Oliver suddenly paused and looked around, glancing cautiously to his left and then to his right. A visible sigh of relief escaped from his lips as he saw no sign of the devils hunting him.
Seeing this, the devil beca certain that the target was clueless about his presence.
"This is my chance," thought the devil as he imdiately made a move, sneaking up behind Oliver without making a noise. As no noises were made as it moved, Oliver seed to have failed to notice it sneaking up on him.
The devil declared, "Caught you," as in a single swift motion his hand, equipped with three sharp, tallic digits that resembled the hooves of a horse but were infinitely sharper, penetrated Oliver's body from the center of his upper back and ca out of his chest, effectively skewering him to his arm.
"They say revenge is the sweetest when served cold, but I am having the ti of my life here."
The devil bead with triumph, relishing the sweet taste of revenge.
He looked down, admiring his handiwork and expecting to see the life drain from his target's eyes.
However, in re monts, his face contorted from elation to utter disbelief.
The Oliver he believed he had successfully vanquished wasn't the genuine Oliver at all.
Instead, it was rely a decoy, an illusion that began to disintegrate right before his very eyes, disappearing like a mirage in the desert.
The devil's eyes thinned to the size of needles as he realized he had been duped yet again by the sa kid, and his instincts scread at him that sothing was amiss, that he was in grave danger, but he barely had ti to understand the nature of his mistake when the very tree behind him morphed into Oliver who was holding a gleaming sword in his hand. Before the devil could even sense his presence, Oliver, with a swift and precise movent, drove the sword into the back of the devil's head, catching him completely off-guard.
The devil never expected a low-rank wizard would have the guts to set up a trap and confront him. He
fell victim to his ploy because blinded by his own arrogance, he underestimated Oliver.
With a sly grin, Oliver leaned close to the devil who he had just stabbed and whispered into his ears, "I am the one that got ya, loser."
Oliver had expected the devil to drop dead, but what he got was entirely unexpected.
Hahahaha!
With a glint of amusent flashing in its eyes, the devil laughed. His laughter was similar to the cries of a banshee. It was a sound that sent chills down Oliver's spine, making him feel cold feet.
How could he still be alive? He has driven a sword through his head!
Slowly, with a smirk playing on his lips, the devil turned his head ever so slightly. His actions lodged the sword deeper into his head and allowed him to look at Oliver from the corner of his eyes. Oliver saw a glint of mockery dancing within the devil's eyes and in that mont, he knew he had made a grave mistake. He had greatly underestimated the devil's vitality.
With an almost theatrical flair, the Equus sneered, "Do you genuinely believe such a tactic would be my undoing?" He continued, his voice dripping with derision, "Perhaps you're not fully aware, but let educate you on the robust resilience of an Equus' constitution. This wound, as dramatic as it appears," he gestured towards the sword embedded deep within his skull, "is rely a scratch for our kind. Watch closely; once I remove this little annoyance," he grasped the sword's hilt and started to put it out of his skull, "my injury will nd itself in the blink of an eye."
Oliver's resolve initially wavered, but a determined glint flashed in his eyes in that very second. With a smirk that mirrored the devil's own arrogance, he fired back, "Your dreams are rather lofty, aren't they? Who said I'm going to give you the ti to do what you want?"
Upon hearing his words, a wave of unease washed over the devil, but before he could do a thing, Oliver unleashed the ultimate curse housed within his artifact.
A torrent of wind blades, sharp as razors and fast as lightning, burst forth from the sword embedded in the devil's skull in a spectacular display.
Burst!
The devil's head exploded, a ss of blood, brain matter, bones, and teeth splattering everywhere as the wind blades burst out and surrounded the devil, who wobbled around but didn't collapse to the ground. His hands with sharp digits swung through the air randomly, but by chance headed straight towards Oliver as he leaped backwards to avoid them.
"How the hell?!"
Oliver was honestly shocked by the devil's ability to remain alive despite losing his head. Even without the most important part of the body, the devil was still alive. His vitality was truly terrifying.
