Chapter 1792: More Betrayal
The azirai’s body shuddered.
And then, in the blink of an eye, his chest was completely obliterated as swirling blood energy burst out from his back.
Thud. Thud. Thud.
His severed arms, head, and finally the legs collapsed to the ground one after another.
The battlefield fell silent.
Only the glorious Heavenly Demon remained standing proudly amidst the ruins.
He gazed at the oppressive blood mana fading away from his hand and slipped into thought:
Perhaps if this body had practiced the Astral Tyrant Manual before the Mana Core Rank, then the Hand of Doom techniques would have been far more potent—
His thoughts came to an abrupt halt when suddenly his eyes turned bloodshot and widened. In the next heartbeat, he couldn’t help but vomit a mouthful of blood.
The Heavenly Demon’s face turned pale, and he took long, heavy breaths. Accelerating his blood circulation and forcefully increasing the flow of oxygen throughout his body was beginning to do a number on him.
How much longer will this body last?
He believed there was a limit to how much he could destroy and regenerate his internal systems. And he had a feeling that he was slowly nearing that limit.
At the very least, he thought as he looked up at the sky.
I should be able to last this battle...
He closed his eyes and began healing his internal and external injuries with the help of blood magic. Slowly, his wounds regenerated, and a healthy sheen once again returned to his skin.
At last, he turned to the stunned Hermit, who was kneeling in the distance and gaping at him.
He couldn’t help but let out a soft chuckle. It was funny to see a powerhouse act in such a manner. He then walked up to the elderly Magus and said with a faint smile:
"Apologies for going hard on you earlier. I had to lower their guards, you see."
The Hermit finally snapped out of his shock. His lips opened and closed several times as he struggled to think of the right words to say.
At last, he mumbled, "You... you’re the Heavenly Demon?"
The Heavenly Demon shrugged nonchalantly. "One and only."
"I, uh..." The Hermit was dumbfounded. "I don’t understand. How did you..."
"It’s a long story." The Heavenly Demon waved his hand dismissively. "I’m on your side, if you haven’t figured that out already."
His expression turned solemn, and he continued, "How are your mana reserves? And your injuries, you think you can still fight?"
The Hermit instantly turned serious. "I still have some mana left. And I have some potions with me, so the more grievous wounds shouldn’t be a problem."
"I see." The Heavenly Demon stroked his chin in thought.
Then he pointed in a certain direction and said, "About five miles that way, you’ll find a hill beside a lake. Halfway up the hill, there’s a cave. Inside, you’ll find two men..."
The Heavenly Demon’s expression turned solemn. "Nylian Feno and Daniel Ranzenberg."
"They’re alive?!" The Hermit was stunned.
"Yes," said the Heavenly Demon with a nod. "But only barely. They tried to kill me even if it meant dying in the process. So it was a little tricky to incapacitate them. But, anyway, can you go there and help them?"
He then added after a brief pause, "I’ve marked the surroundings with rune magic, so rest assured, even Mana Core Magi won’t be able to sense you. It’s safe out there, and you can tend to your wounds as well."
It was all too much for the Hermit to digest — the Blood Lord’s betrayal, him turning out to be the Heavenly Demon, and finally learning that the two Magi from Ravenfell were alive and breathing.
Still, realizing the gravity of the situation, he quickly agreed. "Understood."
"Oh, and one more thing," the Heavenly Demon added, his gaze shifting to the lantern lying on the ground. "That thing... it can mask one’s presence, yes?"
The Hermit glanced at his artifact, a frown forming on his face. Then he turned back to the man before him and said, "Yes."
He hesitated for a moment, then asked, "What’re you planning to do?"
The Heavenly Demon’s lips curled into a smirk.
"Why, more betrayal, of course."
Over the next few minutes, he administered basic first aid to the Hermit and wrapped the more serious wounds with bandages. After that, the Hermit helped him accommodate the lantern.
After all of that was over and the two prepared to part ways, the Hermit couldn’t help but turn toward him and voice the question that had been bothering him the entire time.
"Marden," he said, "why... why are you doing all of this?"
The Heavenly Demon deeply looked at the old man and raised two fingers.
"First," he said, "I’m doing this to protect our homeworld."
He paused, his lips curling into a mischievous smile.
"And second... I am not Marden."
***
A massive black crater scarred the ground, its surface cracked and melted from the violence of the battle.
Above, dark clouds churned across the sky as distant thunder continued to rumble overhead.
Far away, parts of the forest still burned fiercely, orange flames spreading through the trees while smoke rose in the air.
At the center of the crater, the Cult Leader stood motionless, his crazed mind completely trapped within an illusion.
This was the perfect opportunity to take him down.
And yet...
Adam could not move at all.
A deep diagonal slash stretched from his neck all the way down to his waist.
Before falling into the illusion, the Cult Leader had managed to unleash one final spear strike. And it had been brutal.
Blood poured endlessly from the massive wound, soaking his body and the ground beneath. Flesh had been torn apart so deeply that parts of his ribs and bone were clearly visible. But the worst injury was the deep gash across his jugular.
Every second, more blood escaped from the wound, causing his strength to fade rapidly. To make matters worse, strands of necrotic energy still lingered around the gaping injury, slowly spreading through the torn flesh and preventing it from healing properly.
And worse still...
The two four-headed abominations could still fully function even when their master had been incapacitated.
And one of them was rapidly closing in on him.
