Chapter 74: Demon Invasion - Part 10

Chapter 74: Demon Invasion - Part 10

The Archdemon stopped a few meters away from the group, his presence commanding attention as a sinister smirk curled his lips. His voice, deep and terrifying, echoed through the battlefield: 

"So, you are the inferior beings responsible for slaying so many of my subordinates? I must thank you. You've done me a favor by clearing out the filth from my army."

DC, eyes narrowed, responded, "The filth?"

The Archdemon chuckled, a low, menacing sound. "Any demon that falls to such weak creatures like you is no better than trash. They are the weaklings I had no use for." With a snap of his fingers, an enormous throne of bones erupted from the ground beneath him. He sat down leisurely, his eyes glowing with amusement as he looked down on them. "Now, I desire some entertainment. Don't die too quickly, lower beings." 

With another snap of his fingers, a entity materialized behind the Archdemon, stepping forward to face the group. This new opponent was a human but stood with black tattoos that glowed faintly all over his body. His eyes shone with a bright violet hue, emanating malice.

One of the members of the Mages Academy gasped, "Demon Mode."

The leaders glanced at him, confused, and he quickly elaborated: "Demon Mode is a combat transformation where a human host forms a pact with a demon, allowing them to use the demon's power. There are four stages to this transformation. The inactive mode, where the power lies dormant but still grants heightened physical abilities. The first stage is the Tattoo Stage, where the tattoos appear on the host's body, giving them greater power. Then there's the Demi-Demon Mode and the Full-Demon Mode. I don't need to explain what those last two mean, do I?"

The leaders nodded, their expressions tense. The demon before them was currently in the Tattoo Stage, his power already significant but far from its full potential.

The demon's glowing eyes locked onto Leonard. He sighed in frustration, "Of course it's me. Why is it always me?"

With a savage roar, the demon charged toward him, his speed blinding. Cain and the Alpha-6 commander reacted in an instant, leaping in front of Leonard to intercept. The commander's fist flared with energy, a shimmering orb enveloping his hand as he struck the demon head-on. Simultaneously, Cain's ability activated, reflecting the demon's strike back at him.

The combined force of the commander's blow and Cain's reflective ability sent the demon flying backward, crashing into the ground with a thunderous impact. But the demon quickly recovered, rising to his feet as a howl of fury escaped his lips, the ground trembling beneath him.

The demon roared again, lunging toward them with renewed aggression. Cain stepped forward, his ability surging as he met the demon's attack head-on. The demon's claws swiped at Cain, but his reflection ability once again bounced the force of the blow back, causing the demon to stagger. The commander, not missing a beat, charged in from the side, his hands glowing as he unleashed another barrage of energy blasts.

Each strike landed with precision, but the demon, in a fit of rage, unleashed a shockwave of dark energy that sent both Cain and the commander skidding backward. The demon growled, his eyes flickering with fury as his body tensed, preparing for the next assault.

Leonard, seizing the opportunity, flipped open the crimson book in his hands. Chanting rapidly under his breath, he summoned bolts of crimson lightning that streaked through the air, crackling with raw energy. The bolts struck the demon directly, each one eliciting a scream of agony as they scorched his flesh.

The demon, now visibly weakened, turned his gaze toward Leonard, a murderous gleam in his eyes. But before he could charge, Cain, having recovered from the shockwave, was on him again, this time slamming a reflective barrier in place, causing the demon to collide with his own power once more.

Frustrated, the demon roared, spreading his wings wide as he took to the air, attempting to escape the relentless assault from all sides. The commander didn't let up, firing another energy projectile aimed at the demon's chest. The shot hit, sending the demon spiraling toward the ground.

As the demon crashed into the dirt, Leonard's voice rang out, casting another spell that summoned more lightning. The energy swirled around the demon, locking him in place as he writhed in pain, his tattoos flaring with intensity. With one final, ear-splitting roar, the demon slammed his fists into the ground, sending cracks spidering out in every direction.

The ground shook violently as the demon's body began to transform. His muscles bulged, and his skin darkened further, his tattoos glowing even brighter. His horns elongated, and his wings spread wide, casting an ominous shadow over the battlefield. His eyes, once violet, now blazed with a burning red fury. His voice boomed as he let out another savage cry.

The transformation had begun.

A mass of visible violet energy materialized in front of them, enveloping the transformed human. His body convulsed, fingers clawing at his face, revealing only his eyes, which glowed with a maddened intensity. He muttered under his breath, a crazed mantra: "Die, die, DIE..." The words were tinged with deranged laughter and tears, a mix of emotions too unstable to contain. Then, with a horrifying cackle, his wings erupted from his back, and a horn grew from his forehead. His laughter grew louder, more psychotic. 

Without hesitation, he charged straight at the Administrator, moving with feral speed and strength. Leonard braced for impact, readying himself for another battle, but before he could act, Midnight stepped forward, her arm outstretched to stop him. "No, this one is mine," she said calmly, unsheathing a blade covered in a glowing green aura. Without another word, she launched herself toward the demon-human hybrid.

The battlefield echoed with the clash of steel against unnatural flesh as Midnight met the charging demon head-on. Her blade gleamed with a deadly light, swinging in fast arcs, each slash empowered by the spells she whispered under her breath. The air around them crackled with magic, green energy clashing against violet as the two forces collided in a fierce, brutal contest.

