626. Essence Manifestation
***
Haec watched as Salvos charged at him once again. She was fast— he had seen her fight against Venas. So he knew just how fast she could move. And right now, Haec knew that she was only starting to try.
Did he have to provoke her? She was letting him test out his Skills, so he should’ve been grateful. Certainly, he was grateful. But he was having so much fun. It was not sothing he had ever felt before. He felt… like he was truly alive.
For the first ti in forever, Haec felt like he was being the real him.
She swiped her claw at his face, but he didn’t move. He knew that his [Greater Reapershell] would block her attack. And it did. Another spike shot out from his shoulder, curving around his face and repelling the fiery strike.
Salvos repeated what she did before, teleporting behind him. It was predictable. Haec knew it was coming. But he didn’t retaliate. He let her unleash her onslaught of fiery attacks as his eyes darted around, tracking her movents. When she teleported once more, he knew where she’d be and swung out with a kick.
It was a simple kick. Not empowered by a Skill. And he missed, barely grazing past his companion’s back.
“Hah! You missed ! You can’t catch !”
Salvos laughed as she skipped away from him. He grinned, tilting his head at her.
“Are you sure about that, Salvos? Did I really miss?”
He taunted her, eyeing a black glow coming from her back. But she didn’t pick up on his clue as she crossed her arms.
“Yep!”
From the side, Taburas, Bertrugil, and Aemlua exchanged a glance. Haec blinked. And Salvos just nodded triumphantly at herself.
“You did miss! Look, I’m completely unscathed!”
“Uh, Salvos—”
Aemula piped up, raising a hand. But Bertrugil clamped a hand over her mouth as he cut her off.
“Hush. I want to see how this plays out.”
Haec pursed his lips, watching as Salvos waved a hand dismissively.
“I’m too fast for—”
She started, only for the black light on her back to expand into a sphere that circled her. Haec looked on as she took a step back, but her movents were far more sluggish now.
“Huh.”
Salvos stared down at herself. Haec chuckled, scratching the back of his head. He hadn’t expected his kick to connect— but he just needed to touch her. She placed a hand on her chin.
“I guess you did catch .”
She observed simply, and Haec nodded.
“That’s right. I did.”
He took a step forward and punched her in the face. Salvos went flying. She caught herself before she could crash into the glass-like walls of her pocket space, but Haec didn’t let up. He barreled her way as he raised his right hand.
A bone-like spike jutted out of his wrist, forming a curved blade. He swung at her, and she barely moved out of the way in ti, her movents heavily hindered by Haec’s Skill. It was called [Demonic Blight]. And it didn’t just slow its target, it weighed them down.
Furthermore—
Salvos swung back at Haec with a kick. But her attack never connected. Her leg bounced off the translucent black sphere weighing her down, and she blinked.
“Seriously? I can’t attack him, but he can attack ?”
“Yes!”
Haec followed up with his own flurry of kicks. This ti, he connected with his strikes. The first kick lifted her off her feet, and the second one sent her flying into the air. But he leapt after her as he continued his barrage of attacks, a crimson aura wisping off him
“[Consecutive Fatal Blows]!”
With each punch he landed, he felt like he was growing stronger. More powerful. And he was. His first kick couldn’t even put a dent to the flaming armor Salvos wore, but his fifth strike shattered her magical protection. Her eyes went wide as he was about to land a sixth strike.
But she vanished. Haec’s fist crashed against the ceiling of the pocket space, and the glass-like surface cracked. He spun around to face Salvos as she landed on the ground, wiping at her brow.
“That was close— that would’ve hurt a lot!”
She paused when she realized she was still impeded by the black sphere.
“Wait, it’s still following even after I teleported—”
“I’ve got you!”
Haec yelled as he kicked off the ceiling, lunging straight at her. The crimson aura from his [Consecutive Fatal Blows] vanished. It seed that he only grew stronger as long as he landed each hit. If he missed, the effects faded away instantly.
But it didn’t matter. He had Salvos now. Her gaze snapped up as he ca crashing down towards her. She opened her mouth in shock— then she sighed.
“Alright, you’ve had your fun.”
And Haec’s eyes narrowed as a flicker overca her body. He didn’t know what it was, but suddenly, her deanor changed. She stood straighter as her movent speed returned to normal for a mont. Then faster.
He reached her and swung down with his fist, but she deftly stepped out of the way. Before he could even blink, she was already standing behind him with her claws raised.
“[Divine Haste]. And— [Divine Strike].”
A white glow overca her claws as she swung down at him. Her attack tore straight through the black sphere impeding her movents, and Haec braced himself. His [Greater Reapershell] activated just in ti. The bone-like spike shot out to protect him—
And instantly shattered.
Salvos’ claws raked straight through the protective spike. She bared her teeth at Haec as now he looked at her in shock.
“That’s a cool trick! But it’s getting old!”
She spoke casually as she took a step forward. He tried to take a step back to disengage from her, but she didn’t let up. She swung out again, shattering another spike.
