CHAPTER 74 – Zulgar’s gift

*YOU'RE GOING TO DIE!!!!*-Demonic power erupted with the roar of Zulgar, who was rushing against me with his spear slash glaive covered Demonic Energy.

"…"-With a frown, I received the first impact with my sword, but it made the handle of the Magic Sword tremble.

{It was too good to be true…}-I thought while clicking my tongue and clashing my sword against his spear slash glaive. With each clash, my Magic Sword trembled even more, but it wasn't my mana, but the artifact per se that was overexerting itself while holding both my Magic Power and Natural Energy at the same time it was crashing against the Demonic Power of Zulgar. {This can't keep going on.}-I thought to myself while jumping back.

But as if the bastard didn't want to let me go, he rushed right towards me, once again attacking me with his weapon, reassuming our constant clashing of weapon.

*HAHAHAHA*-His constant laughing was resonating as he swung his weapon again and again.

"*tch.* You're such a pain."-I said while parrying his spear once again and kicking him on the chest, though, I didn't connect my kick, as his cape turned alive and stretched to grab my leg. "Huh?".

*Hahahaha you're trapped now!*-He shouts before swinging his spear down against my leg.

"…"-With a frown, I put a lot of strength on my leg to stomp down the cape while swinging up my sword to receive his spear.

*boom!*

*clang!*

*tch. You, bastard!*-He said, trying to pull the cape from below my foot while at the same time he kept swinging his spear.

{This bastard is going to break the sword if he doesn't stop attacking me.}-I thought to myself while feeling the trembling handle of the artifact, that little by little was starting to succumb to the pressure of all the fighting energies.

"Hey. What did Zepar offer you to make the pact?"-I ask him before igniting my leg in a fire to burn the cape, but it was more resistant than it looked, so I could only burn the part that was attached to my leg and nothing else.

*He promised me glory and power! AND YOU'RE GOING TO BE THE FIRST TO FALL WITH MY NEW STRENGTH!*

{This bastard is out of his mind. I'm not going to get anything from him.}-I thought to myself stopping his spear with my sword, and while clenching my teeth I grabbed the shaft of the spear, sending a lot of lightning energy through it.

*THAT DOESN'T WORK AGAINST ME!*-He shouted before pulling the spear sideways, and instead of fighting against it, I just used his own strength to propel myself out of range, turning midair before landing and swinging down the sword towards him, sending a lightning wave towards him.

*I TOLD YOU THAT IT WON'T WORK ON ME!*-He said before swinging his spear in a half-moon-shaped swing that sent a wave of Demonic Energy towards me.

{Zepar's energy is slightly different than what I've heard from Hajin… I'll need to fight more with him to actually decipher it. But for the moments, it looks more like some kind of amplification and support to his freaking servants.}-I thought to myself while looking at how the wave of Demonic Energy and my lightning wave canceled each other.

"Yeah, I heard you the first time."-I answered with a frown.

*HAHAHA! Out of ideas already!? Then, why don't you just die!?*-He rushed against me again, each time he took a step, he destroyed the ground with the Demonic Power.

{He can't control it. It's like giving a weapon to a dumb giant… Using just strength and no technique.}-I clicked my tongue at him, before turning to look at my sword. {If this keeps going on… I'm going to break my weapon again… I'll need to find a better sword, or resign to use just my fist. Maybe I should try using something else…}-I thought before condensing the now three-meter-long sword made of Natural Energy and Magic Power down to just a forty-centimeters-long blade.

Its look changed, while it still had a whitish-blue color with lightning flowing through it, it looked denser, sharper, and even more clear. The blade was totally still, even the lightning flowing through it didn't make too much of a noise, it was almost impossible to perceive it visually, but it was there, filling each centimeter of the sword.

*Mm? Did you really resign yourself? Well, DIE THEN!*-Zulgar appeared in front of me, swinging his spear down.

{It'll have to do for the moments.}-I thought to myself while crouching down, evading the spear, and with a reverse grip, I swung at Zulgar's leg. The cape tried to stop my swing, but it was cut too.

*ARGH!!!!*-The brutish man screamed in pain, while his body got slightly shocked.

{That armor of yours might mitigate my lightning energy from outside, but your body, even with that amount of Demonic Power, can't.}

Spinning quickly while side-stepping, I evaded his enraged right punch before making three cuts, two of them on the back of his leg and his waist, while the last one was made with an upward swing towards his arm, while at the same time somersaulting back to get out of his range.

*Grrr… You bastard… Do you dare to cut this prince!? YOU'RE COURTING DEATH!!! ROAAAAAR!!!*

With a roar full of anger, the Demonic Power exploded out of him, quickly getting towards me.

"…"

{This is going to hurt.}-I thought while clenching my teeth and my left arm, before reinforcing it with at least ¼ of the remaining Magic Power I had, and further adding neutral Natural Energy that had a pure white color to it, turning the light-cyan shining of my mana-reinforced arm, into an even more whitish color.

