"Urgh!" Asher crumbled to the floor with a single punch from the undead, forcing his mana to deplete to almost zero despite getting stronger. The undead has grown so frighteningly strong that he can't even take more than two punches from him before his MP plunges to near zero.
But this ti, he learned his lesson and didn't want to risk fighting it a second longer until he ran out of mana. And so before the undead could co closer to him, his figure zood towards Lori at the other end of the hall, away from the undead.
"Sssss, you told not to fight Skully and yet you are fighting it. Do you realize how sssstupid it sssounds??" Lori hissed in frustration upon seeing him return after a close shave with death.
"As you saw, I can afford to risk my life a few tis, but you can't do that. I will just have to keep trying until I find a way to defeat this monster who sohow has so of my powers," Asher said with gritted teeth as he chugged down another health potion to replenish his mana.
His mind raced to understand who or what this thing really was, especially when it even had the power to stop him from going to the Damned Dinsion. He couldn't escape death even if he wanted to against this thing.
Never before, as a demon, did he ever feel death looming so close to him. Even when facing the Moon Guardian, he still had the option to escape to the Damned Dinsion. But now he can't. Yet he also knew there was no other choice. There was nowhere else to run to.
Lori could only stare speechlessly upon seeing him replenishing his mana through so masochist ritual.
"I will be back," Asher said with a face overrun by sweat as he got up to face the undead again. "Ssstupid brat, get back here! Skully is going to burn your ass to cinders if you keep this up!" Lori hissed loudly from behind, but her words fell on her deaf ears as Asher sped away.
The oppressive air in the dark hall seed to mock Asher as he charged at the undead for the third ti, his blazing green flas roaring defiantly, their battle beginning in the next mont.
His skeletal fra glowed brighter with each surge of mana, and yet, despite his efforts, the cloaked undead swatted away his attacks with almost chanical ease. Every swing of his ring blade, every burst of dark flas, was t with an equal or overwhelming counter.
Asher grunted as the undead's skeletal fist smashed into his ribcage, the force sending him flying backward until he crashed into a jagged wall. His bones cracked audibly but quickly nded, though the drastic boost in his stats and the plunge his MP had just taken reminded him just how much sheer power was behind that single attack.
"Fuck this..." Asher muttered under his breath, staggering to his feet. His flas flickered weakly, and he could feel the last remnants of his mana slipping away. Yet, the undead was relentless, advancing with that sa eerie, dead-eyed gaze, its every step carrying an oppressive aura that bore down on him.
Before it could close the distance, Asher turned and sprinted back toward Lori, who was coiled at the far end of the hall. Her serpentine body looked noticeably smaller, and her dark purple scales had lost their usual luster, a clear sign of her declining strength.
Lori's eyes narrowed as she saw Asher approach, her voice sharp with worry and frustration. "Brat! How many tissss are you going to try this before Skully buries you here? You're just wasting your ti!"
Asher ignored her, fumbling to retrieve another health potion. His hands trembled as he uncorked the bottle and downed the crimson liquid in one go. His entire body shuddered as he sacrificed a chunk of his life force to replenish his dwindling mana.
The pain hit him like a tidal wave. His bones crackled under the strain, and his blazing flas flared erratically as his essence burned away to fuel his powers. He clenched his teeth, groaning through the tornt. He felt his vision blur montarily before the effects of the potion stabilized him.
Lori hissed in alarm, slithering closer, "You can't keep doing thissss! The more potion you take, the more it loses its effectiveness. You're going to poison your body. Sssso stupid, stupid!!"
Asher wiped the corner of his jaw where the potion's remnants trickled down and gave her a grim smile, "We don't have a choice, Lori. If I stop now, we die anyway. 'Skully' isn't going to let us waltz out of here if we don't get rid of it."
Lori's eyes glistened with a rare softness, and her tone wavered between worry and anger, "But look at you... Your face is pale as a corpse. You're barely standing. And ? I can't even hold my sssscales together anymore. What's the point of fighting if you're just going to die like this?"
Asher's gaze hardened, and his flas steadied, "The point is to buy us ti. If I can't win, I'll figure out sothing else. But sitting here and waiting for death isn't an option."
Lori hissed softly, her usual defiance waning. She could see the determination in his glowing dark green eyes, but that didn't make her feel any less helpless, "Fine," she muttered, coiling herself tighter, "but don't expect to greet you in the Seven Hells when we die."
