Aric took a deep breath and summoned every ounce of willpower he possessed. The darkness began to lift, replaced by the glow of healing magic surging through his body.
Outside, his body floated inches above the broken ground, surrounded by a vibrant green aura. The magic swirled in intricate, spiraling patterns, weaving through him like threads of life.
Aric was no longer unconscious but he couldn't move just yet. His nerves was being regenerated, his organs was being remade and his mind was struggling to stabilize.
Then—
"AHH! AHH! HAH…!"
"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"
His eyes shot open. Agony surged through him like lightning bolts.
His muscles spasmed. His lungs seized.
"AGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"
"FFFFFFFFFFFUCKKKKKK! AGHHHHHHHHHHHH!"
He fell down now and clutched his chest. He was trembling violently, feeling his organs stitch themselves back together in real time—each regeneration a fresh, unimaginable agony.
"FUCK!! This is worse than dying!!" he gasped, shaking violently.
He grit his teeth to go through the pain, "Fuck...fuck...Okay… okay…Ivy giving me Overdrive was one thing, but holy shit—this hurts like hell. She should've told me how much this would hurt..."
His breath came in ragged bursts. Everything felt like fire. But even through the pain, he noticed something strange—aside from his body glowing like a neon signboard, the entire town was pitch black.
"What the hell...?"
The beam revealed nothing but rubble, twisted beams, and black flames. The inner town was leveled, its buildings swallowed by those unnatural fires.
"I thought I was seeing things before I got knocked out, but…Sebastian seriously has black flames now? What is this—a magic system update?"
"That's not even science anymore. That's straight-up some kind of DLC nonsense."
Once you go black, you ne—
"Shut up, brain!"
He shook his head, "Ivy?"
Silence.
"Oh right... she's gone for a bit..." He sighed and opened his system screen. He had been healed fully now and was skimming through the interface.
"Stats are intact... Overdrive and Foresight are here..."
"But how long is she gonna be gone? And seriously—why the hell is it so dark?"
The flashlight couldn't pierce beyond a few feet. Frustrated, Aric upgraded it on the spot, manifesting a high-lumen floodlight that now glowed like a miniature sun in his palm.
He pointed it upward.
He finally saw the dome structure and noticed it was also purpleish. He instantly put two and two together,
"That's Seraphina's tendrils! Engulfing the entire city must mean that Sebastian is stronger than that half demon..."
"I wonder if Sebastian made a pact with the devil or something cause those black flames are kinda cool."
He stared at the dome and noticed that it was so thick that no light could penetrate it.
"I hope everyone got out safely..."
Aric moved cautiously through the rubble, scanning the ruins with his torchlight. There was only silence.
He sighed, "Ivy would probably be cracking some awful pun right now... Dammit. Did I actually get attached to my system?"
"I mean... is she just a system? She pulled me out of the rubble. She walked inside my damn consciousness. That's... that's not normal AI stuff. I need to ask who or what she really is when she gets back."
Then, Aric saw a small pocket light in the distance. Through it, he caught glimpses of Evelyn and Penelope ushering terrified townsfolk to safety.
He sprinted towards it. Hopefully everyone is safe!
Evelyn saw him and immediately waved him over, "Aric! Get over here! You're the last one! We've almost finished evacuating!"
As he closed the distance, Evelyn took a mental note of how ridiculously fast he was now. It confused her for a second but she was too relieved to question it.
"Why the hell did you run off? You should've stayed near Her Grace!"
Aric scratched his neck, "Ahhh... I thought I could shoot him down with my rifle but then—boom. I got blown halfway to hell. I was unconscious for a bit, but I'm good now. Where's my wife?"
Penelope interjected with a concerned look, "She's holding back Sebastian but you shouldn't go back in—it's suicide! That man is wielding black flames."
"I got that but what's so special about black flames besides looking cool?"
Penelope looks confused at Aric, "It's common knowledge but it's a forgotten forbidden magic that was famously used by the first demon queen."
"I...see. Sorry about that. I have amnesia so I forgot alot of things. Anyways, where is she?"
Evelyn pointed up the sky, "I don't have to show you. You can just come out and see for yourself."
He glanced upward and saw embers of darkness and fire swirled chaotically around the skies. Seraphina fought relentlessly against Sebastian while protecting Ashwick with an impenetrable dome.
"...What the hell..."
*******************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************
High above them, Seraphina floated thanks to her dark platform. She has been fighting non stop and this time, she used her tendrils to pierced through Sebastian's limbs and morphed them to an explosion.
This made Sebastian useless for 1 second before his regenerative abilities grew it back. No matter how many times she pierced him or severed his limbs, they healed almost instantly.
"You're enjoying this, aren't you?" Sebastian sneered, "This little game of yours—how long can you keep it up? You think your shadows are enough to stop me?"
Seraphina smirked coldly, "My shadows are more than enough to stop you." she replied casually while gracefully avoiding a claw strike.
With a flick of her wrist, a tendril shot forward, impaling Sebastian's shoulder with surgical precision. He roared in pain but instantly healed himself back.
