The voice of the lady resounded over the skies of hell. The demon king and the human were stunned at the sudden scream of the newcomer.
"Who?" Eugene muttered.
His eyes, filled with a madder glow, started to calm down and he looked at the scream's source. A fluttering veil, an unmatched beauty in her every breath.
"Fancy seeing you here, my lady!" Eugene said, hiding away the urge to stop and call her cool right away.
The lady slapped her hands together and pulled her chin up, looking straight at her guard.
"Did you wait too long, guard?" she said.
Eugene felt a smile spread over his lips as the lady turned his own words on him.
"Just ten days," he answered.
In the next moment, a flash of black filled the skies.
Before anyone could react, the demon king swung his arm. A gust of black wind spread through the skies and blitzed toward the lady.
The demon's attack slid away from the lady as if avoiding her with a will of its own.
"What?" The demon king exclaimed.
Titania simply flicked her hand, and the attack was deflected away. The demon showed its fangs to the lady.
"Guard!!" She screamed. "Hold on for a bit, I'll get you ou—"
Before she could finish speaking, Titania snapped her fingers and their figures started to fade away.
They were going to find a way to escape.
The demon king scowled and raised his hands. He wanted to attack them before the intruders could leave.
A sudden heat blew over his skin. The demon king hurriedly dropped his attack and turned his gaze up.
A giant sword of fire was staring right back at him.
Ignoring his escaping companions, the human madly laughed.
"Foolish Human!" The demon king screamed. The meters-long sword of seething flames came tumbling down toward it.
With a great roar, the demon filled his fists with demon energy. As the tip of the deep red blade approached him, he punched ahead. The black energy coursed through the blade as it started fading away in the air.
Eugene was already preparing another spell. He whistled as the sword of flames disappeared from the skies. Layers upon layers of ethereal magic circles formed around him, spinning with his every word.
"Listen to my voice, all-embracing Earth! Return the lost child to your bosom. [Return To Earth]!"
The many magic circles glowed. Balam raised his brows as the ground below his feet trembled.
Walls emerged from the earth and spun around his body. Balam crushed them with his arms, but the ground of Hell was incessant. It rapidly wrapped itself around the demon and compressed down. Over and over, the ground rose and crashed into the demon.
Eugene watched it happen, scrutinizing the movement of his spell that needed a chant.
"Hmm..." he muttered. Clicking his tongue, he snapped his fingers, and layers upon layers of hexagonal shields started forming around him.
"[Honeycomb Defense: Hexagonal Shieldsx8192 - Absolute Shield]"
Eight thousand shields merged to form a single the size of his palm. The mixture of the transparent shields had turned white. Carefully, Eugene adjusted the position of the shield—
"Petty tricks!" The demon's voice boomed.
His coffin of the earth was blown to smithereens. The earth tried to catch Balam again, so he punched down straight. In the blink of an eye, a crater formed below Balam's hand as the ground he stood on was gouged out to form a precise, small well of black at the bottom.
Balam jumped. His figure was too fast for Eugene to track.
"Fine, before those rats, this is my duty too!"
Eugene raised his hand and narrowed his gaze, his shield at the ready.
"I'll discipline you first!"
The demon appeared above him. Taking the entire momentum of his fall, his wings flapped and his body stomped down with his feet. Eugene's shield clashed straight with the demon's attack.
An explosion spread through the air.
A crack appeared through the center of the shield, but it wasn't broken. Eugene smiled, this power was incomparable to Flauros'.
His vision turned black and blood rose from his stomach.
As if a meteor falling through him, the demon's feet landed on his stomach with all its initial momentum. Eugene almost blacked out from the pain as his body arched like a bow, and in the next moment, he shot away like an arrow.
A trail of blood spilled out of his mouth, coursing through the red skies like a bullet, Eugene was unable to move his body. His speed made the heated wind cut his skin apart.
He wriggled his fingers and the absolute shield came shooting toward his back. His body clashed against the shield and his movement came to a stop.
Eugene placed his feet on the shield and sat mid-air. He coughed out a ball of blood as color slowly returned to his eyes. Below him was the half of the city that he had destroyed.
What in the world was that? Teleportation? No, the demon didn't have good enough control to do that without inciting a single reaction in the mana.
