Chapter 15

Still, Lord-level Demonias were no joke.

Most Demonias had no intelligence, just instinct to kill. But this monster knew how to ambush, meaning it was smart.

SKREEE! The black eagle screeched, shaking the air. It dove at Riku, a black lightning bolt.

Even with his body beyond human limits, Riku barely reacted.

He dodged, kicked off the air, and punched the eagle in the gut.

WHAM! The eagle was sent flying, tumbling through the sky.

It righted itself, screamed in fury, and dove again, beak glowing with energy.

"It's unharmed? This defence is nuts." Riku grimaced.

No time for distraction. As the eagle attacked like lightning, Riku darted through the air in a blur.

That only made the eagle angrier. It unleashed a black energy beam.

Riku's instincts screamed. He dodged, barely missing the sweeping pillar of energy.

BOOM! The blast hit the canyon, detonating with nuclear force. Shockwaves tore through the earth, leaving a bottomless crater.

Even midair, the devastation below made Riku shiver. If he'd taken that hit, he'd be dust.

The eagle's gaze was cruel, gathering power for another attack.

"Tch. You think I'm just prey? Let's see who the real monster is!" For once, Riku was genuinely angry at being hunted.

"First Gate, Gate of Opening—Open! Second Gate, Gate of Rest—Open! Third Gate, Gate of Life—Open!"

He roared, green energy bursting from his body, his power surging.

ZZZAP! The eagle fired another energy cannon, but this time, Riku wasn't there—he teleported behind it and closed the gap.

BAM! SPLAT!

Riku's punch blasted through the eagle's defences, leaving a crater in its belly. The beast screamed, rocketing skyward.

"Fourth Gate, Gate of Pain—Open!" Riku bellowed. His aura deepened, power swelling again.

If the first three gates were safe, the fourth was dangerous—even life-threatening. But the power-up was monstrous.

With his already superhuman body, the boost was insane.

KABOOM! Riku kicked off the air, shattering it. He rocketed up, closing in just as the eagle steadied itself.

He punched again, shockwaves blasting the air.

The eagle lashed out, but—

CRACK! Riku's fist shattered its talons.

The eagle howled in pain, but Riku zipped above and hammered its head.

CRUNCH! The eagle's eye burst, its skull caving in, and the corpse plummeted into the crater below.

BOOM!

The impact deepened the pit, cracks spider-webbing out.

"I can't believe this thing still isn't dead. What a tough beast." Even from high above, Riku's sharpened senses could clearly see through the settling dust—the battered Blackhawk was still struggling at the bottom of the crater.

"Hmph, let's see if you're dead this time!" Riku frowned, then launched himself down from the sky like a cannonball. He landed with explosive force, stomping the Blackhawk's head deeper into the ground, leaving its skull even more caved in.

For several minutes, thunderous impacts echoed as rocks and dirt were thrown into the air, the whole crater shaking from the violence. The Blackhawk's cries grew more and more pitiful, but Riku showed no mercy.

At last, everything went still.

"Finally, it's dead." Riku sat down, catching his breath atop the Blackhawk's badly mangled corpse and deactivated the Eight Gates.

"The boost from the Eight Gates really is insane, even for a body that's already beyond human limits," he muttered, satisfied.

This Blackhawk's power was off the charts—faster than most could even see, and its destructive force was insane. Even someone like Riku, who had surpassed the limits of flesh, could barely keep up.

But in the end, opening the Gate of Pain was enough to beat it into submission.

"Too bad about those Demonia corpses, though. This bastard's attacks blew them all to dust." Riku sighed, kicking at the Blackhawk's body. Those would have been a couple of thousand exchange points at least. Now nothing.

Ding! [Detected: High-Grade Demonia—Blackhawk corpse. Value: 8,000 exchange points. Recycle?]

"Eight thousand? This thing's worth more than a Dwarf battleship!" Riku blinked in surprise, but quickly grinned. It made sense—the Blackhawk's destructive power was something he'd experienced firsthand. While it couldn't match a Flügel like Jibril, it could absolutely dominate any race outside the top six… Well, except for Ex-Machina, which is a special case.

If the Ex-Machina teamed up, they could even take down Old Deus.

"Recycle," Riku ordered cheerfully.

In a flash, the massive Blackhawk corpse vanished, and Riku was left standing in midair.

"That's another ten thousand points. Should I buy a couple of Exquisite Chests?" he mused, stroking his chin.

"…No, I'm strong enough for now. Better to save up for a Superior Chest. Maybe I'll get something really game-changing." He shook his head, giving up on opening any more Exquisite Chests for now.

"Time to open that Golden Chest. Here's hoping for some good luck for once…" He eyed the Golden Chest not far away, its radiant light reflecting in his golden eyes.

His luck lately had been trash—every draw, nothing but junk.

In the blink of an eye, he crossed a kilometer and stood before the dazzling Golden Chest, adorned with gemstones and radiating with brilliance.

"Now this is luxury." Riku whistled in awe.

Without hesitation, he placed his hand on the chest.

[Click!]

The Golden Chest sprang open, flooding the area with golden light so intense it almost blinded him.

Ding! [Congratulations, you have obtained a World Jump Token.]

World Jump Token: When activated, allows the user to randomly travel to a world they are familiar with, triggering a special mission. Time flows differently—one year in the other world is only a week here.

"Hmm… A World Jump Token. If I'm lucky, this could be huge," Riku thought, examining the golden token in his palm. Even though this draw didn't boost his immediate fighting power, he couldn't complain.

"Whatever. No point worrying. Time to get out of here. I made enough noise—if any of the top six races show up, I'll be in trouble." Riku shrugged and prepared to leave.

The battlefield—marked by a fresh, gigantic crater—stood as evidence of the ferocious fight that just took place.

Not long after Riku departed, a slender figure appeared at the site:

Flügel, Variant Unit, Jibril.

"What a massive energy signature… There was an intense fight here." Jibril scanned the crater with curiosity. "And why does the energy here feel so familiar…?"

She pondered for several minutes, unable to piece it together.

"Forget it. I don't care. I need to get back to hunting those monkeys from the forest—can't believe they ran off with a grimoire. So petty," she muttered.

With that, a ripple ran through the air, and Jibril's form faded from sight, vanishing into the space between worlds.