"He's recovering?"
Oliver's shock doubled as the empty area above the devil's neck began to grow a head.
The devil was going to recover from the damage, but Oliver had no intention of letting that happen.
"Like hell I'd let you," Oliver said as he clutched his fist and the swords surrounding the devil slashed at him from every conceivable angle. Such was their speed and precision that the devil was rendered into countless shreds almost instantaneously. He didn't even get the opportunity to emit a final, desperate cry before eting his end!
A relieved imdiately adorned Oliver's handso pretty boy face. The chopped-up pieces of the devil's body weren't showing any signs of being alive. This ti the devil was dead for real.
Oliver, standing before the remnants of the Equus, took a deep breath and looked up at the sky.
"Master," he whispered to the wind, but it seed like he was speaking to the absent figure with a note of gratitude, "even though you aren't here by my side, this victory belongs to you as much as it does to . It's undeniably thanks to your guidance and gifts that I managed to take down the Equus."
Oliver was Lord Lucious's only student, and their bond was deeper than that of a typical ntor and protege. He treated him like his own son. As a mark of his favoritism and trust, Lucious had presented Oliver with a unique cursed artifact every year on his birthday. And as told before, cursed artifacts were imbued with special effects. Over ti, this consistent gifting resulted in Oliver amassing an arsenal of these powerful tools, each holding mysterious and awe-inspiring capabilities.
Moreover, Lord Lucious didn't just pick up any artifact he could and gifted it to Oliver. He was extrely thoughtful about it as a person, whether they be a bloodline, a wizard, or both, couldn't bond with an infinite number of cursed artifacts, as the chances of becoming corrupted increases each ti one subdues a cursed artifact and establishes a contract with it. He only gave items that were extrely beneficial in diversifying the things Oliver could do, hence increasing his chance of survival no matter what situation he faced, and helped him subdue them as well.
Among the many cursed artifacts he gifted Oliver was the "Doppelganger." A marvel of dark magic, it gave Oliver the ability to conjure a near-perfect replica of himself, deceiving even the most astute of observers. Another one of these gifts was the "Shapeshifter." It was an artifact of deception that granted Oliver the ability to change not just his appearance, but even his scent, to match any target of his choosing. All he had to do was set his gaze upon the subject, and he would beco an indistinguishable copy of them. And, of course, his main weapon of choice, the wooden cursed sword – a seemingly unassuming weapon, which in fact contained a formidable force – this too was a cherished gift from Lucious.
Without the combined strength of these artifacts, Oliver's ploy would have been dood from the start. So he couldn't help but feel grateful to his master and attribute one part of his victory against the Equus to him. As for the other part, it naturally went to him.
After all, it would be unjust to attribute his successful victory over the Equus solely to the cursed artifacts since Oliver's sharp intellect and cunning played an equally pivotal role in the risky battle.
His most comndable achievent was, without a doubt, the way he managed to separate the group of Equus using only Doppelganger.
These five devils were formidable when united. Their collective strength and synergy made them nearly invincible against anyone weaker than level 5. However, Oliver's strategy ingeniously managed to fracture this unity, drawing them apart. After all, he knew all too well that if the five Equus had coordinated their efforts and attacked him simultaneously, he wouldn't have stood the slightest chance. Their sheer might would have overwheld him. So, he divided them first.
And by successfully dividing them and ensuring only one pursued him, he tilted the scales in his favor. But even then, he ticulously strategized, using the Doppelganger to create a diversion and the Shapeshifter to blend seamlessly into his surroundings to fool the Equus chasing him into falling into a trap. Oliver had transford a seemingly insurmountable challenge into a manageable one-on-one confrontation, which he won by being ticulous till the end!
'With this, I have earned the right to see another day.'
Oliver thought he had thrown the devils off his trail.
What he didn't know was that he had made a fatal mistake by killing the Equus, and it was a mistake so great that it might very well cost him his life!
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