Witch VS Devil

"You moron!" I berate my white-haired knight, shaking him awake. He just moaned and went back to sleep, completely ignoring me.

"Dammit!" I curse vilely, frustrated and worried. I take my eyes off him for one second, and he gets charmed THIS easily? You've got to be kidding me!

I check my knight's condition, just to make sure that he's alive. It's common practice for powerful demonic entities to drain any magic-born of their mana as summoning. His mana circuits were fine, though his core is essentially empty. Luckily, his reserves still had a little bit of mana in it. I don't whether it was through some kind self-preservation instinct or simply a coincidence, but he managed to preserve enough mana that his body shouldn't be in any immediate danger.

Magicians are highly dependent on their mana, even more so for conjurers like me. The more mana is expended, the more stamina and mental fortitude is consumed. A drain of mana can, in some cases, result in nausea, vomiting, or even passing out. Like this idiot just did.

I will the earth mana in the room to form a dome around my unconscious knight, encasing him in a cocoon made of the dungeon's walls.

…

I stand up and summon my staff.

"Merlin…"

A meter length staff materializes from thin air. I clutch the shaft with my right hand, feeling it. Like always, the staff itself felt more familiar and comfortable than any other weapon or instrument that I've used, and while this would normally alarm me, I knew that the weapon itself is my ally, my most valuable companion.

The summoning circle lets out a bright light, indicating that the summoning ritual is finished.

Maniacal laughter boomed from below.

"Kukukukuku…hahahaha! WAHAHAHA! Finally! After all this time…do you know how long I've been waiting? How dare you make me wait! You mongrels…huh? Who the hell are you?" A grotesque monster appeared from the eerie circle, both merry and arrogant.

It was taller than me, by about a 2 meters. From what I can see, it had the head and legs of a goat, the body of a man. The creature was practically swimming in demonic mana, the aura it exuded was a dead giveaway of it's nature. It also had the overinflated ego of an arrogant noble drunk with the little power that it had, a familiar sight. A vile sensation twisted my insides, twisting my face in disgust from the unpleasant memory. Not this shit again…

The creature moved toward me, it's chin raised so high that it might as well have been looking up. "You, girl. Get me something to eat. It's been awhile since I've visited the human realm, so I'm in the mood for some human meat." It licked it's lips and it looked at me up and down. "You better hurry or I might help myself to you instead."

"Ugh, gross."

"…What did you just say?" It raised a brow, trying and failing to look intimidating

"I said you're gross, vile beast."

"Is that so?" It crossed it's arms and leaned down so we were eye-to-eye.

The very next second, the beast monstrous arm was upon me.

◇◆◇◆◇

A vicious strike falls upon the robed girl, MY strike. It hit accurately and powerfully, of course, killing her instantly.

"Stupid child, didn't your parents ever tell that you shouldn't talk back to your superiors? This is what you get for disrespecting me, you lesser." I turn around and make my way to the towering gates.

Now, where did my meal go…?

"Well, what could I say? I never met my parents. They were gone by the time I could even think." A semi-familiar voice echoes behind me.

"…?!" I quickly spun, sweeping my arm.

*ching*

The sound of a barrier being hit echoes in the ritual room.

"How are you alive?" I question the strange girl in a low tone. She was unscathed, the head that should have been blown off was still there, completely intact.

The lesser tilted her head. "Me, alive?…Oh, you're talking this…" She stuck out her finger, pointing at me.

No, not at me. She was pointing at something else, something invisible. A layer of conjured wind was surrounding her, encasing her in a wind barrier.

"It's not that I lived. You're just so weak that you couldn't even damage me." She spoke indifferently, almost casually.

"…"

「Skill 'Demonic Leap' is activating」

I appear behind the girl, too fast for her to even recognize. "Oh, yeah? Well how about this?!"

「Your attribute 'Devil' is activating」

「Skill 'Demonic Aura' is activating」

「Skill 'Demon's Wrath' is activating」

「Your title 'Merciless' is activating」

「All offensive skills and attributes have been enhanced」

I trap the lesser girl in a flurry of kicks and punches, ensuring my victory through sheer violence. As a demon, this was a no-brainer. Between a mighty demon such as I and a frail elf like her, the outcome should be obvious. It should be obvious, but…

"Is that all?" She looked at me with cold, disinterested eyes.

"You…!!" I speed up even more, making my attacks more vicious and powerful. I grit my teeth as I try to destroy the girl's invisible barrier. It was tough, incredibly tough. My knuckles ached as my fists crashed against it repeatedly.

「Skill 'Demonic Leap' is activating」

When that didn't work, I used my mobility skill to quickly back away, putting distance between the two of us.

"…You're pretty strong, girl."

"Nah, you're just weak."

Tch, I click my tongue and focus on the mana inside of me, specifically on the core inside of me.

"This is your last chance, lesser. Surrender now and I might just let you leave."

"Even though you haven't even hit me once?"

"Hah!" I laugh at the girl's face, unleashing the power dwelling inside of me and  altering the landscape.

The marble walls disappear, replaced by the quite literal hellish landscape of my inner domain.