Haec stumbled back as his [Greater Reapershell] barely saved him each ti she swung at him. Her claws didn’t even need to co into contact with him. A small cut opened up on his cheek, even as her claws whizzed by his face. He didn’t get it. But he couldn’t even think about that.
He ground his teeth together as he absorbed her attacks and returned it back towards her once again.
“[Hellish Reproach]!”
Haec moved with the sa speed Salvos did, stepping under one of her strikes. He raised his fists as he felt his body being pushed to the absolute limit, before he unleashed dozens of punches back at her all at once.
Salvos stood there as her grin widened. She didn’t move to evade his attacks. Instead, the flas coating her body stretched out to form the shape of arms, jutting out of her shoulders.
“[Faux Limbs].”
She backed up as her burning limbs caught each punch he threw. They dissipated— destroyed— when his fists ca into contact with them. But they were replaced by another flaming limb in an instant, and just like that, she managed to negate his counterattack entirely.
“See? I don’t need your [Whatever Reaperthing] to do that trick!”
“That’s—”
Haec sputtered. But Salvos kicked him directly in the chest, tearing through the last of his protective spikes as her legs flashed with a white light. He flew back, feel a sharp pain jolt through his body— unlike anything he had ever felt before. She sprinted forward at him as his back hit the front wall of the pocket space. He coughed up blood as his vision blurred.
Salvos landed only a single strike on him. Perhaps it was a [Divine Strike], but he shouldn’t have been in such imnse pain. He wanted to curl up in a ball and scream. However, the reverberating pain echoing through his body suddenly twisted into a strange sensation.
Haec sucked in a deep breath as the world suddenly seed to slow. He looked up and saw Salvos sprinting straight at him, moving sluggishly across her pocket space. Across the room, Taburas was leaning forward with round eyes, and both Bertrugil and Aemula were blinking at the quick shift in the battle.
The forr Heir of the Netherworld tried to take all this in, but he couldn’t. He wasn’t able to form a single rational thought. All he could focus on was the searing pain on his chest. It coursed through him. It was… it was… anger.
And he moved without thinking. He was carried only by instincts. It pushed him. It made him rise to his feet. He raised his right arm as it bulged, a white aura overcoming it. Salvos slowed for a mont as she saw him getting to his feet, then her eyes flickered.
Whatever it was that inford her of what was coming next might have saved her. Because Haec swung out as she barely leapt back in ti.
“[The Right Hand of the Demon King]!”
The forr Heir of the Netherworld bellowed as he threw his fist at where she had been. A pulse of light swept over the pocket space, and the entire plane shook. The glass-like walls all around them cracked, even though Haec didn’t even strike the ground.
Bertrugil and Aemula were sent flying back from the shockwave. anwhile, Taburas clung to the glass-like ground, stopping herself from being sent soaring away. She just looked on with wide eyes as she whispered.
“That’s… Haec’s Grand Skill. But why?
Haec staggered forward as Salvos landed a hundred feet away from him. She exclaid.
“Hey! When did we decide we were going to be using Grand Skills?!”
But he ignored her. No— he couldn’t even hear her. It was like the world was a blur around him, every word Salvos spoke muffled to his ears. The whites of his eyes went black as he inhaled sharply, bringing his shrinking right arm into the air. When his right arm returned to a normal size, a black aura began to wisp off him, dripping from his shoulders like a dark liquid.
Like Demon’s blood.
Salvos furrowed her brows as she lowered her guard for a mont. And she muttered under her breath.
“I know that—”
“What is going on?”
Aemula cried out, peeling herself off the wall. Bertrugil shook his head as he cursed.
“How should we fucking know?”
Haec couldn’t hear them. He just continued to trudge forward as the black liquid continued to pool at his feet, before floating up to form a dark aura around him. He raised his gaze as he was carried only by his anger. By his instincts.
He spoke softly as he eyes Salvos with glazed eyes.
“[Demonic Essence Manif—”
Haec started, but was promptly cut off.
“Enough.”
Salvos shouted as she flicked her wrist. Haec froze where he stood, caught in a trance. The glass-like ground beneath his feet shifted, before slamming up into the ceiling. He recoiled in pain, and his head jolted back. The whites in his eyes returned as he blinked a few tis. And then he ca crashing back down into the ground.
The dark aura wisping off him dissipated as he just groaned in pain.
“Ouch…”
He lay there for a mont as he clutched at his chest. His entire body ached. He didn’t even want to get up. But he heard a set of footfalls approaching him, and he forced himself to look towards who it was.
“Haec…”
Salvos bit her lower lip as she stared at him. She swept her gaze past him, before shaking her head.
“What was that about? Weren’t we supposed to be going easy on each other? You could’ve killed us all if you destroyed [The World Of My Mind].”
“I… what?”
Haec stared at her blankly for a mont, then the mories of what just happened slowly settled in. He realized what he had done— what he tried to do. The forr Heir of the Netherworld looked down at himself as he realized that he had tried to kill Salvos.
And he had no words to say.
Author's Notes:
Small retcon so Haec's new Grand Skill is called [Demonic Essence Manifestation Mastery] instead of just [Demonic Essence Mastery].
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