Chapter 82

Arnan looked at Marcus with annoyance in his eyes. "Who do you think you are, monkey?" he asked contemptuously, tensing his right hand and forming a black, scratchy mist within and around it. Marcus glared at them while subtly motioning for Mincs to run away, which she picked up on and nodded before silently tiptoeing back.

"I am the leader of The Razorcharge Company," Marcus replied, his gaze unwavering as the black scratchy mist in Arnan's hand started to become more erratic. "Oh yeah?" Arnan leaned forward. "Too bad that means nothing to me!" he exclaimed, about to attack Marcus with the black mist, only to be stopped by the cloaked demon raising his left hand out of his cloak. The arm looked metallic, fake, and not organic, like it belonged to an automaton.

"I'll fight him. You go kill the woman who's escaping," said the cloaked demon, prompting Arnan to react with confusion before he turned to see Mincs about to go through a door. "You little!" Arnan exclaimed, about to shoot the black mist, but before it could leave his hand, Mincs had already gone through the door, teleporting away. Arnan growled in anger before turning to the cloaked demon. "Kill him quick!" he ordered before running to the door Mincs had gone through, yanking it open, and disappearing through it, leaving the cloaked demon and Marcus alone in the hallway.

The cloaked demon swayed from side to side, the sound of jangling metal echoing through the hallway as he started walking towards Marcus, who took a lowered stance, slightly bending down with his curved saber held below his waist. "Do you have experience facing demons?" asked the cloaked demon all of a sudden.

"I don't," Marcus replied simply, keeping his eyes locked on the demon as he kept swaying from side to side, now circling Marcus like a predator circling prey, the sound of jangling metal intensifying with each step.

"Fascinating," the cloaked demon stated, his voice tinged with curiosity. "You haven't fought demons before, and yet you're showing no fear, nor are you hiding any. Truly fascinating," he continued before suddenly springing towards Marcus with both arms raised.

Marcus reacted swiftly by swinging his saber horizontally upwards to catch both of the cloaked demon's metallic arms. Suddenly, a sound occurred, similar to that of a machine whirling up, as the cloaked demon's left arm shifted downwards in a lightning-fast motion, as if it were in two times speed. As Marcus's saber hit the cloaked demon's right hand, stopping it with a resounding clanging sound of metal against metal, simultaneously, the cloaked demon's left arm swung in a hammering motion towards Marcus's ribs. Marcus tried to bring his saber down to try and counter in some way; however, the cloaked demon held onto the blade with his metallic right hand as Marcus was hit in the ribs hard.

The cloaked demon let go of Marcus's saber as Marcus was sent skidding and rolling down the hallway from the impact. The cloaked demon looked down at his left arm, his metallic fingers flexing in an unnatural manner. "That didn't feel right," he remarked before focusing back on Marcus, who stopped rolling by stabbing his saber into the ground with a grunt, the blade embedding itself into the marble floor. He huffed before pushing himself upright, a thin rivulet of blood trickling down from the corner of his lips.

"That didn't break your ribs, did it? Did you enhance the area of impact with your mana right before getting hit?" the cloaked demon asked as he clenched and unclenched his left hand, the sound of metal clicking against metal faintly audible. Marcus didn't reply and instead enhanced his legs with a surge of mana, propelling himself towards the cloaked demon in a burst of speed. He appeared right in front of him with his saber mid-swing aimed at the cloaked demon's neck. The whirling sound was once again heard, growing louder as the cloaked demon leaned backwards, moving as if he was in two times speed as Marcus's swing went harmlessly over the demon.

Marcus didn't relent as he let himself be carried by the momentum of the swing and shifted on the ball of his foot, swinging again, this time aiming towards the cloaked demon's right knee.

The sound of metal clashing against metal reverberated through the hallway as the cloaked demon's knee bent from the swing. However, the demon showed no signs of pain as he swung his left arm wildly towards Marcus's head. Marcus instinctively ducked down, feeling the swing whizz by just above his head. Suddenly, the whirling noise filled the air once more as the cloaked demon's left knee shot up in double time, forcing Marcus to release his saber and block with his right forearm.

Despite enhancing his forearm severely, the force of the impact left a deep bruise, and he felt his bones slightly crack as he was sent sliding backwards. His saber remained embedded in the cloaked demon's right knee, a testament to its power.

"This weapon is powerful," the cloaked demon remarked as he ripped it out of his knee, causing some sort of orange liquid to leak from the wound. "It managed to break through my limb," he added, inspecting the curved saber closely. Marcus took in a few deep breaths as he adjusted his stance, positioning his back foot raised and his front foot slightly lifted. His left hand remained open close to his chin, while his right hand was open and leveled to his waist. The cloaked demon tossed the saber behind himself, the clattering sound of its impact echoing through the hallway.

"A more balanced stance, though I fail to see how you expect to damage me unarmed," the demon remarked with a slight limp as he swayed from side to side once again.

Before they could continue their fight, the floor between them suddenly burst open as someone was launched through it, hitting the ceiling before falling back down with a metallic clunk. The cloaked demon recognized the person who had been launched. "Kazon?" he asked, surprised, as Kazon held his helmet and slowly got up. "You're fighting someone, Erkag?" Kazon asked, sounding tired. "Who could have done that to you?" Erkag asked, but Kazon just pointed towards the newly created hole in the floor.

Right on cue, someone jumped through it. "Don't think we're done yet!" the newcomer yelled in anger. Erkag's gaze fell upon the unfamiliar demon with red and blue horns and green, feline-esque eyes filled with Demonic Hatred.