『Hooh?』
Mephisto, who had his arms crossed, raised an eyebrow.
A small sign of admiration that meant "Not bad."
But it wasn't directed at Elric.
It was in response to Judas.
'Too shallow.'
That was the first thought that crossed Elric's mind after attempting his Ice Shatter attack.
He had followed the weak point his Mind's Eye had identified, pouring a significant amount of power into it.
But the result was underwhelming.
Judas had managed to barely retreat at the last moment, narrowly avoiding the worst of the attack.
Even though Elric had thought Judas was blinded by madness, his animal-like instincts, common to demons, were on another level.
Of course, Judas hadn't completely escaped damage.
Boom!
"Dammit!"
Judas screamed in agony as his entire body convulsed with pain.
From his left forearm to the base of his wing—everything had been blown away.
It was as if a hungry beast had devoured a part of him in one swift bite.
He had known the attack was aimed at his head. The chilling sense of danger had grazed his spine, a realization that he had narrowly avoided death.
The problem was that he couldn't counterattack.
The ice forming over his wounds had quickly infiltrated his body.
It was consuming his demonic energy, disrupting its flow, and causing his movements to become sluggish. Frostbite spread rapidly, and with each labored breath, white mist poured from his mouth.
It was Ice Poison.
"Damn you!"
Demons are formless beings created based on the concept of "true names."
Their bodies have no fixed shape, meaning they can heal or regenerate as long as they have sufficient demonic energy.
But that was impossible right now.
Because of the Ice Poison.
The Ice Poison Elric had forcibly injected into Judas was a power derived from the divine power of "winter."
It was the power of Otto Han, who once battled on par with Demon Kings. There was no way a mere counterfeit like Judas, a failure within his own organization, could resist it.
So, despite Judas's outward show of anger, his inner thoughts were filled with desperation.
He wasn't just failing to gain the upper hand against Elric—he was being pushed back.
The Seal of Insanity wasn't providing him any advantage.
'I have to… I have to kill him, no matter what!'
Based on sheer aura, Judas knew he was more imposing.
So, he believed that if he pushed hard enough, he could kill Elric.
No—he had to kill him.
If he failed again and returned to the organization empty-handed, he was as good as dead.
Ever since losing the General Winter to Elric, Judas's life had been hanging by a thread.
No matter how lenient his god might be with his subjects, there wouldn't be a second chance.
Whoosh!
Judas spread his remaining wing wide and squeezed out every bit of demonic energy he could muster.
Rumble—
With his claws bared, he slashed through the air, and a storm of demonic energy followed in its wake.
The ground was torn apart, and the space around them darkened with shadows.
Crack—
This allowed the Ice Poison to spread even faster through his body, but Judas didn't care.
All he could think about was killing Elric and "devouring" him.
He believed that by using the power of his Seal of Assimilation, which allowed him to consume and steal the strength of anything he devoured, he could heal the Ice Poison by devouring Elric.
And then…
'I'll take back the divine powers of winter!'
He held onto the hope that he could reclaim the power of winter for himself.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Meanwhile, Elric stepped back half a step with his right foot, rotating slightly on his toes.
He was adjusting his stance to counter Judas's assault.
This time, he intended to mix in some techniques from the Body Strengthening Art.
Shall I help?
Just then, a part of the shadow climbed up Elric's fingertips.
Yu's spiritual form spoke in a sweet, suggestive tone.
You're running low on power. Isn't that right?
Elric frowned.
He wanted to tell Yu to stop talking nonsense and focus on devouring the other demons' seals scattered around them.
But he knew the situation wasn't so simple.
'I've nearly depleted my mana from that last attack.'
It was great that he had inflicted damage on Judas, but the problem was that Elric had taken a toll as well.
Using two of his divine powers back-to-back was bad enough, but squeezing out what little mana he had left for Ice Shatter had drained him further.
'One minute left.'
His Spell-power Circuits were reaching their limits.
At this rate, even if he managed to kill Judas, it would be difficult to escape.
'In fact, I don't even have a minute to spare. I have to finish this with the next attack.'
The Seal of Assimilation.
Yu's spiritual form had noticed Elric's situation and was offering a deal.
I'll take only that. What do you say? It's not a bad offer for you, either.
The Seal of Azazel, or whatever it's called, probably doesn't taste that great anyway. Heh.
Yu's spiritual form wanted the Seal of Assimilation for a simple reason.
It was perfectly suited to his nature.
As a being born from the concept of Preta, gaining the power of assimilate would allow Yu to recover his strength much more rapidly.
Elric figured it wasn't a bad deal for him, either.
After all, the Seal of Maleficence was linked to his Preta Sense. Strengthening that seal would naturally enhance his own abilities.
The only problem was that the stronger Yu became, the harder he would be to control.
