"What’s your name, human?" Diablo asked with a sly smile.
"Why do you care?" I grumbled.
"Well, so I can remember the name of the fool who dared challenge a deity like me."
I quickly maxed out my strength. Speed and agility were already on their countdown.
"Let’s see if you’re still as cocky once I put you in your place, demon!"
Smirking, I charged at Diablo, appearing behind him in an instant using Stealth. But the demon was perceptive—his reflexes were insane despite his massive body.
He dashed backward before I could land an attack...
But I had anticipated that too. In battle, I never underestimate my opponent. Like a game of chess, I always stay two steps ahead.
Before we even leaped from the castle, I had secretly dropped a few scalpels—just in case.
The moment he dodged my punch, I summoned the scalpels with wind magic. They shot toward me, stabbing him along the way.
"The hell?!" He groaned, clutching his waist.
"Look at that. You’re bleeding real blood. For a moment, I thought Inferno demons bled magma." I smirked.
And, of course, he overreacted. Typical demon.
"Don’t you dare mock my bloodline, you stupid human! If you want to see what the Inferno is capable of, then I’ll give it to you!"
The air around us grew scorching hot. Diablo’s horns blazed with wild fire, his body shifting in grotesque ways as his muscles contorted. Then, with a beastly leap, he bounded toward me on all fours like a monstrous buffalo.
Still frozen in shock, I barely dodged as he fired two massive beams of fire from his horns. My heightened speed saved me, but the land where his attacks landed was utterly devastated. The crackling of burning twigs echoed from nearby.
My fire magic was nowhere near the intensity of his.
But I wasn’t about to be outdone.
I tossed my scalpels into the air, channeling my aura into them—one of the skills I had been refining. They hovered on air, then shot toward Diablo at insane speeds. He dodged some but took hits from others.
With just a few seconds left on my buffs, I seized the opening my scalpels created. I dashed behind him and stabbed his neck.
He roared in pain, blood spilling onto the ground.
Without hesitation, I unleashed a blast of water magic. It wasn’t my specialty—I had spent most of my training on fire magic—but I managed to douse his blazing horns. Steam erupted from his body, leaving him vulnerable.
Focusing all my strength into my fist, I struck his stomach and shattered it into pieces.
So... their weakness is water magic.
I wasted no time returning to the castle. As expected, I found Seraphina healing Evelyn.
"Asher... did you—"
"Yes. Don’t worry, Priestess. The demon is defeated."
She exhaled in relief.
"How is she?" I asked, nodding toward Evelyn.
"She’ll be fine. I just need to keep healing her." Seraphina intensified her magic, but holy energy seemed to work slower on demons.
She turned to me. "Asher... how do you know this demon child? Were you on their side all along? Was what the guildmaster told me true?"
"What? No. I only met her yesterday. And I wouldn’t exactly call us friends, I mean—"
At that moment, Evelyn’s eyes fluttered open. The second she regained consciousness, she jolted upright, spun backward, and clenched her fists.
"Why are you touching me, humans?!"
My mouth fell open. "Is that any way to talk to the people who just saved you?"
"Mpf." She scoffed. "I don’t need to be saved by mere humans. I have regeneration magic, after all."
Right. Still as cocky as ever.
I ignored her and glanced at my system live terrain updates. Rose’s people were being overwhelmed by the sheer number of Inferno demons. But I also had to protect the Priestess.
I tapped my foot, weighing my options until—
[I recommend teleporting the Priestess back to the human world.]
"You can do that?"
[Of course, dummy. Did you forget I analyzed the teleportation circle?]
"Oh. Right. Let’s do that."
I turned to Seraphina. "It’s too dangerous here. Time for you to go home."
She stood, dusting off her tattered robes—now torn in a way that revealed too much skin. My jaw tightened. What did those demons do to her before I got here?
Then, she hugged me. Tightly.
Her body trembled. "I... I was so scared, Asher. Thank you. Thank you for saving me."
I felt her shaking against me. She really must have been terrified. I hugged her closer.
"It’s okay now. I’ll get you home."
As we pulled away, our eyes met—
Then I lost it.
I kissed her. Just a quick one. My heart pounded as I pulled back.
"I—I’m really sorry. I didn’t mean to—"
[Warning!]
[Massive energy detected approaching fast!]
BOOM!
The walls exploded, sending debris flying. I barely managed to shield us with a wind barrier, but the force still knocked us back.
From the dust and flames, a towering figure emerged.
Draegonoth. The Demon King. His entire body burned with fire.
His eyes locked onto us, his expression darkening. "Who dared touch my woman?"
Then, he spotted me. His lips curled into a smirk. "You. I know you, brat. You’re that cocky human, aren’t you?"
I pushed myself up, hands on my waist, a smirk of my own forming.
"Well, if it isn’t the Demon Lord himself. Looks like fate wants me to pummel you black and blue. What do you think?"
The demon let out a booming laugh. "You?! Oh, please! Do not underestimate the embodiment of beauty that is myself!"
I scoffed. "Yeah, yeah. We’ll see who’s more beautiful. And there’s an unwritten universal law when men fight: the ugly one always loses."
Before I could begin my fight with Draegonoth—
"Where’s my mommy, you monster?!"
Evelyn’s voice rang out behind me.
She was charging recklessly toward the Demon King, a massive curse spell forming in her palms.
Before Evelyn’s curse could reach him, Draegonoth raised a single claw, and with a flick, the air itself warped.
Evelyn froze mid-air. Her body twisted unnaturally as her own spell turned against her.
"What—?!" She gasped, eyes wide with panic.
Draegonoth chuckled darkly. "Did you really think a child like you could challenge me?" His fiery gaze bore into her. "You must know better than to raise a hand against your father!"
Great! Why the hell did I bring this brat here?! Now I gotta babysit her while fighting this living calamity!
I wonder what the hell happened to Rose.