28: Outwitting The Demon

The tremendous pressure made the ground in the surrounding area crack like a massive cobweb. Mathilda, meanwhile, channeling her aura into the black scythe, ready to slash Belial anytime. Despite this, Darius stared at Belial coldly,  undaunted by the warchief's demonic mana field.

"I mean you no harm, Darius. This is a necessary rite for you to accomplish. Fate has brought you here and now is the time to fulfill your destiny." Belial said in a magnanimous voice.

Although Belial didn't harbor any killing intent toward Darius, he was very cautious about the outcome if he let the situation go as the demon had planned

Moreso, Demons are cunning and sly creatures. They said one thing but it has hundreds of hidden malicious intent behind their sugar-coated words.

Darius wouldn't engage in a fight that he cannot win unless it was necessary.

With Alexa's help upon analyzing the demon's micro-expression, Darius jumped into conclusion that it would be a grief mistake if he fought Belial in his current state.

Darius scoffed. "Huh, what do you mean by that? Am I supposed to fight you to prove myself as my father's son?"

"Yes." Belial nodded, crossing his arms before his muscular chest. "But of course, I'll give you a handicap. You will only need to touch an inch of my armor. Until then, I shall acknowledge you as my new lord!"

"Don't be ridiculous. I come here in search of power and to train my magic, not to fight an enemy I couldn't win. If you don't believe me, I don't care, that's your problem. Your past allegiance with my father doesn't concern me."

"Hmph! Coward! Your father had entrusted his legacy within this town for you. Yet you intend to abandon them all? Tsk! Humans are truly ungrateful sows!"

Mathilda tapped his shoulders, whispering in Darius' ears. "Don't listen to him. He's trying to get inside your head."

"I know."

Darius turned and walked away, followed by the little succubus who followed two steps behind him.

"Mathilda, do whatever you want to do, but I'll have the spoils of war. The village will need weapons and the bandages for the upcoming battle. If you don't agree with me, I'll leave you here and fight those demons as long as you want." Darius said indifferently.

"Do we have a deal?"

Mathilda was astonished by Darius' sharp mind and left no room for weaknesses. Darius was practically the key to open the portal and he played that card flawlessly. Mathilda had no choice but to abide by his order for the time being.

"Fufu! You sly little fox. Fine, I will do your bidding."

Belial's eyes were bloodshot as he came to realize he had been fooled, not only once, but twice! Arthur locked him and his followers in this pseudo-dimension realm and promised them freedom once the Holy War was over. And now, Darius, the key to his freedom, had read his whole plan.

"Arthur! I will curse you till the underworld!"

Roaar!

Jet-black aura shoots high into the sky, a pair of bat-like wings protruding out on his back, portraying Belial's true power that had been suppressed for decades. Even the full-steel body armor was ripped apart during his transformation.

"Hmph! You and your father are all the same! Selfish and ignorant! Forget it! I'll kill you myself and take your soul with me so I can go to the human realm!"

Darius quickly jumped out and landed atop the watchtower. After he killed a couple of tower guards, he had a clear view upon the battlefield so he would be able to learn how Mages fight.

The little succubus tried to escape from her predicament but was caught by Darius almost immediately.

"Stay by my side and behave yourself. Otherwise, I'll kill you too." Darius said.

She nodded amicably, her body was visibly shaking upon meeting with Darius' golden eyes.

***

Belial dashed toward Darius with just one flap of his wings, however, before Belial could reach Darius, Mathilda had already read Belial's intention from the beginning and she stopped him by slashing one of his wings in a flash!

"Are you forgetting someone?" Mathilda said.

Unexpectedly, Belial's wing showed a sign of regeneration. Mathilda had predicted this from miles away. Aside from monstrous amounts of mana, demons also tend to have innate regenerative abilities that make them resilient and tough opponents.

However, the black scythe was not an ordinary weapon. It was quenched in Holy Water and made the scythe highly toxic for demons. Also, Mathilda was specifically trained to hunt demons during her active days as a Demon Slayer in the Vrabia Empire.

It took a few seconds for the Holy Water to take effect, when it did, Belial's wing began to rot and forced him to amputate his wing permanently, fearing the Holy Water would seep into his blood through the open wound.

"That scythe…" Belial was horrified upon recognizing the jet black scythe. "Black Witch, Mathilda! Impossible! You should have been dead for hundreds of years!"

"Oh, you remembered me now. I am flattered. Did we meet each other a long time ago? Apologies, I lost count how many demons I have killed."

Belial enraged by Mathilda's heartfelt taunt. It made Belial's demonic blood boil, he lashed out a barrage of energy balls toward Mathilda.

Since Darius was only an Early Stage Rank 1 Mage, his senses were insufficient to follow their blazing fast movements. However, he could summarize the fight from that little information.

'Both of them are close-quarter-combat Mages. But, what is this strange presence from those two? How could they move so fast and surpass their brain limitation to process millions of pieces of information in a split second?'

As if it was cued, Alexa chimed in his head.

[It's called Spiritual Senses, Master.]

"Please elaborate."

[Mages who had breakthrough Soul Origins Stage and stepped into Primeval Stage are able to defy the laws of Heaven and Earth and break the worldly shackle that bound themselves from attaining Godhood. Henceforth, they are able to fly and fight using their Spiritual Senses and bend reality as they see it fit!]

[There's no books or grimoires that could explain this since every person had different perspectives about the world and reality itself. Well, why don't you just pay attention to their fight. Who knows you'll be enlightened and breakthrough to the next realm!]