Chapter 19

BOOOM!

Zane barely dodged in time.

A clawed fist the size of his head came down, shattering the pavement like glass. The shockwave sent cracks skittering across the street, the force nearly knocking him off balance.

"Okay that was way too close"

He leaped backward, his shadow spear materializing in his grip. He swiftly pointed it at the demon.

The Wrath Demon straightened from its attack, breathing heavily. The thing was massive, standing at nearly nine feet tall, its body rippling with grotesque muscle. Its skin was ashen-black, cracks glowing with molten red light, like it had been sculpted from a volcano.

It snarled, thick saliva dripping from its dastardly sharp teeth, and lunged forward with unnatural speed.

Zane met it head-on.

Their weapons clashed, claws against spear, sending out a shockwave that cracked the windows of the nearby school building. Students inside screamed and scattered, their instincts recognizing a danger they wouldn't remember tomorrow.

Mia, sitting lazily on a wrecked car a few feet away, peeled open a chocolate bar before suggesting calmly. "You know, I really think you should avoid the whole head-on approach."

Zane grunted as he ducked a swipe, his spear flashing in a deadly arc, slicing across the demon's chest.

Dark ichor sprayed out.

The Wrath Demon stumbled back, its wound sizzled with corruption as the shadow essence burned into its flesh.

For a moment, Zane thought he had gained the upper hand.

Then, with a sickening crack, the wound started knitting itself back together.

Zane's grip on his spear tightened. "Tch. Annoying."

Mia bit into her snack. "I'd suggest cutting off its head. Kind of hard to regenerate if it's in two different places."

He sighed before muttering "All this because a brat found a spell he wasn't too"

The demon snarled, its glowing eyes locking onto Zane with more focus now. 

It launched forward again.

This time, Zane was ready.

He feinted left before spinning his spear in a rapid counterstrike, slashing deep into the demon's thigh. The monster bellowed as its leg buckled, dropping to one knee.

Now!

Zane leaped, bringing the spear down in a finishing strike—

But the demon wasn't done.

A hand shot up, grabbing his spear mid-air.

Zane's eyes widened. "Oh, shi—"

WHAM.

A monstrous backhand sent him flying, his body smashing through a parked car, flipping over its ruined frame.

He groaned, rolling onto his hands and knees. His ribs ached.

The demon was already on him.

It grabbed him by the leg and slammed him into the ground, leaving a crater where his body hit.

Zane coughed up a mouthful of blood.

Fuck. That actually hurt.

"Zane," Mia called out, chewing thoughtfully. "You should probably heal."

No shit.

Restore!

A burst of energy surged through his veins, his wounds vanished rapidly, the pain followed soon after.

The demon hesitated at this strange phenomenon.

Zane would be foolish if he didn't capitalize on it's hesitation.

He twisted mid-air, yanking himself free from its grip, then landed on its arm, running up its massive form like a wall.

Before the Wrath Demon could react, he drove his spear straight into its shoulder.

The demon screamed, its arm going limp.

Zane jumped and landed gracefully, his spear dripping with black ichor.

But the demon wasn't done yet.

It was breathing harder now, its body convulsing strangely.

Mia's eyes narrowed. "Uh-oh."

Zane glanced at her. "What now?"

She popped the last piece of chocolate into her mouth. "It's going berserk."

Zane barely had time to react before the demon exploded forward.

This time way faster than he expected, it was like a speeding train.

Zane tried to block, but the force of the impact sent him flying again, slamming through a streetlight.

Crack. His arm snapped on impact.

A sharp wave of pain flooded his senses.

Restore! 

Zane gritted his teeth as he activated it again.

Another burst of energy followed by a weakness deep in his soul.

Still his bone snapped back into place, the pain dulling instantly.

The demon was on him again.

Zane raised his spear, deflecting a blow that would have crushed his skull. His muscles burned from the sheer force.

He needed to finish this.

But the demon wasn't slowing down.

If anything,… it was getting stronger as the time went by.

Zane's heartbeat pounded in his ears. 

He himself could feel his body becoming slower, the restore rune was a godly rune but it too had its cost.

Every rune had its cost. Thankfully he had gotten two more during these two weeks.

A rune on his chest activated.

Flow!

A new power surged through him.

The world slowed.

And suddenly, he knew exactly what to do.

His body moved on its own.

The demon's claws came down.

Zane stepped aside effortlessly, dodging the strike by a hair's breadth.

The demon twisted, launching a wild backhand—

Zane ducked, pivoted smoothly, and stabbed his spear straight into the monster's throat.

The action itself felt monotonous, like he had done it a million times and he was getting bored now.

The demon staggered, its entire body locking up.

Zane could feel it.

The flow. Though he nicknamed it the flow state

The instinct of an angel who had fought for thousands of years.

A true fighter.

The Wrath Demon tried to retaliate, but Zane was already moving.

He spun behind it, spear twisting effortlessly in his grip, and with a single brutal motion, he severed its spine.

The demon froze mid-attack.

Zane's movements never wavered for a single moment.

A second strike, the spear pierced straight through the demon's skull.

The Wrath Demon collapsed.

Its massive form hit the ground, lifeless.

Zane stood over its disintegrating body, his expression blank, his eyes still glowing an unnatural white.

He felt nothing.

Not sense of satisfaction from his first single handed win against a demon.

The fight had simply ended.

Mia let out a low whistle behind him.

"Well," she said, stretching. "That was terrifying."

Zane blinked. His vision returned to normal.

He collapsed to his knees in exhaustion, the flow rune wasn't one to consider its user, it simply took and took until you deactivated it.

Mia smirked as she patted his shoulder consolingly. "Don't worry, you'll get the hang of killing demons and soon enough it will be like breathing"

Zane nodded tiredly.

Mia sighed dramatically. "And you better thank your lucky stars the flow rune gamble paid off. Otherwise, you'd be fighting like a biblical librarian."

Zane groaned, rubbing his temple. "I hate this job."

Mia grinned, tossing him another chocolate bar. "You'll live."