Bang!
A bright explosion of mana shook the air, and the space around the explosion collapsed, turning into a black hole for a moment before being wiped clean by the ambient mana in the atmosphere.
Oris fell down to the deck of a partially sunken ship underneath him, a cry of pain tearing through his beak. He crashed down to the deck, dazed, and before he could form a reaction a barrage of attacks rained down on him, pummeling both him, and the ship. It was already a lost cause, so the Demons did not bother holding back their attacks.
In the air behind Oris, the Demon he had been fighting earlier had gotten back up. Her black wings flapped to keep her in the air, while she glared daggers at Oris. She had taken a healing potion earlier when the other Demons had snatched Oris’ attention from her, and she had regained a bit of vitality and strength to continue fighting.
The heavy bombardment completely decimated the wreck, turning it into a mass of broken wood that was soon devoured by vicious waves and blades made of water, created by the green haired Demon.
A few seconds ticked by as the mighty barrage of attacks died down. No one moved for the next half minute as they waited to see what had become of Oris. They were unable to sense his presence clearly, and after that bombardment, the mana in the area was extremely charged, making it even harder to try and sense him.
Boom!
Suddenly, the water where the wreck of the boat was burst upwards, turning into a mighty wave that rocked the surrounding ships. A giant, three meter tall black bird spread its wings and took off, soaring into the sky.
Everything happened within a second, and the Demons were not able to react in time, shocked and surprised at the sudden outburst.
What followed next was the spread of an absolutely oppressive feeling that they had only ever felt from their A rank commanders.
“Impossible!” The red haired Demon gasped and looked up at Oris with wide eyes. The Dark Wing Eagle’s presence was unmistakably that of an A rank!
At the last moment, when Oris had been about to be engulfed by the wave of attacks, it was as if a chain had broken within him. A surge of mana burst from within his shadowy core, boosting every inch of his body, and restoring him to peak condition in moments. His body size grew, and the space around him grew more turbulent.
Oris had been a Pseudo A rank being for a long time before this, so this transformation was bound to happen sooner or later. Surprisingly, the stimulation he had gotten from this battle had pushed him past his previous limits, granting him the strength to surpass his old heights!
The frightening aura that pulsed around the Dark Wing Eagle paused the actions of his opponents, as they were too stunned to form a proper reaction to what had happened. This temporary lull was enough for Oris to make his first moves as an A rank powerhouse.
First, he set his sights on the winged Demon that also used Space magic. His wings spread high up in the air, before flapping forward, sending a storm of reality shearing blades forward. The moment the space blades engulfed her, a cloud of blood bloomed as her body was turned into minced meat and bones. A High B rank Space mage had died just like that! Not even her prodigious spatial manipulation powers were enough to save her from Oris’ wrath!
The sight of their comrade meeting such a grizzly end snapped the others out of their daze. Fear sat on their hearts, which had risen to their throats, and they trembled. Without even exchanging words, the Demons turned around and fled!
There was no way they could stand against Oris. If even someone who possessed spatial powers was able to meet such an end without resistance, how well would they fare before such terrible powers?!
Caw!
Oris let out a proud shriek and chased after the two fleeing Demons. They had fled in two different directions, which would mean that he would need to choose one to kill.
Without wasting a moment, Oris turned in the direction of the red haired Demon. With a flap of his wings, he disappeared and appeared above the Demon. His large shadow was enough of a clue to let the man know that he was screwed.
Seeing as he could not outrun Oris, the red haired Demon decided to do all he could to stall Oris. Surely, the commander of the fleet would do something now that an A rank threat had surfaced?
Whoosh!
BOOM!
With a swirl or wind and a gust of hot air, a pillar of fire shot out of the man’s palms as he spun around to face Oris, who hovered above him. But the space around him twisted and warped, turning into a spherical dome that trapped the flames in with him.
With the intensity of such a full powered attack, the Demon’s body was instantly engulfed in burning hot flames as the spell was turned against him. He quickly cut off the flow of mana, but the damage was already done. Patches of burnt skin covered his body, and most of the hair on his head had been burnt off.
Oris’ beak twisted into a ferocious smirk when he saw this. The Demon also saw this, and was angered beyond belief.
“DAMN YOU!-” The Demon roared in anger, but before he could let out all his fury, his body was ripped to shreds by the spatial storm that Oris had summoned in the warped sphere.
That was two out of three now.
Oris’ head snapped to the back as he fixed his eyes on the fleeing green haired Demon lady. With a flap of his wings, he teleported over her in a smooth motion.
Fear filled the green haired Demon’s face as she felt Oris’ terrifying presence above her. She had seen how he had brutally murdered her comrades. She was so terrified that she was not even able to try and put up a defense in front of Oris’ attempt to kill her.
Just as Oris was about to let the gathered mana loose, a black shadow flashed by and slammed into his body. A sharp pain lanced through his side, and he hurriedly backed away with apprehension written all over his face. He had been so lost in the power that he did not think anyone here could harm him.
Oris tried to fix the damage that had been done to his side, but realized that it was as if a corrosive energy was eating through the mana that made up his body. Without hesitation, he waved his right wing, completely cutting off the lower left side of his body where the corrosive mana ate into him.
A surge of mana bubbled from his core, fueled by his master, and the damage that he had done to himself was fixed in an instant.
Eyes sharp, Oris located the figure that had slammed into him and stabbed him in the side. A two meter tall Demon with two horns framing the side of his face floated opposite Oris. He gave the green haired Demon a look and she fled, leaving the two of them alone. From within this mysterious Demon, Oris could feel a cold, terrible power hidden. It was shrouded in darkness as shadows. The Demon’s body was also partially concealed by dark, wispy shadows.
Caw!𝑶𝐕𝐿xt.𝔠𝒪
Oris cawed with indignation and the refusal to bow his head to this powerful foe. With his power, surely he would be able to do combat with this foe well enough. Spatial powers were rather unique, and could beat conventional elements in many ways.
However, his opponent also used a unique and rare element. The element of shadow was as mysterious and elusive as shadows themselves. If Oris was not careful, then he would surely be caught off guard and finished by this powerful foe.
A spike of cold power ran down Oris’ spine and his wings twitched, activating a teleportation that took him a dozen meters away from his previous position. At the same time, a spatial storm exploded that shrouded that spot, turning it into a dead zone.
However, the shadow wreathed Demon moved through the spatial storm in a way that made it look like the spatial blades could not touch him. The shadow easily twisted along and dodged every spatial blade that came his way. Even with the chaotic pattern of the spatial blade barrage, it was almost as if he could read the paths of all the attacks the moment they were born in the spatial storm.
A sharp expression took over Oris’ face and he waved his wings, conjuring a warped area of space that would surely make it at least ten times more difficult for his opponent to move. Then he filled the space with spatial bombs that were rigged to go off the moment they sensed a presence close to them.
There was no way this shadow attuned Demon was getting through that!