Chapter 32: Demon
Perhaps it was because I unleashed advanced magic barehanded from the cyclical state.
A few drops of blood are dripping from my left hand, but well, it shouldn't be a problem.
But more importantly...
I look up at the demon floating in the air, glaring at me.
It seems to have had quite a good time wreaking havoc, which I find quite displeasing. I'm displeased, but that's precisely why I should approach the situation calmly and decisively. I almost failed due to my rage when I talked to Maurice.
Even though the opponent is a demon, just like the one who killed my mother, it is not the exact same demon.
Five years ago, the Sleeping King, who spread the plague, was defeated by my mother.
"...You're laughing. It seems you're quite proud of being able to use powerful magic."
The female demon, still floating in the air, looked at me with intense hatred, but soon a gentle smile appeared on her face.
"I wonder if you believe that you can defeat a demon lord just because you can use strong magic? Kids these days."
While still floating in the air, the demon circulates a black mist around her body as if to toy with it.
I understand what she wants to say. Being able to freely fly in the sky alone gives her a powerful advantage. In contrast, levitation is the only magic humans can use for flight.
I know that levitation is useless in battle compared to the demon's flight magic.
No matter how powerful the magic in my hand is, it's meaningless if I can't hit the target. I'm not afraid of advanced magic, which is easily noticeable at the moment of activation. That's how it is.
If you ask about intermediate or lower-level magic, the problem lies in the miasma emanating from the demon's body. It can be considered as a form of negative magic power. It weakens normal magic and corrodes the bodies of living creatures upon contact.
Moreover, their physical strength and abilities are far beyond that of ordinary humans. They won't be shaken by a few hits.
But... so what?
"I already know about demons. I don't need you to tell me. Let's get started."
As I hold my magic staff and declare so, the demon furrowed her brows for a moment and then bared her fangs from her split mouth.
"You're quite insolent for a brat. I'll carve you up alive, extract your insides, and stuff them into that mouth of yours."
As if responding to those words, she flew to the right in a swift motion. The cobblestones that had been under her until just now shattered with a delay of an instant. The demon had unleashed a bullet of miasma.
The miasma itself weakens magic, giving it an overwhelming advantage in a confrontation against regular magic.
As expected, she maintains a constant distance between us while shooting the bullets. They fly left and right, rolling across the ground. I dodge the relentless barrage of miasma bullets. She knows that's how you kill a sorcerer.
Dodging through the gaps between bullets, I responded with fireballs, but my opponent didn't even attempt to evade. They were hit directly and burst into flames, but I didn't expect that alone would defeat them. Magical flames didn't conduct heat very well. However, it did serve as a distraction. I quickly moved forward, closing the distance.
From beneath the explosion's aftermath, the demon appeared with a smirk on their face.
"That kind of magic won't work on me! Just crawl on the ground like the insect you are, you trash!"
The demon scattered bullets in a fan shape from their left hand. Each bullet carried destructive power capable of causing human death.
Moreover, they were firing with varying trajectories. Although they were launched in sequence, each bullet had a different speed. The timing of their impact on the ground was synchronized.
I activated levitation and soared into the air. The demon seemed confident of their victory, as a wicked smile curled on their lips. Their right hand held a cluster of miasma.
Swinging it down with force— the miasma transformed into a massive blade, sweeping through the place where I had been. It was a timing and speed that couldn't be evaded with levitation alone.
"—What!?"
But I wasn't there. I had changed my trajectory in mid-air and slipped in. The demon had lost sight of me after swinging the miasma in the form of a large blade.
That's when my knee, concentrated with mana meticulously circulated, pierced their temple.
The circulated mana had a different quality from regular mana. Being a mixture of mana and life energy, even though it was the demon's miasma, it couldn't be completely dissipated and couldn't corrode my body.
"W-What!?"
The demon tried to distance themselves from me, foaming at the mouth, but I kicked through the air and pursued them.
I used a magic shield deployed on my left hand to deflect the released miasma bullets, seamlessly closing the distance. It was my effective range.
The demon widened their eyes, extending their claws to intercept the magical staff I swung.
"Using the air... as a foothold!? What is this...?"
Well, to begin with, no one said I couldn't fight in mid-air.
Magic circles were deployed on the soles of my feet and back. Through delicate control, I momentarily activated basic magic such as magic shields and air blasts.
By combining it with levitation, I could use the shield as a foothold or gain propulsion like a booster with the help of air blasts.
This was how I gained freedom of movement in the air and enabled three-dimensional combat in mid-air. It was a technique possessed by high-level players in BFO.
The amazing thing about BFO's operation was that they provided additional items and martial techniques that were available not only to magic professions but also to other professions, without modifying the techniques developed by players themselves. However, judging from the demon's reaction, it seemed that no one had done this before.
"I can't believe it! A mere human controlling three spells simultaneously!?"
What are three or four spells of lower rank?
Their claws are swung.
I receive the slashing attack that tries to harvest my life with my staff.
Sharp claws pass right by my face. I manage to avoid them by inserting my staff, which had closed in as if to slice my head.
I flick up the opposite end of the staff from below. Just barely grazing the side of the demon's abdomen, who barely evaded it. I won't let them create distance. I'll keep pushing like this.
Swing, sweep, receive, deflect, thrust. We engage in a momentary exchange of life without even blinking—I was probably smiling.
I couldn't help but feel happy. The fact that I have the power to face the demon head-on like this, it's in my hands now.
However, it's still not enough. Not nearly enough. Not enough power, speed, or technique.
More. I want more. More and more and more power—!
Every time their claws clash with my magic staff, a creaking sound echoes. They intersect and entwine in midair, cutting each other multiple times. This staff probably won't last long, but—
"Gahaha!"
Perhaps because they didn't feel the necessity of honing their skills due to being of a higher rank. Their close-quarters combat skills are lacking. To the right and left. I dodge the claws they tried to catch with the tip of my staff, and they are struck in the head by the blow from my staff, which is imbued with plenty of magical power. Unlike me, they can't support their body in midair with flight magic.
If they were ants, they would have been crushed to pieces—yet it's not a decisive blow. It can still be said that the demon's durability is astonishing.
But I anticipated that. There's no time to regain a stance. I immediately kick off in midair to pursue them. From above to below. With the power of magic, I kick them down.
They are slammed into the ground and roll.
But for sure—definitely. I have no intention of showing mercy or pity towards the demon. As long as the consciousness of a sorcerer exists, just like being able to construct spells, I can manipulate the miasma as long as I'm alive. They're not an opponent I can capture alive or extract information from.
It seems that the staff has reached its limit, so this is the end... disposable. From the part I'm holding to both ends, the magic circle covers the magic staff.
"You monster—"
"It'll be the end for you to say that."
Both the demon and I—were smiling.
"Perforate."
Using the staff as the central axis, a swirling vortex of wind imbued with magic power emerges. The pressure of the spiraling tempest is concentrated at a single point.
Seventh-class wind magic: Vortex Lancer. I throw the staff clad in a tornado directly above the demon.
It is sucked in, precisely targeting the center of the demon's chest.
The explosive gust of wind, concentrated at a single point, spreads like a ring, mowing down the entire square in an instant. What remained afterwards was the figure of the demon lying sideways, with a large hole pierced in its chest along with the ground of the square.