A thunderous boom shook the earth and sky, and the ground trembled like there was an earthquake. Besides the explosion, the army of monsters charged at Vepar at once with Magor at the center, making clumps of dirt and dust clouds explode in their wake.
“We did it!” Chi-Woo exclaimed in happiness and clenched his fists while watching everything unfold in hiding. Ru Amuh had really done what he promised to and brought a great demon out of her territory as they had wished for.
—It was a good idea to use the holy relic as bait. I applaud his success in bringing the demon out too. But.
As Chi-Woo shuddered in celebration, Philip rained on his feverish joy.
—You don’t think it’s all over, do you? You don’t think this is enough, do you?
Chi-Woo’s elevated mood quickly cooled. Yes, their opponent was a great demon, one of the top 66 demons in the Demon Empire at that. As Philip said, there was no way things would end like this. It was actually the beginning. Remnants of the gunpowder obscuring his view settled down, and through the widening gaps, Chi-Woo saw Vepar standing in full form. Vepar looked far from unscathed, though. Her body was charred, and her scales were falling off. It was a wonder what trick she had used to survive such an intense attack.
A few moments later, violent howls came from all over the opposite side—along with the presence of numerous troops marching at once. Instinctually sensing the danger their master was in, the nagas rushed in frantically. The Cassiubia League seemed to have expected this response, and the monsters reacted without pause. Rumble. The ground began to shake again. The stone floor cracked, and thick tree roots shot out from the cracks. branches overlapped and intertwined as they wrapped around and broke apart a building, forming a giant wall that divided the city.
It was the ancient tree’s doing. The nagas pounded on the tree madly, but the wall didn’t break easily. Instead, thorny thickets emerged suddenly to pierce the nagas, and new branches emerged, intertwining more tightly than before. The monsters didn’t stand watching, either. After seeing that ordinary attacks didn’t work, Magor circled around the wall with its troops. They planned to lead the nagas out of Vepar’s territory and wipe them all out. It would only result in meaningless losses if they stayed where they were at.
And to deal with Vepar—bam! The giant landed in front of her with a heavy thud. Another figure landed swiftly next to it—the hovering jade-colored lights gathered and took the shape of a beautiful woman. Vepar looked beyond the wall and murmured, “Gigas…and the Wind’s Will-o’-the-Wisp? And…?”
Vepas looked around slowly, and when she saw the half-demon Murumuru, one of her eyebrows rose. “I even see one mixed blood.”
“It’s been a while, you damn demon!” Murumuru yelled vehemently at her like it knew her, but Vepar tilted her head in response.
“I don’t recognize you though. Why would I, when you’re of an inferior species?”
Murumuru’s eyes flared up at Vepar’s insult.
“Anyways…” She looked around and shrugged. “You have laid out quite an entertainment for me. I suppose I won’t be bored with you as my opponents.”
“Not bored?” Murumuru’s eyes blazed with anger. “Of course you won’t be bored! That’s right. I am going to make you so overjoyed that you wish you were dead!” Murumuru gritted its teeth and pulled out a pair of dark purple katanas with each hand.
The battle had begun. As Murumuru crossed its two katanas, four pairs of dark tendrils poured out from Vepar’s back. The energy swayed like water steams and surrounded her in a protective manner.
Splaaaash!
Water splashed, and Murumuru’s katana slipped, failing to penetrate through the streams protecting Vepar.
“Why don’t you show me something more impressive?” Vepar mocked Murumuru. “As a mixed blood, you won’t be able to inflict even a tiny injury on me in your human form.”
“Shut up!” Murumuru shouted while grabbing its two katanas tightly and swinging them down hard. Vepar clicked her tongue and turned slightly. Half of the streams pouring from her back were flung away. But flick! It sounded like something had slapped a wet leather.
After a single clash, she threw Murumuru off its feet without giving it a chance to resist—so ridiculously easy. The dark streams didn’t stop, but stretched out and grabbed onto Murumuru’s arm as Murumuru twirled in the air. The grip tightened as the streams expanded in size. Soon, Murumuru’s entire arm seemed completely submerged in water.
“Ahhhh!” An ear-splitting scream escaped Murumuru’s mouth. The pressure of the water streams seemed to be squeezing and twisting its confined arm. Vepar smiled cruelly before a large shadow over 2 meters tall loomed over her, making her flinch. She quickly leapt away from the area, and in the place where she used to be, a gigantic palm smashed down. The strike was so strong that it left a deep handprint on the ground.
“Tch.” Vepar clicked her tongue. The streams that had bound Murumuru broke off, and Sruthos pushed on. Unbefitting of its large size, it moved agilely and swung its fist. Vepar didn’t evade this time. Bam! Another explosive sound rang, but surprisingly, Vepar held on. She had blocked Sruthos’ fist with one hand only and blocked the other fist at the same time. Thus commenced a battle of raw strength between the giant and the demon.
“Umph…!” As Vepar’s arms began to shake a bit, she groaned softly. “As expected of a Gigas. Their divine power is outstanding!”
