Seren blinked.
"Kill the Nightmare Creature, alone?"
Laeli nodded.
"If it is of the Fallen or higher, others will help if you cannot take it. But I will be very disappointed in you if that need arises."
Seren shuddered, then stood, summoning the [Wraith Shroud], [Silver Wind], [Grave Skull], and [Soul in a Bottle]. Whirling sparks surrounded his body before they formed into leather armor, a silver dagger, and the skull bracelet. Finally, after a few seconds, his new Memory [Soul in a Bottle] formed, and Seren felt a small surge of essence flow through his body. It must've been quite a high rank and tier to be so noticeable. He would have to ask Awakened Noble at the Awakened Academy when he was around. She had helped him learn what his other memories did, and their tiers.
'If this creature is brave enough to come here alone, then it must be powerful. My Dormat Ability should allow me to resist some blows, but it will be best not to get hit.'
With a thought, the armor on his [Wraith Shroud] disappeared, leaving a black tunic and shawl. This would make him lighter and more agile, but his body will be more or less undefended, compounded by the fact that a dagger is not the greatest at defence. Seren thought for a moment, then decided to summon the wrist guards of the [Wraith Shroud] for his left hand, to give him a way to block blows.
Seren stepped outside the church and found many of his clan members staring at him, their expressions ranging from anger to excitement. A Master that Seren did not know the name of ran up to his mother and bowed.
"Saint Laeli."
Laeli gave a curt nod.
"Master Kris. What's the rank of the Nightmare Creature?"
"We believe that it is a Fallen Devil."
"Tell the clan to hold off." She looked at Seren and gave him a cold smile. "My son here will engage it alone, to prove his worthiness and loyalty."
Seren was stunned. His mother expected him to fight a Fallen Devil as an Awakened? Alone? The only case of an Awakened defeating a Fallen Devil was from the recently awakened survivors of the Forgotten Shore, and even then, they didn't do it solo!
Seren turned to protest, but his mother pushed him forward and whispered.
"Make me proud."
Seren strode towards the gates, feeling the gaze of his clan watching him as he went to fight the Devil.
***
The Devil stood twenty feet away from the gate. Seren carefully analyzed it before stepping to face it.
It appeared as a tall figure cloaked in a deep purple garment and a black half-mask that obscured its eyes. Instead of a mouth, it had a mass of dark blue tentacles surrounding a circular, tooth-filled opening. Beneath the cloak, it wore a black and blue kimono secured with a black belt. Its clawed hands extended past the sleeves, revealing eldritch blue skin.
Staring at it gave Seren chills. It gave off a frightening aura and had a sense of immense power.
'Is it really a Fallen Devil? It seems to have so much more power.'
Not that Seren wanted it to be more powerful. It was going to beat him, Fallen Devil or higher.
'Mother... please.'
Seren began to sweat before the fight began. He knew that the moment he made a mistake, he was as good as dead. Devils were as intelligent as humans, but they had mystical powers that made them incredibly dangerous to fight. Luckily for him, most Nightmare Creatures from the Graveyard used deathly attacks, and the [Grave Skull] made him highly resistant. Unluckly, this creature did not appear as if it came from the undead of the Graveyard, so death attacks were unlikely.
The [Spirit Guard] enchantment of his [Wraith Shroud] gave him slight protection against mind and soul attacks.
'Not that it would matter, fighting a Fallen Devil. One good soul attack, and I'm dead instantly. Protection from soul attacks or not.'
Seren crossed his dagger over his body and crouched into a lunging stance, hoping to be able to land a solid strike on the creature. His daggers' enchanment [Ghost Blade] allowed the blade to bypass the defences of Awakened Devils and weaker. Although he was facing a Fallen Devil, it still should help him deal damage. Otherwise, his blade would just bounce off without leaving a scratch.
Waiting for his enemy to move or drop its guard, whichever came first, Seren took deep breaths, preparing to survive and win, to become accepted back into his clan with honor.
The creature raised its hands to attack, and Seren lunged forward.