"A bounded field.." The lesser girl muttered silently, in awe of my power.

"Who's the weak one now, lesser?! This is the peak that you lesser beings desperately try to achieve, reaching one's core!! You should have killed me when you had the chance, you moronic girl! Now that my bounded field has been activated, you're trapped here until you defeat me. But…oh? What's this? You can't, duh!! You're way too weak and pathetic!! HaHAHAHAHAHA!! Now, bow before my power, you insignificant being!!" I laugh at the lesser's face. She remained speechless and frozen from shock in the presence of my ultimate power.

"…Is this it?" I heard somebody say.

"What?"

"I said, is this it?" She looked at me with criticism in her eyes and spoke in a disappointed tone. "Is this all you can do?" She seemed to be…mocking me, berating me for something.

…Oh, that's why.

"Heh‐hehehehe…I see."

"…"

"Of course, that should've been obvious. You've gone mad from fear, that's what's making you say such stupid words. I heard that lessers were like that—stupid, foolish beings." I point at the lesser. "Listen well so that your puny brain could understand…This is a bounded field! The pinnacle of magic all you lessers obsess over so much. Puny magicians like you could never in their pathetic lives reach the magical insight required to even understand a spell like this, let alone use it! You're lucky to even bare witness to one, fool! I don't know what kind of trick you pulled with that weird barrier, but now that my bounded field has been set, my victory is no more than a guarantee!" I laugh at the lesser's face once more, enthralled.

It was then…

"Oh yeah?" The staff that I just noticed she was holding began to glow brightly, a pulse of mana emanating from the crescent tip, a ball of hyper-purified mana converging in the middle.

"What the hell is that?!" A terrifying chill went down my spine. A terrifying foreboding played before my head.

「Skill 'Demonic Leap, is activating」

I quickly approach the lesser being, swinging my arm in wide arc. The ball began to shine even brighter and brighter. Until…

*FLASH*

My back cried in pain the very next moment. "Aaaaaggggghhh—!!!!" A scream tore from my throat from horrifying agony. What just happened…?!

"You're still alive? That's pretty impressive. Though, my knight is even more so." The lesser girl's voice echoed somewhere.

"Where are you, wench?! Once I get out of this…" I swing my arm in wide arcs…or not. My senses were getting blurry, muddy even. It was like I wasn't in control of my body anymore. I couldn't feel anything.

The lesser—no, the witch's cold and terrifying voice sent cold chills down to my very soul.

"This what you get for mocking me, foolish beast."

Then the world turned black.

◇◆◇◆◇

I stare idly as the Devil dematerializes it's body, red sparks flying in the air. I tore my gaze away from the arrogant beast, letting the bounded field dissipate and his mortal body to crumble. It wasn't like he died anyway, not in a long shot—though I doubt it realized that.

Devils are creatures beyond this realm, to have one appear here can only be called as unnecessary intervention—one I would rather not deal with. These extraterrestrial beings cannot be fully brought here, thus requiring highly-complicated and intricate magic circles specifically for summoning such creatures. Even then, the success rate is still incredibly low. All of these combined can only summon a part of the desired beast, sometimes even less than that—though the most likely result is the beast's soul, that being the most magically sensitive part of any living being. To have successfully summoned one on the first try, even if all of the necessary preparations have been done, is a feat worthy of some respect.

It would seem that my knight might be more than I imagined. A slight smirk crept up my lips.

"Still, what should do with this place…" I look around the dilapidated room.

The previously pristine walls have been destroyed, several of the pillars have been destroyed as well, meaning that training here any longer might not be advisable. I could fix it, just enough to make sure that the entire place doesn't cave in on us while my knight is doing his training.

*rumble*

"You're awake…" Oh, crap. He's awake. I will my staff to disappear, letting it dematerialize. Putting on a shocked mask, I grab the groggy knight's shoulders and shake him.

◇◆◇◆◇

*shake shake*

"Hey, are you still alive?! If you are, then speak to me! Hey! Hey! Hey!"

I get it already! I tear the witch away from me, grabbing HER shoulders, and pushing outward. What just happened?

"You're lucky I was here." She calmed down and deactivated her spell, letting the dome of earth crumble. " You were brainwashed by a demon. It tricked you into pouring your purified mana into the summoning circle. Luckily, the summoning circle was old and wore down, so the ritual failed and caused a burst of mana to destroy the room. You were unconscious from mana exhaustion, so I used my magic to encase you in a dome of earth. Thank the spirits you're not injured." A sincere smile crept up her face.

…I guess I'll believe that. She offered me a hand to stand up, and I refused it. I wasn't so fatigued that—aaaaannndd I fell immediately.

"You need some help?" She smirked coyly.

…Yes please. I took her hand and accepted her help.

…

As we were leaving the ritual room…

…Ah, right.

「Your attribute 'Absorption' is activating」

Dark attribute mana gravitate around me, and into my circuits, then purify it inside of my core.

「Your attribute 'Assimilation' is activating」

「You have unlocked a new evolutionary path」

「Your evolution is imminent」