368. Portal

“Daniel!”

Edithe shouted, and the [Hero] leapt back. The [Hellabomination] was too fast. It swung for him as he braced himself for the attack. Before it could impact him, the shadows beneath his feet flickered and a figure pulled him out of the way.

Orgaf appeared with Daniel in his arms as the wild Primeval Demon tore through the earth. Edithe blinked a few times as she saw this, then she smiled.

“Alright.”

She turned to the [Hellabomination], raising her staff as Willy assailed it with yellow fire from above. It flew into the air, wings beating and sending strong gales down below. A group of winged Demons dove straight at it, and it burned them with a blast of blue flames.

Edithe could feel the heat from here. It ate through even the acid fire Willy rained down on it. Its spread its wings and arms wide as it let out a terrible screech.

“You do realize this is not going to be easy, right?”

Orgaf spoke as he spun his dagger nervously, eyeing the [Hellabomination]. The wild Primeval Demon was massive. Edithe watched as it blotted out the moon in the sky, illuminating the night with only its flames. Still, she shook her head defiantly.

“We’ll just have to take it down with everything we’ve got— [Vindication of They]!”

She raised her staff, and power surged through her. Flames shot out like a pillar, coming from all the dead littering the ruined city. It burned the wild Primeval Demon. She watched as the magical ethereal inferno raged on. It was a powerful magic. Her greatest Skill.

But the [Hellabomination] tore through it with ease. It didn’t even flinch. Its skin wasn’t even burned. The wild Primeval Demon came crashing straight down, crossing a thousand feet in a moment. Edithe stumbled back, blinking.

“Fuck—”

And, from the corner of her eye, Edithe saw a flash. An iridescent glint. A figure blurred forward, rushing straight for the [Hellabomination]. It struck the wild Primeval Demon before it could land, knocking it back into the air with a shock wave that shook the earth.

Edithe steadied herself, staring up with wide eyes. She looked at the winged Demon floating before her. The girl with horns protruding from her head like a crown.

“Hey, you almost killed me.”

Salvos tilted her head simply as she spun her scythe.

“I’ll make you pay for that.”

And she exploded forward with a burst of rainbow-colored flames.

I unleashed a [Barrage of Cinders] at the [Hellabomination] as I ran down the side of its arm. It tried to shake me off, but I beat my wings and flew around its face. Its jaw unhinged, ready to breathe fire, but I hurled my own fireball into its mouth.

The explosion caused it to recoil and fly back. I felt strong. My attacks were actually damaging the wild Primeval Demon. All thanks to the boost Daniel and Edithe gave me.

I drew blood with each slash, and I burned its skin with my magic. It was honestly a lot. It wasn’t as significant of a boost as [Divine Essence of the Daeva Cambion] alone, but combined it allowed me to surpass even Orgaf in speed— let alone the [Hellabomination]. The wild Primeval Demon couldn’t even touch me. It tried to swing at me with one of its four arms, and I grinned.

“Now— [Radiant Slash]!”

I sliced straight through the joint where the forearm met the hand. The [Hellabomination] reeled, screeching in pain as one of its claws fell to the ground. I bared my teeth up at it.

“How’s that?”

I expected [Intimidation] to have lasted for at least a few seconds. But apparently that Skill wasn’t powered by magic as much as it was by something else. Its eyes flickered once and it roared.

A pulse of fire exploded from its body. I couldn’t dodge out of the way. It knocked me back, but my invulnerability Grand Skill held up. I crashed next to Edithe as a shadow darted straight for the [Hellabomination].

Orgaf continued assailing it as Willy supported him with his fire. Daniel ran up to me while Edithe threw her spells from below.

“Salvos, are you alright?”

“I’m fine. Even that [Hellabomination] won’t be able to hurt me for the next five minutes.”

I dusted myself off, giving him a reassuring nod. He sighed and looked back up. Orgaf was attacking the wild Primeval Demon from all sides. The Elite looked like a fly from all the way down here. Daniel shook his head.

“We need to ground that thing. I can’t help as long as it’s in the air.”

“No.”

I replied simply, starting past him.

