Chapter 33: Ichio VS Murphisto

The tension in the battle field thickened as Ichio and Murphis locked eyes. The air between them crackled with anticipation.

Murphis took a step closer, lowering his voice just enough so that only Ichio could hear. "Are you Knox?"

Ichio's expression remained unreadable. "No. Why did you ask that?"

Murphis chuckled, shaking his head. "Come on. You think no one would notice? Though your party is named Knull, you have three members of Infinite Ego with you. You expect people to just ignore that?" He scoffed. "You're either a fool or hiding something."

Ichio met his gaze without flinching. "I'm not hiding anything. They approached me because they thought I could help them find the rest of Infinite Ego. They made me leader for some reason.

And besides," he gestured slightly, "my Axion Class is Technologist. It's a new one. Not the same as Knox's."

Murphis studied him for a moment before smirking. "Fine. If you don't want to admit it, that's your choice. But if you know Arachna, then you should already know what I am."

Without waiting for a response, Murphis clapped his hands together.

A surge of energy pulsed through the battle field as intricate Metra circles ignited beneath his feet, glowing with an eerie violet light. He stepped back and bit his right thumb, letting a drop of blood fall onto the summoning sigil. The circle pulsed violently, sending a shockwave outward.

"Now then, I won't be using all of my summons in this fight," Murphis said, his voice laced with excitement. "I'll only need one." His eyes gleamed as he thrust his hand forward.

"I Summon Thee, Mephisto!"

A deafening roar filled the arena as the summoning circle burst open. From the abyss, a monstrous figure emerged—Mephisto.

The demon towered over them, a hulking, muscular beast with massive, twisted horns curling from his skull. His skin was a deep shade of crimson, adorned with black sigils pulsating with dark energy. His eyes burned like twin infernos, and the air around him warped with an oppressive heat.

Murphis grinned. "You see, my summon is no ordinary creature. Back in the game, Summoners were forced to summon something when creating their avatars. Mostly you get something weak. But me?" His grin widened. "I was forced to summon Mephisto after the merge. And believe me, the price I paid was steep."

Ichio remained silent. His fingers twitched slightly as his vision shifted.

ECLIPSIGHT activated.

A cascade of information flooded his mind. Mephisto's stats. Murphis' stats. The sheer magnitude of their power was overwhelming. His lips curled into a smirk.

"Wow… things are about to get real messy."

The Demon's Power Unleashed

Murphis smirked, his eyes gleaming with confidence as he watched Ichio. He tilted his head slightly.

"If you're who I think you are, then you should know…" His voice lowered, almost mocking. "Before the merge, Mephisto was one of the Emperor Demons in the game. But when I was forced to make a deal with him after the merge, I was so weak that I had to sacrifice something great."

A flicker of memory crossed his face, but he quickly masked it with a grin. "Even then, I could only summon him as a baby demon. That means he's still just a baby right now. If he were fully mature, I wouldn't even be able to summon him."

Murphis clenched his fists, the Metra circle beneath him pulsing violently.

"Even summoning the baby Mephisto, I had to pay a price. So believe me—you have no chance of winning this fight."

Ichio's eyes widened in shock.'What?! He's still a baby? His stats are insane! How much stronger would he be if he were fully mature?'

A sudden roar echoed through the arena as Mephisto's body began to shift. Dark energy spiraled around Murphis as the demon's massive form melted into his summoner. Their bodies merged, bones cracking, muscles expanding, power surging like a violent storm. The fusion was complete.

Ichio's eyes widened as his ECLIPSIGHT activated again, scanning the fused entity.

His thoughts were interrupted by a flicker of light on his status board.

"Wait… I'm getting a reward for this?" Ichio's brows furrowed. His last quest had no reward listed. This was different.

Then, a chilling thought crept into his mind. Murphis said he sacrificed something… If I take out Mephisto, won't that thing be destroyed too? His expression hardened. If it's his soul, then killing the demon means killing Murphis. I can't let that happen…

Before he could process further, another message flashed before him.

"What? Zeric of Valhalla? I don't even know what that is." He clenched his fists. "No matter. Valkyrie should know. I'll ask her later."

Meanwhile, Gesine and Livia watched the battle unfold.

Gesine exhaled sharply. "Livia, if you want that guy to survive, you should tell him to forfeit now. Our leader is ridiculously powerful. He doesn't stand a chance."

Livia turned to her with a questioning look. "Your leader? Isn't he your brother?"

Gesine blinked. "What do you mean?"

Livia raised a brow. "You two share the same last name."

Gesine hesitated before shaking her head. "It feels that way, but I don't think so."

Livia smirked. "Don't worry about Ichio. If you knew him like I do, you'd know he's stronger than he looks."

The moment those words left her lips—

CRACK!

Ichio's scream tore through the battlefield.

Livia's eyes snapped back to the fight just in time to see Ichio's body soaring through the sky, blood spraying from his mouth. Murphis—no, Murphisto—had driven a devastating punch into his gut, launching him upward like a broken doll. Seconds later, Ichio's body came crashing back down.

A thunderous impact shook the ground.

Murphisto landed smoothly, rolling his shoulders. He grinned wickedly. "I'll be honest. You're a bit tougher than I expected. But let's see how long you last."

Before Ichio could react, Murphisto blurred forward.

