527. Gargoyle

[Gargoyle - Lvl. 161]

A Primeval Demon stood before me. One that was built just like a statue. It had gravelly gray skin, and it wore the body of a [Hellhound]. But it stood on two legs as a pair of lanky arms reached its feet. Its back was slumped— hunched as if it was a cloying old beggar about to pounce on me.

And it did lash out at me. It swung with one of its grubby claws as I backed away with a frown.

“Why is there just a Primeval Demon here?”

I clicked my tongue, before slashing up with my Divine Nebular Scythe. The [Gargoyle] took the brunt of my swing and stumbled back. I narrowed my eyes. But it looked like it had been hardly hurt by the attack.

I didn’t know why there was a wild Primeval Demon just waiting here. However, I was in a Dungeon, so it was my own fault for letting my guard down. I just had never seen such a Demon before. It was almost like it was just… a rock.

And the [Gargoyle] hissed, bounding towards me. I raised a claw and unleashed a blast of gray flames.

“Burn!”

I yelled. But it tore through the flames. My eyes went wide as it reached me, and I raised my Divine Nebular Scythe just in time to parry the strike. I was sent stumbling back as the [Gargoyle] followed up with a second swing. I scowled and sidestepped its attack.

“You’re annoying! Take this—”

My scythe shone with iridescent flames as I aimed for the [Gargoyle]’s head.

“[Divine—”

The attack connected for a brief moment. But the statue-like Demon’s figure flickered. It suddenly flashed with a crimson light. A pulse of energy sent me flying, and I cracked into the nearby altar. The [Gargoyle] beat its claws against the ground before casting its gaze back towards me.

I picked myself up, only for a flash of crimson electricity to run through my body. I groaned as I felt like a heavy weight was suddenly placed on my shoulders. My movements slowed, and I struggled to even get to my feet

The [Gargoyle] shrieked and lumbered my way. It wasn’t fast. Not in the slightest. Even when it had the drop on me, I could avoid its attacks with ease. But now, I moved sluggishly, and the Primeval Demon reached me.

It landed a thudding strike at my side, which I barely parried. Then it snapped its jaws at my head, but I kept its head back with a [Faux Limb]. I eyed the [Gargoyle], before focusing on the space around its figure.

[Warped Time]. I kicked the statue-like Primeval Demon back as I wrapped it in a slowed space. The [Gargoyle] lumbered forward, and even with my sluggish movements, I could easily dodge it now. I grinned and dusted myself off with my [Faux Limbs].

I bared my teeth, about to strike back at the [Gargoyle].

“You—”

And it roared. A pulse of crimson aura shot out as I recoiled, and I felt my control over the space around it vanish. My [Faux Limbs] wisped away. I blinked a few times, before frowning.

“That’s… some kind of antimagic spell?”

I didn’t know. And I didn’t find out. The [Gargoyle] took that chance to charge at me once more. I gritted my teeth. There was another crackle of electricity on my shoulder, weighing me down. And I couldn’t dodge the next attack from the wild Primeval Demon.

It unleashed a flurry of strikes my way as I backed up towards the wall. It struck my side, and cut through my scales. I gritted my teeth as I countered with a [Barrage of Cinders]. But right as the flaming attacks reached its stone-like skin, its body flickered. My flames vanished.

I narrowed my eyes, and the [Gargoyle] kicked me. I yelped as I was knocked into the air, but it yanked me back down. It opened its mouth to bite off my head as I cursed.

“Enough!”

[Intimidation] gripped the statue-like Demon for a moment as it froze. I broke free from its grip and backed away. I watched as it slowly regained control of its body, snapping its gaze mechanically my way. My Skill worked, unlike the other magicks I had tried to use on it.

So it was fighting with curses and wards. Antimagic and snares. Regular magic couldn’t hurt it. My curse could overpower its own for a moment, but there was a better way to fight this Primeval Demon.

I stumbled forward as blood trickled down my shoulders and pointed.

“I can fight with more than just magic— [Divine Haste]!”

And an aura of iridescent mist engulfed my body. I backed away from the charging [Gargoyle], even as my body felt like it was trapped. But I easily dodged the attacks. I countered with a swing to its head, only for my Divine Nebular Scythe to bounce off the stone-like skin.

I narrowed my eyes and ducked under an attack. I winced for a moment as there was a flash of electricity over my body, impeding my movements. And I raised my weapon, focusing my attack at its head.

“[Divine Nebular Slash]!”

My blade sheared straight through the [Gargoyle]’s neck as I grinned. The stone-like head went flying, crashing into a wall before shattering. I backed away, waiting for the notification in my head. But I slowed as it never came.

“What…?”

