The head falls to the ground as I continue to observe the body. At first glance, it may look like an easy victory. However...
"Hahaha! Splendid! I didn't manage to keep up with that speed!"
Yeah... As expected, it's not gonna be easy. He is a Demon, after all. Demons can be harmed but never perish unless they are attacked with powerful attacks until they are exhausted or use "Holy" magic. I can't use "Holy" magic, and he is a named Demon, so it will be difficult to kill with continuous powerful attacks until he is exhausted.
"Bravo, bravo! Hahaha!"
Arunoth's headless body clapped his hand while his head was still on the ground, looking excited.
The body grabbed his head and put it on his neck as it attaches itself.
"If I were a puny mortal like you humans, I will be in hell by now. Though it is where I was born."
He laughs as he looks at me. He then readied this red sword and attacked me with a quick slash.
Although I blocked it with my sword, the slash was carried with great force, making almost lose my balance. He then followed it with another slash. As i was about to block it, another ominous red sword appeared to his other hand and also attacked me with it. Having no choice but to dodge, I stepped back instead to avoid the two incoming slash.
"Hahaha! As expected, you avoided my two swords!"
He cheerfully said as he continued his assault.
I blocked, dodged, and deflected each of his attacks. Although I can attack with a counter, I can only focus on defending for now. My instinct warns me to never let his swords make contact with any of my parts of my body.
As we continued fighting, Arunoth grinned as he followed my movements.
"Hoh? You seem aware of my swords' ability. Then, as a reward for killing me once, I'll tell you about it."
He stepped back and held his left sword forward. The red sword began to glow more ominously.
"These swords are called "Painbringer." It will inflict a wound that has ten times the sensation of pain to any living creature it touches."
He proudly said as he swung the blade, showing how ominous it was.
"Well then, let's continue, shall we?"
He then proceeded to continue attacking me.
The fight continues for an hour. To break the status quo, I made a fake out by rushing recklessly at him with a slash. As he tried to block my attack, I stopped immediately and jumped backwards away from him.
I closed my eyes and concentrated. Enveloping my body with a focused state. I gripped my sword with my two hands and held it sideways in front of my face. With both my mind and body in sync, I slowly opened my eyes and kicked the ground with tremendous force, rushing to the Demon. I then released a powerful slash and sliced many parts of his body.
This is a technique I developed when I was training with my master. I called it "Overslash." A technique that requires an immense amount of concentration and focus, Then unleash all of it on one attack. The concentrated attack will then release a series of invisible powerful slashes that are enough to cut a huge boulder.
Though I cut off many parts of his body enough to consider him dead, I still remain vigilant since I know that he still lives, so I continued to cut everything off as he tried to reattach himself. As I was about to thoroughly cut everything, he then chanted a spell.
"Idyu Merda Gerseh."
Ten Dark spears appeared all around me and rushed over to pierce me. I dodged each of them as I stepped back, and then he chanted another spell.
"Idyu Merda Hrova."
A black orb suddenly appeared and quickly rushed towards me. I dodged, and it exploded when it touched the wall. What left of it was nothing but a cracked part of the wall. The damaged part seems to have been turned into a rotting flesh.
"Idyu Merda Gravt."
A large shadow appeared underneath me, and then it felt like a powerful force was pulling me down on the floor. Then, a large magic circle also appeared.
"Saga Merda Worha."
A black hole appeared above me. My instinct is warning me on an alarming rate. So, I enveloped my body with a large amount of mana to block the intense pressure of gravity and quickly get out of the magic circle. Then, it activates as I left.
A torrent of dark energy has been released, plunging everything inside the magic circle in darkness.
It looks like I manage to dodge it a nick of time. If i stayed any more seconds in there, I would've died.
"Dark" Attribute.
A magic type that is the complete opposite of "Holy" magic. If Holy Magic offers comfort and protection, Dark Magic brings destruction and despair. Although a handful of people can use dark magic, they can never use them past the intermediate rank. Demons are the only ones that can use them any further.
As the dark magic began to fade, I then looked at Arunoth. It seems that all of his pieces are fully reattached. This time, however, his dark aura has become more intense.
Although he is still smiling, his expression has become more serious than before.
"As expected of Horrowein's lineage, to be able to avoid them all is praiseworthy."
I was surprised. Although I introduced myself to him, I never said my family name.
He looks amused as he grins, looking at my expression.
"How did you know?"
"Hahahaha! Even if I explain it to you, you would never understand it."
He shrugs his shoulder as he explains.
"I just simply used magic, although it is more accurate to say that it's a simple 'skill'."
He grins, thinking that I would never understand.
Hmm? Hold on... Did he say "Skill"? The thing that Rina keeps saying? Seriously? Does that mean the "skill" that he used to know who I am is the same "skill" that Rina is trying to tell me.
"You mean you are using [Appraisal]?"
This time, he is the one who looked so surprised.
"To think that you know it, how interesting. Tell me, how did you find out about it?"
"You think I will tell you?"
"Hmmm, well, it doesn't matter since you'll die anyways."
He then drew his swords and raised his left sword, pointing it upwards. Then , ten more red swords have appeared behind him.
Looks like he is about to go all out.
Looks like killing him again will be harder from now on as he is now serious.
This time, I lowered my sword.
"Hmm? Are you giving up already?"
He said as he observed what I was doing.
I silently closed my eyes and then...
I whistled.