novelraw Chapter 209: A Warm Hand
Chapter 209: A Warm Hand
The serpent tail was still inside Ignotus.
He held it with a grip that shouldn’t have been possible, his fingers digging into the scales.
The Greater Demon kept trying to flick him off...
It couldn’t.
Ignotus simply looked up at it.
—
[System Error]
[Godhood Resonance: CRITICAL]
[Soul Experiencing Absolute Frenzy]
—
"Get..."
Ignotus’s voice sounded distorted, like two people speaking at once.
"...Off!"
The purple gravity field around him turned solid as he swung his legs up and planted both boots against the Greater Demon’s chest.
BOOM.
His attack was a localized meteor strike.
The Greater Demon—a creature the size of a building—was launched backward.
Its massive, serpentine body lifted off the ground and smashed into the far wall, collapsing half the cavern ceiling on top of it.
Ignotus dropped to the floor.
Squelch.
The tail that had been cut off because of his kick slid out of his stomach.
Usually, a hole in the gut was a life-ending injury for a man of his class. But the gold crackling around Ignotus’s wound stitched the flesh back together in seconds.
Muscles reknitted, skin closed, and the blood vaporized into golden mist.
He stood up, feeling... light, feeling heavy. He felt everything.
Ignotus looked at his fallen people. Lykos, Merlin, Ulv, Gaia, Nora, Aur, scattered like broken dolls. Eris was unconscious as well, Her fur singed.
If the Demon stood up, they would be paste.
Ignotus took a step.
ZOOOM.
His gravity field bent the space around him, folding distance.
In a single heartbeat, he appeared beside Lykos. Grabbing him and Gaia, he dropped them at the entrance of the tunnel.
He grabbed Ulv and Merlin and dropped them.
He grabbed Nora, Aur, and Eris and dropped them.
In three seconds, he had cleared the battlefield.
Ignotus stood alone in the center of the myocardium.
KRRRRRRRRRRRRROOOOOOOOOOOOOAAAAAAAR!
The rubble pile exploded, and the Greater Demon rose, shaking off the boulders. It was furious; its hundred heads were screaming, spitting magma and poison.
Slowly, it looked at the tiny white-haired ant that had dared to kick it.
"DIE."
It unleashed a breath attack from fifty heads at once.
A wall of white-hot annihilation.
Ignotus revealed a wide, manic, terrifying grin.
He raised his cracked sword and swung it downward, cutting the weight of the fire.
The wall of flames suddenly became heavier than lead, making the attack crash into the floor, splashing death onto rock.
"Ahahahahah!"
Ignotus felt amazing.
The power coursing through him was incredible.
He’d have called it God-like if he didn’t know just how strong Gods were.
Using [Wise Fool], he charged forth, right as the Demon swiped at him with a hand made of vipers.
Yet it didn’t hit anything.
Ignotus slipped on a patch of blood.
To the naked eye, it looked like a clumsy trip.
But the ’slip’ ducked him under the swipe, and as he ’fell’ forward, his sword ’accidentally’ thrust upward, piercing the back of the Demon’s knee—a spot where the scales were a tad thinner.
It was a critical strike!
"GRRRRAAAAAAAAAH!"
Quickly, Ignotus vaulted off the shrieking Demon.
He slashed. CRIT. He kicked. CRIT. He headbutted a lion’s head. CRIT.
Every movement was entirely reckless. He threw his sword, caught it on the rebound, and severed three snake heads without looking. He jumped into the air, let gravity pull him down beyond terminal velocity, and smashed his fist through many of the Demon’s faces.
It was a beatdown.
The Greater Demon, a being that could end Houses, was being bullied.
"IS THAT ALL?!"
Ignotus grabbed two of the serpent heads, tied them in a knot, and used them to swing himself onto the Demon’s back. He stabbed his sword into the Demon’s spine and dragged it down, carving a canyon of glowing purple light.
The Demon thrashed, slamming itself into walls, trying to dislodge the parasite. But Ignotus’s [Living Ligature] clamped him to the monster like he was part of its own skin.
This was the thrill’s peak.
Ignotus felt invincible.
But of course...
CRACK.
His Soul couldn’t keep up.
Ignotus suddenly froze mid-swing.
A searing pain tore through his chest—worse than the once-gaping wound.
The golden lightning around him flickered, and the purple gravity field stuttered.
He stumbled, almost falling into the ground.
The Greater Demon sensed his weakness immediately.
Without hesitation, it slammed its massive hand into Ignotus, swatting him down.
Ignotus hit the ground hard. He tried to stand, but his legs were jelly. The Godhood in that Rune was eating him alive. It was too much power for a Class Nine vessel. His Runes were dimming once more, turning a dull, lifeless grey.
"No... not... yet..."
Ignotus wheezed, more blood leaking from his eyes.
The Demon loomed over him, raising its remaining heads.
It opened one massive mouth, gathering a ball of concentrated Corruption.
This was it.
Ignotus stared at the dark with a tunneled vision.
He tried to lift his sword, but his fingers were numb.
’Well...’
His mind was strangely clear.
’It was a fun run.’
The Demon fired...
"..."
"..."
"..."
But the blast never hit.
TAP.
A hand rested on Ignotus’s shoulder.
"Rest now."
It was gentle and warm.
"You’ve done enough."
A figure had materialized behind Ignotus.
He hadn’t heard him approach; he hadn’t sensed him at all.
The man wore a long, dark blue cloak made of fabric that looked softer than silk, threaded with intricate gold lines that seemed to move on their own. Underneath was a lighter blue tunic and black pants.
Sporting curly black hair, his face was a scholarly one that looked out of place in a dungeon.
There was no mistaking him.
It was Dante, the headmaster.
Dante didn’t look at the incoming blast.
He had simply raised one finger.
POP.
The massive ball of Corruption vanished.
It just ceased to exist, deleted from reality.
The Greater Demon’s many eyes widened in genuine terror.
Dante looked down at Ignotus.
"You pushed yourself too far, student."
He tapped him lightly on the neck.
Thump.
Ignotus’s eyes rolled back, sleep taking him.
Entirety of the Frenzy ended, and the pain vanished.
As his consciousness faded, the last thing Ignotus saw was the headmaster turning toward the terrified Demon, his gentle face shifting into something much, much... colder.
’...dammit.’