Ranking Up! (9)

PREVIOUSLY

The vendor was broken, and I heard a distinct crunch and bang which meant that I must have made contact with something organic. Fear turned into hope and joy. My attacks reached the Demon God, I could finally hurt that stupid devil bitch!

My hopes died when time stopped, looped and crunched as space broke around me. I was lost for words when I literally felt the space-time continuum crack like grass before reassembling it's past piece like my present had never happened.

"You dabble in the forbidden arts?" Before my eyes, there she was, like nothing had happened. Her eyes looped around like she was searching for an answer. And then, she found one.

"Ah, my half-wit sister must have taught you."

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"DON'T CALL HER THAT!"

With a snarl, I released all the chi stored within my body and therefore, pressure enough to force even a highly-trained individual to their knees. And yet, the Demon God just stood there, with a smirk on her face like I was just a child throwing a tantrum.

I must have looked cute to her, but at this moment, I didn't care. I breathed out, condensing the chi I breathed in, willing it to move in succession with my heartbeat from my stomach, where [Anger] laid asleep. The chi that came out was energy in its purest form willing to take the shape of anything I imagined.

I wanted explosive power. And then I stepped forward.

Immediately, under a split second, I was in front of the Demon God. . .with my fist lodged inside her stomach.

BOOM!

The Demon God was sent hurtling back like a rocket, crashing into multiple houses and skittering off of random debris like a car out of control. When I heard the sound stop, I felt a presence appear behind me.

I flipped forward and turned back to see that the Demon God was still there, still with that smirk on her red lips.

That infuriated me even more. With a scream, I pumped out even more chi than was allowed of practitioners my level since it would usually poison them but I had [Purify]. I kicked forward, this time, aiming to hit a one-two on the Demon God but apparently, she decided not to just stand still this time.

"[Greed]" Pitch black tentacles appeared from the ground, striking out towards me but I knew their aim was to immobilize, not kill.

I was glad that she brought out [Greed] because I had a score I needed to settle with them. Breathing in, I punched at any tentacles that got close to me, and watched in satisfaction as they popped like balloons.

Weaving and dodging the tentacles was no easy task, even for someone who was trained by the best at the job. Especially, when they just kept popping up from god-knows-where.

I decided I needed to do something about the tentacles first, permanently before I even thought of reaching the Demon God. I knew she was just playing with me, and I knew that I would have already been dead if I did not possess the constitution of the one she wanted most in the myriad realms. I knew all of that, and was taking advantage of it because all I needed to do right now was to buy time.

Buy time until either Raegis woke up and [Sever] the time, or until she figured out the stress I was under through our connection.

With a disgusting gurgle, a tentacle shot forward at me. This one was hiding in my blindspot so all I could do was defend against it. Breathing out, I condensed my energy in front of my chest and imagined it to be like that of a shield but even that only managed to negate the impact brought from the tentacle's whip-like slap to my chest.

Pain flared from my chest like someone had just given me the wettest, tightest, reality-defying towel slap before I hopped backwards.

I tried to stand up. "Urk!" But, I could only kneel, holding onto my chest in pain. Scanning my body, I found out that my chest had been infected by the tentacle imbued with paralysis and poison.

"[Purify]"

It was like a cold bucket of water had splashed onto me. The pain in my chest was alleviated and I knew in a couple of seconds it would be as good as normal.

"Why do you play these games, Maiden?"

The Demon God snapped, and suddenly she was sitting on her [Throne Of Hell], face resting on her closed fist, leg crossed over the other, wearing the most bored expression ever.

"It was amusing at first, but tricks can only be tricks in the end. If you wish to play, all you have to do is come with me and I'll provide you with the best entertainment in the realms," The Demon God then smirked. "But of course, after your inauguration as my wife, and the future mother to our brood."

I slowly started to get up, and showed her my middle finger. "Fuck you."

"My, that's language unbefitting that of the Maiden," The Demon God still smirked. "But then again, it's always so fun to see the personal traits of each incarnation of Kubaba."

"Adds spice to the breeding." The Demon God uncrossed her legs, and I could see her huge boner standing tall like a tower through her skin-tight dress.

BOOM!

". . .You play too much." The Demon God's smirk disappeared. I just bit my lips in frustration from how easily she deflected my chi shot. No, she didn't even deflect it, it simply had no damage.

"Look, I'll tell you this once and once only so listen closely," I told her and looked dead into her. . .eyes? If you could call them that.

"Fuck you," I showed her the double bird. "I'll never be yours."

"Negotiations have failed then. Good," The Demon God raised her arm, and suddenly the tentacles increased in size, length and well, everything. "I always liked it more when they resisted."

I pumped chi at a voracious rate, and hoped that my [Purify] was strong enough to counter all the toxins. Right now, I think I might have even tapped into the higher middle stages of the [Body] Realm because I just felt absolutely brim with pure energy.

"Oh wait," The Demon God snapped her fingers and the tentacles were gone.

What was she going to do now? I watched her with a careful eye, making sure not to lose track of any one of her movements.

"Since my half-wit sister taught you that system of power, she must have already told you about the history I shared with the people who created it," The Demon God said, as her eyes moved about creepily.