I barely managed to raise a man-sized barrier, a curved arc of glowing runes and ancient symbols.
But The Lightning Didn't Care.
It ignored my defense as if it didn't exist.
It bit into .
It ravaged .
Burning. Boiling. Roasting my organs.
Darkness and light, together. A nihilistic force that tried to erase .
I gritted my teeth, enduring the agony as I manipulated my magic—
Turning myself into a lightning rod.
With a surge of tal magic, I redirected the attack into the ground.
My body trembled, but my devil's resilience took over.
Flesh nded.
Organs stitched back together, albeit slowly.
My body was still healing when I leapt back, putting distance between myself and the Supre Lord. Like it would change anything.
He Was Watching. Studying.
His fingers rested on his chin.
He tilted his head, eyes gleaming.
"It's really durable," he mused.
Durable?
"Even that nightmare I fought in the Wasteland took... well, so damage from the black lightning. This one should've been a pile of ash by now."
...Experint.
Yes.
I was an experint.
And he was testing .
"Let's continue."
His words were like a death sentence—a seal to my fate.
And the real dance began.
Poisonous thorns erupted from my own shadow relentlessly.
Dark lances materialized from thin air, lunging for my vital points from every direction.
Invisible forces struck my flanks, slipping past my defenses, weighing on my spirit as if to crush it.
It happened more than once—my limbs attempting to tear themselves off from , but I resisted bitterly.
I evaded the ones possible, and I countered the ones I could... the rest t with violence.
And with many other strange and mysterious attacks I ate, my vision began to dull.
A sudden, crushing weight pressed down on , suffocating.
And yet—
He Hadn't Moved.
Not a single step.
A Marquis, Reduced to This?
I fought.
I deflected, dodged, countered, ti, and ti, and ti again... leaping and flying around the plain like a cornered ga.
But—
It was too much.
I collapsed to my knees, gasping as droplets of sweats dotted the ground.
I was drained.
Exhausted.
Broken.
And then—
"As expected of a Devil Marquis."
My breath caught.
He... knew?
How?!
*
Fifteen minutes.
Fifteen agonizing minutes of enduring attacks that could wipe out an entire township.
For what?
So cruel amusent?
I could only hope that this tornt was coming to an end.
"Well, I'm sort of satisfied now."
Hearing that, a wave of relief washed over .
Finally, He had his fill of entertainnt.
I had been battered, burned, and torn apart.
That should be enough.
But... I survived. The ordeal of the one not strong enough. It should've been expected.
I opened my mouth, ready to express my gratitude and take my leave before he changed his mind—
"Trigger, Tamayo, Shizuka, Hachiman."
I froze.
He wasn't...
No.
He wouldn't—
"Go ahead and bully him too."
...No...
My vision blurred.
It was like a ting resonated in my mind.
Why...? I passed the test, didn't I?
He continued. "He's quite powerful, though. But it doesn't matter even if you die, right? So yeah. Take your ti."
WHAT?!
His tone was casual. Like he was tossing away scraps.
Did their lives an nothing to him?
I wasn't even worth his attention anymore.
Now, I was being fed to his underlings.
"I want to see how your abilities work."
A sharp chill ran down my spine.
'I... I'm going to die...'
He wanted to observe. To study.
My role as a guinea pig wasn't over yet.
I forced my body to move, standing up, shifting my gaze to the ones approaching.
The blue-eyed wolf. Beneath in power.
A green-eyed wolf. Also weaker.
If I fought both of them like my life depended on it, I would surely erge victorious. Albeit with so exceptional damages.
The Fox Spirit with multicolored tail tips. That one... unsettled . What heinous secrets does it hold?
It's a sha I'll be finding that out soon, but through untold pains and suffering.
But Perhaps, since their lives an nothing to their Lord, I could be released if I do my best and slay them all.
They bowed to their Master and started to approach .
I had not fully healed from that black lightning attack: my left hand was trembling, my organs felt heavy, and my gaze almost blurring.
Their Alpha.
That one who was on my level.
But maybe stronger.
Or worse—hiding sothing.
My options?
If I could eliminate the weaker ones first...
If I fought like my life depended on it—and it does...
I could win. No! I will win.
I would suffer unrepairable wounds, but I could still stand triumphant.
However, if I underestimated their leader—
I wouldn't get the chance to regret it.
I say that, but as for the fox spirit...
She was the real problem.
Arrogant, composed, and exuding an aura that bent reality too, just like the Supre Lord.
Maybe I won't be exaggerating if I tagged her a Cosmic-level Principality.
Higher than in every aspect.
Strength, Magic power—She was vastly greater.
Proficiency? She seed to be able to wield it with effortless grace.
Endurance? I doubted she had ever struggled to survive like I had.
She was on a completely different level.
And she had those three specters at her side.
There was no escaping unscathed.
But I wasn't a man fighting without purpose.
I had children at the base, waiting for .
I had an order to fulfill.
I had reasons to live.
I will let nothing stop .
Not the wolves.
Not this damned fox spirit.
And not even the Supre Lord.
I raised my head, wiped the blood from my beak, and braced myself.
"Let's see who gets demolished first." I muttered, as my eyes glowed white.
I was staking everything I comprised on this last struggle—forbidden magic, conceptual magic, hell-fire magic, dark magic: everything up my sleeves!
Here I go?!
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