'But I can use the Seal of Winter to manage that… I don't have much of a choice.'
Elric steeled his resolve, his eyes flashing coldly.
What can you do?
He didn't need to speak. His intention was clear to Yu's spiritual form.
Kikikiki.
Good. You made the right decision. Since I've had a decent feast, I can use something really good this time.
Elric then realized something.
Yu's spiritual form had become even more distinct.
He had already surpassed the advanced-rank and was on the verge of reaching the precious-rank.
It seemed Yu had been gorging himself on the demons the guardians had slain, rapidly growing in strength.
A creature Elric could never afford to take his eyes off.
Right now, though, thanks to that growth, he could draw upon that power.
Sssssss—
Good. Just let go of your strength.
The shadow moved.
Accept me.
In an instant.
The black shadow Elric had spread around him swirled and rushed toward him at a terrifying speed.
The shadow passed over his body and began to infuse itself into the ice spear he held.
The previously translucent ice spear turned pitch black, as though the shadows had been compressed and forced into the weapon, packed to its very limit.
The spear emitted a deep, feral howl.
Zeeeeeeng—
Kieeeek!
The sound of the spear's cry echoed like the wail of a ghost.
Just hearing it was enough to send chills down anyone's spine, as though something truly terrifying lurked within.
At the same time, Elric's Preta Sense amplified, and his entire focus converged on the tip of the spear.
At that moment.
He felt as if he and the spear had become one.
Body and spear as one.
It was a realm only the most skilled martial artists could achieve, and now Elric had reached it.
Even though it had been forcibly drawn out through Yu's possession, it was still an incredible feat.
Boom!
The spear tip made a sound as it pierced forward.
Though Elric had only thrust it forward, the spear shot through space and impaled Judas's head in an instant.
The storm of demonic energy surrounding Judas, the Seal of Assimilation, the Seal of Insanity that enhanced his power, all the attacks he had launched to tear Elric apart…
None of them could stop the spear's advance.
Judas's head was gone in a flash.
The ice spear, having served its purpose, also exploded.
Until the very moment of his death, Judas hadn't realized what had happened to him.
And then came the Ice Shatter.
Crack—
Boom!
The Ice Poison engulfed the rest of Judas's body in an instant.
Without even a chance to freeze solid, his body fractured and scattered into hundreds of pieces.
Kikikikik! Thanks for the meal.
Yu's spiritual form didn't miss that opportunity. Exposing his jagged teeth, he devoured the fragments of Judas's shattered body.
True to his word, Yu only swallowed the Seal of Assimilation, leaving the remaining demonic energy and the Seal of Insanity for Elric.
Fwoooosh—
At the same time, the Seal of Maleficence began to glow coldly as it slowly transformed into a new form.
Fiend.
It had once again surpassed its limits, evolving into a new shape.
Elric could feel that not only had his Preta Sense grown stronger, but his mana had also become more aggressive.
'Just a little…!'
Elric had no time to concern himself with anything else.
He was focused solely on converting a portion of the demonic energy he had seized from Judas into mana.
His Spell-power Circuits had completely dried up, causing both the Northern Wind and Winter Blizzard—the two divine powers he had been using—to stop altogether.
The possession had ended. The summoning of the guardians had been canceled as well.
"L-Lord Judas...?"
"Lord Judas is dead!"
"Melvinger is in critical condition! Kill him, somehow!"
The remaining demons, having finally grasped the situation, rushed toward Elric, desperate to capture him.
Within Gregory, they were no more than expendable pawns.
If they returned after losing their key force, the bishop, without even capturing Elric, their fate would be sealed—they would surely be consumed as 'fodder.'
So when they saw Elric showing signs of weakness, they threw themselves at him to prevent his escape.
But what they failed to realize—being mere low-ranking demons—was who Elric truly was.
The reason he needed a small amount of mana wasn't to flee.
It was to trigger the traps the guardians had set in place, as per his instructions.
"[Burst]."
He was Elric Melvinger.
The head of the Melvinger family, long known as the nemesis of demons.
Running away from their long-time enemies was never an option.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Rumble—
"What... what is this?!"
"When did...?!"
"Argh!"
The demons were caught off guard as explosions erupted from beneath their feet, leaving them completely disoriented.
They hadn't known that the guardians had planted mana bombs all over the icy ground, using the cover of the Winter Blizzard.
The demonic energy from the slain demons had been carefully collected and embedded like mines throughout the battlefield.
It had been done so quietly that no one noticed.
And even those who realized it too late were already doomed.
By the time they understood what was happening, their lives were already over.
Click!
Click!
In the midst of the chaos, the only sound echoing across the battlefield was the eerie noise of Yu's spiritual form moving swiftly, devouring the remains of the demons.
[T/L: You can read ahead chapters and support me here: https://ko-fi.com/revengerscans ]