Over time, as the mages were periodically pouring Mana into the magic circle, Arthur’s body subtly pulled less than half of it into his body.

Sulong’s soldiers had disposed of all the Treants and familiars, finally advancing toward the walls and proceeding to attack the thick vines.

However, the mages were getting restless as the spell was taking much longer than expected.

Even Sulong was confused as he kept turning his head and looking at the mages.

‘Alright… this should be enough.’

Once his body was filled to the brim with Mana, Arthur immediately sprung into action: His hands glowed with a faint fiery light, followed thereafter by a flaming explosion.

Flames spread across all directions, indiscriminately hitting all the mages.

Although Sulong was able to swiftly react, the blue orb behind him shooting a flood of water, it was still too late to save the mages.

Excluding a handful of lucky mages, all the rest were burned and killed by Arthur’s flames.

Sulong’s golden staff was thrust forward, hitting Arthur’s body and blowing it backwards with great force.

When he had hit the ‘mage’, Sulong felt an unusual resistance that protected the body from an otherwise lethal blow. In fact, his staff wasn’t even able to deal any substantial damage.

[Mist of Decay]

A burst of green mist spread from the mage, urging Sulong to raise and then spin his staff, creating a powerful gale.

[Air Breath]

Albeit fast, Arthur’s spell made the enemy’s body convulse and stop in its tracks.

[Magick Sense]

[Enhanced Spell]

[Sanguis Barrier]

The shiny barrier manifested in front of him and shot toward the Seat of Order.

Looking like a thin magical wall, it crashed into the target, sending him flying in the air.

[Icicle]

[Fireball]

Several Fire and Ice-aspected projectiles rained down on the airborne Sulong. His elemental orbs reacted on their own, protecting him from most of them.

[Enhanced Spell]

[Fire Storm]

A flaming tornado surged forth, incinerating the surroundings and killing what remained of the wounded mages.

Arthur sped toward the corpses, rapidly possessing them while Sulong crashed into the ground.

“Parasite!” He angrily yelled as he jumped to his feet and banged his staff on the ground, creating a shock wave that extinguished the fiery tornado.

The Seat of Order, looking a bit worse for wear, set his attention on Arthur.

The magical orbs spun rapidly, each letting out a distinct yet intense light.

[Sanguis Barrier]

Sulong’s speed increased several fold, his figure appearing before Arthur and swinging the staff. Alas, it was stopped by the barrier.

[Mist of Decay]

The Parasite’s body was shrouded into the mist, becoming half-tangible.

[Black Swirl]

A small black-ish vortex cascaded onto Sulong, forcing him to leap back while using his staff to parry.

[Enhanced Spell]

[Frost Blast]

Unfortunately, as soon as he touched the ground, he was immobilized by a chilling energy that froze his surroundings.

He banged the staff on the ground again, one of the orbs behind him releasing a vermillion light that strengthened it.

The frozen ground melted, freeing Sulong, however, he still wasn’t quick enough.

Arthur was relentless, casting [Fireball], [Icicle], and [Black Swirl] simultaneously. While they might only be elementary spells, they were greatly empowered by [Enhanced Spell] and the Parasite’s high stats.

Furthermore, there were an absurd number of them. They unceasingly rained down on Sulong.

Arthur used the mist to obfuscate his location, keeping a safe distance from his target while bombarding him with a lethal quantity of spells. Amidst the chaos, he could see the orbs trying their best to protect Sulong, but to no avail.

Only after two minutes did Arthur stop. The Mana he had absorbed from the mages was completely depleted. He still had his own reserves, but it would be a waste to use them here and now.

‘Still not dead!’

Sulong’s clothes were damaged and his body was riddled with all sorts of wounds, but he was still breathing and able to get back on his feet. The arm holding the golden staff was shaking ever-so-slightly, part of it burnt by the flames.

He expected another barrage of spells from the Parasite, but no such things happened.

Arthur dashed toward the Seat of Power’s army, launching explosive attacks while possessing any corpse in the way.

They tried their best to stop him, but with how fast he kept changing hosts, it was a completely one-sided fight.

Within a minute, Arthur possessed close to 30 soldiers before he had to stop and confront the raging Sulong.

The Seat of Power roared, his body bathing in resplendent colors.

[Sanguis Barrier]

Rooted in place, Arthur used the barrier to block the golden staff.

[Frost Blast]

When the ground under his feet froze, one of Sulong’s orbs, the Fire-aspected one, instantly negated the frost.

“Why are you helping them?!”

“...”

His question notwithstanding, the Parasite offered only silence as an answer.

Swiftly, he leapt back and took out a host.

“Fall back! Fall back!”

Sulong bellowed an order of retreat as his soldiers were distancing themselves from him and the Parasite.

“Fiend!”

As he saw the hideous baboon land on the ground with a loud thud, Sulong gritted his teeth and raised his staff.

[Law of Resilience]

[Multi-Resistance]

[Berserk]

The Savage Baboon let out a nightmarish cry as it leapt toward Sulong while throwing a punch.

The Seat of Power’s orbs shone and released deadly waves of elemental energy, which the baboon didn’t dodge.