“We can’t bring it down here. It’ll just kill both you and Edithe, then the rest of us. We need to send it back to the Netherworld.”

I cast my gaze to the side. The portal was still open. But I could tell it was going to close soon. Its magic was rapidly running out now that the [Hellabomination] had gotten through. I turned to Edithe as she panted.

“My attacks aren’t even drawing its attention.”

She cursed, and I turned to her. I closed my eyes, feeling a synergy with her. As if there was something within me drawing me to borrow her power. I took what I felt I needed. What was right. And my eyes opened.

Temporary Skills:

[Ray of Retribution] - Lvl 10

[Shield of the Misty Lord] - Lvl 20 (Maxed)

[Passive - The Protector’s Boon] - Lvl 5

“Edithe.”

I didn’t even look her way. I could sense her every movement, no matter how subtle it was. She raised her head, blinking as I continued.

“We’ll draw its attention. Together.”

“...what?”

She stared at me, puzzled. I just offered her a hand.

“We can use combination casting. We did this before, remember? Against those stupid Kobolds. You’re the only one I can do this with. Together, we’ll be able to really hurt the [Hellabomination].”

Her mind whirred. She opened her mouth, protesting.

“But back then—”

“Back then we could do it. So we can do it again.”

I held her gaze as I spoke over her. Edithe pursed her lips but nodded slowly. I took her hand, looking up at the [Hellabomination] as it erupted into flames. Orgaf leapt away, and its body burned. Its own blue flames covered it entirely, forming a blazing armor that even I didn’t want to get close to. I felt the synergy with Edithe grow stronger as I gritted my teeth.

“Daniel, protect Edithe in case anything happens.”

I faced the Human man. He nodded, raising his blade. The red-haired woman and I brought our arms up as the [Hellabomination] barreled through Willy’s flames. It came down at us like a trailing comet.

“Don’t worry. We can do this.”

I reassured Edithe. She stepped forward, agreeing.

“Yes— now!”

And at the same time, we unleashed our magic. It combined, becoming one. I drew from Edithe’s pool of mana, and she took from mine too. She stood straighter. Her eyes burned. We shouted as a beam of light shot into the sky.

“[Ray of Retribution]!”

It pierced through the clouds. Towards the heavens. The wild Primeval Demon halted when it saw the gleam coming its way. But it was too late. The magic struck the [Hellabomination], burrowing a hole into its stomach. It let out a deafening shrill shriek in pain as it bent back. The [Ray of Retribution] continued onward, unimpeded through the wild Primeval Demon.

Daniel looked up, hoping.

“Did we beat it?”

“Not yet.”

My eyes sharpened. The [Hellabomination]’s back cracked as it leaned forward. It bared its teeth down at me and roared, charging straight down once again. I turned to Edithe, continuing.

“Next— [Shield of the Misty Lord].”

Together, we conjured the ice barrier over us. It was like a literal dome. One that spread hundreds of feet wide. The [Hellabomination] crashed into it, cracking the center. It recoiled from the hit, and I ran past Daniel and Edithe.

A spark began to forge something in my hand, creating a metallic object that extended a dozen feet.

“Take it!”

I tossed the object both ways at my companions. They caught it, looking at what it was.

“Divine Nebular Chains. Use it on the [Hellabomination] when it’s distracted!”

They were perplexed. Daniel opened his mouth.

“I don’t think this is enough to—”

And he paused when [Mass Particulate Modification] began to take effect. The chains grew larger and larger as I leapt up, feeling a ripple run through my body. The ice above cracked and shattered as I emerged, flying straight for the [Hellabomination].

Orgaf didn’t know why he was still fighting. He was exhausted. All his Skills had been used up. His protective artifacts had been drained— used up. He limped forward, grimacing as he clutched his shoulder. Blood trickled down his arm, and he sighed.

“...maybe I should just leave.”

He considered it. He really did. But his better side won out. He watched the [Hellabomination] continue pummeling the massive ice barrier and forced himself forward.

“I’ve already come this far. I might as well see it to the very end.”

Orgaf brought his dagger up, ready to unleash an assault on the Demon from behind. However, just before he could throw himself to his probable death, the ice dome broke. A shadow emerged from the collapsing barrier. He saw a flash of silver. A carapace. Like a mirror.