And the [Gargoyle] pressed on. It charged me, even when decapitated. It raked its claws over my stomach as I reeled. I swung down again where its head had once been. The stone there was more brittle than the rest of its body.

“You’re. So. Annoying!”

I activated [Draconic Fury], striking down with my Divine Nebular Scythe as if it were a hammer. The statue-like Primeval Demon didn’t give up, even as its shoulders broke off, and its arms collapsed. It continued fighting with its legs, but at that point, I wasn’t in danger anymore.

I methodically tore apart the [Gargoyle] until it was nothing but rubble at my feet. I panted, shaking my head before dropping to the ground with a tired sigh.

“What even was that?”

And three notifications flashed in my head.

Defeated [Gargoyle - Lvl. 161]!

Experience is awarded for defeating an enemy!

Subspecies [Angelic Devil Princess] Level Up!

[Angelic Devil Princess – Lvl. 158] -> [Angelic Devil Princess – Lvl. 159]

Gained 5 Stat Points and 3 Skill Points!

Class [Draconic Apprentice] Level Up!

[Draconic Apprentice - Lvl. 126] -> [Draconic Apprentice - Lvl. 127]

Gained 2 Secondary Skill Points!

—--

It took a while before the [Gargoyle]’s curse wore off, and I could move freely again. Even though it was dead, the residual effects of its magic remained. Or maybe it wasn’t magic— it was a hex. That was how it was able to dispel magic just like Clayton Skyshredder. Perhaps not to such an effective degree, but it was still countering my spells so I couldn’t fight with my full strength

Anyway, my movements were impeded for a while, and I was still bleeding from the fight, so I didn’t leave the room, instead just investigating what I could. I looked through the remains of the statue-like Primeval Demon, but I didn’t find anything of use. It was only when I looked through the broken altar, did I actually learn something about this Dungeon.

Apparently there had been a compartment hidden in the altar. A hidden storage unit that hid within it… not treasures. But collars. Summoning collars.

My eyes went wide as I saw that pile of them, lying before me. I quickly picked them up as I blinked.

“Wait, but doesn’t this mean that…”

My brows snapped together. These were summoning collars— which weren’t unusual. I saw them all the time attached to Demons like Lucerna, Levithus, and whatnot. But they were here, stored in these ancient ruins that supposedly belonged to a First Demon Kingdom.

At first, my mind wandered to Regnorex. Didn’t this mean that he was the ruler of the First Demon Kingdom as well? But no— that wasn’t right. I highly doubted he was the first Demon to create his own kingdom.

After all, [Hellprinces] and [Hellprincesses] were a thing. There had to have been plenty of Demon kingdoms before he came about… right? So these collars had to have originated from long before he was even born.

And I paused.

There was a memory buried in the back of my mind from long ago. When it hadn’t even been six months since I found myself trapped in the Mortal Realm. Daniel and I had been trying to find a way for me to the Netherworld, and we saved a little girl called Rachel by interrupting a Demon summoning.

I had fought a Greater Demon and won. I wanted to steal his collar to cross the planes, but I failed. His body vanished the moment I tried to temper with the metal. The same thing happened over and over again as I summoned Demons after Demons over to the Mortal Realm. Until, finally, I succeeded in procuring a collar.

And someone stopped me. He was someone who I had met many times since then. And even through it all, I still remembered what he said— that these collars belonged to him. I pursed my lips, turning over the summoning collar with trembling hands.

“These collars… this kingdom… does that mean…?”

I stared at the words inscribed on the collar. Faint, but still there. It had been etched on the metal, pervading throughout the millennia. And I read it as I whispered.

“Hail to Samuel the Devil King: He who shall bring peace to the Netherworld.”

I closed my eyes as I sighed, the realization fully settling in.

“This was my Dad’s kingdom…”

Sal watched his daughter as she vanished into those bleak ruins. He didn’t follow her, nor did he scry her as she ventured deep within. He already knew what she would discover within, and he didn’t care to relive ancient memories from a time long ago.

He simply hovered in the air, above the broken mountain, hidden by his pocket space. [Hellabominations] flew past him as an unceasing barraging of lightning rained down from above. The typical hallmarks of Revelation.

And the Devil ignored it all. He had seen it plenty of times before. It was no different than it usually was. The world cracked open, and the sky tore apart. Big deal— he didn’t care if millions of Demons died. The only thing he cared about was that silver-haired girl.

“Of all the places you’d wander into, my daughter…”

Sal murmured. He truly wondered how Salvos would fare within the remains of his fallen kingdom. There was a high chance she would actually die there. But he wasn’t going to intervene. She had said she would become the strongest in all of Nexeus.

Well, it was time for her to prove it.