* * *

“Behind him is a High Demon.”

As Cadel watched the reinforcements, Yozen, who had been spreading dark energy at his command, spoke up.

“……Any strange movements?”

“Nothing special. It doesn’t seem like he’s touching the summoning circle at all. Just standing there.”

Just standing there. The mere fact that another High Demon had appeared was ridiculous enough, but the suspicious behavior only added to the irritation. His growing irritation was rapidly drowning out the overwhelming joy he’d felt at Van’s new skill.

“What about long-distance attacks with dark energy? Is it possible?”

“No. There are no openings.”

“……I get it. Let’s leave him alone for now. Because right now, there’s a barrier in front of him and us.”

Cadel gestured to Ashvka, who had been approaching earlier, seemingly drawn to Van’s technique. He didn’t know if Ashvka was approaching to destroy the blood moon that had hollowed out all of his insects or to determine its identity. Cadel didn’t know his intentions, so he kept a watchful eye on him, but if it seemed dangerous, he’d withdraw the technique immediately. It also appeared that reinforcements were arriving.

“Wow, his aura is so stable even with that monstrous High Demon right in front of him. Is it because he was trained with my demonic energy? I guess I have a stake in his growth?”

“No! It’s because of my regular teasing of him. That’s why he’s able to keep his composure so well, right, Van? Your reactions are so boring these days, it’s not even funny.”

“Unless you both want to be a corpse, shut your mouth. It’s already hard to concentrate.”

His hand tightened on the greatsword he’d embedded in the ground. Within his reddened eyes, his aura swirled fiercely, and the energy continued to surge through his body. Ashvka’s center of power was wavering as his demonic energy drew closer to the crimson moon, but it was not unbearable. His aura was expanding, widening the scope of the [Scarlet Zone].

“Van, how long do you think this technique can be maintained?”

“As long as you want, Commander”

Cadel paused, questioning seriously. Van’s expression didn’t change, suggesting he was serious, which made it all the more touching. Cadel cleared his throat, swiping at his throbbing chest.

“Then, let’s start clearing the path from when Ashvka reaches the crimson moon.”

According to Yozen’s information, the summoning circle was located off to the right. Assuming Ashvka was currently on the move and fully grabbed the crimson moon, cutting off his right leg would tilt his center of gravity and reveal the hidden summoning circle. With that timing, use Lydon and his magic to create a straight path to the summoning circle.

‘The next High Demon we face is a variable, but if a magician comes through the tunnel, we can deal with it.’

Quickly organizing his plan, Cadel glanced up.

“Lumen, Yozen! Aim for his right leg! We need to destroy it so he can’t regenerate easily!”

“Let’s try it.”

“I get it.”

Lumen and Yozen were the two main powerhouses of the deck in the game. Responding immediately to Cadel’s command, the two men moved to Ashvka’s right. The sturdy legs moved diligently, following their owner’s will.

“I will use [Annihilation of the Beginning of Existence]. Let’s go for the second joint attack. What do you think?”

“Good. Can we start in 10 seconds?”

“12 seconds.”

“Alright.”

There was no unnecessary distance or conflict between the two men. There was even a sense of security in their disagreements, which was a testament to their personalities. Lumen liked Yozen’s calm, unruffled personality, and Yozen was comfortable with Lumen’s toeing the line and saying only what was necessary.

Their mutual compatibility made it easy for them to work well together despite their different fighting styles.

“Let’s begin.”

Ashvka’s grip tightened on the crimson moon. A bone-shattering resonance rippled through the air, distorting the rounded shape of the aura.

Amidst the tumult that shook the very air, Lumen gripped his sword in silence. At the same time, a storm of sword energy enveloped him. Drawing his dagger from behind him, Yozen paused to tighten the knot in the bandage covering his eyes out of habit.

“……I forgot.”

He still hadn’t replaced the bandages he’d dropped during his fight with Sol. Rubbing his scarred eyelids as if he had no choice, Yozen began the countdown.

12 seconds.

Ashvka’s wide legs twisted slightly as Lumen’s aiming technique took hold. The insects tried to wriggle out of the sizzling flesh, but it couldn’t withstand the distortion of the space it came out of and exploded. It was a curious technique.

10 seconds.

The circular energy surrounding Lumen spun more fiercely, condensed sword energy forming on the slowly withdrawing blade. The cracks in the gaping maw widened inexorably. The remains of bursting insects filled the gaping cracks.

7 seconds.

Clutching the crimson moon, Ashvka stumbled slightly. It was a tiny tilt, but the movement of the insects around him shifted nimbly. They flew swiftly over the broad leg to prepare for the regeneration of the leg.

5 seconds.

He lowered the hand that had been rubbing his left eyelid. What was revealed was a dark energy radiating from the center of his left eye, pulsating beneath the thin flesh like a vein of blood or a crack in a broken statue.

3 seconds.

The space distorted by [Annihilation of the Beginning of Existence] stiffened, the spiraling cracks leaking out with the afterimage of sword energy. He raised his dagger in a reverse motion and began to run across the wide-open space. Dark energy spread out in his footsteps as he trampled over Ashvka’s flesh. Ashvka was unable to sense the assassin’s presence as he climbed his body.

1 second.

The crack shattered, tearing a gaping hole in Ashvka’s broad leg. The bloodsuckers who had gathered earlier hastily attempted to repair it, and Yozen, who had settled over the hole with them, plunged two daggers into the blackened flesh.

At the same time, the left eyelid, pulsating with dark energy, lifted, revealing its interior. What lay there was a black mass of dark energy. Round as an eyeball, the dark energy was drawing a jet-black abyss.

0 second.

[Eye of Darkness Technique 1st Form – Spatial Erosion].