Activating his daggers' enchantment and his Awakened Ability, he thrust his dagger into the creature's heart, passed through it, and rolled on the ground, activating his [Shroud of Darkness] to turn completely invisible. He felt his essence slowly regenerating, thanks to the [Soul in a Bottle]. Then he whipped around and quickly jumped at it again, striking it again, and again, and again, using [Ghost Blade] and his Awakened ability each time he struck.
After a dozen strikes, Seren disengaged and assumed a defensive stance. His dagger and clothing were free from the blue blood that was spraying off the Devil's body, as he was incorporeal for most of the fight. Seren hoped that it was wounded, as he used up more essence than he would've liked.
To his surprise, the creature simply ignored its dozen wounds and twisted its head to stare at Seren. He flinched at the bone-cracking noise the movement made, not only because it was disturbing, but because he had the [Shroud of Darkness] enchanment activated, so he was supposed to be invisible.
'Does it have excellent hearing? No, my attribute [Child of Ghost Walker] makes all my movements silent after the sun sets. It must be able to detect my presence, even when I'm invisible. I thought only Corrupted creatures can feel when a human is looking at them?'
Seren had no time to ponder because the Devil raised a grotesque claw and twisted its fingers, causing flickering white energy to coalesce into a crackling orb, which it flicked at him.
The orb slowly edged towards him, but Seren could see that it was quickly gaining speed. By the time it reached him, it would be traveling faster than a bullet. He quickly deactivated the essence greedy enchantment [Shroud of Darkness], as it seemed to be useless in this fight, and turned incorporeal to hopefully evade the attack. Seren jumped to the side, activating his Dormat ability as he did.
WHAM
Seren's eyes watered from pain. He lost concentration, so his active enchantments were deactivated as he fell to the ground. Seren glanced at his left arm and nearly threw up. Instead of his hand, there was a bloody mess.
'The attack must... Even though I was incorporeal... My soul... it burns...'
Even with his resistance to soul attacks and his Dormant Ability, Seren was on the verge of collapse. He managed to use his remaining hand to steady himself on the ground. He looked up, only to see the creature standing over him with a staff adorned with a sharp crescent, and its blunt edge flying towards his jaw in an undercut motion at surprising speeds.
***
Ascended Loli was a prized member of Clan Ghost. Her Dormant ability allowed her to see how much essence an Awakened had left, her Awakened Ability allowed her to see what abilities a Nightmare Creature had, and her Ascended Ability to slowly determine the Rank and Class of a Nightmare Creature. She was the one to determine that the approaching threat was a Fallen Devil.
However, her immediate predictions were usually wrong, as it took some time for her Ability to analyze the creature. She had watched in horror as Awakened Seren fought with an opponent that was way out of his class.
'Saint Laeli is known to be unforgiving, but this is a death sentence!'
Loli saw how much essence Seren was using during his attacks, and was very concerned about how much he was using.
She was even more concerned when she saw that his attacks barely bothered the creature.
She was whimpering when she saw that his hand was blown off, despite his Dormant Ability.
"Saint Laeli, don't you think we should help him? He may be a traitor, but he is a part of this clan." Master Lemy's voice was neutral. Several other clan members nodded in agreement.
"No, he-"
Loli did not hear the last part, as her awakened and Awakened Ability finished analyzing the creature.
Name: [Scion of Eldritch Might]
Rank: Cursed
Class: Terror
Attributes: [False Presence], [Eldritch Magic], [Soul Eater], [???]
Description: [Eldritch Might stood with his scions, facing -unknown- {???}]
Loli's heart stopped, and her blood ran cold. Her face turned as white as the ghosts in the Graveyard, and she could barely speak.
'Cursed... Terror??!"
'The creatures that inhabit the Death Zones... here?????'
Saint Laeli noticed Loli's horrified expression.
"Is it not a Fallen Devil?"
Loli barely managed to nod.
"It's... a C-cc-... Te-rror"
"A Corrupted Terror?!"
Saint Laeli jumped towards the creature, entering her Transeded Form, becoming a ghostly figure.
Loli shook her head.
"A Cursed Terror."