The demon lunged forward, its claws swiping toward her head, but Midnight danced around the strike with effortless precision, her blade slicing through the air as she aimed for its exposed chest. The demon parried with a quick block of his own, summoning tendrils of energy to deflect her strike. Midnight, unfazed, pivoted and summoned a wave of green fire from her free hand, hurling it at her opponent. The flames roared toward the demon, engulfing him in a sea of magical inferno.

He screamed in pain, but the attack only fueled his madness. He slashed through the flames, charging again with reckless abandon. Midnight sidestepped at the last second, using the momentum to bring her sword down in a heavy arc. The blade met the demon's shoulder, cutting deep and forcing him to stagger. His violet energy flared in retaliation, sending bolts of raw power toward her, but with a swift gesture, she conjured a shield of light, deflecting the assault.

Her counterattack came quickly. Midnight spun around, her sword glowing brighter with every movement, channeling her full strength into a single devastating strike. The demon tried to block, but Midnight's blade cleaved through his defenses, landing a direct blow to his chest. A wave of green energy surged through the demon's body, forcing him to the ground with a sickening thud.

Breathing heavily, Midnight stood over her fallen foe, her eyes narrowing as she ripped a pendant from his neck. She examined it briefly, then tossed it to Leonard, who caught it and studied the familiar insignia.

"This," Leonard muttered, recognizing the symbol instantly, "he's a member of the Chaos Insurgency. Probably Gamma-class personnel. I'd wager an ASSAULT commander."

They turned their gaze back to the fallen demon, now barely conscious and writhing on the ground. But before they could act, a sudden surge of power erupted from his body, filling the air with an explosive, more intense energy. Midnight stepped back, her sword at the ready, as the transformation completed. The demon rose again, now fully consumed by the power of Hell itself. 

The battle against the demon began in an explosion of raw power as Leonard and Midnight stood side by side, prepared to face this new threat. The demon, now fully transformed, emanated a dark, oppressive aura, his violet energy swirling around him like a tempest. His eyes burned with rage as he fixed his gaze on Leonard, snarling viciously as he lunged forward.

Leonard's crimson book floated beside him, glowing ominously as it fed him power. He raised his hand, summoning arcs of lightning from the sky, aiming them directly at the demon's massive form. Midnight, meanwhile, was already in motion. She darted forward with her sword raised, green energy radiating from the blade as she slashed at the demon's side.

The demon reacted with ferocious speed, blocking Leonard's lightning with a barrier of dark energy and meeting Midnight's blade with his own claws. Sparks flew as the clash reverberated through the air, the force of their strikes shaking the ground beneath them. Midnight spun around, bringing her sword down in a quick, precise arc, but the demon leaped back, narrowly avoiding the blow.

Leonard seized the moment, casting a complex thaumaturgical spell. His voice echoed with power as fiery sigils formed in the air around the demon. The ground beneath the demon exploded in a blast of crimson flames, engulfing him in a vortex of heat and destruction. But even that wasn't enough. The demon roared, dispersing the flames with a violent surge of his own energy.

He retaliated with a wave of violet fire, sending it crashing toward Midnight and Leonard. Midnight raised her sword, summoning a green shield to deflect the attack, but the force of it was overwhelming. Leonard conjured another spell, this time creating a barrier of lightning to protect them. The two energies collided, causing an explosion that shook the battlefield.

The demon wasn't finished. He raised both arms, gathering a massive amount of energy into a single, devastating blast. His form swelled with power as the violet energy condensed into a sphere above his head, crackling with pure destruction. Leonard's eyes widened; he knew this attack could wipe them all out if it connected.

Suddenly, Clara appeared next to Cain. Without a moment of hesitation, she grabbed him by the collar, her eyes gleaming with mischief. "Come on, my Pokémon," she said with a grin, "I choose you." With a swift motion, she tossed Cain directly in front of the incoming attack.

Cain flew through the air, still processing what had just happened, but the instant the demon's attack struck him, Cain's ability activated, and the massive sphere of energy reversed direction, hurtling back toward the demon with twice the force. The demon's eyes widened in shock as his own attack struck him, and in a flash of violet light, his body disintegrated into nothingness.

The battlefield fell silent for a moment. Everyone breathed a collective sigh of relief as the realization set in, the demon had been defeated. Leonard wiped the sweat from his brow, Midnight lowered her sword, and Cain… Cain sat on a nearby rock, holding his head in his hands.

Lina, seeing him from across the battlefield, rushed over in concern. "Cain! Are you hurt?" she asked, her voice filled with worry.

Cain slowly looked up, shaking his head. "Physically, I'm fine. But mentally…" He sighed deeply, clearly embarrassed. "I've never been disrespected like that in my entire life."

Lina laughed, a soft, genuine laugh that lightened the heavy atmosphere. "Well, you saved us all, even if it wasn't the most… graceful way to do it."

As their laughter faded, her eyes shifted to the bomb's countdown timer. "Three minutes left," she muttered. The ticking timepiece was a constant reminder of the looming danger. Just as the tension began to rise again, an abominable, bone-chilling laugh echoed through the air.

It wasn't over yet.