Chapter 33

Ashe's POV

I descended down the Demon Tower while dodging the debris falling off the ceiling and demons trying to attack me. It's been ten minutes since I got inside to chase Vivian, but I still haven't found any signs of her yet.

As I plummeted below, I could see from the distance corpses of the demons. If I keep going in the same direction and same speed, I could reach Vivian in no time. As easy as I thought it would be, it won't be easy staying consistent due to the number of demons appearing in front of me and trying to stop me.

I had to slow down my descent to dodge the incoming attacks at the front. Then I had to kill the demons that were trying to jump at me, hoping their blades would reach me. But before I descended to this tower, I covered myself with black armor to shield me from whatever unknown was awaiting for me. And I'm glad that I wore my armor.

The demons here weren't that strong, but their numbers were not a joke. Also, some of their sizes were not to be taken lightly. I have seen ten or twenty demons with a similar height as the Black Dragon that I fought and killed a few years ago. But despite their sizes, their mana was weak. Or so I thought…

Their flesh was tough as I tried to hurl a magic blast against them. I didn't hold back anything, but despite the huge explosion that my magic made, they were still standing tall. As if, I attacked a huge iron wall instead of a flesh. The giant demons roared. In their hands, they were holding a black, rusty club. It was huge enough to fit in their hands. My eyes widened as I saw how fast their swing was. I barely was able to dodge the first attack, and more were coming.

I released a huge amount of magic around me to form a mana shield that prevents any physical or magic attack from coming inside. Their clubs hit my mana shield and because they swing too hard, they got knocked back from their own impact.

I hurled more magic attacks at the giants, aiming at their soft spot like their eyes. My magic struck their eyes, making them blind. Then, I charged straight at one giant demon and used my physical power to strike him down. I hardened my muscles and focused on putting all my strength to my one hand. My fist struck their flesh, and the impact was huge enough to create a gaping hole to the other side. Blood squirted from them and as one giant demon went down, I charged again to the other until I finished all of them.

I resumed my flight below, hoping to catch up for the time I lost. But since this is a tower, there were floors as well. That means, there should be a last floor below this tower. If I can't meet Vivian in the middle, I can just meet her in the end. At the very least, I could save enough magic power and energy before facing her by the end of this flight.

The more I descended deep down, the more I could see corpses around me. Giants or small demons, I'm surprised that she was able to kill this many even after her fight against Kalgaron. I don't care though. Because if she keeps on fighting too many demons, when she reaches the end of this tower, she would have lost most of her mana and strength. But wait. If she has been fighting this many horde of demons, then wouldn't that mean she also had to slow down or stop to fight them?

And my guess was correct.

From a mile away, I saw Vivian flying straight down. At the same time, she was fighting against demons as well while dodging their attacks. She was slowing down.

A smile formed on my face as I imagined the worse things I wanted to do to her Vivian. I emitted a strong killing intent and pushed away the demons that were trying to reach up to me. Vivian felt it and glanced behind her shoulders, staring at me in surprise.

"What the fuck are you doing here, Ashe? Didn't your mother tell you not to stick your nose into someone else's business?" She asked, angry at the fact I was just behind her.

"I don't care what business you have here in Demon Tower. I will pay you back for murdering my mother and my kingdom!" I hurled a blast of magic attack against Vivian. She put a shield around her that was made of Holy Mana, blocking my magic against her. I didn't stop. I released more magic attacks at her. My magic exploded as soon as they made impact on her shield, throwing off her balance and making her lose focus on keeping the shield up. The shield wavered, but that millisecond was enough.

I created small knives made of dark magic and launched them with great speed. In a blink of an eye, the knives struck Vivian, but her armor protected her flesh. I snapped my fingers and the small knives exploded, blasting her away with great strength thanks to the explosion. Her shield disappeared and a huge smoke appeared on the last place she was at. I quickly descended through the smoke, clearing it away due to the speed I was in. To my disappointment, Vivian flew farther in great speed.

"Damn it! Why are you running away, you murderer?! Have you no shame?!" I roared and chased after her.

