Balam slowly advanced, his mutterings reaching Raith's ears as a barely audible whisper.
He tightened his grip around Bal as he expected the worse and readied himself to defend it, whatever it may be.
Coming to a halt just a meter away, Balam's body began to pulsate with an ominous surge of malefic energy.
Raith's eyes widened in awe and curiosity, for he had never felt such dark mana emanating from anyone before. It was akin to the power of darkness he carried, and he couldn't help but wonder which of the two forces was truly superior. It was the perfect opportunity to find out.
A smile crept across Raith's face, his eyes filled with anticipation.
"You are smiling?" Balam's thin, scowling eye twitched in confusion.
"Yes, I am," Raith replied, his grin growing wider.
Balam's expression soured further, irked by the confidence radiating from his opponent. He despised it with all his being.
Without warning, Balam unleashed his assault, exhaling a chilling breath of souls. The deadly wind tore through the air, carrying an aura of death that permeated the surroundings.
Reacting swiftly, Raith's instincts kicked in, propelling him to the side with a nimble leap, narrowly evading the lethal gust. The blast swept past him, disintegrating anything it touched into ash, leaving a trail of desolation in its wake.
Raith glanced back with a mixture of bewilderment and realization. Perhaps he had underestimated the true power of a great demon. If he had failed to dodge that attack, the consequence would have been his demise.
Wasting no more time, Raith capitalized on the momentary opening. He surged forward with blinding speed, Bal cutting through the air with a whisper of imminent doom.
Balam, however, deftly raised his hand, invoking a protective shield that shimmered with malevolent energy. Bal struck the barrier with a resounding clang, its power barely contained by the force field.
Balam countered with a gentle flick of his hand, targeting Raith's abdomen. The force of the strike caused a chunk of flesh to vanish, leaving a gaping hole in Raith's stomach.
Raith stood in stunned silence, unable to utter a word. The suddenness of his impending demise had caught him off guard. Never did he imagine that Balam possessed the ability to inflict such devastating damage with a mere flick of his finger.
It was becoming increasingly apparent that the Demon King was no ordinary adversary.
Casually flicking his wrist, Balam effortlessly sent Raith hurtling through the air, crashing into the wall of a nearby building. The structure, already damaged from previous destruction, teetered precariously on its lower level.
Absalom's eyes widened as he observed the scene unfold. Though he himself was a greater demon, he had never witnessed such raw power firsthand. Balam's amassed strength and skill far surpassed his own. As a fellow greater demon, Absalom knew better than to engage in a confrontation with a being thousands of years older than he is.
The audacity displayed by Raith in facing Balam head-on filled Absalom with a deep respect for him. He wouldn't have been able to face Balam the way Raith did at all.
He couldn't even dare to move, his body shivered and that was why in a moment like this, he was filled with nothing but respect for Raith who was holding out his own with the demon.
The same sentiment reverberated among the onlookers, the heroes who stood witness to the clash. They keenly felt the overwhelming difference in strength, the chilling presence of imminent death rendering them frozen in place.
Hallan Lamar perched atop a nearby building, his gaze fixed upon the Demon King with a twisted delight. As Balam effortlessly ended Raith's life, Hallan couldn't help but express his satisfaction.
"When my lord decides to get serious, no one can stop him," he muttered, his voice laced with dark admiration.
Unbeknownst to Hallan, thick darkness materialized behind him, taking the form of a humanoid ant.
Antares, with a swift motion, swiped his deadly claws overhead, catching Balam off guard. Belatedly sensing the killing intent, Hallan Lamar evaded the attack but not without receiving a deep gash across his cheek.
Leaping back twice more after jumping away at first, Hallan Lamar finally came to a stop.
"You again," he snarled with his eyes locked on Antares.
"Son of a bitch, my master has commanded that I take your head," Antares declared
Hallan Lamar smirked, his wound oozing dark energy.
"Should you be here, facing me? Your master will soon meet his demise. I'm certain he lies buried in the rubble, regretting the path he chose to tread."
Antares cast a helpless glance at Hallan Lamar before he let out a sigh. "You truly are ignorant. Even now, you fail to comprehend. Didn't you witness him rise again after you killed him once?"
