Daemom frowned upon hearing this. He looked at the Knight of Famine and shook his head. He didn't want to become a monster like the one standing in front of him.
"Will I become like him?" he asked, his eyes never leaving the enemy for even a moment. For some reason, the Knight of Famine had not moved beyond the first attack on the car. He was confused by the situation but didn't complain. The longer he could delay, the better his chances of survival.
"No. As I said before, your body is a perfect vessel to receive the power of a prince of hell. You will be safe no matter how much demonic energy I give you," Amara replied, looking at the mortal being possessed by the Duke of Hell. For some reason, he remained still, silently watching Daemom. This intrigued her; she remembered that the Duke of Famine wasn't exactly known for his patience. In fact, none of the Dukes of Hell were patient to begin with.
"Then, I accept." Daemom no longer hesitated; he accepted the proposal. He didn't think he could defeat the pet of the Duke of Hell, let alone the Duke himself.
Amara didn't speak and closed her eyes.
Before Daemom could get confused by Amara's silence, he felt a fiery energy coursing through his body. What he thought would probably hurt didn't happen; on the contrary, his body seemed to accept the heterogenic energy perfectly.
For some reason, Daemom felt the itch on his back intensify, almost as if something desperately wanted to tear through his flesh and fully emerge.
But he didn't pay more attention to this strange feeling, as the Knight of Famine finally moved.
Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!
Before he could do anything, shots rang out, hitting the Knight of Famine squarely in the head. Before Daemom could celebrate, he saw that the bullets had no effect on the possessed knight, other than obviously angering the man who had a contract with the Duke of Hell.
Marcus finally reacted! Daemom thought as he backed away.
"Daemom, my powers involve the Aspect of War. They allow me to manifest any weapon by sacrificing something in return. The power of each weapon depends entirely on the item sacrificed. But remember, you must have knowledge of the weapon to manifest it and complete the sacrifice ritual." While taking advantage of the situation to retreat, Daemom heard Amara's voice in his mind. Following her words, he quickly touched the shelf and used the demonic power within him very naturally.
This left Amara stunned; her demonic power seemed to obey Daemom like a child. It was the first time she had seen or heard of such a situation in her life.
When Daemom touched the shelf, he spoke, "Sacrifice."
The entire metal structure turned to ashes.
In the same instant, a broad sword about a meter long rose from the ground, its point facing down while the hilt pointed up. It was entirely silver, as if made from the purest silver, and it glowed with a red light.
Daemom grabbed the hilt and pulled the blade, holding it firmly. Feeling its weight, he found it unexpectedly light. Honestly, he had wanted a gun, but he didn't know how they were made, so he opted for a sword.
"Using a sword is simple; just hit the target and it dies," Daemom murmured, looking at the Knight of Famine and his mount, the Cow of Famine.
Suddenly, under Daemom's surprised eyes, Marcus, who had grown at least thirty centimeters taller and was covered in gray fur, punched the Knight of Famine, sending him flying and knocking over all the shelves in his path.
The howl of a wolf echoed through the convenience store.
The cow, seeing its owner being hit, released two streams of smoke from its nostrils and stomped on the ground, charging toward Marcus with the intent to crush him, its furious bellow echoing through the place.
Daemom naturally wouldn't let that happen. Already beside the monster and with demonic power strengthening his body, he brandished the sword forcefully.
Being a complete novice in the art of swordsmanship, Daemom knew he couldn't choose a difficult target, so he chose an obvious one—one of the legs!
Daemom slashed from bottom to top in a crescent-shaped arc.
Splash!
A fleeting gleam appeared in the air, and one of the animal's legs was severed, flying off and hitting one of the shelves.
The cow, with all its forward momentum, lost its balance with the sudden loss of its leg and fell to the ground. Its furious and pain-filled roar echoed through the area. Even trying to stand again, it failed, thrashing violently. The rotten yellow blood gradually soaked the convenience store floor.
The floor, stained with cursed blood, began to decompose at a visible rate, emitting yellow smoke, causing Daemom to quickly back away. He even held his breath, fearing the smoke was toxic.
"Arrhggg!!!"
Before Daemom could rejoice at immobilizing one of the enemies, he heard Marcus's agonizing roar. Turning, he saw a scene he might never forget for the rest of his life.
Kneeling on the ground, Marcus breathed heavily. Half of his body had begun the process of decomposition, while the other half remained intact.
The sword in the hand of the Knight of Hunger pierced Marcus's shoulder, its blade gleaming with a sickly yellow aura.
Marcus's left hand tried to grasp the blade in an attempt to remove it, but it was a futile effort against the colossal strength of the Knight of Hunger.
"Daemom, run! Run as fast as you can and don't look back." Turning to look at the teenager, Marcus clenched his teeth and spoke with difficulty, his face contorted with agonizing pain. Even with the resilience of a werewolf, he felt half of his body no longer responding.
He was dying, and all he could do was buy time—even a mere second would increase Daemom's chances of survival. Just the thought of Daemom's talent being captured and exploited by one of those organizations sent a shiver down Marcus's spine.
He would sacrifice himself to prevent that from happening!
But in the next moment, the words he wanted to convey were cut short by a tragic end.
With a simple swing, the Knight of Hunger withdrew the sword from Marcus's shoulder and cut a clean vertical path from shoulder to head. Blood sprayed the walls and stained the shelves and products on the floor in an instant.
Marcus's head, still looking at Daemom, slid off as the upper part of his body fell away, revealing his organs and half of his brain.
Without even glancing back at Marcus's body, the Knight of Hunger strode toward Daemom, the blade scraping against the ground, producing a cold, sharp sound and occasional sparks from the friction.
Daemom paid no heed to the approaching Knight of Hunger; his eyes were fixed entirely on Marcus's lifeless, divided body. Despite their brief time together, he had seen Marcus as a genuinely nice guy, especially when he talked about his family with obvious longing.
"Daemom!"
Marcus had died right in front of him, and there was nothing he could do.
"Daemom!"
Yet such a good man had died here, in this place, all because of him.
"Daemom, wake up!"
At the sound of Amara's voice, Daemom finally raised his gaze and saw the Knight of Hunger closing in on him. The creature was so close that the teenager could smell the overpowering putrid scent filling his nostrils.
The infernal being's fiery gaze seemed to pierce Daemom's soul directly. Unbeknownst to himself, Daemom's eyes had taken on a deep crimson hue.
Without hesitation, Daemom thrust his sword into the figure before him. The silver blade cleanly pierced through the creature's body. To his dismay, the Knight of Hunger continued to stare at him, unfazed by his attack.
"Curious," it spoke, its voice raspy and grating like shards of glass scraping together. "You resemble him."