"See?" she taunted, "You heal fast but tell me, does it hurt less each time? Or do you feel everything acutely, you pathetic excuse for a demon?"
She put her hands together, "Barrier: Eternal Night!"
Sebastian mirrored her motion, but his voice was deeper, "Barrier: Blackflame Covenant."
Because this wasn't Sebastian's magic.
The barrier belonged to the demon inside him—Lilith.
Blackflame Covenant was one of the most feared magical constructs in demon-kind's long and bloody history. A cursed barrier with guaranteed effects of erasing a target's identity, corrupt their memory, strip away their mana—and if fully invoked, erase their very existence.
Now that both barriers were activated and their mana levels were nearly equal, the outcome was no longer about power alone.
It would come down to willpower...
And the speed of the barrier being chanted and since Seraphina said it first, Sebastian would be subjected to the sure hit effects of her barrier.
"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH AGHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"
Eternal Night had also caught Aric, Evelyn, Penelope and a few hundred of people trapped inside her barrier but she gave them each their own Box immediately so that they wouldn't be affected by the barrier.
Still, the moment she cast Aric's Box, she froze.
What? Aric? When—?
Her eyes darted toward him in disbelief. Sure enough, standing not far away was Aric Lawson.
He met her gaze and she met his,
"Aric? Wh—when did you get here? I thought you were still stuck in Ashwick!"
Aric gave a lazy shrug and a half-smile, "I just got back, actually. Had a bit of an accident, y'know. Nothing major."
He gestured toward his body, "See? Still in one piece."
Seraphina exhaled, some of the tension leaving her shoulders.
"…It's good to see you back."
Since Sebastian had been hit by the barrier, his mental state was being destroyed and this allowed Lilith to take control over Sebastian for now.
Tch. Pathetic human. Well, I need him alive still so I guess I'll do another favour.
"Box."
Sebastian straightened, but something had clearly changed.
His hair was red. His eyes burned with a blood-red glow. And the aura that now radiated from his body was suffocating, ancient, and unmistakably demonic.
The voice that came out sounded like the most seductive voice a woman could ever make,
"Hello there, Ms. Darkness"
"What the? Who are you? You're the demon inside him?" said Seraphina while manifesting a Greatsword of Darkness.
Lilith cracked Sebastian's neck, "Mmm... more or less. Though, this vessel's a bit... disappointing. Weak men always are. Still, you're quite impressive, Seraphina."
"I haven't had a proper duel since the First Cataclysm... but I suppose you wouldn't know about that. Humans weren't even born yet.."
The weight in the air was so thick it was hard to breathe. Even Aric, safely sealed within his own Box, found himself trembling at Lilith's voice.
What the hell? Why am I scared? It's just a dem—
"Just a demon?" said Lilith as she read Aric's mind.
"You and Seraphina... such fascinating little creatures. You with your strange weapons and her with that beautiful abyssal power."
"I must say, I'm having fun."
"Though I must admit—this shitty body is really limiting my full potential."
Raising a hand, she conjured thousands of black flame swords. They hovered in the air, trembling with destructive heat.
"But the fact I'm here means your little mayor has taken a nap. So how about I entertain myself... before I devour every. Single. One. Of. YOU!" as she now launched the barrage of attacks.
Seraphina conjured thousands of swords of darkness to meet the swords head on. Each clash created shockwaves that warped the air itself.
But Lilith wasn't like anyone Seraphina had ever faced.
Lilith could move in the barrier with the Box at the same time which she now chants in a demonic language where chains of black flame burst from the ground and wrapped around Seraphina's limbs.
Aric didn't waste a single second and laid down on his stomach and manifested the CZ 750 sniper rifle.
He manipulated the bullets to have blue lightning rounds and purple flames rounds.
This demon can read my damn thoughts, right? Then enjoy this, motherfucker.
BANG! BANG!
Lilith had just turned her attention toward the distant cries of Ashwick's people—only to flinch as the words "enjoy this, motherfucker" echoed in her mind. Her head snapped around to see but—
BOOM!
Both rounds slammed into her skull and resulted an explosion with the force of a C4 charge. This send shockwaves through the barrier and shattering the ground beneath her.
The chains binding Seraphina crumbled to ash.
Evelyn reacted instantly and conjured a whip of ice that snapped around Seraphina's waist. With a sharp pull, she yanked her to safety in one fluid motion..
"Forgive me, Your Grace!" Evelyn shouted, catching her midair.
Seraphina landed, skidding slightly, "Don't need to ask for forgiveness right now, Eve!"
But before relief could settle, a slow, twisted laugh echoed through the smoke.
"HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"
"AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"
"AHHHHHH… YOU HUMANS ARE FUN! SO MUCH FUCKING FUN!"
From the haze of scorched air and lightning-charged smoke, Lilith stepped forward—completely unfazed. The wounds in her skull had already stitched themselves shut. The bullets she had been shot with clinked to the ground as she pulled them out.
"YOU. The one with the weapon…" she purred, pointing a charred finger toward Aric.
"You're fun. I think I'll save you for last. ENTERTAIN ME MORE!"