Chapter 26: The Artful Use of Judgement Ring
"Kid, do you know what I hate the most?"
The voice was guttural, thick with amusement.
Blake's sharp gaze locked onto the one-horned devil, who was still gnawing on the face of a lifeless woman. Her final expression was twisted in sheer terror, frozen forever in death.
"I despise interruptions during my meals."
The sound of flesh tearing under the creature's jagged teeth sent a sickening chill through the air.
Blake's stomach twisted slightly, but he quickly pushed the feeling down. He had seen his fair share of death, but this? This was different.
This was monstrous.
"Another stray devil? That's two in three days."
Blake exhaled slowly, his crystal-blue eyes narrowing as he took in the grotesque sight.
"Sia, scan its information."
"Understood."
A familiar holographic display appeared before his eyes.
---
Stray Devil: Buz
Age: 85
Power Level: Mid-Class Devil
Luck Value: 25 (20)
---
Blake's lips curled slightly. "A Mid-Class Devil? Not bad. Should make for a good warm-up."
Meanwhile, Buz barely acknowledged him, still more focused on his gruesome feast than on the young man standing calmly in front of him.
Blake could feel the barrier around the area—a crude but effective spell designed to keep prying eyes away. Clearly, Buz wasn't worried about anyone escaping.
Unfortunately for him, Blake wasn't planning on running.
Ding!
---
Task Issued: Defeat Your First Mid-Class Devil
Reward: +50 Luck Points
(If Luck Plunder is used to kill, the reward drops to 10 Luck Points.)
---
Blake chuckled softly at the system message. "Well, that's basically free Luck Points."
Slowly, he began walking toward the devil.
Buz finally looked up, his yellowed eyes flashing with irritation.
"Huh?"
The brat wasn't running. He wasn't trembling.
Instead—
He was looking at him like prey.
Buz's rage boiled over.
"Arrogant little shit! DIE!"
With a snarl, he hurled the half-eaten head aside, bent low, and launched himself forward like a cannonball. His jagged blade swung down with a whistling force, aiming to split Blake in half.
For an ordinary person, this would've been an instant kill.
But Blake was far from ordinary.
Everything slowed.
Perceptual Distortion kicked in, twisting Buz's movements in Blake's mind.
To Blake, the devil moved through molasses—each motion sluggish, each attack predictable.
With a simple sidestep, he effortlessly evaded the blow.
CRACK!
The force of the missed attack sent a shockwave through the ground, gouging a deep trench in the pavement.
Blake's gaze flickered to the damage.
Damn. If he had blocked that head-on, even with Frost Whisper, the impact alone might've shattered the blade.
Buz snarled, swinging again—another miss.
Then another.
And another.
Each attack came closer—each attack carried more rage—but none of them touched Blake.
"Tch! All you're doing is dodging, coward!"
Blake let out a low chuckle.
"Dodge? No. Your attacks are just too pathetic to bother blocking."
Buz's face twisted in fury.
"YOU LITTLE—"
Before the devil could finish his words, his horn began to glow, crackling with dark energy.
Shit. That's new.
Blake barely had time to react before a thumb-sized gray energy beam exploded forward, heading straight for him at point-blank range.
No dodging this one.
But he didn't need to.
Blake smirked, raising his left hand.
Clang!
The black Judgment Ring on his finger shimmered, absorbing the attack completely.
Buz froze. What?
Blake's right hand lifted, fingers aimed directly at the devil's chest.
A split second later—
Buz's own attack blasted back at him.
SPLURT!
The gray beam pierced straight through Buz's heart, sending a spray of dark crimson across the cracked pavement.
The devil staggered, clutching at his gaping wound. His yellowed eyes widened in sheer disbelief.
He had been killed by his own attack.
"N-No… this can't—"
With one last gurgling breath, he collapsed.
Ding!
---
Task Completed:
+50 Luck Points Earned
Current Luck: 155
---
Blake let out a slow exhale.
"Damn, that was easier than I expected."
He glanced down at the Judgment Ring.
"This thing is way too useful."
From the start, he had controlled the entire fight—baiting Buz, manipulating his attacks, and letting his own arrogance seal his fate.
It wasn't strength that won this battle.
It was strategy.
---
Blake surveyed the ruined battlefield.
The pavement was a wreck. Cracks and gouges littered the ground where Buz's attacks had missed, showcasing just how much destructive power mid-tier devils actually had.
And he had just barely dealt with one.
"In the grand scheme of things, Mid-Class devils are nothing.But that doesn't mean they aren't dangerous."
Blake sighed, rolling his shoulders.
"I still have a long way to go."
His stomach rumbled.
Right. Food.
Turning on his heel, he walked away. The barrier dissolved into nothing, fading away with Buz's death.
Blake stuffed his hands into his pockets, his mind already shifting gears.
He needed to grow stronger.
Faster.
Because one day, he wouldn't just be hunting stray devils like Buz.
He'd be facing something much, much worse.