Chapter 158: Unbeatable
A few of the black spears shot towards him as well, though not with the same all-encompassing attack as with her. He just snorted, and instead of retreating, he advanced, with no defensive magic. He could have just thrown up an ice wall, of course. The demon's spell was not yet strong enough to pierce through both of theirs. But... why should he back down?
The light of Org in his hand flared. He did not unleash a beam of light to intercept the spears. He just swung the sword and blocked them, a purely physical parry.
Clang! Clang!
The blade struck at the spears' weakest points, and they shattered into a black mist.
Shurahat's expression did not change. He just continued to unleash a barrage of powerful spells, all of which were neutralized, one by one. And for the first time, a crack appeared in his eternally calm facade. A flicker of astonishment crossed his black eyes. Was this human a powerful warrior? To be able to block his magic with brute force... and why could his precognitive magic not see his future?
And so, he turned his attention to the easier target, to Serie. He could see her future, which would give him a significant advantage. He continued to cast a few spells to keep Rhodes occupied and focused his main assault on her.
Her精灵 defense could not completely block his attacks, which were both powerful and able to pierce her barrier. But she was not flustered. She used a combination of ice walls and vines to defend, and even managed to get a few of her own attacks in. For a time, they were evenly matched.
But he noticed something strange.
Shurahat's attacks... the angle, the timing... they were too precise. It was as if he could predict her every move, forcing her to expend more and more mana to defend. Otherwise, she would have been able to overwhelm him easily. The demon before them was not that strong, likely a recent creation. But for him to be able to go toe-to-toe with a Grand Mage who had lived for a thousand years... something was not right.
This demon is... strange, he thought, an alarm bell ringing in his head.
His fighting style was too polished, too experienced for his apparent age. Did he have some special ability that countered her? Or was it... something more troublesome... like foresight? He couldn't be sure. The demon's attacks against him had been ordinary, but against her, they were suddenly a barrage of perfectly-timed, specifically-tailored spells.
He couldn't let this drag on.
In a flash, he decided to go all-out. He poured all of his mana into Org, and the sword's own foresight was activated. He could now see the demon's next move. Now we're talking, he thought. He would capture the demon and find out what its true purpose was.
VMM—!
For the first time in a thousand years, Org was unleashed, and it let out a joyous cry. A holy light erupted from its blade and filled the cavern, instantly purifying the dark aura of Shurahat.
"What!?"
The demon's black eyes widened in a look of unprecedented horror. This power, this holy aura that made his very soul tremble... and that sword... it was no ordinary holy sword. He had heard that Serie wielded the elven holy sword, Athos. Could this be it? But how could a human be wielding it? The only non-elf who had ever been acknowledged by Athos was long dead.
He desperately tried to use his precognitive magic to see his attack, to find a way to counter it. But he still could not see his future. And what was even more terrifying, when the holy sword had been unleashed, his own magic had begun to be suppressed. Even his foresight of Serie was gone.
And in that moment, he struck.
No fancy techniques, just a simple, powerful downward slash. A forty-meter-long golden blade of light shot from Org and came down on the demon's head.
"Impossible!" he shrieked in terror.
He threw up a series of shields, a desperate, last-ditch defense. And for a moment, they held. Of course, that was because Rhodes had been holding back, trying to capture him. Now, seeing his shields hold, he poured all of his remaining mana into the blade.
If I can't take him alive, then I'll just kill him.
The light of Org flared, and in the face of death, the demon could vaguely feel the shadow of oblivion, but could not see its path.
His hastily-erected shields were like paper before the true power of Org.
CRACK!
The golden blade of sword-energy shattered them all and slammed into his body.
"Pfft!"
He coughed up a mouthful of purple-black blood and was sent flying back, crashing into the rock wall with a dull thud. His black robe was in tatters, a charred and smoking wound beneath it. Even one of his horns had been broken off.
If not for his own survival instinct, for a final, desperate use of his precognitive magic to shift his vital organs at the last moment, the blow would have been a fatal one.
Fear. A deep, bone-chilling fear now washed over him. His prized precognitive magic was useless against this man, and that sword... its power was a complete counter to his own.
Unbeatable. Absolutely unbeatable.
"Cough, cough... must escape!"
Ignoring his grievous injuries, he opened a pre-prepared escape route, and just before the second blow could fall, he stumbled through it and was gone.
BOOM!
The second blow struck an empty space, and the rock wall was completely obliterated.
"He got away," Rhodes said, and sheathed Org, a cold look in his eyes. It was a pity. But that one blow... it was something the demon would never forget.
(End of chapter)
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