Chapter 107
The dragon stared down at the chaos below, searching for his next prey. Having burned the demon his captor had released him for, Enryu now had free reign to prey on whomever and whatever he desired like a true dragon—ruling over lesser creatures and crushing them for nothing but his own bemusement and gain. After a moment of sufficient searching, his eyes landed upon a man standing atop the mansion. The man's rose-red eyes stared back into Enryu's fiery gaze with contempt and annoyance.
The dragon had decided upon his next prey. As he began to coil his body to fly and burn this lesser creature for its arrogance, Enryu felt something atop his body—a feeling that appeared suddenly, without warning. "Shit, your body's really hot. I better kill you quick," Enryu heard a voice arrogantly say. Coiling his head around, his fiery eyes landed upon a girl fanning herself with her hand. Her white hair flowed in the high wind as she stared off into the forest with her gray eyes at something before turning to face Enryu.
"Looks like I made you mad," she said, shrugging her shoulders. "Well, don't blow up too much. You're about to get a lot madder," Grace declared with a smile. Her body glowed faintly as she lifted her foot and then slammed it down hard on the dragon's scaly body. The impact caused that part of his serpentine body to dip from the force, and Enryu let out a roar of pain and anger that reverberated through the air.
The dragon quickly coiled around his own body, snapping at Grace with his obsidian, dagger-like teeth. As the jaws of death neared her, Grace leapt from the dragon's serpentine body to atop his elongated head, her movements fluid and precise. She unleashed a punch that snapped Enryu's jaws shut with a resounding crack. "Good thing I can read you, or else you might have given me a little trouble," Grace said, grabbing onto one of the curved obsidian horns atop the dragon's temples. With a powerful wrench, she forcefully broke half of it off before jumping into the air.
Enryu coiled upwards towards her, his body undulating with a furious grace, and unleashed his fiery breath of pure hellfire. Grace smirked and used the broken obsidian horn to shield herself, her eyes reflecting the inferno's glow. As the hellfire blasted against the horn, the flames curled around it, not enough to burn Grace. She snapped her left fingers, and as the horn neared Enryu, he bit down on it, breaking it apart. However, he didn't feel the distinctive taste of blood in his mouth. Instead, the sharp taste of shattered horn enraged him further.
Enryu let out another roar of pain, reverberating through the air, as Grace slammed both her feet down on his serpentine body, cracking some of the crimson, amber, and ebony-colored scales under her boots. Sparks flew from the impact, adding a shower of light to the chaotic scene. "Come on, come on! You have to be stronger if you're a dragon out of hell!" Grace exclaimed mockingly, her smile turning malicious as she taunted the enraged beast.
Meanwhile, down below atop the mansion, the Demon Lord watched with a mix of confusion and interest. "Do you have any idea who that girl is?" he asked Eriza, who also watched the scene, though with shock, unlike the Demon Lord.
"No, my lord, I do not," she answered with a shake of her head before adding, "though she may have been the one I overheard the mercenary called Orian warn about."
Verandez, who had been staring at the scene with wide eyes and fear, looked at her with shock. "That's the girl he made the entire plan for!?" He exclaimed, annoying Eriza, who gritted her teeth as she glared at him, her patience wearing thin.
"Hmm, there is something about her that feels eerily familiar," the Demon Lord muttered under his breath as he stared at Grace, trying to figure out the odd sense of familiarity he felt for her. He watched as Grace jumped, slipped, dodged, and dove around Enryu's body, her movements fluid and precise. The dragon coiled around himself in quick, snappy motions, trying to bring his jaws down on her nimble form. Grace's agility was almost otherworldly, as she evaded every strike.
"My lord!" Eriza suddenly exclaimed, snapping the Demon Lord out of his near-entranced state.
"What now?" he asked, annoyance clear in his voice.
Eriza bowed her head quickly, urgency in her tone. "I'm sorry, my lord; I just noticed that Bilmoth is struggling to fight out front," she said, pointing her hand in the direction of the mansion's front garden.
The Demon Lord's eyes narrowed as he shifted his gaze toward the garden. "Struggling, you say?" His interest piqued further, a dangerous glint in his eyes as he processed the information. He walked to the edge of the broken attic and looked down toward the front garden, his eyes landing on Bilmoth, who appeared fearful in front of a man with a divine appearance. The Demon Lord chuckled to himself. "Did someone figure out your trick, Bilmoth?" Despite the potential setback for his plans, he found himself oddly unfazed by the turn of events. Maybe he harbored a certain disdain for Bilmoth's general attitude, despite him being one of his best demons.
He watched on with a malevolent smile as the man with the divine appearance explained Bilmoth's abilities. "You originally had the ability to cast simple illusions. However, deeming the illusions far too weak to be of any use, you made an Equivalent Exchange, making it so that you have to look at the person or being for your illusions to work. But this made them feel significantly more real. Then, to add to this, you made another Equivalent Exchange to make it so you can only make illusions of yourself, so that they can actually affect and interact with others while being indistinguishable from yourself. Am I correct?" The man asked, but Bilmoth stayed quiet and tense, answering the man without needing to say a single word.
"Do you know that man?" The Demon Lord asked, turning to Eriza with a grin. Eriza stepped next to him and followed his gaze. Before, she hadn't taken in detail what was happening—she had only seen Bilmoth in a tight spot and told her lord. But now, seeing the man, her eyes widened in shock as she took a few instinctive steps backward, her mind racing with disbelief. "Tha-that's not possible!" she exclaimed, her voice trembling with uncertainty, making the Demon Lord raise an eyebrow.
"What are you guys looking at?" Verandez asked, walking to the edge of the attic, his curiosity piqued by their reactions. "No, don't—" Eriza exclaimed, but it was too late. Verandez's eyes landed upon the man with golden blond hair and scarlet red eyes, and as soon as he did, "Ugh!" Verandez exclaimed, falling to his knees and clutching his head in agony. The Demon Lord stared down at him with pity, his expression tinged with a hint of amusement at the unfolding chaos. "What are you doing? There's no point in torturing our summoner; it won't power the portal," he explained to Eriza, who shook her head vehemently, saying, "I didn't do anything!" and raising her voice towards her lord, much to the surprise of the Demon Lord.
"My lord, you have to kill him now or—" Eriza's pleading stopped mid-sentence as Verandez let out a guttural yell, his distress palpable in the air. "Agh! Why!? Why!?" Before he got up and turned around, his right hand went into his worn brown suit as he pulled out several summoning crystals, his actions driven by a desperate need for revenge. "You monster!" he yelled, his voice cracking with emotion, staring at Eriza before he threw the crystals on the floor, summoning different monstrosities and ordering them to "Mince her, rip her to shreds!!!"