Chapter 31 - Blood Ray

The demon power Drakar used was different from those known to Evan, but something remained the same - it was one of the variations the demon's power took. In this case, it was a tall crimson staff with a scarlet crystal filled with destructive energy.

"Any last words?" Drakar asked calmly, fully confident in his victory.

Evan shook his head, "That's the kind of thing only asked of those about to die, so... I see no reason to answer it."

Drip. Drip. Drip.

Drops of blood dripped from Evan's fingertip that he held behind the wide stone beside him. Hiding from attacks behind one like that was impossible, but it suited a different purpose...

Drakar shrugged, "As you wish. I'm curious about your powers and where you got them from, but I'd rather you took that secret to your grave."

At the same moment, the scarlet crystal reached its limit, gathering all its power at its tip and releasing it in a single stream.

A thick ray of blood that was several times the size of the staff itself headed toward Evan, so fast that all he could do was blink and whisper something.

A sigil shone brightly on the stone, with Evan's blood still trickling from its edges, drawn in haste.

It took a while for Evan to process it, but for everyone else, it was only a moment before a massive snake curled around his left arm.

The snake's jaws opened wide, trying to absorb the full destructive power of the blood ray. Snakes were known for their ability to swallow food larger than they were, many times over, and now that may have been the key.

Evan thrust his sword into the ground, trying to stay in one place, but he struggled to do so, slowly the ray pushed him backwards, his feet leaving two flat lines on the ground.

After a few seconds, the energy of the ray came to an end, and Evan was finally able to breathe a sigh of relief, while sweat streamed from his forehead. 

The snake swelled up, scarlet light flashed between its scales, it was ready to explode like a bomb, but at the last moment, the snake blew out a massive puff of smoke and absorbed all the energy, returning to its previous size.

Anyway, this was the snake's limit, it would not be able to absorb such a powerful attack one more time.

"Used the power of another demon unknown to me...? Or is it still the same one? Damn, I almost want to let you live, but on the other hand, it only proves that you must die. Everyone wants chaos, but an understandable one, not the abnormal type that happens because of people like you."

Drakar sighed before tapping his staff on the ground.

Whoooooooosh.

An energy pulse went through the staff, and the crystal glowed again, about to launch another ray as powerful as before.

Klaus's eyes went wide, "What...? He can just attack again so easily? No way, it's too unfair..."

"Evan! Dodge! This attack will kill you!" Halvor exclaimed, trying with all his might to get out of the chains, but with his wounds and the density of the chains, it was impossible.

Even though it was the only option, Evan didn't even move. His gaze was calm, and a slight smile appeared on his face.

He seemed to have already accepted defeat, the end of this battle.

Then, Evan pulled his sword out of the ground and threw it forward like a spear.

"Pfffft, how desperate. Do you really think you can hit me?" Drakar snorted, taking a step to the side, thus moving out of the sword's trajectory.

Evan shook his head.

"Nah, I don't need a sword to kill you."

At the same moment, the last crystal in Evan's earring shone brightly.

He and the sword switched places, ending up next to Drakar, close enough to attack. 

"Agh?"

Drakar's eyes went wide as he abruptly turned around, about to strike.

However, before he could do anything, Evan smiled slightly, and two bloodshot snake eyes appeared in front of Drakar.

Then, the snake's wide jaw engulfed Drakar's head, slicing through his neck with sharp fangs and blasting his skull into bloody chunks. 

Having fulfilled its part of the contract that had cost Evan three months of his life, the snake disappeared, leaving Evan alone with the already decapitated Drakar.

Bam.

The corpse of the dark mage and demonologist fell to the ground with a rumble, while the crimson staff disintegrated into scarlet particles, slowly disappearing into the void as a farewell.

"Hah, that was a great battle..." Evan muttered with a satisfied smile before he fell to the ground, passing out.

...

An unknown amount of time later, Evan opened his eyes. Perhaps if it hadn't been for the bright sunlight streaming through the window, he would have slept a lot more.

"Fuck... What a splitting headache..." Evan muttered, touching his forehead with his fingertips.

Before going anywhere, Evan decided to check something important.

"Sight..." Evan whispered, and runes appeared in front of him.

***

Name: Evan Lynch

Race: Human

Lifespan Expectancy: 65 years 8 months

Status: Commoner (?????) - Knight (Maybe in the future.)

Warp: None (no known talent for magic)

Tantum: ????

Arcanum Path: Undetermined, (The Invited One.)

***

"Oh... Interesting..." Evan muttered thoughtfully.

Even though he had already used the demons' power twice since the last time, his lifespan had only increased rather than decreased.

Sight showed his Lifespan depending on the current state of his body, so technically if Evan summoned Sight a minute before he died, he would see that he had one minute to live.

"Hmm... I originally had 50 years, but now I have 65 and 8 months considering I spent 1 year and 4 months on demon power... So in a week, I raised my lifespan to 67 years just by practicing and eating well? Well, I guess 70 is probably the limit of this body, 60 is already above average, so at least I'm lucky for something."

Evan cast a quick glance at the changes in Status and concealed Sight, dispelling the runes with a wave of his hand. He wasn't interested in becoming a Knight, his only path was a mage.

'Agh... Maybe I should stay here for a while longer? At least until I find out if I have a talent for magic or not...' Evan pondered, shrugged, and headed for the door.