novelraw Chapter 161: Fair Fight
Chapter 161: Fair Fight
The Demon crashed hard into the ground, hard enough that the dirt spat outward.
Right on top of its chest, pinning its massive hands down with his sword, was Ignotus.
He shoved the blade deeper, feeling the weight of the thing tremble underneath him. At the same time, blood-red Arcane crawled up and down his body, originating from his heart.
[Living Ligature] had activated.
A thin coating of blood peeled itself off his body, slithering outward and sharpening into needle-thin threads. Most of this living blood stayed inside him, however, pumping through his veins, heating him up, and making his muscles tighten with more strength.
This was his Rune Path talking shape, providing him with two matching buffs.
"GGGGGGGGGRRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!"
Reacting harshly to his blood, the Demon roared into his face, its saliva flying everywhere.
Ignotus just stared at it.
"My Gods... have you not been taught to brush your teeth?"
Not appreciating his humor, the Demon shoved upward suddenly, raw power bulging through its momentarily ruined limbs.
Ignotus gritted his teeth as the ground cracked under them, his feet sliding back.
Right. This one was stupidly strong.
He triggered [Wise Fool] again; his recklessness surged, and his pain muted.
They clashed again and again as Ignotus threw himself into places no sane person would stand, yet even with the boost, the Demon matched him blow for blow.
It had even started to force him back while screaming out, somehow louder this time:
"YOOOOOOOOOOU KILLLLEEEEEEED MYYYYYYY SOOOOON!"
Ignotus wiped its spit off his face.
"Corrupted or not, your anger still comes through, hm?"
They clashed again, Ignotus darting in, his blood threads whipping around him, each arc carving shallow lines through the Demon’s hide. But the thing was bigger and meaner; its blows shook the ground and sent shockwaves through the clearing.
Ignotus dug his heels in.
...alright. He could admit it.
"You’re much stronger than I expected you to be."
The Demon lunged, claws out, and Ignotus felt the pressure—just a little—start to tilt against him.
But before anything could come close to going wrong—
BOOM!
The cavalry had finally intervened.
And they looked nothing like they did a few seconds ago.
Every single one of them had activated their Synaxis, their partial transformations flaring to life... a power-up that had nudged them closer to his level of power.
’Closer,’ not equal, his base stats were far higher. Still though...
’They look good.’
Lykos’s gray hair frosted at the edges, pale blue creeping upward.
His breath steamed in the air as little ice motifs crawled across his sleeves before reaching his staff, reshaping it, conjuring crystal veins that run through the wood. His tail split until three pale-blue tails swayed behind him, each one leaving a swirl of cold mist.
Ulv’s transformation, though of the same Element, was very different.
His fur thickened, going from a bit scruffy to intimidating, bleached toward icy blue. Frost traced up his limbs like glowing veins. His muscles bulged, his posture rose, and plates of thin ice grew over his shoulders and arms, adding to his armor.
Gaia’s blonde hair darkened near the roots, turning heavy and earthy. Warm gold radiated from her skin, and her bladed staff softened into more wood than metal as vines wrapped up her forearms.
Nora, covered in a faint shimmer, had blue serpent-like lines tracing up her arms and shoulders. Small-scale patches shimmered along her ribs, her honey eyes brightening.
Mer’s pink eyes glowed bright as well. But that wasn’t all, as her hair shifted, darkening at the center while streaks of purple and red pulsed outward. At the same time, flames curled around her ankles and wrists, small but concentrated.
Aur stretched her arms slightly, her feathers growing out. Her hair brightened to a deeper mix of gold and white. Everything about her silhouette seemed to sharpen until she looked more like a warrior statue than a person.
The Will they let loose made the dirt vibrate.
Ignotus stepped back from the Demon while staring at them.
’Hm.. that’s very good. They’re already starting to get useful.’
Nora moved first, blurring past him, her legs swinging up and down in one clean downward kick.
KRACK!
The Demon cratered into the dirt.
Lykos didn’t miss a beat as he released a spear-sized ice arrow that slammed clean through the Demon’s upper body.
Gaia followed him instantly, her earth spear ripping straight through the Demon’s chest.
The monster tried to rise, but of course, it wasn’t given a chance.
A whistle cut through the air as Aur’s whip snapped forward.
Upon contact, a condensed shimmer formed, only to immediately detonate.
FWOOOOOOOOOOOM!
Chunks flew, smoke burst upward, and what remained of the Demon’s whole upper torso rippled.
Mer, the glass cannon, stepped past Aur, a fire swirling around her fingers, building into something of a miniature sun.
Ignotus blinked. Oh yes, that looked big enough to kill him too.
He leapt up and away as Mer unleashed it, a fire tornado erupting—
Click...
Until a tall, featureless Demon silently appeared inside it.
"No, you don’t."
It had snuffed the tornado out instantly.
Everyone quickly took a stance to face this new enemy.
A large Demon with no face, like someone had blurred it, which meant—
"It has the Nullify Element..."
Ignotus raised his hand.
"Ulv!"
While everyone else had been blasting away, Ignotus hadn’t been idle.
He had been dripping his living blood into the ground this whole time.
It was a surprise he’d been preparing for their expected guests.
The very moment his hand rose, blood spikes had erupted from beneath the Nullify Demon, catching it off guard before it could fully activate its nullity.
SHRKK.
Some it dodged, but others managed to reach it, Ignotus’s blood stabbing through the blurred Demon. The Demon seemed confused, staring down at the spikes like it didn’t understand how it got hit at all.
"RAAAAAH!"
And that allowed Ulv’s great sword to hit it clean.
He was already in motion the moment Ignotus called out his name earlier.
Unfortunately, his sword didn’t slice the Demon in half, but it sure as Hell launched it across the clearing.
"I’ve got that one!"
Ulv shouted, sprinting after it.
The rest turned back to the original Demon—
Which had already grown larger...
And angrier...
And uglier.
"Ah... man."
Ignotus grinned.
"This is great; there’s more."
He sounded way too happy about this.
"I’m going up."
Aur shot up into the sky, her wings spreading wide.
"There’s a cloaked one behind the trees!"
Her golden eyes had landed on a figure.
"You know what to do."
Following their leader’s words, she dove, forcing the Demon away.
Mer shot after her, leaving Ignotus with Lykos, Gaia, and Nora, nearly half the cohort gone.
Ignotus glanced at Nora. She’d paused behind the massive Demon, her weight shifted, and her muscles coiled, ready to pounce.
"We got this..."
He pointed.
"Go help Ulv."
Nora nodded once and vanished into the forest, leaving Ignotus, Lykos, and Gaia against a massive, raging Demon that filled half the clearing.
"You can’t complain anymore..."
Ignotus cracked his neck.
"It’s a fair fight now."