Fall

[You have gained Demonic essence×17]

'What is this?'

[Mana: 7,198/6,100]

Vigor ran through his body and energized him.

'This is better than any energy drink.'

For a moment, he was ecstatic. It wasn't every day that he woke up refreshed.

Then the situation sunk in.

Wide-eyed Blance, Noir, and Mei stared at him as if he had come back from the dead.

Balazear's eyes turned to slits and terrifying pressure plagued the atmosphere once again.

'Impossible. How is he still conscious?'

[You have gained Demonic essence×4]

Dozens of possible outcomes flashed through Aster's head and none of them was good.

'Shit.'

The pressure emanating from Balazear intensified, stifling his breath.

THUD

Count Balazear took one step forward and it echoed like a bomb exploding. The power radiating from him was truly stunning.

THUD

The pressure increased with every step.

THUD

[[Hasten thought [EX]] has been activated]

His racing thoughts became even faster to find a solution, a way to escape.

[You have gained Demonic essence×2]

Despite being flabbergasted, the twins never stopped channeling their mana into Aster and he had to thank them for it.

A distant memory flashed in his mind. A time when he had gotten into a pretty nasty situation.

Having a ghoul that digs up graves and eats corpses on top of oneself is not pleasant.

'I beat it using 'those' didn't I?

Feels a bit nostalgic.'

Thanks to the system notification about the accumulating essences, he had been reminded of a deadly weapon in his arsenal that he was 100% sure wasn't its intended use.

He jumped off the altar and dashed towards the first person who caught his attention.

Naturally, it had to be someone who wore clothes contrasting with the environment.

Noir, who was too focused on channeling her mana was caught off guard and barely had any time to call out for her sister.

Gluttony, wrath, pride, lust… Aster didn't care what it was. He summoned all types of his essences.

A mix of ethereal essences manifested in Aster's hand as he thrust it towards Blance.

There was no need to verify the number of essences he had, he just instinctually divided it into 2 halves and directly poured one half into Blance.

It was instantly assimilated into her soul.

Pain spread through every part of her body as her soul tried to reject the foreign energy but to no avail. It assaulted her and morphed her.

Her knees gave out and she fell, only to be caught by Aster who used her as a shield.

[[Sprint[EX]] has been activated]

[[Whirlwind] has been activated]

[[Dash] has been activated]

Blance's body darkened and inflated due to the change being made in her body, and the effects were transmitted to her brethren.

"UGH!"

"ARGH!"

Both Balazear and Noir collapsed on the ground. 

A new feeling enveloped them, a pain they had never felt before.

Noir gritted her teeth and yelled with all of her might.

"MEI! CATCH HIM!"

No more words needed to be said. Mei was already on her way to intercept the escapee Aster.

She lifted her arm up and extended her Astral body, no doubt trying to entangle Aster in the same illusion as before.

Aster responded to her ability by putting Blance between them.

Seeing her kind employer in such miserable condition, Mei hesitated for a brief moment and that moment was all Aster needed to breeze through the gate.

"Damn it, HUNT THAT HUMAN DOWN!" Balazear roared with such anger that his voice was shaking.

He felt humiliated that he was incapacitated, by such petty tricks no less.

Aster took the stairs and ran at full speed. He manipulated the wind and created an air platform of some sort so he was practically levitating.

Every second mattered. Every second decided Aster's fate and every second, Blance got worse.

Her skin was now unworldly dark with pale veins pulsating in different colors and her body bending in odd angles.

Aster did not like, more like despised, taking hostages but it was the only way he could have saved his free will.

'The ideal scenario is that this demoness gets incapacitated for a while and will live long enough for me to get away.

The worst-case scenario is that she dies and that would mean the entirety of that demon family will hunt him down with no hurdles.

The best worst-case scenario was that the demoness would live through this… and get a power-up of some kind.

If that happens then I could only pray that they would be kind when they convert me.'

FWOOSH

Torches were extinguished as Aster went past them. The wind generated by one of his skills howled loudly thanks to the narrow space.

He spiraled up and up before facing a dead end.

[[Great strike] has been activated]

[[Strengthen[EX]] has been activated]

BOOM

Aster burst out of a painting and observed his surroundings.

'This, I remember this section.'

He ran again.

Blance was foaming at the mouth now which worried Aster.

'Don't die on me right now!'

"HALT, INTRUDER!"

A person in a similar butler uniform faced him at the end of the chamber.

He had the same burning orange eyes as Balazear and a pair of horns on his head.

'It seems orange is the color of gluttony.'

It barely took a second for the butler to recognize Aster's clothes.

"A butler? A BUTLER DARES TO STAND AGAINST THE FAMILY?"

He was enraged, enraged beyond merely angered. 

With a wild war cry, he dashed at Aster at a speed faster than his own speed.

Unfortunately for him though, Aster is not a fool to face a direct confrontation.

[[Negative fireball] has been activated]

Pale fire shrouded by dark mist materialized out of thin air and struck the walls.

BOOM

BOOM

BOOM

Aster outran dozens and dozens of enraged servants and kept destroying walls to achieve shortcuts.

But that was not enough to escape from the clutches of demons.

Particularly cunning servants prepared an ambush. 

They ambushed and steered Aster's direction, forcing him to run to a certain part of the mansion.

BOOM

Aster was greeted with fresh air and mesmerizing moonlight.

'Is this the outside?'

His heart was filled with joy. A joy that did not last for long.

'Oh shit, stop, stop, STOP!'

In front of him, a deep ravine existed. With his momentum, Aster was bound to fall down.

[[Earth wall] has been activated]

At the last moment, a wall was erected.

CRASH

"*Cough*"

BOOM

Aster felt a crushing blow behind his back. The blow destroyed the wall and sent him flying into the ravine.

The demoness was sent flying too, but she was caught by the demon that struck him.

"Have fun falling." It flashed a mischievous smile.

Aster plummeted towards a sea of bones.