Asher chuckled weakly, "Deal."
With that, he turned and charged back toward the undead, his flas flaring brighter once more. But the fight played out like a grim repetition of his earlier attempts. Every attack he launched was deflected with precision, every maneuver countered with crushing force. The undead moved with an unsettling blend of speed and power, each blow landing with bone- shattering impact, and each battle ended within a matter of seconds.
By the ti Asher retreated for the fifth ti, his body was trembling, and his flas had dimd to faint embers. He stumbled toward Lori, collapsing to his knees beside her.
His hands fumbled for another health potion, but as he uncorked it, his body rejected the re scent of it. He gagged and dropped the bottle, its contents spilling onto the cracked
ground.
Lori's eyes widened in alarm though her voice was weaker than ever, "Y-You can't even stomach it anymore...Brat, you're killing yourself..."
Asher leaned against the wall, his skeletal form rattling with each labored breath. "It doesn't matter," he said, his voice barely a whisper. "I have to keep going...just one more...one more
ti."
Lori slithered closer, her coils tightening around him protectively, "E-Enough! If you go back out there, then I am coming with you!"
"Lori..." Asher's eyes regained so clarity as he saw her wrap her body over his arm while looking at him. Seeing the dimness in her usually vibrant and powerful dark purple eyes made him realize she hasn't got much ti left. Maybe a few more minutes. If he went up against the undead again, he might not see her again.
"Sssss...now you finally see how hopeless it is. I have never t such a foolish brat..." Lori weakly hissed as she let her delicate head rest against his chest, making Asher raise his trembling hand to caress her soft scales.
For the first ti, silence settled between them, broken only by the faint echoes of the undead's approaching steps in the distance. Lori tightened her coils around Asher, her usual biting words replaced by a rare and solemn quiet. Neither of them spoke, their shared despair hanging heavy in the suffocating darkness.
The suffocating darkness of the hall pressed down on Asher like a physical weight, but it was nothing compared to the heaviness in his chest as he held Lori in his arms.
Her once-vibrant scales had dulled to an ashen hue, her powerful body now frail and trembling. The faint glow in her serpentine eyes was flickering, a pale remnant of the fiery spirit she always carried.
He knew her body was getting corrupted with this "cursed" mana, and not long after, she would die like those who died here.
Asher's grip around her tightened as if trying to keep her life from slipping through his grasp, "Should we go back up?" His voice cracked, uncharacteristically unsure.
He looked up at the hole he had descended from, the faint outline of the distant opening taunting him, "We can still find another way..."
Lori's weak laugh sounded more like a rasp, her breath shallow as she muttered, "It'sss too late for such sssilly nonsense. Even if you weren't so obsessed with defeating Skully...I wasss dood the mont I ca here. There is nothing else out there...nothing we can find with the little ti I was left with..."
Her words hit him like a hamr, and his jaw clenched as his flas flickered dimly around his skeletal form, "I'm sorry, Lori," he whispered, his voice heavy with guilt, "You ended up
here because of ."
"Sssss..." Lori's faint smirk tugged at her scaled lips, "Again, it'ssss too late to regret not
listening to my wise words. But don't forget...I made the dumb decision of coming with you. You brat...got nothing to bla yourself for..." She rested her head weakly against his chest, her voice barely above a whisper now with a hint of bliss on her face, "At least I got to make my partner hold like this."
Her words stung, and Asher couldn't help but chuckle weakly despite the pain that gripped his heart. He gently adjusted her, trying to provide even a modicum of comfort, though the
chillness spreading through her body made it feel futile.
He wished he could sohow stop this cursed mana from corrupting her but it was too strong and powerful that he didn't know what to do.
"But if you really feel sssorry for your partner," Lori rasped, her tongue flicking weakly, "at
least tell ...why that little queen exiled you. Tell what ssssecret you are hiding so
desperately?"
Asher blinked, his flas dimming further as he looked down at her, "You're still concerned about that at a ti like this?" he asked, disbelief flickering in his tone.
Lori managed a faint hiss of indignation, "Brat, how cruel can you be...to sssstill not share it with your dying partner?"
A sad smile tugged at his lips as he shook his head, "Fine, fine," he muttered, his voice tinged with resignation, "It's not anything worth saying...or sothing I can proudly say. But..." He paused, the weight of the truth pressing against him. "I was once a human...a Hunter...not in this life but a life long gone."
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