"HA!"-With a shout, that was more to try to divert the freaking pain that was eating my left arm more than giving me courage or strength, I punched the expansive force full of Demonic Power.

*RUMBLE!*

A strenuous sound resounded everywhere once my fist and his Demonic Power explosion made contact, the walls, ceiling, floor and even the remaining cells of the dungeon trembled explosively and some parts of the castle immediate to us were destroyed. Leaving a new giant hole in the already destroyed castle, which made a part of the castle crumble down totally thanks to the missing support.

"…"-I looked at my left arm was letting out smoke from it, while the coat's sleeve was destroyed all the way to the elbow, even a few centimeters up of it. "I loved this coat… You know?"-I spoke to Zulgar, trying to distract myself of my aching arm.

*…*-Who was just looking at me with a frown.

"What? A cat got your tongue or something?"-I ask.

{Zepar's Demonic Energy… It seems to be destructive… But it also has some reinforcement properties, which is weird… To have such opposite attributes, that's not something really common.}-I thought to myself while remembering the impact of my fist with the explosion. {This will be enough for the moments. If I'm not mistaken, Devils won't be a problem for a few years, if we take out the case of Chae Nayun's brother, of course.}

With that last thought, I let my left arm down, which was almost crippled for the moment, if it wasn't for my Natural Energy, it would be really hard to recover it without immediate attention. Holding my Magic Sword with a reverse grip, I put it in front of me, lowering my stance and center of gravity.

"Let's end this. Zulgar."-I said to him, before quick-stepping towards him with my dagger-like-sword, evading the slash of his spear while jumping over it, spinning in the air, and attacking his shoulder. The cape once again tried to stop me, but I cut it once again with my overly condensed magic sword, making a deep cut on his shoulder.

*URGH!*-He clenched his teeth to try and punch me, but the lightning energy slowed down his movement almost to a slug's crawl, and that gave me the chance to spin midair, kick the air, and impulse myself towards his back to pierce his heart.

*ARGH!*-He screamed out in pain, but he still managed to evade being pierced on the heart, and took the thrust with his left shoulder instead, while at the same time using the pain as a way to move faster and angrier towards me, piercing with his spear towards my chest.

I kicked the air under me while cutting down his shoulder to extract the blade and inflicting extra damage while evading his spear blade before connecting a reinforced ax kick to his shoulder.

*BOOM!*

The kick made him fall over his right knee, almost falling completely if it wasn't for his left arm stopping his body with the support of his right leg. His cape tried to attack me while at the same time he thrust his head back and up to try and pierce me with the blade on his helmet.

But I slightly kicked the air propelling me up to evade the helmet's blade while at the same time spinning to cut the cape, before kicking once again to propel me down, spinning once again while using a reinforced right forearm to make a pseudo-lariat on his exposed neck, throwing him on his back.

*BOOM!*

*URGH!*-He groaned.

Immediately after landing, I crouched down to pierce his leg that was closest to me, before kicking the ground to propel me forward while cutting all the way from his right leg to his right rib, before taking out the sword slash dagger and cutting his right arm next.

*AAAAARGHHHHHHH!!!!*-He started to turn and scream on the floor while grabbing his cut shoulder in pain. He then turned to the ground and stood up, still holding his right shoulder. *GRRR… YOU'RE GOING TO PAY FOR THAT!*

"At this point, I'm asking myself what kind of requirement you guys have to meet to become a servant of Zepar… It seems it doesn't have to do with things up here."-I said as I tapped my head twice with my index finger.

*Grrr…*-He just growled.

"Well, as I was saying. Time to end this. I have more guests to entertain."-I said while turning off the Magic Sword and keeping it inside my coat inner pockets, right before walking towards the cut right arm of Zulgar, that had his spear right beside it, as he dropped it off with the pain.

*COME!*-Zulgar shouted, and the spear tried to raise from the ground, only for me to appear beside it and grab it.

{A feisty one, aren't you?}-I thought as the spear tried to use Demonic Power to free itself of my hand. But I just had to inject the spear with Magic Power, Natural Energy, and Draconic Energy for it to calm down, making the darkish-red Demonic Power turn to a mix of light-cyan, white and red with black, eradicating the control of Zulgar over it, before mixing Spirit Fire in, covering it in a ghostly-blue fire that destroyed the presence of Zepar inside the spear.

*WHAT!?*-Zulgar shouted, as this all happened in no more than two seconds.

Now, the spear returned to its original form, having the shape of a big shark's tooth with a slight difference, the blade wasn't as wide as before, and was slightly larger, with a blade that resembled, even more, a sword with a length of seventy centimeters. Its width went down to just fifteen centimeters, getting even thinner at the tip, while the two side blades became one, with a crescent-shaped blade resting on the right side of the spear.

