Promotion

"Darkstorm: Repel Mode."

The storm shifted.

The winds that were pulling the giant inward abruptly reversed, creating a massive burst of force that sent him reeling backwards, his hand flung away before it could reach her.

With a shift in the blades' trajectory, Ilya's windstorm reversed.

The spinning dark blades now created an intense outward force, hurling everything within reach away from her.

The very same power that had pulled the giant toward her now sent him tumbling backwards, crashing into the ground with a violent impact.

Even the giant couldn't withstand it, his massive frame tumbling backwards. As he fell, the other demons seized the opportunity, bombarding him with a relentless barrage of attacks.

Xaren joined the storm, jumping onto the giant's shoulder and using his skill.

"Gravity Sphere!"

The orb of compressed gravity expanded rapidly, and before the giant could even realise what was happening, the sphere collapsed in on itself.

The gravitational pressure intensified, crushing the giant's shoulder under the immense weight and rendering it half-useless.

While having to deal with other attacks, there wasn't enough aura to protect his shoulder from Xaren.

And his shoulder wasn't Xaren's only target.

Xaren ran down the giant's body, using the momentum from the fall to reach the right knee.

He unleashed another Gravity Sphere at the joint, destabilizing the giant and preventing him from standing.

Then, with no hesitation, Xaren targeted the most vulnerable spot he had attacked earlier: the groin. The effect was immediate—a roar of pain escaped the giant's mouth, louder than anything heard so far.

While the giant flailed in agony, Xaren climbed back up his massive frame, flames engulfing his sword.

As he moved, he used his energy to lift rocks and debris, hurling them toward the giant's face. One well-aimed strike hit the giant's eye, forcing it shut in reflex.

As the giant's right eye opened again after the harmless stones bounced off his face, Xaren drove his flaming blade straight into it.

A guttural scream erupted from the giant as Xaren twisted the blade deeper, pouring more of his demonic energy into igniting the eye from within.

The black flames roared, consuming the sensitive tissue and the giant swung a massive hand in an attempt to grab Xaren, but other demons leapt into action, attacking the hand and distracting it just enough to keep Xaren safe.

Ilya, who was breathing heavily after consuming all her magic and half her remaining demonic energy on her skill, looked up at the fallen giant and broke into a run.

She couldn't boost her speed with the wind like before, but it wasn't necessary this time.

The demoness ran up the giant's left leg, heading for the head. Reaching the other eye, she slashed it open in one clean motion, then reversed her grip to stab directly down into the exposed flesh.

With the last of her demonic energy, Ilya unleashed a skill inside the giant's head. At the same moment, Xaren did the same. 

"Wind Bomb!" "Gravity Sphere!" 

Both blades shone with demonic energy as they unleashed their skills. The power surged through the weapons and into the giant's skull, detonating inside with catastrophic force.

The giant's ears began to gush blood, the sound of his anguished cries fading as his massive body toppled backwards.

With a thunderous crash, the giant lay still. He was dead.

As Xaren caught his breath, he noticed a glowing notification appear in his vision.

[Level up!]

…

[Level up!]

[Level up!]

Nearby, Ilya experienced the same. Notifications flooded her sight, each marking another level. The other demons who had attacked also received experience, though the rewards varied.

Some didn't level up, others gained one or two levels, and the number who managed to gain up to three could be counted on one hand; Xaren and Ilya included.

Xaren and Ilya, however, gained more than most, both breaking past level 100.

From the giant's lifeless body, a glowing orb of light emerged—its soul.

For a moment, the demons around stared in awe, preparing to claim it. But before anyone could act, the group of Low-Ranked demons who were in the sky descended, snatching the soul away.

"Stand down." One of them commanded, forcing everyone still with his demonic energy that eclipsed the giant's aura.

"We've been watching from the start. This soul will be divided among those who made the greatest contributions."

Without waiting for a response, the Low-Ranked demons floated back into the sky, carrying the soul with them.

The other demons could only watch, their frustrations mixed with the satisfaction of the victory they had just achieved.

Xaren's head ached as he weakly gazed up at the demon that had taken the giant's soul, retreating into the sky.

"Yeah, they better split that thing equally... or rather, wouldn't splitting it mean destroying the soul?"

His muddled thoughts drifted to Ilya, who was sitting nearby on the giant's face. Raising his hand with great effort, he called out to her.