His jaw dropped as a colossal figure crashed into the [Hellabomination].

“Is that a… [Senior Centinel]?”

But it wasn’t any ordinary [Senior Centinel]. It wasn’t blood-red like most Centinels. It was a silver-white color. And it rammed headfirst into the Demon.

“How?”

Willy flitted down next to Orgaf as he . The [Will O’ Wisp] answered simply.

“Salvos. That’s how.”

I threw myself at the wild Primeval Demon with all my might. I had wanted to become an [Ancient Centinel], but something stopped me. Perhaps it was a mental block. Maybe I couldn’t transform into something that large. Or… it could’ve been because an [Ancient Centinel] was an evolution above my current level.

Either way, I could only transform to a [Senior Centinel]. Still, I was nearly a quarter of the length of the [Hellabomination].I slithered up its chest, headbutting it straight in the jaw. It roared, falling back. Its feet touched the ground as it tried to steady itself. I could see the portal just behind it, slowly shrinking in size. I pushed as hard as I could, forcing the wild Primeval Demon another step back.

It growled, pushing back against me. I felt my momentum vanish. It gripped me with all three of its remaining hands as I tried to stand my ground this time.

“Daniel, Edithe!”

My voice came out garbled, almost like Centina’s. I watched the two Humans run around the [Hellabomination], bringing the chain on either side. They used the chains to pull at its feet, and it stumbled back. I found myself moving forward, edging the wild Primeval Demon closer to the portal.

It was wild. It didn’t realize what we were doing, but it grew more enraged. It didn’t like how we were challenging it, so it pushed even harder. I forced it back another step, and it breathed fire at me.

The flames caused me to recoil. It didn’t hurt, of course. I was still invulnerable. But the weight of the fire still threw me back ever-so-slightly. And I could sense Edithe’s grip… slip.

Edithe felt the ground shake. The [Hellabomination] exerted its weight forward as Salvos lost some of her ground. She tried to hold on. But the chain went flying off as she lost her foot. Her eyes went wide as she reached for it.

“No—”

However, before the chain could be entirely lost, it was caught by someone. A shadowed figure appeared before Edithe, gripping onto the chain. He grunted as he held onto it, blood dripping down his arms. She stared at him.

“O-Orgaf?”

“Yes, that’s my fucking name.”

He gritted his teeth, glancing back at her.

“Well? What are you doing? Give me a hand, you damn Diamond!”

Edithe blinked a few times. Then she got back up and rushed to his side.

“Right.”

Together, they pulled and regained the momentum for Salvos.

I powered through the [Hellabomination]’s flames. Orgaf joined Edithe, and with Daniel, they managed to pull it even further back. I took a step forward. Then another. And there was no stopping me now.

The wild Primeval Demon must’ve realized this, so it began beating its wings, trying to escape up. But just as it spread its wings wide, a blast of blue flames struck the left wing. It wasn’t just regular blue flames, either. It was ice-cold.

Willy hovered over me, continuing his barrage of icy flames at the [Hellabomination], keeping it grounded. It roared, breaking through the ice, but it didn’t matter. Its first foot touched the edge of the portal and slipped, then it was over. With all of my strength, I shoved it down the hole where it came from.

It roared as it went falling. I pulled back right as I reached the portal’s fringe, beginning to shift back to my regular form. I laughed as I flew back up and away as the hole quickly shrank.

“We won! We actually did it!”

I didn’t think it would work. I was so happy. My invulnerability Grand Skill was going to end soon, and when it failed, I didn’t think I would last long. Especially when brawling directly with the [Hellabomination]. My wing beat once as I celebrated.

And a hand caught me. I looked down in shock, feeling a strong tug yank me straight down.

“No—”

The [Hellabomination] caught me. It pulled me with it as it fell through the hole. It happened so fast. By the time I looked up, I was already entering the portal to the Netherworld. Edithe, Daniel, Willy, and Orgaf rushed for me, yelling as I reached up for them.

“Salvos!”

But… the portal closed above me.

Now leaving [Nexeus: Mortal—