"This will have to do for the moments."-I said while pointing the tip of the spear blade down, holding the shaft at the middle with my right arm.

{Even if I can't use my left arm. There's still a lot to do with my remaining arm.}-I thought while looking at the spear that I now held. The Spirit Fire disappeared after burning Zepar's presence in the spear, and only my Magic Power, Natural Energy, and Draconic Energy remained undulating calmly over the blade.

*GIVE IT BACK TO ME!!! IT'S THE TREASURE OF MY PEOPLE!!!*-An enraged Zulgar rushed towards me in a desperate rage, jumping forwards and trying to use his left arm's claws to kill me.

{Letting rage consume you to that point is the best way to get yourself killed unless you have enough power to break through everything.}-I looked at the incoming flying Zulgar, while side-stepping with a rotation at the same time I spun the spear in my right arm, letting Zulgar's claw and body fly right beside me in slow motion, before using the rotating force of the spear to cut him in half.

*cough… cough… What…?*-After his upper body landed, he just looked down at his missing lower body. "What… How…?"-The Demonic Power quickly left him, as his life was slowly ending.

"You may be a prince and whatnot. But a warrior? You're not. You let yourself be consumed by rage and pride, I don't know if that has something to do with Zepar, but at least those before you were calm enough to control their emotions during most of the fight. Something you couldn't do."-I walked towards him, before standing right in front of him and looking down at him.

"I'm… I'M A PRINCE! I'M A PERFECT WARRIOR! I'M STRONGER THAN EVERYONE ELSE IN MY KINGDOM!"

"Sure… You were stronger than the lizardman. But you're no warrior. You're just some brute using his excessive strength to break everything in front of you. It would normally work with those weaker than you. But sadly, the world is broader than what you think. Still, thanks. Now I have a better grasp of Zepar's strength. I'm still dubious about some things, but nothing that can't wait for later."

"YOU-"-It tried to shout something, but I merely cut his head to stop his blabbering, making him turn to ashes like any other Djinn.

[Invading Boss Monster Zulgar has been slain. The reward will be given once Zlatan is killed and the dungeon is cleared.]

A sudden message appeared in front of me.

"Mm… That's sad… I wanted to have a look at the reward right now."-I said while tilting my head. "Mm? Oh well, I guess this one here is also a good reward."-I then turned to look at the spear that didn't disappear.

{Maybe it has something to do with me taking out the control from Zepar and Zulgar and injecting my own energy.}-I thought while looking at it.

If I could somehow take out the spear from this dungeon, it would be a great benefit out of this expedition. While it wasn't my preferred weapon, it was a great one, capable of handling my three energies at the same time.

Looking into it, I tried to use 'Observation and Reading' to get any information.

[Guardian of the Lake's Fang (Awakened)]

[A spear made out of a fang that fell from the old Guardian of the Lake of Asora, a mythical being that commanded the cold waters of the gigantic lake and protected its residents. The fang was bestowed to the people of Ol'Karut, which later was transformed by master craftsman into a spear to protect themselves and the rest of the kingdoms under the lake. Thanks to the injection of a Dragon's energy and its connection with the Guardian, its slumbering abilities are awakened.]

[Mythical-grade Spear, Enchanted]

[Spirit of the Guardian of the Lake: allows control of freshwater. A remnant of a Mythical being: gives the spear an extreme duration. Protection of the Lake's Deity, allows you to invoke a strong shield of torrential freshwater around you each minute with the use of Magic Power and Natural Energy. Dragon's Fang: Injecting Draconic Energy into the spear, will make the spear sharper.]

"…"-I just looked at the message in front of me. "This… Calling this a Jackpot it's an underestimation the size of a freaking ocean…!"-I couldn't even close my mouth.

It was not just any kind of weapon; it was a mythical-grade spear. And to top it all, it was a spear made while using a Water Dragon's species' fang, which made it resonate with my Draconic Energy, awakening its true power.

"Ho… This thing should have been a treasured-grade at the bare minimum… But it jumped to Mythical-grade once I awakened it… That explains the change in its form when I destroyed Zepar's influence over it…".

Even if it wasn't a mythical-grade weapon before. This should probably be a great treasure and a really powerful spear, making it no surprise for Zulgar to lost his head once I took it.

"That idiot… Selling his soul to Zepar while having such a precious treasure… Knowing a Dragon's temperament, it wouldn't let any Demonic Energy influence his power, so it probably stopped any attempt to use the spear's power before…"

If it was a spear made from the fang of a Demonic Dragon or another compatible species, it would gladly accept the Demonic Energy, but it wasn't, it was the complete opposite.

"I swear I'm not saying my luck is bad anymore. From this day onwards, I'll go with my head up, saying thanks for every opportunity I get!"-I said while looking up at the sky. "Also. Thank you. Zulgar! Your gift won't be wasted!"-I shouted towards the inexistent soul of the guy that left this spear for me.