"Hey there, dragon vessel. I have been looking for you," the demon said with its otherworldly voice, causing Max to stiffen in shock.
’I’m... I’m... I’m dead.’
"I will keep things simple," the demon continued as it lifted its elongated clawed finger and pointed at the shaken-up Max. "I have been forcefully summoned here to kill you. You are a threat to the demon race if allowed to live much longer, so you have to go."
Funny enough, Max wasn’t listening to any of this. His mind was spiraling with different thoughts. His body tensed, his hands clenched tightly as if by force to stop them from trembling.
’A... a... a real demon? What the hell is with my shitty luck?! Wh... why am I faced with a real demon? I... I barely survived the day I fought a vessel. A damn vessel who wasn’t even a full demon.
And now I’m staring at the real thing. A goddamn demon straight from... wait! Where are they from again?’
"The underworld," Pix replied flatly.
’Right! And now I’m up against a demon straight from the underworld? What the hell is this?!’ Max roared internally, fear pumping through his veins. He saw the demon’s lips moving, but he couldn’t bring himself to listen.
"So..." the demon said, snapping Max out of his thoughts, forcing him to hear every word. "We can do this the easy way," it growled as its limbs scraped against the ground, those molten eyes glowing brighter.
"Or we can do things the hard way."
It exploded from its position with terrifying speed. Max just blinked and suddenly it was right in front of him, a smirk stretched across its lipless maw as it swung a clawed hand forward.
"Shit! Max, act now!" Pix roared in his mind, snapping him from his daze just in time to see a long claw tearing toward his face.
’Crap!’ Max thought, trying to leap back, but the moment his feet touched the ground, the claw was already there. It slammed into his chest, sending him flying several meters away with brutal force.
"Shit!" Max cursed as his body tumbled across the hard ground, bones rattling from the impact.
"Max, you can’t take this fight lightly! You need to get serious now. I wasn’t sure before, but now I am. That demon is a Greater Fiend," Pix barked urgently.
"And do I look like I’m trying to play around?!" Max snapped back in fury as he scrambled to his feet—just in time, because the demon was already upon him, claws raised high, ready to smash him into pieces.
The demon’s strike landed on the ground instead, unleashing a terrifying shockwave that shook the entire alley. The earth cracked wide as a deep crater opened where its claws had hit. Dust and debris billowed into the air.
"It does look like you’re playing around to me," Pix retorted.
Max scoffed bitterly, ducking under another swipe. The claws grazed his cheek by the smallest fraction—yet pain seared his skin instantly.
’What the hell?! It just grazed me, how—’
"It’s a Greater Fiend," Pix cut him off. "I don’t have time to lecture you, but listen—this thing isn’t in your league. For your current level, it’s ridiculously strong. And I mean crazy strong."
"Why are you running, dragon vessel? Face me!" the demon roared as it exploded from its spot once again. The ground shattered under the pressure as it appeared in front of Max in a single blink.
Its molten orange eyes gleamed as it thrust its claws forward, aiming straight for Max’s skull.
"It’s dragon Scion to you, not dragon vessel," Max shot back as he clamped his hands around the demon’s claws, straining to halt its advance.
A violent shockwave blasted outward, rattling the alley walls as though the entire city block trembled. The ground beneath their feet fractured and shattered, rocks and fragments shooting up into the air. Max’s arms quaked from the pressure, his teeth clenched, but he refused to let go.
Max’s eyes began glowing yellow as he grit his teeth while holding onto the claws which were now slicing through his palms drawing blood.
"Whatever!" The demon roared as it pushed off the ground even with Max holding its claws back.
It thrust its twisted horn forward with immense speed and strength that Max was forced to let go of the claws quickly while trying to block the horns but at that moment, the demon changed tactics.
Its claws immediately flashed in front of Max’s face and the next moment, red filled his vision. Everything happened so fast that he wasn’t able to react much.
The claws smashed into his abdomen causing blood to fill his mouth which he coughed out.
’Shit!’ Max cursed inwardly as he held onto the claws holding it back from piercing in further as he glared at the demon in anger.
"ARGHHHH!" Max roared into the air as he pulled the claws out and then hammered a powerful kick into the demon’s side sending it skidding a few inches.
Blood kept dripping out of Max’s stomach as a small hole could be seen releasing the streams of blood but then...
Slow but steady, his stomach was healing back up. It was closing at an incredible rate that the demon tilted its head in surprise as it stared at Max.
’Tha...that healing rate is faster than what a dragon vessel should be capable of. Does it mean...’ its orange eyes widened at this realisation. ’It has evolved into the next stage?’
"Now," Max said snapping the demon out of its thoughts as his stomach had finished healing up and slowly, his body was reverting back to normal.
His blue hair was now turning back to gray with steaks of purple in it, his body was now becoming more scaly with his hands shaping into the form of a pair of small claws.
{Ding! Host has decided to take things extremely serious and looks like demon is to}
{Quest Alert received! Defeat greater fiend demon for rewards.}
{Recalculating survival rate after realising rank of demon...}
{Survival rate; 5.5 percent}
"Let’s try this again." Max said as his eyes began glowing bright red while ignoring the previous notifications when a new notification hovered in his field of vision.
{Sin: Wrath activated!}
Max exploded from where he stood bolting forward at a crazy amount of speed.