— IX —
My heart was pounding in my chest as I faced off against the angry Denova. I knew I had to act quickly if I wanted to get out of this situation alive. My mind raced, trying to come up with a plan. Then, an idea struck me. I could use his own arrogance against him.
"O-Oh no, w-what do you want to do with me? Do you want to violate me, making me beg for life while you showered my body with your carnal desires?" I shouted, feigning fear and desperation.
The Bear looked taken aback by my words, clearly caught off guard. "W-What? Hell no! I'm already married! What I mean is--" he stammered.
He was distracted! A chance! I quickly shot blood threads to the building, pulling myself away from the enraged Denova.
"You wicked witch, how dare you trick me, the great Denova!" he shouted while his thick blood emanated from his body. I could feel the power of his rage building up, "Ignition!!" Denova roared.
A sudden force broke out, the impact was powerful enough to blow the dust and send chills down my hair. I gritted my teeth and focused all my energy on the threads, using them to pull myself out of harm's way. As I soared through the air, I narrowly escaped a deadly blast from Denova.
Ignition? What kind of magic is that? It seemed to increase Denova's power tremendously! Yet at the same time I saw tissues growing from his heart, slowly eating away at his body. I realized then that the incredible power he possessed came at a cost. Perhaps there was a time limit for using its power before Ignition engulfed Denova's body entirely?
"There you are!" Denova's voice boomed through the air, and before I could react, he lunged at me with incredible speed, blasting the building with his great strength. I barely managed to evade it in time, feeling the wind whip past me as his attack just missed me by inches.
We landed on a tight alley filled with clutters. Seizing the moment, I grabbed a nearby crate and swung it with all my might at Denova's head. But he was too quick, dodging the crate effortlessly and countering with a swift swing of his blade, forcing me to dodge and weave as I tried to keep up with his deadly combos.
Dammit, not only strong, Denova was really fast!
As our blades and claws clashed, Denova's movements grew faster and more erratic. However, I quickly noticed something. Despite his speed, his movements were sloppy and full of openings. With my instincts sharpening, I poised myself and waited for his wide swing. With blood hardening on my finger, I made sharp claws, ready to strike at the perfect moment.
"Now!"
When Denova swung his blade at me again, I blocked the blow and struck back, scratching his right eye with a quick swipe of my claws. The sound of his agonized screams filled the air as he clutched his eye, writhing in pain.
"Aarrgghh!! Y-You little shit, how dare you!" he shouted.
Oh, the Curse didn't react, I guess self-defense wasn't registered as a violation. Then... Maybe, I could survive this battle.
I quickly blended into the darkness, hiding from the enraged Denova that wreak havoc at anything. With bloodied eyes, he shouted, "Come back here, you little rat!"
As I hunkered down behind the wooden crates, I spotted something intriguing on the walls of the surrounding buildings: glowing moss. My heart leaped with excitement - it was Eldemites! This plant produced unstable mana, and I knew exactly what to do with it.
Acting quickly, I snatched a handful of the glowing moss and took off down the main road. All I needed now were things that further dilute the Mana. Lucky for me, there was plenty of alcohol around. With lightning speed, I snatched a bottle of beer from an unsuspecting old daemon before he could take a sip and stuffed the Eldemites inside. I poured a drip of my blood to further destabilize the Mana then shook it as hard as I could.
As the unstable mana was diluted by the alcohol, the bottle started to shake and rattle in my hand, like a ticking time bomb. It was a crude but effective bomb - just what I needed to fend off the ferocious beast.
"Where are you hiding?!" Denova shouted when he walked cautiously into a tight alley I left my scent to.
"Right here, Furry. And with a little present, just for you," I called out from behind him, tossing the bottle at him.
As Denova foolishly smashed the bottle, he triggered a violent explosion, sending him tumbling to the ground. The explosion created a cloud of dust and debris, obscuring his view.
"You think a little explosion can stop me? You underestimate my power, witch!" Denova growled as he tried to stand up. He roared so hard that it cleared all the dust and debris, revealing myself sneaking behind him. With one swift move, I climbed the giant bear and smothered him with the chloroform-soaked handkerchief — One that I take from Arthur's Home.
Denova thrashed and struggled, but it was no use. Even with his enhanced body, the chloroform suppressed his nervous system. He passed out and fell to the ground, leaving me as the victor of this dire battle.
"Dammit, my back is killing me. Only just a few days passed, and I had to fight for my life twice...," I sat down and sighed exhaustedly. But then I noticed a small book from Denova's waist pocket. It was a dark book with a butterfly marking on it. The Scripture of Nyghtingale.
"Nyghtingale... Why does it sound familiar?" I muttered.
As I flipped through the pages of the Scripture, a chill ran down my spine. Not because of how scary it was, but the absurd amount bullshit inside it. To cut it short, they said Nyghtingale Ereshkigal was the Goddess of Death, the last of her kin in the world - A Deus. She was the first Hero who completed the Cycle of Ideal White and attain godhood. By becoming a god, Nyghtingale promised eternity to those who swore their life to her and followed the path of the true sky, whatever it means.
"The First Hero....? No, that's not her. I'm sure of it," I uttered the truth. I still remember vaguely my fight. He was a sword master like me, but his skill far exceeded mine. But he was possessed by something and because of that, I was barely won the fight. His name was... Ugh, I-I can't remember.
I closed the book and sighed, "No Hero survived their encounter with me... spreading these lies? Geez."
Now that I think about it, this might be the reason why Quina and Arthur asked me about the gods. If Denova carried the scripture close to his heart, he must be a devoted follower of Nygthingale. And if my assumption is correct, considering his power, could he be a Lector from The Order? Perhaps The Order objective had a connection with the eternity that Nyghtingale promised.
"But this Ignition, what is that really?" I muttered.
I turned the bear nervously and opened his shirt. There I found a beautiful red crystal growing in his cell - A Magicore embedded in his chest. It was made with crude surgical procedure, lack of any elegance. Yet, this Magicore worked effectively as his heart, tampering with his body composition with foreign cells inside the Magicore. So, when he shouted Ignition, Denova actually released the seal of his heart partially and let the cells consume his body? What a reckless power!
However, his body resembled mine, The Devil. Curiosity got the better of me when I slowly touched his heart. Suddenly, his Quartz shone brightly as it resonated with mine. A sharp pain attacked my head. I curled down and my vision became blurry until everything went pitch-black. And then something strange came into my mind...
I saw... two witches standing in front of me. One was a stunning witch with red hair, I believed it was Bianca. On the other side, standing beside her was another figure—a woman dressed in a black robe but something was amiss. Her magic was... incredible, it was almost as if she was on par with the gods, no even stronger! Suddenly, she fixed me with a piercing gaze and demanded to know, "Who are you?"
Suddenly, my vision began to darken and before I knew it, I was back in the dark alley with unconscious Denova. I clasped my head, what the hell is that?
BAM!!
A loud explosion could be heard, as the red light broke through the sky. That magic, I recognize it right away. It was Arthur's. Could it be... he was fighting those powerful witches?
That Witch was incredibly powerful. If Arthur faced him, he was in danger. That reckless man, really! I had to do something fast!
I stood up and shouted, "Don't die on me yet, Master Arthur!"