—
If Will had to recall, this sensation—the feeling of magic smoothly coursing through every corner of his body, flowing effortlessly...
It was sothing he had only experienced when he was with Leah.
He never expected that what he thought was a fleeting experience, tied to a very specific “activity,” would remain with him.
Was it because of the witch’s blood injected into his body?
BOOM—
“Fla Bullet: Triple Burst.”
BOOM BOOM BOOM—
“Light Bloom.”
BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM—
As he fought against wave after wave of shadow soldiers, Will felt sothing he had never experienced before... pure exhilaration.
The magic that used to feel like it drained every ounce of his energy now flowed as easily as snapping his fingers.
Every ti he raised his staff, he could feel his magical circuits syncing perfectly with the blood in his veins.
—Was this Leah’s “compensation” for forcing herself on him? The witch’s blood, originally ant as an aphrodisiac and left in his body, had apparently restructured his lackluster magical circuits.
“Not bad. Looks like I underestimated you,” Lucifa said from her throne, watching the battle unfold with an amused expression. She seed so pleased she was one step away from breaking into a celebratory dance.
“You didn’t underestimate —I just found out today that I’m this strong,” Will shot back.
Now more accustod to his newfound capabilities, Will’s movents beca even more fluid.
Based on his amateurish knowledge of boss fight chanics, if a boss summons waves of minions in the first phase, the key to victory is clearing them out first.
Luckily...
The shadow soldiers weren’t particularly aggressive. Perhaps their reload tis were too slow.
After clearing a few waves, he’d likely face Lucifa’s “second phase.”
But this realization made him a bit envious of others.
So this is what Leah’s combat experience must have felt like—no, perhaps this was what the average person in this world experienced.
Will couldn’t help but think about how his own life had been saddled with debuffs from birth. Now, it felt like one of those restrictions—his clogged magical circuits—had finally been lifted.
“So, how will you handle this next move?” Lucifa asked, clearly enjoying herself. She waved her hand dramatically in the air like a child pretending to command an army. It wasn’t so much intimidating as it was... endearing.
“Full assault!” she declared.
At her command, the shadow soldiers on the ground began to twist and contort.
Then...
The toy-like soldiers that had previously marched in neat rows suddenly transford into berserk warriors, charging at Will from all directions.
And it wasn’t just the ones in front of him—the shadows behind him were closing in as well.
“Huh?!”
They were physically boxing him in?!
So Lucifa wasn’t as clueless as she seed!
Will had assud that soone like Lucifa, with little actual combat experience, would simply sit back and watch her minions fight him.
But...
It turned out she had intentionally let him clear part of the field to lure him into a trap—forcing him into a pincer attack from both sides.
Even the seemingly fragile shadows he had easily destroyed earlier were part of this setup.
“Guess I’ll stick to the classics,” Will muttered under his breath.
Faced with the encroaching shadows, Will took a deep breath and gripped his staff tightly.
The air around him began to swirl toward him, creating a noticeable current. The sudden shift in airflow made it slightly harder to breathe.
“Oh? Is it coming?” Lucifa said, leaning forward with excitent.
Then...
Centered around Will, a massive fireball shot forward like a teor, tearing through the shadows in its path. The flas lit up the small boss room of Tenth Demon Castle like a blazing cot streaking across the sky.
“Blazing teor: Modified Version!”
The deafening explosion shook the room as the fireball struck Lucifa’s throne, sending shockwaves rippling through the space.
Like most fla-based spells associated with witches, this one filled the room with thick smoke.
“Compared to before, I can control the flow of magic better now. This improved version of Blazing teor is far more precise,” Will explained confidently as he stood tall amidst the smoke, his staff pointed at Lucifa’s throne.
“Impressive,” Shuna finally spoke up after remaining silent throughout most of the fight. Her tone carried a hint of pride. “You’ve improved.”
In her mind, this was the level Will should have been at all along. His potential had been stifled by physical limitations for far too long, preventing him from realizing the changes he envisioned. It was a waste of such a brilliant mind.
As the smoke began to clear, the shadows on the ground didn’t reappear.
But...
Lucifa wasn’t soone who could be taken down so easily.
“Not bad, not bad. But... landing a precise hit doesn’t an you’ve won,” ca her voice from within the dissipating smoke.
It sounded muffled, as if coming from inside armor.
“This... is your second phase...?”
SWOOSH—
A single swing of her sword cleared away the remaining smoke, revealing Lucifa’s new form to Will.
She was now fully armored from head to toe in gleaming black tal. Even her face was obscured by a helt. To add to her height, her armor included high-heeled boots that made her look significantly taller.
“That’s right. This is ‘Tenth Demon Castle: Swordsman Armant.’”
Her right arm had transford into a blade, which she pointed directly at Will before dramatically announcing her new form’s na.
However, her attempt at looking cool didn’t seem to impress either Will or Shuna.
“Pfft...”
Will couldn’t help but stifle a laugh—
And neither could Shuna.
“You—you—you! What are you laughing at?! Isn’t this outfit super cool? If you saw a boss fully armored and ready for lee combat, wouldn’t you think it was aweso?!” Lucifa protested indignantly.
“Uh... didn’t you claim to be a ntal-type boss?” Will asked skeptically.
“Yes! Demons are supposed to excel at manipulating emotions and minds!”
“Then... how does ‘fully armored lee combat’ fit into that the?”
“Uh... well... I saw it in so comics I bought outside. It looked really cool, so I designed it like this. What’s wrong with that?”
Will began to wonder if it was fortunate that this dungeon was so well-hidden and rarely visited by adventurers.
Otherwise, Lucifa might not have survived this long.
On second thought, her antics were probably just part of her “isolated boss fantasy” about what combat should look like.
WHOOSH—
Suddenly, Lucifa moved. Her high-heeled boots seed to glide across the floor as if propelled by shadows, allowing her to close the distance with incredible speed.
Will reacted quickly, drawing the sword at his waist—not because he liked close combat (he didn’t), but because it was there for ergencies and for training Treya in swordsmanship.
“Don’t zone out! Adventurers are supposed to focus completely during challenges!” Lucifa growled from within her armor as she lunged at him with surprising ferocity.
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