At those words, Hallan's brow furrowed in confusion. "What do you mean?"
"I don't owe you any answers," Antares retorted, a hint of defiance in his voice.
With lightning speed, Antares closed the distance between himself and Hallan Lamar in an instant, his deadly claws aimed at the monster's face. However, Hallan was quick to retaliate, piercing Antares's belly with his sword.
Despite the excruciating pain coursing through him, Antares completed his slash, refusing to halt his attack to protect his own body. His allegiance to his king's orders was unwavering, and he would endure any number of scars to fulfill those commands.
Hallan's head jerked to the side as Antares's claws raked across his cheek, leaving three deep, clawed marks. Seizing the opportunity, Antares grabbed the embedded sword and yanked it free. Raising it high, he swung it down diagonally toward Hallan's shoulder.
But to his astonishment, the sword resisted, inching back up as if pulled by an invisible force. Antares strained, his muscles bulging, but he couldn't bring the blade down.
Relinquishing the sword, Antares instinctively created some distance between himself and Hallan, a decision he instantly regretted.
A sinister grin spread across Hallan's face as the sword slipped back into his hand seemingly of its own accord.
"You fool, let me demonstrate to you the power of a ruler," Hallan sneered, pointing his finger forward once more.
With that hand pointing forward, a certain dejavu overwhelmed Antares.
"Snipe"
Antares's mandibles stretched wider, his expression filled with madness, as he dove headfirst into the black beam emanating from Hallan Lamar's finger.
"Is he mad?!" Hallan exclaimed, shocked by Antares's reckless action.
Antares was just facing his fears, he was glad that Hallan Lamar used the very same skill that once made him cowered and now he had the opportunity to make a different decision, so he would be able to serve his king with no remorse or unfair feeling.
Booooommmm
A thunderous boom reverberated through the surroundings as the beam obliterated everything in its path, engulfing the area in a symphony of destruction. The cataclysmic event drew the attention of the watching heroes, who had been eagerly anticipating Balam's confirmation of Raith's demise.
Absalom turned his gaze toward the source of the explosion, his eyes filled with curiosity and concern.
"What is going on there?" he wondered, his mind racing with questions.
Before long, a figure emerged from the chaos—an imposing presence that resembled a boss monster, as if straight out of the very picture of the monster they supposed Raith faced. Every feature pointed to it being an ant, except for the fact that it stood upright on two legs.
'That must be the boss of the ant gate... does this mean...'
Absalom's thoughts trailed off as he began to piece together the puzzle. He hadn't fully grasped the extent of Raith's powers, but he had his suspicions.
Perhaps Raith possessed the ability to summon the monsters he defeated. If that were the case, there would be no limit to the power Raith could harness.
Absalom swallowed hard as he contemplated the implications. Even with his limited understanding of Raith's abilities, he felt a profound sense of intimidation.
"...I wonder if I can still defeat him," he muttered under his breath.
Raith's growth had sparked within Absalom a desire to engage him in a battle.
[Due to the title effect of 'one who devours death' you shall be resurrected]
"Waaaahhhhh,"
Raith let out a delightful exhale, as though savoring a refreshing drink that hit the spot. Was death enjoyable to him?
Emerging from the debris, Raith managed to free himself just as Balam approached.
The sudden appearance of Raith's dark wyvern in the area where he was supposed to lie lifeless caught Balam's attention.
He squinted his eyes, suspecting what was transpiring. In truth, he already knew, but the very thought of it made him frown.
No one! No one at all!! Should be able to defeat death. Yet this man whom he had delved a clean hole into seemed like he was fine, did he have an ultra regenerative power... it has to be the healing powers.
An eerie chuckle escaped Balam's lips.
"I have truly underestimated you—a human with such remarkable regenerative abilities. Indeed, you are strong. But you will only continue to suffer and eventually meet your demise if you choose to persist in this fight."
Raith brushed the dirt off his face to reveal a steely determination gleaming in his eyes.
"You are full of yourself. Death? It's cool, I am pretty used to it anyway. Let's get serious, show me all you are capable of."
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