Ilya blinked in confusion but raised her hand in response. When Xaren's palm lightly slapped hers in a makeshift high-five, she stared at her hand with an odd look.

"That... feels strangely satisfying." She murmured.

Xaren laughed weakly, collapsing against the giant's face as he replied. "That's the point."

Then, without warning, a rush of magic power surged toward him, so potent it made his skin prickle.

"Wait... what? What the hell his happ—!"

Xaren's sentence cut off as a violent cough wracked his body, expelling black, viscous blood onto the ground. Dark, greasy grime seeped from his pores, leaving a slick, sticky trail over his grey skin as his body tried to expel it.

His body convulsed, pain shooting from his bones to his heart.

His back arched involuntarily as the pain intensified, growing unbearable with every passing second.

With a sudden, violent rip, something broke free from his shoulder blades and tore through his skin—two bat-like wings.

Small and fragile-looking at first, they quickly drew in the surrounding magic power, growing larger and more defined with each passing second.

The sensation was alien, as though a new set of limbs had suddenly sprouted and demanded his brain learn how to move them. 

Nearby, Ilya experienced the same transformation. She fell to her knees, gripping the surface below her as her body convulsed.

Dark fluid dripped from her as well, and the pressure in her back swelled until her own wings burst free. Hers were smaller but sharp-edged, shimmering faintly as they stretched wide and absorbed the ambient energy.

Around them, other demons who had just levelled up beyond 100 experienced the same phenomenon.

Wings of various shapes and sizes emerged from their backs, the chaos of transformation punctuated by gasps, screams, and the sound of tearing flesh.

An unnatural wave of high-quality magic power surged into the area, and as their bodies absorbed it, their wings grew stronger—far stronger than they should have.

When the transformations finally ended, the group collectively struggled to process their new abilities, their bodies trembling with both pain and newfound power.

◇　◇　◇

Standing on the broken city walls in the distance, High-Rank demon Naephas observed the scene with an amused grin.

"Ha, that was a good one."

He remarked, clearly entertained as his attention shifted to the lower-ranked demons who had arrived carrying the giant's soul. 

"Well, this one soul can't possibly be split across so many demons. They all worked hard, though, so they deserve a proper reward."

With those words, he extended his hand, and the space in front of him warped as if bending to his will. Reaching into the distortion, he pulled out a stack of parchments and handed them over. 

"Spread these souls among them. The giant's soul goes to the gravity boy, though." 

Naephas instructed and the Low-Ranked demons took the parchments, their eyes widening in shock as they inspected them.

The souls listed weren't just generic ones—they were those of Level 100+ elves and angels. There wasn't a single unranked soul in the batch. 

Catching the looks on their face, Naephas raised an eyebrow.

"What? You have complaints?" 

The group quickly shook their heads and responded in unison. 

"No, Sir!"

Naephas wasn't just a High-Rank demon. He was an Upper-Class Noble Demon as well. Even other High-Ranks would defer to him.

They didn't dare have complaints.

Not caring too much about the thoughts of these Low Ranks, Naephas looked back to the city and spoke.

"They did good work and good work deserves good rewards, though not everyone seems to think that way."

He flicked his hand dismissively and continued.

"Anyway, these unranked little guys—No, they've just been promoted to 'Low-Rank' now. Anyway, every single one of them who participated in the battle should get some souls.

Let them improve their stats, especially the weaker ones. You know who deserves the most, though—gravity boy, the wind girl and that hammer one too." 

Still facing the city, Naephas snapped his fingers and spear-like tendrils of spatial energy appeared in the air, each one descending with pinpoint precision.

They skewered any remaining enemies, bringing a swift and bloody end to the stragglers.

Yawning, Naephas gave his next orders.

"Retrieve the new Low-Ranks and move them to where they belong.

All of them are going to receive weapon and armour upgrades. They'll get three times the gold. And don't forget to give them potions—vitality energy recovery and stamina recovery potions. Make sure they're well-prepared for the next fight."

As the Low-Rank demons scrambled to follow his orders, Naephas turned his gaze toward Floch, who stood a bit behind him.

"Floch, you'll handle teaching these newbies how to use their wings properly. Like a proper demon should."

"Yes Sir," Floch replied, bowing respectfully, and Naephas nodded in satisfaction.

Spatial power wrapped around Naephas' body and he disappeared in an instant, leaving nothing behind but the lingering distortion of his teleportation.