Chereads / Hollow in a Magic World / Chapter 52 - Mind Over Muscle Part 2

Chapter 52 - Mind Over Muscle Part 2

General POV:

Both Demon Kings stood uncontested in the air as lesser demons around them watched them in terror with one entity watching with awe. He admired that they hadn't even really fought yet and just their mere presence alone made hundreds of demons cower. He wisely made the decision to wait and watch to observe just what a Demon King could do.

Shiva was excited, for it had been too long since she last got a chance to battle. It was rare for Demon King's to encounter each other and there was no one who was even remotely a challenge for her back home. There were so many things that she wanted to test, and now the opportunity had presented itself. She once again thanked the demon for allowing her this chance. 

Iros too was excited, but he wouldn't admit it. He had grown bored with just testing on inanimate objects. He longed for a challenge and somehow, the chance was given to him. He needed to know who to thank.

"Before we begin, I have to ask. What lead up to you being able to be here in my territory right now?" Iros asked her.

Hearing the question, Shiva began laughing hysterically. "It's actually a funny story. There's a demon I'm sure you sent your people after. You underestimated him, allowing me to capitalize on your mistake." She explains. 

He listens intently, as he admits even, he had not foreseen this outcome at all. There was seldom a demon cunning enough to turn a situation to their favor. He would have to thank that demon personally, but first, he had to deal with Shiva.

Iros raises both of his hands, as a red, blue, purple, brown, orange, green, black, and gray runes appear behind him. While he was doing that, Shiva's fist glows a ghastly red and black as her body radiates an intense aura of mana. 

As this isn't the first time they've fought, Iros takes the initiate, not wanting her to close the distance between them. Iros flicks his hand, and the red rune glows and a massive ball of fire hurls towards Shiva. She claps her hands together and as the fire makes contact with her, the fireball disperses as her hands come a part. 

The green rune pulses and a bolt of wind shoots towards Shiva. She laughs as punches forward, destroying the spell. "Come on! It's been too long since we've met, and it will probably be centuries more till we meet again. Let's enjoy this while we can!" Shiva shouts at him, flaring her mana, surrounding her in a red and black glow. 

Iros hid his smile, but he had to admit she was right. He wasn't a battle maniac like she was, but he was dying to test out his spells and she was the perfect subject. It was time to step it up a notch. 

His own mana flared, surrounding him in an aura of a ghastly green and black. With two Demon Kings letting their auras loose, the area around them began to be affected. The lowest level demons either died immediately or went into a coma. Nidhogg, who was in the Demon Lord ranking right now, even was struggling against the pressure these two were asserting. To him, it was akin to someone stepping on his back and forcing him to kneel. 

He hated the feeling and knelt to no one, therefore, instinctively resisted their influence. All four of his arms shook violently as he pushed back against the pressure. Feeling his unnatural strength hit a wall, he called all bugs who were unaffected by the events going around back to him. When the last bug he had available came back to him, he was able to use his mana again, which he did so immediately.

His body radiates a dangerous glow of bright orange and black, strengthening his arms to pulls himself into an upright position. He ignores the exhaustion just doing that caused, as he looks around him. Every other demon was prostrate on the ground before these two, with looks of terror on their faces. Even Droopy next to him was terrified of being noticed by them. 

He looked up at the two beings in the air before him. To make even a Demon Lord seem worthless in your presence. 'Was the difference between Demon Lord and Demon King that great?' His mana shimmered down as he realized that these two were going to continue fighting. He clearly wouldn't pass up on a chance to observe his future competition. But the key here was knowing when to escape lest he face enslavement to a different Demon King. 

Nidhogg's little display didn't go unnoticed by the two Demon King's. Iros smirks raising an eyebrow towards Shiva. "I can see why you want him. He is indeed interesting. He would make an excellent test subject." He comments to her.

She beams a smile at him, "Hah! He does dare flex his insignificant mana before us. But he can wait."

Each of her fists glows red as she punches out towards him. All of his runes glow launching all elemental spells at her. Nidhogg couldn't help but appreciate the view of watching the four-armed demon punch an assortment of fireballs, water balls, and wind bolts. He could appreciate them just displaying their prowess for him. He found himself salivating at the sheer amount of mana that they were giving off. 

Despite the mana supplied to him from the demons who got caught in his ability, his hunger was growing. He eyed Droopy beside him. Droopy would most likely provide him the relief that he needed from his hunger. Problem was that Droopy would no doubt regenerate anything he would try to consume off of him. 

But, as he had a bit of freedom to move, he could study Droopy a bit more. He didn't know how it never occurred to him, but Droopy was a Demon Lord, meaning that he, like the others, required a mana core. Droopy should have died when I hit him with my mini Cero's, so Nidhogg would guess that he had it constantly moving in an attempt to avoid his demise. However, the pressure from the Demon Kings caused him to drop to the ground, halting all his movements. So, his mana core was perfectly visible in front of Nidhogg, ripe for the taking. 

Nidhogg's mana flares once again, backed by the hunger that furthered his resolve and strength. He leapt towards Droopy, crawling at the substance that covered his body until the prize was within his grasp. Not wasting a single second, he immediately consumed the mana core, gaining mana from his fallen foe. As the pressure continued to assault him from the two Demon Kings, making it difficult to stand, Nidhogg decided it was easier to crawl out of there. Having six joints made the task of escaping while remaining low easier as he skittered on the ground like a lizard away from the city.