divine Demon’s Mark]!”

She pointed at him. And a crimson mark shone on his exposed skin. Levithus glanced down for a moment, caught off-guard. He yelped as a crimson explosion engulfed him.

A powerful blast erupted out as Belzu watched from the side. Salvos was knocked back by her own blast, limply flying back. She groaned as she opened up her previous wounds and stared at the sight.

“How… is he still alive?”

She barely mustered out. Belzu and Salvos floated a few dozen feet in the air, but far from the explosion. They were right by the source of the summoning ritual, and they stared into the center of the blast, watching as the [Cerberus] stepped out of the explosion. Half his flaming armor had been destroyed. He had a slight limp in his step. But he was still walking. Levithus continued to approach both of them.

“I am almost completely out of Skills. Can you do anything about this?”

Salvos just gritted her teeth, turning to the Lord of Lies. Belzu pointed and whispered.

“[Forlorn Execution].”

A crimson ring circled around the [Cereberus] and rapidly shrank like it was crushing him. It caused Levithus to stagger for a moment. But he continued walking forward. His wounds slowly healed— at a rate slower than a healing potion, but still obvious nonetheless.

Belzu shook his head.

“I have exhausted most of my Skills as well. I do not know if we can defeat Levithus alone.”

Both Salvos and Belzu stared at the approaching [Cerberus]. In response, Levithus growled.

“You cannot defeat me for as long as I serve my King!”

He bounded forward, snarling. His body blurred.

“[Deathly Hound—”

Belzu watched as Levithus moved so fast, he became three different figures. The three [Cerberus] flanked both Salvos and Belzu from all sides as they braced themselves. Levithus was so fast, even Salvos couldn’t react.

But there was a flash of red. A crimson figure shot forward, moving quickly and intercepting Levithus right before he reached them. There was the clash of metal. Iridescent sparks flew out. Salvos blinked. Levithus leapt back warily.

Belzu stared.

The figure carried a pair of daggers, but blocked the attack with glowing greaves. She wore boots that shimmered with an iridescent aura. Her red hair flowed freely behind her as she stood before Levitihus. The [Creberus] growled, eyeing her with burning eyes.

Salvos opened her mouth.

“You’re—”

She started, then paused. Her eyes focused on both the Greaves of Alexander and the Boots of Alexander at her feet. Belzu’s eyes went round as he said the red-haired woman’s name.

“Scarlet the Red Rose.”

And the Elite Ranked [Rogue]’s eyes flickered to Belzu— to the Primeval Demon disguising himself as Mori Gladius. Salvos just blinked.

“Huh.”