Vivian clicked her tongue. "I have no time for you, Ashe! I have some business to attend to with someone. It would be wise to turn around and wait until I finish." Vivian said while doubling her descent. When she knew that I wouldn't listen to her, she released a horde of magic attacks made of Holy Mana against me to try to slow me down or stop me from chasing her. However, I put up my own shield, and her attacks didn't reach me at all.

I doubled my descent as well, almost closing the distance between us. However, my eyes widened as I saw millions of demons, both small or giant, coming out from every corner in front of us and around us. Even Vivian was surprised as well to see their numbers.

"Damn it. This is getting annoying." I said.

Still keeping my shield up, I summoned two shadowy swords on my two hands and three spheres appeared in the air around me. The three spheres were there to deal with enemies in long range while I charged at the horde of demons to fight in close combat.

With no hesitation, I dashed against the incoming horde of demons to our left side of the tower. I swung my swords at my enemies, slashing and cutting them to their deaths. Meanwhile, the three spheres I summoned were dealing with demons that I missed killing around me, while also dealing against demons that were in long distances. While I attacked, I moved forward, still chasing Vivian who was on the other side dealing with demons as well.

Tsk. By the time that we both reach the end of this floor, we are gonna be so tired.

Meanwhile, Vivian had her shield up already. She was doing the same strategy, but with different weapons at hand. Instead of using her hands to wield two white swords, she was using air magic to wield them around her. Instead of spheres, her white wings were releasing magic attacks at her enemies. She was dealing close and long range at the same time, similar to mine. But despite dealing against a horde of demons, her eyes kept looking at me to watch my movements. I could've just abandoned fighting these demons and gone straight at her, but the moment I left them, they would immediately attack me before I could even reach Vivian.

This fight went on for a few minutes. Then, I saw Vivian sped up even more, slowly gaining distance between us. I clicked my tongue and doubled my speed as well, slowly closing the distance between us.

"You are really persistent, Ashe." Vivian said while busy dealing against demons.

"I won't stop until I kill you with my own hands, Vivian." I said while also dealing against demons.

Vivian chuckled. "Very well then." She divided her focus on me. She was still killing demons on the way, but she was also attacking me at the same time. Two new swords appeared and one of her wings was focused on attacking me, while the other was still on the demons.

I dodged her attacks while still attacking the demons around me. Of course, I didn't wanna lose so I did the same thing as well. I summoned two new arms attached to my ribs on both sides, holding two new swords on each hand. And three new spheres appeared as well, focused on attacking Vivian. The new sets of hands I created using magic could stretch for a mile. They stretched out, clashing against Vivian's swords. Meanwhile, the second spheres hurled magic attacks against her wing, colliding midair until the two magic exploded.

But she was becoming slow. She was getting tired. It seems that being a ruler made her not fight in the frontlines anymore, which in turn, made her lazy and weak.

That or she still hasn't recovered most of her magic from Kalgaron's fight.

"Slowing down, auntie? Is your age coming at you already?" I mocked her, closing the distance between us.

Vivian used a platform to boost her momentum. "You are annoying, Ashe!"

I smiled. "I'm happy to hear that I'm stuck in your head."

As time went by, our speed was slowing down and our mana were slowly being drained from the fight against the demons. Soon, the number of demons was decreasing fast. By the time that their numbers were thin, however, fatigue came to me, making me dizzy and catch my breath.

Damn it! I was close.

I looked at Vivian. She was feeling tired as well. But I kept on chasing her. Doing the same action that she did earlier, I used a platform to boost my momentum. I gained speed and was able to catch up to her, leaving Vivian in surprise.

I grabbed Vivian by her collar and slammed her on the ground, breaking our fall and landing on whatever floor we were on. I rolled on the floor and flipped myself up, landing on my feet. Meanwhile, because I slammed Vivian hard on her back to the ground, she was struggling to stand up. But she forced herself anyway and was able to stand up straight while staring hard at me.

"At last…" I said while trying to catch my breath due to my fatigue from the fight. "I finally caught on to you."

Vivian was also catching her breath. "What? Do you want me to give you a reward for being able to catch up to me?"

Then, the Demon Tower shook with intensity and the two of us charged straight against each other, weapons and magic ready to be used to kill one another, while ignoring the earthquake.