BAM!

A punch to the gut. Ichio coughed up more blood.

BAM!

A strike to the face. His vision blurred.

Ichio forced himself to lift his arm, materializing his gun. In a split-second, he fired a powerful energy beam straight at Murphisto.

The fused demon merely reached out and touched the beam.

ZZZZT—

The attack disintegrated on contact.

Before Ichio could react—

BOOM!

Murphisto appeared in front of him and slammed a fist into his face, sending him flying.

Then—BAM! Murphisto was already there, punching him mid-air, sending him crashing into the ground.

Another punch. Another strike. A brutal onslaught.

BAM! BAM! BAM!

Each impact rattled Ichio's bones. His body was thrown around like a ragdoll, blood splattering with every hit. Murphisto was toying with him, battering him mercilessly.

Ichio's mind screamed. 'This is bad… I'm actually gonna lose here.'

As the fight played out, the spectators watching the holograms in the guild hall murmured among themselves.

"This is brutal. I thought he'd stand a chance, but he's getting destroyed."

"He should just forfeit himself now. There's no way he can win."

Back in the battlefield, Ichio groaned, his entire body aching. But then—he stood up.

Blood dripped from his mouth, his breath ragged, but his gaze was defiant.

"I'm not going to lose here."

The spectators gasped.

Murphisto narrowed his eyes. "You're still standing? Heh. Good. More fun for me."

Ichio clenched his fists, willing himself to move. He ran forward, ready to counterattack.

But—

SLIP!

His foot hit something, and he lost balance.

ROLL! ROLL! ROLL! ROLL!

The momentum carried him across the battlefield until—

CRASH!

Ichio slammed directly into Gesine.

Ichio lay face down, his body aching from the intensity of the battle. But amidst the soreness, a peculiar sensation crept into his awareness—something soft, warm, and undeniably... pleasant.

"Huh... what is this?" he mumbled, his groggy mind still catching up.

Instinctively, he pushed himself up, his palm pressing down on the source of that softness.

A small, breathy moan reached his ears.

His eyes shot open.

He was on top of Gesine. His hands—firmly placed on her ample chest.

Time seemed to freeze as realization crashed over him.

"S-Sorry! I didn't mean to—!" Ichio stammered, scrambling to lift his hands, but he was calm a bit flashed.

Gesine's expression was somewhere between annoyance and amusement. "Do you mind taking your hands off me now?" she asked dryly.

Before he could fully react, a cold, burning sensation washed over him.

Livia stood nearby, her entire body trembling with barely contained rage.

"Seriously?!" she snapped. "If you wanted to touch that, couldn't you have just asked me?"

Ichio felt his soul leave his body for a moment. 'What kind of response was that?!'

Before he could even process this absurd situation, a menacing force surged behind him.

A deep, guttural growl echoed across the battlefield.

"You punk... get off my sister!"

A massive figure, adorned with jagged horns and pulsing demonic energy, charged at him with murderous intent. Murphis—still in his fused form with Mephisto—was rushing toward him, his eyes burning with fury.

A split second before impact, Ichio's status board flickered open.

His eyes widened. "What the—?!"

An Artem-Ability he had never seen before pulsed on his screen.

First condition met.

Second condition met.

Final condition—complete.

The realization barely had time to settle before Murphisto's massive fist swung toward him like a wrecking ball.

At that moment, something within Ichio clicked.

Dark energy erupted around him, engulfing his form in a swirling vortex of power. His body felt lighter, stronger—overflowing with something primal.

He turned, eyes glowing with a strange energy, his lips parting to instinctively call out—

"Unleash Desires—OPPAI POWER!"

His fist rocketed forward.

BOOM!

Murphisto was launched backward, crashing through debris like a meteor.

The entire battlefield went silent.

Even Murphisto, disoriented, coughed in disbelief. "What... the hell just happened?"

Ichio slowly stood up from his previous position on top of Gesine, staring at his hands, his body still crackling with raw energy.

His status board pulsed again.

Ichio blinked.

"...The fuck kind of power is this?"

Livia, Gesine, Vitalia, and Valkyrie all stood frozen, staring at him as if he'd grown two heads.

Ichio, however, had no time to care. The power surged through him, instinct guiding his actions. His gaze locked onto Murphisto, who had barely recovered.

He clenched his fist.

"Whatever! I'll figure this out later—OPPAI POWER!!"

His voice echoed across the battlefield. The moment he shouted it, the entire guild hall—spectators watching through projections—fell silent.

A long, awkward pause.

Ichio barely noticed their stares.

He moved.

In a blink, he was in front of Murphisto.

A devastating punch drilled into his gut.

Murphisto flew.

Ichio appeared above him in midair—another punch.

Murphisto hurtled downward, but before he could crash—Ichio was already there.

A high-speed kick sent him flying sideways.

The battlefield became his playground. Murphisto was nothing more than a ragdoll.

Then—

"Oppai Punch Yamazuki!"

Ichio's left fist shot forward. Murphisto raised his arms to block—

FAKE.

The real punch buried itself into his gut.

A violent shockwave erupted. Blood spewed from Murphisto's mouth as his entire body convulsed from the impact.

The fusion—undone.

A swirling, black mass of energy split apart.

 CHAPTER END.