From Trash to Demon Lord: I Can Turn Heroines Into Villainesses

Chapter 86: Nox’s Power...

The black chains were still dissolving into smoke around Saint Gabriel.

Standing before him, Nox remained perfectly still.

The Marauder’s Mask once again concealed his face.

Ashbringer rested firmly in one hand.

The Demonic Dual Knives gleamed with that sinister dark energy that seemed to slowly consume the very air around them.

All around them...

Only ruins remained.

The Hall of Saints had been completely devastated.

Cracked pillars.

Shattered pews.

Fragments of stained glass scattered across the floor.

And beyond all of that...

Nox’s companions.

Audrey struggled to breathe as she protected Claws.

The massive bear could barely remain standing.

Misty was still kneeling on one knee.

Every movement of her legs drew a pained grimace from her lips.

Catherine sat against a pillar.

Felix circled her anxiously.

Tessa rested beside the altar.

And Dawn remained unconscious.

None of them could continue fighting.

All they could do was watch.

They knew the next clash would decide everyone’s fate.

Gabriel smiled.

"So you’re claiming you intend to become the Demon Lord."

Nox didn’t answer.

He simply vanished.

The marble exploded beneath his feet.

[Grand Hunter’s Agility.]

[Wind Legs.]

Both skills activated at the same time.

The Saint barely managed to follow his movement.

He immediately raised his flaming spear.

Nox’s Danger Sense reacted a split second beforehand.

"Ha!"

Gabriel thrust toward the demon’s chest.

But black chains burst from the floor.

They coiled around the weapon.

Stopping it completely.

Gabriel’s eyes widened.

"What...?"

Darkness swallowed Nox.

His figure disappeared.

The Saint turned his head.

Too late.

Slash.

A cut opened across his shoulder.

Then another.

Slash.

Another one.

Slash.

The demonic daggers appeared again and again.

They slashed.

Vanished.

Reappeared.

Gabriel retreated, desperately trying to follow Nox’s movements.

But the demon was simply too fast.

Every time he attempted to counter...

Nox was already gone.

"You damn...!"

Slash.

Another cut tore across his arm.

The wound immediately ignited.

Demonic burns began spreading through his flesh.

Gabriel gritted his teeth.

The pain was constant.

It never faded.

Every fresh wound only worsened the ones before it.

"Now I understand..."

He took another step back.

"Those daggers are the real problem."

Nox vanished once more.

Black chains erupted again.

This time from every direction.

They tried to wrap themselves completely around the Saint’s body.

Gabriel smiled.

"I’ve already seen that trick."

His body dissolved into white smoke once again.

The chains passed harmlessly through the cloud.

For a single instant...

There was no target at all.

But Nox had already anticipated it.

He appeared behind the cloud.

Ashbringer was already aimed.

"Got you."

BANG.

The Ash Bullet struck the Saint squarely in the back the instant he regained his physical form.

Gabriel’s body lurched violently forward.

"GH!"

He didn’t even have time to fall.

Nox was already firing again.

BANG.

BANG.

BANG.

Three more bullets slammed into his chest.

Each impact shoved him a little farther.

The Saint burst into laughter.

"Is that all?"

He kept advancing.

The bullets partially tore through his robe.

They left wounds.

They hurt.

But they didn’t seem to be enough.

Nox slowly lowered the rifle.

He smiled.

"Looks like you’ve gone crazy."

Gabriel wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth.

"Don’t forget..."

He slowly raised a fist.

Every bit of energy accumulated throughout the battle began gathering there.

The lightning.

The impacts.

The explosions.

Everything.

"...that I also possess the Berserker’s Strike."

The air trembled.

Gabriel immediately realized something was wrong.

His vision began to warp.

Nox was no longer alone.

There were two.

Three.

Five.

Ten.

He blinked.

The images kept multiplying.

"What the hell...?"

He couldn’t tell which one was real.

His senses were beginning to fail.

Even so, Gabriel smiled.

Then he unleashed the punch.

BOOOOOOM.

His fist slammed into the ground.

A colossal shockwave tore through the entire hall.

The altar trembled.

The pillars finally gave way.

Nox disappeared into the shadows just before the impact reached him.

The explosion swept across the entire chamber.

When the dust finally began to settle...

Gabriel dropped to one knee.

He breathed heavily.

Then he started laughing.

"Ha..."

He placed a hand over his face.

"I can’t believe..."

Another laugh escaped him.

"...I actually have to use it."

Nox reappeared near the entrance.

Farther away from the battle.

Both daggers ready.

’Use what?’

Gabriel didn’t answer immediately.

He slowly slipped a hand inside his robe.

Then he pulled out a small glass vial.

Inside was something red.

Thick.

Viscous.

It pulsed faintly.

As if it were still alive.

Nox grimaced.

"That looks disgusting."

Gabriel raised the vial.

He stared at it for a few seconds.

The smile disappeared from his face.

"I only hope..."

His voice became much more serious.

"...that the next Saint of the Heroines fulfills their duty."

Nox narrowed his eyes.

He didn’t understand those words.

Gabriel continued.

"Because now..."

He looked directly at the demon.

"...the only thing that matters is killing you."

He uncorked the vial.

Without a second thought, he brought the crimson mass to his mouth.

And swallowed it whole.

Without chewing.

Silence filled the hall.

No one spoke.

Not Audrey.

Not Misty.

Not even Tessa.

Everyone simply watched.

Waiting.

Nothing happened.

For several seconds.

Nox took one step forward.

His Danger Sense activated.

At first, it was only a faint tingling sensation.

Then...

It became like needles piercing the back of his neck.

The demon froze completely.

The sensation kept growing stronger.

He had never experienced such an overwhelming warning.

It was as though every survival instinct inside him was screaming at once.

Run.

Run now.

Run.

Gabriel let the empty vial fall.

The glass shattered against the floor.

Then...

He began trembling.

His breathing turned ragged.

His entire body started convulsing.

Veins bulged beneath his skin.

"GH...!"

He clutched both hands against his chest.

Dropped to his knees...

And screamed.

A horrifying scream.

Filled with agony.

The pressure flooding the Hall of Saints suddenly multiplied.

The air became unbearably heavy.

The candles began going out.

The stained-glass windows vibrated.

Even the altar itself started to crack.

Catherine shivered.

Misty instinctively stepped backward.

Audrey tightened her grip on Claws.

Tessa’s eyes widened.

"What... the hell...?"

Nox didn’t answer.

He continued staring at the Saint.

His Danger Sense kept intensifying.

Until it became painful.

And Gabriel...

Kept screaming.

As though something inside him...

Was desperately trying to tear its way out.