"Just what the fuck kind of..." His gaze fell on his shield. The half that had a crack did not exist anymore.
The demon approached from far away.
Suddenly, his mind kicked into overdrive. Blood dripped from his nose as the previously fast demon king now seemed to be following a snail's pace.
Memories linked with observations, the lady, his meeting with the demon, her fading existence, the change in facts, the change in truth.
Time hastened again, and Eugene jumped off the shield.
Balam's gust of demonic energy curved toward Eugene, but he remained one step faster.
Then, as the demon was right on his nose, a punch came hurtling toward Eugene. He raised his hands to block.
The punch touched Eugene's palm, and in the next moment, he spun around.
A crash resounded.
Balam was already behind him.
His punch had stretched out, but Eugene swerved to the right and narrowly avoided it.
A gust of wind spread from the sheer force of the punch, leaving a tiny cut on Eugene's cheeks.
"What?" Balam spoke, and his eyes widened.
"Why do all you demons have such wack powers?" Eugene spoke. He maintained a carefree attitude but was desperately thinking about his enemy. That aftershock of a single punch was too strong, he wouldn't be able to win. "Cause and effect, huh? It's probably easier to control your actions, but it doesn't seem to come easy."
"You're not just bold and strong, but also smart."
Eugene scoffed.
He still had three chains after destroying one on the previous bastard. The chance wasn't gone yet.
"Didn't you hear back there?" Smiling, Eugene pulled his hand back. Mana and Ki merged around his fists. "I am already taken!"
Balam's stomach arched. The demon was pushed back as Eugene pulled out his chains.
"Kah! So, you know my ability. What does it change!?"
Balam's wings flapped. A torrent spread and the demon approached the human again.
A kick from the center. Eugene narrowly avoided it, and the kick turned into a punch.
Eugene predicted the move and grasped the demon's hand to put the cuffs on, causing the demon to pull back.
A stormy melee broke out as the two engaged in close combat. Whenever the demon punched, Eugene blocked and countered. The demon's kicks switched into strikes and punches turned into smashes as an unpredictable flurry broke out.
With every move, Eugene tried to lock the demon in his cuffs but failed by a hair's breadth.
He avoided and countered every move he could as mini-storms emerged from Balam's thunderous attacks.
"Stand down!" The demon screamed. He reached closer with a headbutt that suddenly turned into a kick to his sides.
Unable to dodge, Eugene used the narrow gap to send his shield to his side. With every blow, he smashed into the unmoving shield and avoided the fate of being thrown into the skies.
Blood started filling Eugene's sight, except this time, it was his own.
The exchange raged, but the side at the advantage was clear. Not only the hits but the haphazard way that Eugene used to stop himself piled up damage over and over.
His organs throbbed and his muscles screamed. Continuing would become dangerous soon.
He had to change his tactics, as unpredictable as the demon.
Recalling his experiences, Eugene moved.
He lowered the chains and launched into a flash of hits. Filling each attack with his mana or his Ki, Eugene unleashed a barrage of kicks and punches on Balam.
The demon avoided and blocked, every time he countered, Eugene would smack his back against his shield and immediately dive back in as if pain didn't exist for him.
"Tsk." It felt reckless.
He was naive.
The demon sent out a punch and followed with a boom of his energy. It knocked Eugene off balance. The demon's fist hit his stomach and he hurtled backward.
Balam reached ahead to pummel him into the shield, but instead, the shield itself approached him rapidly.
Eugene smiled. He turned his head to the side as the shield was right in front of Balam.
On the shield, a small magic circle was engraved.
Balam's eyes widened as a zap of lightning struck him.
Not missing the chance, Eugene reached out again and locked his chains onto the demon.
"Take this, bastard!"
Balam shook his head, the shock of electricity fresh in his mind. He looked down and found both his wrists in the hold of the chains.
"Shit!" the demon screamed.
"Now," Eugene smirked. "My turn."
Summoning his strength, Eugene launched ahead. Ki enveloped his fists and coiled around his arms as he moved to smack the demon square in the jaw—
His eyes blacked out again. Eugene crashed into his shield once more as blood spilled from his mouth.
Too much. He had taken too much damage.
With his surprise not hidden, Eugene looked up.
"Just kidding,"
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