Although Vepar acknowledged Sruthos’ power, Sruthos didn’t appear to be in a good state. Sruthos was feeling nervous as Vepar didn’t seem to be getting pushed back much. And while those two grappled, Murumuru got to its feet from afar.
“…Kuh!” In agony, Murumuru’s eyes shone with reddish light. Then something strange began to happen. Dark reddish blood began to be absorbed back into its abnormally twisted arm. Bones cracked, and in an instant, the arm returned to its original shape. Murumuru picked up its fallen katana again and glared at the demon locked in a battle with the giant. It kicked off from the ground.
Pwsh! Murumuru’s two katanas pierced into Vepar’s side in a flash. Even though Vepar’s hands were occupied with Sruthos, Murumuru’s speed had seen a sudden surge. Vepar groaned softly and turned around. Her lips twisted when she saw Murumuru emitting a bright light.
“Kuh. So, you used the power you detested so much in the end.”
“To kill you, I will gladly use anything!” Murumuru shouted while twisting the two katanas stuck in Vepar’s side. “I will kill you painfully! With all the rage from that day!”
Following these words, the scales covering the penetrated area began to glow a purplish light.
“You dim-wit.” Even as she fought two enemies at once, Vepar appeared calm. “You don’t even realize that I got hit on purpose.”
“What?”
“It’s quite a fine poison,” Vepar said and took a deep breath. “So, I will give it back to you.” With one deep breath, the glowing parts of her body quickly climbed up her back and puffed out of her mouth in the form of smoke. In shock, Murumuru pulled out its katana and tried to quickly move away. Then a green gust of wind suddenly swept in between the two, surrounding Murumuru and scattering the purplish light Vepar vomited. Simultaneously, it flashed an irritating light and clung to every part of Vepar’s body.
Vepar looked annoyed for the first time since the battle began. Still seizing both of Sruthos’ fists, she turned back to the giant and spewed out a continuous stream of purplish smoke. Sruthos didn’t move away like Murumuru had done. Instead, it quietly took her attacks because it was born with innately high resistance as part of the Gigas Tribe. Vepar seemed to have expected this as she put more strength into her hold.
Then she groaned, and a face popped out of her neck. She now had two heads, one at the front and the other at the back.
“___. ____. __. ______.” As soon as her new face popped out, she quickly chanted an incomprehensible spell. As a result, the smoke that was constantly flowing out of Vepar’s mouth rose into the air and thickened. It turned into a watery dark cloud and sprinkled purple rain.
Splash! Wherever the rain fell, the floor melted and let out steam. The jade-colored gust of wind stopped trying to gnaw on Vepar to quickly fly up and protect Murumuru, who was being violently pushed back. Sruthos also shook off its opponent and accelerated its blood flow to prevent its blood from escaping. Vepar was the ruler of the ocean. No matter how high Sruthos’ natural resistance was, it was not a good idea to expose its fluids to Vepar.
Vepar was able to successfully push back her opponents and regain her freedom. While her condition didn’t look good, looks were deceiving. Her hands and arms, which had been crumpled by her struggle with Sruthos, quickly returned to their original state. New flesh grew back on her sides as well, and she looked as good as new. Thanks to her unbelievable recovery rate, she might as well have never been injured—except for the fact that she had an additional face on the back of her neck.
“Well, I won’t have any trouble winning, but…” Her two faces took turns talking. “It’ll be a bit bothersome with three opponents.”
A Gigas with great natural resistance and strength, a half-demon with at least half the power of a demon, and a Will-o’-the-Wisp of wind who played a supporting role rather than fought her directly. Even though she had the full confidence in winning like she said, Vepar didn’t think she could quickly finish this battle. Moreover, the environment was extremely disadvantageous to her. If they were in the middle of the ocean, or at least the sphere of influence she had put a lot of effort into making, she could have easily torn them apart.
“It can’t be—”
“—Helped.”
Vepar knew she should finish this as soon as possible and return to her territory.
“I need to overexert myself—”
“—A bit.”
As soon as her two heads finished talking, another pair of arms sprouted from beneath her neck. With her four arms and two faces on the back and front, she had lost her resemblance to humans and was no longer a beauty, but looked like the very embodiment of an Asura monster.
Chi-Woo, who had been watching with nervousness, suddenly felt drained. He had been overflowing with anticipation, but now, he felt himself cool down. His mood began to sink deeper and deeper like he was drowning endlessly. ‘Why…’
Even if they couldn’t immediately defeat the demon, he thought they would have the upper hand. However, the situation wasn’t turning out well for them. Even though the monsters were doing their best, they never gained a clear upper hand. Chi-Woo didn’t know exactly why, but he felt as if everything they had done so far had been in vain, which left him cold.
—Don’t fall for it.
Then, he heard Philip’s voice inside his head.
—You remember what happened with Andras, right?
—Do you know what you have to be most careful about when fighting demons?
—It’s to not fall for the emotions they control and favor.