Surprised, Sulong tried to parry with his staff only to be flattened on the ground, a groan of pain escaping his lips.

The baboon, half of its body torn, burnt, and shredded, grabbed him by the ankle and then smashed him on the ground two more times. It only stopped when the orbs launched another deadly attack, which tore a gaping hole in its chest.

Blood leaking from his mouth, consciousness dizzy, and body battered and beaten, Sulong once again stood up only to see a growling bear rushing his way.

Instead of attacking again, the man turned around and broke into a fast sprint while his orb slowed down the bear.

Fortunately for him, Arthur didn’t give chase as his attention was pulled to the South, from which the Viscount’s small army was coming. They were supposed to be attacking the Southern wall, so seeing here was confusing, to say the least.

Things became even more surprising when he saw them circle around and chase after Sulong’s soldiers.

A single figure, fast as lightning, broke free from the army and delved into the woods. It was Veronica, the female knight.

Albeit perplexed, Arthur had no reason to uncover the truth. He heard screams and fighting, so it was safe to assume that, perhaps, the Viscount’s army had gone rogue.

He had killed the mages and even forced the Seat of Power and his army to retreat after suffering heavy losses.

With his task gone, he was going to check on Chris and the rest. He had to make sure they leave Blackcrest safely.

However, as he rose higher and higher in the air thanks to [Mist of Decay], he saw the sky twist and shatter like glass: An ominous and sinister aura crawled from somesort of crimson vortex.

What followed was a bone-chilling demonic laughter, coupled with a grotesque and gargantuan illusory face.

The Demon Lord, Abgril, had finally made his appearance.

The protection charm was still active and acting as a strong layer of defense for the city, nevertheless, the 17th Demon appearance didn’t bode well.

With an unsightly visage and a half-visible body made of condensed red energy, Abrigel reached out with his massive hand toward Blackcrest only to be stopped by the Charm.

The Demon Lord’s facial expression distorted in anger before he proceeded to violently punch the thin barrier-like charm.

‘This isn’t good!’

With the green mist carrying him, Arthur glided toward the top of the walls. Chris and the rest were nowhere to be seen, but he caught a glimpse of Evelyn.

“What are you doing here?!”

The maid stopped in her tracks, startled by the sudden appearance of the parasite.

“Master…”

“I told you to leav-”

He was interrupted as the Demon Lord’s attacks caused cracks to the Protection Charm. All of Blackcrest was assaulted by an intense tremor, but that was nothing compared to the explosive sounds coming from where the Duke was.

“Where are the others?”

“They left. The Viscount’s army let us go.”

“...”

Arthur solemnly looked at her before sighing, “You need to leave too. I’ll catch up, don’t worry.”

“...”

“Go, Evelyn!”

The maid, as expressionless as ever, gave him an inscrutable look before turning around and dashing away.

As soon as she left, Arthur saw three blinding pillars of light shoot from three different directions.

The first one came from where the Seat of Power had run off to, the other two came from the North and West.

The pillars of light, colored pure-white, struck the Protection Charm and destroyed it, much to Arthur’s horror.

Standing atop one of the walls, he raised his head and looked at the face of Abrigel. The moment Blackcrest was left exposed, the birdcage made of vines was hit by a wave of deadly miasma. The Blight.

Akin to a tsunami, but one made from thick fog-like gas, the Blight descended upon all of Blackcrest.

[Mist of Decay]

[Sanguis Barrier]

Arthur surrounded himself with the barrier and the mist, which were enough to protect him from the Blight.

The city was shrouded in the Blight, which made everything it touched rot. Neither the flora, the buildings, or the ambient Mana were spared.

The Demon Lord wasn’t here in the flesh, but that didn’t make things any better for Blackcrest or Halric.

While distancing himself from the Blight, Arthur saw a piercing green light that broke the Blight and quickly spread across the city.

Thereafter, a deep rumbling and then a colossal shadow that surged from down below. It was a massive Treant that reached out with thick branches toward the red vortex and Abrigel’s face.

“Spirit!” Spoke the Demon Lord, his voice deafeningly

Surprisingly, the Treant was able to extinguish the Blight and even hit the seemingly intangible head of Abrigel. Alas, after a singular hit, the three pillars of light from before shot again. East, West, and North.

Like sharp spears, they tore holes into the Treant, almost making it fall.

‘I need your help! Get rid of them!’

The Alchemist’s voice rang in the Parasite’s ears.

“No. I’ve done my job. It’s time to leave.”

‘Please! I have a plan! You don’t have to fight Abrigel. Just remove those nuisances.’

Halric was desperately begging, his voice sounded weak and muffled.

…

Under Blackcrest, in the old tunnels Arthur and the rest had come from, dozens of small vines were crawling across the walls and ground. Like slithering snakes, they were spread everywhere at an insane speed.

Eventually, they found the Fire Spirit trapped therein, which reacted by burning down the vines in an instant. Even then, more vines kept appearing, purposely getting turned to ash while simultaneously empowering and luring the Fire Spirit.

Halric was sacrificing an absurd quantity of energy, but he had to risk it. He couldn’t hope to get rid of the Demon Lord on his own, after all.