Countless streaks of dark energy stretched out from the daggers plunged into the flesh. Like a giant spider’s web, the bloodsuckers who threw themselves at the dark energy that filled the hole fell to their deaths. The dark energy, which had been amplifying and completely blocking regeneration, soon filled the hole with dense darkness.

The space of dark energy gradually widened in scope, until it completely severed the shallow muscles that connected the two ends of the splayed leg.

In total darkness, Yozen slowly raised his head, the dark energy still flowing over the daggers. His pale face was pulsing with killing intent, not the leisure of a man nearing the summit of skills.

His senses pointed beyond the gaping hole. There stood the second High Demon, the one whose presence had first alerted Cadel.

Shallow ripples surged in the dark energy that drew the silent abyss. The ripples grew rapidly in scope, and the membrane of dark energy vibrated violently, like the fluttering of cloth. Soon, something pushed against the dark energy and began to burst forth.

The ‘it’ that was advancing wildly, as if trying to break through the dark energy barrier, took the form of a grasping hand. Its sharpened fingertips looked more like the forepaws of some fierce beast than a human.

‘A familiar shape.’

Yozen’s brow narrowed as he studied the shape of the dark energy-enveloped hand. The shape of the grip was unnerving, but so was the power of the demonic energy that pushed back the dark energy. It felt strangely familiar.

While the same kind of energy might exist under the heavens, the nature and characteristics of each individual’s energy were all different. To Yozen, who was used to tracking his opponent’s tracks by their differences, the differences were all the more sensitive. It was a familiarity he could feel. In the power of this demon, there was an energy that should not be detected.

More importantly, this grip was completely unaffected by direct exposure to his dark energy.

‘……No. It’s not like there’s no damage.’

After a careful struggle, Yozen realized that the demonic energy was not immune to the dark energy, but was constantly regenerating its wounds despite being affected by it.

‘There’s not even a one-second delay in regeneration.’

If it weren’t for Yozen’s extremely sensitive senses, he wouldn’t have noticed. A regeneration power with a margin of error that converged to zero made opponents feel invincible and immortal at first glance.

‘His regenerative power is one step higher than Garuel’s.’

Gauging his foe’s capabilities, Yozen increased the amount of dark energy he released, ignoring the grasping hand that threatened to break through the barrier at any moment. After a brief pause, the range of the dark energy began to widen once again, and the hole that had been growing, blocking the bloodsuckers’ access, finally severed Ashvka’s right leg.

Swoosh!

A hand emerged from the dark energy membrane and swung its razor-sharp claws at Yozen. Yozen dodged with a swift upper-body twist, but the claws cut a long slash across his chest.

It was the kind of damage he’d been expecting since he’d abandoned his defense and focused on attacking Ashvka. As he plummeted to the ground, his left eye, which had been blackened by the dark energy, returned to normal.

“Yozen!”

Cadel, who had watched their duel from afar, rushed to Yozen’s side. He circled Yozen, inspected his wounds, and called out for Garuel.

“Garuel! Hurry up and use your healing powers!”

“It doesn’t hurt much. Healing can wait until later…….”

“You’re bleeding like crazy! Do you want to die from excessive bleeding?!”

Even if he couldn’t see, he could at least tell that his wound wasn’t bleeding an alarming amount right now. Cadel would often exaggerate like this to show concern for his significant other. Of course, Cadel’s concern was genuine, and he didn’t mind it, but this was no time to be carefree and enjoy the situation.

“We need to take out the demon in the back first. His power is similar to Garuel’s, and if he’s there, Ashvka will keep regenerating.”

“His power is similar to Garuel’s……?”

If it was a power similar to Garuel’s, did he mean the ability to heal? Did any of the demons he would have to deal with use healing techniques? He couldn’t quite remember. Most demons used their own regenerative powers to heal their wounds. Cadel felt as if his information was constantly conflicting.

Just as Cadel was about to ask for more information, Lumen and Garuel joined him from the distance. Before Cadel could say anything, Lumen snatched him up and ran in the opposite direction, while Yozen blocked Garuel’s attempts to move with him.

“Um, Sir Yozen. Even if we use healing techniques, shouldn’t we get out of here first?”

Garuel pointed to Ashvka’s tilting body, which was releasing an explosion of bloodsuckers. If they didn’t dodge quickly, they would be trapped. But Yozen didn’t flinch, stepping in front of Garuel.

“Do you have any blood relatives left in the Demon Realm?”

“……I’m not sure. I don’t know anything about my blood relatives.”

“You’d better think of something.”

“What’s that suddenly…….”

Before Garuel could question the contextless question. Suddenly, Yozen’s outstretched hand grabbed him across the face and jerked him backward.

He’d been poked in the stomach with dark energy for being a nuisance before, but never with this kind of violence. A flustered Garuel tried to think back over his words to see if he’d made a mistake.

Puuk.

There was the sound of tearing flesh, and a sharp blade drawn across his abdomen came into his grimacing vision.

“……?”

Garuel pushed himself upright and took in the situation. Before him was his shadowy alter ego, pierced by a longsword. Yozen, the man who had created his comrade’s alter ego, was nowhere to be seen, and a new figure stood across from him.

“It’s pretty obvious without even trying to look for it.”

Perhaps another High Demon that Yozen first spoke of.

“You have beautiful hair and intelligent eyes.”

As the demon drew his longsword, the alter ego before him melted away, revealing his full form. A head of wiry white hair, a firmly angled jaw, a towering nostril, and sharpened eyes. And within those eyes, a pair of vivid purple pupils.

“My first and last greeting. My name is Lawrence Hywyl.”

Garuel could see why Yozen had asked about the existence of blood relatives.

“Pleased to meet you, my one and only troublesome nephew.”