Chi-Woo blinked. His current emotional state was being influenced by Vepar?
—She’s a crafty one. As soon as she realized she fell into a trap, she slowly began using her powers.
—It’s a silver lining that the emotions she rules over are disappointment and feelings of futility. Such feelings of deficiency can at least be turned around by changing the situation. But imagine if it’s hunger or lust? It would be a complete shit-show.
Chi-Woo shook his head vigorously. If Philip’s words were true, this meant that one of Vepar’s powers had penetrated through his mind and at least partially influenced his emotions. This battle wasn’t over yet; he needed to get a hold of himself.
—Well, if things don’t change, it’ll be hard to win like you thought.
‘Really?’
—Probably.
Since Philip had faced countless demons when he was alive, he could predict the outcome of the fight simply by watching. The three monsters were on the stronger side among the Indigenous Monsters. The fact that they could keep up with a Great Demon was proof of their skills. However…
—I’ve told you this before. What is leisure?
‘It’s a privilege of…the strong.’
There was nothing resembling ease to the way the three monsters moved. On the contrary, Vepar looked leisurely to the point of being annoying—this was proof that she had the upper hand even while fighting three opponents.
It couldn’t be helped. During Philip’s time, even five sword masters—those who’ve achieved the highest level with a sword—could barely achieve a tie while facing a great demon. The three monsters were considered extremely skilled in their respective tribes, but technically, they were at the level of a unit commander. To defeat a high-ranking great demon, at least two out of three of them should be at the level of top commander.
—I can’t keep watching.
In the end, Philip judged that the situation was getting too dangerous and spoke up again.
—Hey, let’s switch.
‘So suddenly?’
—It’s not sudden. If even one of them gets beaten, the balance will be completely broken.
‘But maybe I should at least try fighting—”
—You’ll die.
Philip said flatly.
—If you’re unlucky, you could be the first to get killed without even being able to approach her properly.
Philip looked more serious than ever, even slightly tense. Chi-Woo realized this was not the time to be stubborn.
‘We can’t die.
—Okay. You might get a bit hurt. Keep that in mind.
When Chi-Woo gave permission for Philip to take over his body, he felt a tingling sensation, and all of his senses slowly faded, leaving him with only his sight.
“But…I’m glad you’re weak.” Philip didn’t immediately run out like the last time he took over Chi-Woo’s body. He breathed slowly in and out like he was preparing something and put down Chi-Woo’s bag, taking out the ghost-busting club.
“There’s a good chance that we’ll catch her off guard. Even though it’s only for the first blow.” Philip gathered exorcism mana and circulated it throughout Chi-Woo’s body. It was nowhere near enough to deal with a great demon, nor lethal or efficient enough. Therefore, it was crucial to end a fight with such a strong opponent as fast as possible.
When it seemed like the fight was going to resume, Philip charged at Vepar and shouted, “Here I come!”
He narrowed their distance by quickly crossing where the acid rain fell. The three monsters’ dark expression brightened up when they saw Chi-Woo join in. Since Chi-Woo was a human hero who had experience defeating a great demon, they might have a chance of winning this battle with him. As their situation changed, feelings of futility and disappointment began to get pushed back, and courage rejuvenated their spirits.
‘Hmm?’ Vepar was taken aback as Sruthos suddenly began fiercely attacking her again, like it had done when they first began fighting. It was the same for Murumuru. After being beaten down, Murumuru had become more cautious even while getting protected by the Will-o’-the-Wisp, but now, it began fiercely attacking Vepar with its life on the line again.
‘Why?’ thought Vepar. Fighting hard would only make things worse for them. They were not stupid enough to rush in like this without thinking. But most of all, Vepar was sure that they should be drowning in disappointment and futility. There must be a reason why they were acting like this.
‘That guy.’ A new opponent was running towards her. He was human. From the energy she sensed from him, he seemed nothing special; it was to the point that he seemed like an ordinary human. ‘But why…?’ She didn’t know why the monsters had changed their stance, but there must be a reason; she kept her guard up.
‘Let’s first—’
‘—Take a look at his skill.’
Her two heads shared the same thought. While Vepar’s front head dealt with Sruthos, and her back head chased away Murumuru and the Will-o’-the-Wisp, Philip darted towards Vepar’s side. She glanced at him and shot out four streams of water, which flapped out of her back like two pairs of wings.
Philip’s eyes brightened. He swung the club at the four streams of water and pushed a great amount of exorcism mana into it, shooting the energy out before the club made contact.
Ziing! A faint light burst out of the club from its center. The streams of water that touched the light curled strangely like mosquitoes hit by insecticides, and they melted away.
“!” Vepar flinched as soon as she felt the exorcism mana. Vepar hadn’t let down her guard like Andras, but she hadn’t tried her best, either. She realized that her lackluster response to test the water first might have been a mistake; her streams of water were withering away like stems.
“…Ah?” The realization came too late. “What-!” Vepar’s eyes became big as saucers as the club flew towards her like a meteor as if to pierce her directly through the forehead.