Stylla grinned vacantly.r
Her webbed wings whipped the air at hyper speed as her outrageous new powers flooded out like a mad tide from her body.r
At the same time she let loose, an eager suction imposed itself on the air, taking in a massive draw that felt like a sharp gust of wind across Genhuis City that rushed towards Gillewart, or more aptly, the crest he had etched in the air... a crest of dancing flames.r
The City Guardian had mastered the truth about fire after so many years, his understanding of it leading him to the conclusion that fire was both mundane and divine. Like living things, it needed to breath to achieve longevity and increase its strength.r
However... like divines, it required some form of sacrifice and would give reward in turn.r
Therefore, Gillewart had offered up his eye and nurtured a flame in his socket that drew on his bodily heat and mana for years. In exchange for nurturing this flame, he could manifest nearly any kind of construct with fire that he desired and have it be an extension of himself that could execute a wide array of functions.r
Additionally, if certain conditions he had imposed on himself were met, he could sacrifice any being, offering them to the flame in his eye.r
This was the purpose of the flaming crest.r
As the immaculate sigil drew on the air, seemingly taking a sharp breath while illuminating the Null Devil King alone, the fearsome creature... grew excited.r
To his right, a slender longsword had begun to cut down while a flood of Null Life Essence saturated its blade, and to the left, there was a dangerous manifestation of fire by a being that who had attained a rare form of enlightenment.r
'So there are such beings in this land? To think I would spawn in a Rich World so casually...' the Null Devil King thought leisurely.r
Indeed, there was threat from both sources... but there was a caveat. r
He was vastly faster and stronger than anyone or anything in the entire city!r
But still, he was getting used to this body so he might as well indulge in this battle and discover its limits as he went along.r
With the bastard sword in his hand – a large, thick crimson blade with a black hilt featuring alluring, human figures – he pointed at Gillewart's burning crest.r
...!!!r
In the next moment, the fiery construct crumbled and shattered like glass, bits of flame landing on the heated floor!r
At the same time, Gillewart's body that had been wreathed generously in flame, nearly transforming him into a demigod made entire of fire, was cleansed of the element, leaving him with his normal appearance!r
The City Guardian's face depicted nothing but incredible shock as he knelt from the remnants of the Null Devil King's authority.r
He had not expected that his high level techniques... his hard earned powers would simply be cancelled out in instant!r
Even the flame in his eye had suffered greatly, being reduced in potency by more than half!r
But how?r
That didn't make any sense... did it?!r
In the extraordinarily fast perception of the Null Devil King, Gillewart's reaction left it amused beyond measure.r
The blade the Null Devil King was holding, the Bastard Sword of the Hedonist, was a weapon that was especially cruel to male targets, like the sword Skullius had summoned against the goblins – the Grand Sword of the Hedonist!r
The former however, was a higher calibre weapon with exceedingly overpowered functions.r
It simply nullified all of the active techniques of a single male target that the user was facing!r
'Now...' the tenebrous eyes of the BoneTender in the Null Devil King's body turned to Skullius who had just, in this micro moment, brought his sword down. r
The mansion, which had been enduring against the flame because of the Null Devil King's infusion of Null Life Essence within it, finally succumbed.r
The sturdy walls, furniture and roof was turned into smoothly butchered shards as a burst of excess Null Life Essence that coursed in every direction eviscerated it all indiscriminately while remaining contained within a limited range!r
Simultaneously, what seemed like the true attack, an initially slender slit of dazzling blue, turned the gap between Skullius and the Null Devil King murky.r
It grew thick and overbearing the further away it got from the Bashful Abomination, which rang lightly in the Hybrid Luman's hand, turning his vacant eyes into the normal focused, blind eyes.r
...!r
Gillewart's hair stood on end when Skullius' blade halted near the floor.r
In a blink, he had vanished from the residence to appear somewhere distant, avoiding the rampant and focused Null Life Essence dashing from the sword!r
Stylla did the same, though almost on instinct.r
The Null Devil King outstretched its hand towards the incoming attack with a chuckle. The growing slit of Null Life Essence smashed into its hand with a sharp ring, like that from an old bell!r
When its momentum, which had been fairly quick was stopped, the City shook vehemently, causing no small amount of concern in the frail hearts of many!r
"Too crude. Too unrefined. Too much power..." the Null Devil King said as it crushed the intangible sword slash with its armoured hand!r
Skullius recovered his senses quick enough through the Bashful Abomination to hear the Null creature's words and see his efforts be shattered effortlessly.r
'Shit!' he thought.r
He felt weak all of a sudden and fell to the ground, the Precept of Light on his arm receding.r
"Heh."r
The Null Devil King dug the Bastard Sword of the Hedonist into the ground and leaned against its cross guard.r
"I'm amused. This is all you amount to? If I didn't sense the embers of Serenity in you, I would have been convinced that you aren't the bearer of Null Life she chose," the creature said in a mocking tone.r
"Why are you using a form that limits your powers of Null Life? Why keep an imitation of living flesh? If this was a true battle, you would have fared a bit better in your true form. Haha."r
Skullius took a breath and glared at the creature with his blank eyes.r
The Null Devil King looked around and then returned its gaze to Skullius with a tilt of its head.r
"Are you ashamed of your true form perhaps? Or are you afraid that the humans in this world will hunt you down if you show your true self? If so, I can't help but feel my respect for Serenity drown even further."r
"What's it to you?" Skullius finally engaged with the creature, a scowl on his face.r
The Null Devil King snorted.r
"What's it to me?" it repeated his question.r
"It was supposed to BE ME."r
Skullius' face twitched.r
What?r
What the hell was that supposed to mean?r
At the same time he was failing to comprehend the words of the Null Devil King, something deep within him shuddered, seemingly reacting to the Bone Tender's words.r
'Urgh,' Skullius grunted inwardly.r
Was that... Serenity?r
A figure flashed to reach his side while another one zipped past him and stood at a distance, glaring at the Null Devil King.r
Gillewart had returned, on his face palpable conflict.r
By Skullius' side, a veiled Sif was standing with her eyes locked on the figure with a golden crown. She then crouched and held the Hybrid Luman's shoulder. r
"Are you alright, Lord Luminant Festos?"r
*r
A distance from what remained of the Bryne Family Residence, the maidservants and Knights who had been in the mansion before the chaos occurred were bundled up, a ray of golden sunshine without a clear origin illuminating all of them.r
Ed was among them, his face hardened by tension.r
By his side, there was a bed covered by an encirclement of bright runes, the figure of Stylla's father lying silently within.r
The Knight had noticed something strange going on within the lounge a few minutes ago but when he went to investigate, he and everyone else had been teleported outside the mansion as a massive sun fell on it.r
When he sensed the calibre of powers clashing in the mansion at that time, he had decided to stay here with the others instead of rushing for Stylla. It didn't seem like he had what it took to make a difference.r
Ed took a long look at the bed protected by runes.r
Things were spiralling into madness too quickly.r
What was even going on?r
The Knight clenched his fists.r
This sense of powerlessness he felt... it was only eclipsed by his ignorance to the current events!r
While lost in thought, Ed blinked and found that he wasn't the only one standing by the encircled bed anymore.r
He wanted to unsheathe his sword but when he got a close look at who was near, at the woman who had just appeared in less than a blink, he felt strength leave his legs.r
"Lady Styl..."r
He paused.r
The look in Stylla's eyes forced him to shut up... that, and what she did next.r
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