Chapter 93

Kazon eyed the creature with caution, its form a complete enigma. *It, she? Looks nothing like the fauna I've heard of from this world,* he observed, recognizing the inherent danger that mystery often brought. *I should proceed with cau-* His train of thought was abruptly halted as the demon of hatred delivered a sucker punch to his helmet, the force of the blow slamming his head against the wall. "Don't get distracted, you bastard!" the demon of hatred roared, pulling back his left hand for another strike.

Reacting swiftly, Kazon attempted to conjure a wall of hellfire by clasping his hands together. But before either of them could execute their attacks, the creature charged forward, slashing across Kazon's chest plate with the razor-sharp claws protruding from between the knuckles of its/hers right hand. Sparks flew as the sound of metal being rent echoed through the hallway. Kazon looked down, stunned to see his armor effortlessly sliced through.

With a sense of impending danger, he glanced up just in time to see the creature poised to slash at his helmet with its/hers left hand. In a split-second decision, Kazon contorted his body, executing a nimble dodge reminiscent of doing the splits. With lightning speed, he then kicked off the creature's stomach, propelling himself across the marble floor to put some distance between them.

"What are you doing, you bitch!? That guy's mine!" The demon of hatred yelled, his anger palpable as he prepared to attack the creature. It turned to him, its/hers serpent-like red eyes flashing with defiance, ready to engage in combat. However, just as they were about to clash, Kazon noticed the demon of hatred's eyes narrow, and then he suddenly grabbed the side of his head.

"What? You serious?" The demon of hatred questioned, confusion evident in his voice. Kazon couldn't help but wonder what the demon was up to. His gaze shifted between the demon of hatred and his own sliced chest plate, then back to the demon of hatred.

"This is her?" the demon of hatred asked, directing his gaze toward the creature. It turned its/her head, seemingly perplexed by the demon's words, mirroring Kazon's own confusion. The demon of hatred continued to speak, still clutching his head.

"Alright then, but do you realize how creepy it is that you know what her body looks like? Whatever, I can't blame ya. You're a kid after all," he remarked before releasing his grip and addressing the creature. "Just don't get in my way." With that, he turned back to Kazon, cracking his knuckles. "Let's put an end to you, bastard."

Kazon watched as the creature glanced at the demon of hatred for a moment before refocusing its/her attention on him. *A 2v1, huh? This is going to be rough,* he thought to himself, drawing two daggers from behind his back and holding them in front of him, prepared to continue the fight.

However, before they could continue, the demon of hatred's eye twitched in annoyance as he once again clutched the side of his head. "What now!?" he exclaimed in frustration, his anger confusing everyone present. "Fine!" the demon of hatred yelled again before turning to Marcus, who stood a few meters behind them. "Oi, baldy! You can fuck off because your friend's right here," he said, pointing at the creature with his thumb.

Marcus looked momentarily confused, but then his gaze locked with the creature's eyes—its red, predatory gaze. Whatever he saw in those eyes remained a mystery, known only to him. But whatever it was, it prompted him to nod his head. However, he didn't leave as the demon of hatred commanded. Instead, he hung back, choosing not to participate in the fight. It was a battle he had no right to be involved in.

"There, happy?" The demon of hatred exclaimed, still clutching the side of his head. After a couple of seconds, he let go and let out a sigh of relief. "Finally."

Then, without warning, the demon of hatred started sprinting towards Kazon, his blue horn glowing as he held his hand outward towards Kazon. A flurry of thin blue slashes launched towards Kazon, who charged right back, his instincts kicking into overdrive. He sidestepped one slash, then ducked another, hopping to dodge yet another, and finally twisting his body mid-air to evade two slashes coming at him simultaneously.

"Take this!" the demon of hatred yelled as he unleashed a wild punch towards Kazon's damaged chest plate. Reacting quickly, Kazon crossed his arms to block the punch before using the momentum from the demon's strike, Kazon shifted his weight, causing the demon to stumble off balance. He then attempted to stab the demon in the back with the dagger in his left hand, only to be stopped as he saw a slash of wind streak past his head, barely missing him. He locked eyes with the creature, who also began charging at him.

*So she can use magic,* Kazon observed as the creature closed the distance and brought down her right hand to try to claw him again. Kazon shifted slightly lower, allowing the claws to harmlessly pass over him. He then attempted to stab at the creature's throat, only to be stopped once again as the demon of hatred regained his footing and attempted to back-kick him in the side. Kazon swiftly brought down his right arm to block with his elbow. Before he could think about countering, the creature attempted to bring down both sets of claws to strike him down, only for Kazon to raise his left arm to block that as well.

*I sure hope none of the others are fighting a battle as hard as mine,* Kazon thought to himself before pushing off both the creature and the demon of hatred.

**Meanwhile**

Reykur let out a sound of annoyance as Dash shrugged off yet another one of its attacks. "Come on, this isn't fun!" Reykur yelled, sounding like a child, as it looked at the completely unharmed and unmotivated Dash. "Sorry, maybe I'm just not strong enough to be fun to fight," Dash apologized honestly.

"Don't apologize to that thing!" Elanor yelled at Dash from the sidelines, while Reykur just watched Dash with annoyance and a bit of fear. *I've hit him with everything I could, and he's still completely fine. Just who is he?* Reykur thought to itself, uncertainty plaguing its mind.

Elanor, originally fearful of Reykur, was now tired and frustrated with how long it was taking. "You know that if you kill this thing quickly, you can go and fight whatever else is in the mansion, right?" he yelled at Dash, who, upon hearing this, perked up. "You're right!" he exclaimed, pumping his fist, while Elanor just facepalmed at his stupidity.

"Okay, time to end this!" Dash yelled, turning to Reykur, who tensed up with its smokey body. *What's he about to do?* Reykur wondered, as Dash struck a dramatic punching pose and yelled at the top of his lungs, "Super Punch!!!!!!"