Chapter 193

Dante

Jean arrived first, latching onto the thoughts of one of the many demonic Anaconda that they had patrolling the deep waters of the floating Relay Station on the River. Shielded from sight by numerous light, space, Angel, and illusion runes, they were partly prepared for an attack from me but not from her.

She thrust her hand forward, firing all ten rings she'd recently acquired, bombarding the head of the snake. It popped, spilling viscera and gore in every direction. Its titanic body crashed into the side of the temple, alerting the demons of our presence.

Two dozen Dragonlings poured out of the structure, armed in partly rusted armor covered in water and muck with cudgels identical to the first Garok I ever fought.

Their description told me they were Water Dragonlings—bulkier, meaner, and stronger than the Newt I faced.

Steam rose from the backline, shrouding the little protection bubble separating the temple from the real world. Water snaked up from the River, twisting and turning, springing up at Jean. But before they ever touched her, two spears descended, both charged to bursting with Netherfire.

It flashed cooked the rest of the Anacondas, the Dragonlings and destroyed most of the temple, exposing the inner structure. Molten stone sloughed off the outermost fixtures. I sucked in a deep breath.

It still threw me for a loop just how much more powerful I was because I could craft.

At the center of it all stood a glowing Decahedron with rune symbols that constantly shifted. Something was coming through—the waves of energy rolling off it told me as much.

Enrique and the demon knight appeared.

I expected Enrique to be the more emotional of the pair, but the way the Light-skinned demon knight stared made me realize I had a true enemy in her.

For her, this was personal.

Enrique whistled. His eyes wandered to my spears. "I get it now. Who would've thought the Orphan boy was a half-decent Rune Mage? That's how you kept up. If you think your little energy core put you on the same level as me--"

"Why don't you come up here and find out?" I cut him off.

"And rob Adora the chance?" he chuckled.

The woman unsheathed her blades. They were long, curved, with ornamentation. Her pristine silver armor reflected the moonlight and was packed with dozens of runes—most of which I couldn't identify.

"Lumos was born to be a god," she hissed. "And he would've grown to be one if you hadn't killed him. Prepare for a slow death, worm. You'll make me wish I'd killed you."

I smirked. "Bring it on, granny."

She was a blur. One moment, she was on the ground; the next, her blades were inches from my neck. The runes on her armor lit up—Angel energy suppression runes designed to restrain me so she could put me down. A beam of purple lightning surged from my core. She slipped past it, and the thick beam punched into the Decahedron with barely any effect.

Beside me, Enrique was on Jean with a fury. His body enveloped in a cloak of flame and shadow, spear punching down at her shield.

Adora struck from behind with twin descending strikes, blades bathed in light, and I parried with Kurogiri, my body exploding with Density shift, Mind, and Density Cloaks.

I saw the faintest flicker of surprise in her eyes before they vanished, and she rained down fury. We blurred, ping-ponging around the closed arena—she chasing me as energy built up in my chest. She saw this and pushed and stopped holding back.

The temperature in the dome shot up once more as Enrique unleashed his potent attacks. Beams of flames, tentacles, and pillars twisted into the sky; all the while, Jean casually rebuffed and returned the favor with her storm of Kinetic Rings and Adamantium knives. They battered and punched through his armor like Tofu and missed him by millimeters at times, but I knew how the fight was leaning.

Just when Jean grabbed hold of his body, the Decahedron finally stopped, and a troupe of Greater demons emerged. Ten tall, gaunt, silver-clad demons like her—Lumenari, the description read.

Dozens more Mind Mages stood behind them. These ones were not hunched over. They had a confidence to them, and a collective raise of their staves put an end to Jean's mental interference.

I exchanged looks with Jean, and we collectively agreed that it was time we stopped playing with our food.

My hand stretched out as the full might of my Telekinesis latched onto Adora suddenly, and every last Lumenari in her group unleashed hell, including her. Two dozen Light spears came at me from all angles. A beam as wide as a school bus also descended from above, personally summoned by Adora. I dodged at the very last moment, activating my damage and speed bonus from Devil Evade and Teleport. Instantly, I was behind her, swinging with Arbiter, blade wreathed in purple flame. She shattered my mental grip in time, but not quickly enough. Arbiter cleaved through her Light Cloak, protection and all, weight heavily augmented by Density affinity.

Her armor saved her from being bisected, but not by much. Her guts were hanging out when she whisked herself away with light. I was waiting for her on the other end with another slash, which she dodged, playing into the Steel bane daggers I had floating behind her.

With Anathema flame on their tips, they punched through the armor, easily unloading several impact and precision charges.

It was over before Adora even realized she'd been hit. Her body exploded, flesh and bone reduced to ash and offal.

The explosion commanded a lull, drawing everyone's attention and giving Jean the space she needed to end the fight once and for all.

She summoned the visage of the Phoenix.

It was a maddening, all-consuming illusion that turned nearly every surviving demon catatonic. My Steel bane daggers zipped around the battlefield, executing survivors.

Before they reached Enrique, he snapped out of the illusion with a loud bellow. His aura poured gushed out of him, twisting and rising as he prepared to teleport yet again.

Jean stopped him this time with a flick of her hand. The rings hovering around her exploded with Phoenix fire and zipped at him impossibly fast. They banished the darkness and consumed him.

The only reason he didn't die was because Jean wasn't done with his mind. He knew more about Corvus and the girls than any demon we've encountered.

While she stripped his mind for everything it was worth, I tended to the Decahedron, which had started spinning again, summoning Rebellion. I channeled Anathema flame and brought it down on the strange device, destroying it and whatever else was left of the temple.

I stored my blade away and returned to them. Enrique was covered in burns that seemed all too familiar.

"I thought you'd be harder to fight," I confessed. "Didn't even have to use Devil Trigger."

"What did you do to me?" He gasped as he tried to call on his natural healing. His skin squirmed, but the burns didn't heal.

"I burned you with the fire of the Phoenix," Jean answered in a scathing voice. "Now that I know everything you've done, I almost regret holding back."

Enrique let out an uproarious laugh that quickly devolved into something strangled, desperate, and confused.

"Do me a favor and shut down the rest of the stations, will you?" he asked. "You're running out of time."

"Why are you trying to help us?"

"Because Corvus will switch up strategies now that he's dead," Jean answered. "He also doesn't want any of the demons conquering the earth."

"If I can't have my paradise continent, they can't either."

I suppose that tracked.

"Any last words?" I asked.

"Y--"

One of Jean's daggers stabbed through the back of his skull and came out through his eyes. He collapsed to the ground dead, and I received 500,000 Red orbs.

"We should kick things into high gear," I said, vanishing his body and weapon off-handedly. The kill hadn't surprised me in the slightest. He had it coming. Angel energy gushed out of me, and my muscles spasmed as I activated Angel Ascension.

"I get the impression that we're not ready to face Corvus."

"You have no idea," Jean said as we vanished, heading over to the Japanese Relay Station.