Leira's lips curled into a feral grin, her fangs glinting under the dim dungeon light. The ground beneath her hissed, cracks forming as if recoiling from her presence.
"You're an interesting one," she purred, tilting her head, her voice a silken threat. "Most people die when I tear out their heart."
Ash rolled his shoulders, electricity crackling along his fingertips,
Power hummed in his veins, arcs of lightning snapping between his limbs, the energy restless and violent.
He exhaled sharply, his expression unreadable.
"You talk too much."
And then—he moved.
During his body reformation, he had gained something unexpected from the Rune of Knowledge—something not mentioned in the novel.
He had read as many books as possible from the library: books about mana theory, the basics of magic, and many more.
He had experimented with various ways to use mana, drawing inspiration from novels, imagination, and other sources.
But perfect mana manipulation had always remained just out of reach. His progress had been frustratingly slow.
However, during the reformation process, his accumulated knowledge had transformed into something deep and profound—Insight, which got absorbed directly into his consciousness.
Due to that reason, his mana manipulation ability had skyrocketed, reaching levels comparable to normal geniuses. The only thing left was execution.
A flash of lightning erupted beneath his feet as he exploded forward. The stone floor beneath him cracked, a small crater forming where he had been standing.
His sword moved in an arc, wreathed in electric fury, its black steel gleaming like a storm-forged blade. Sparks danced along its edge as it screamed through the air, aimed straight for Leira's throat.
Clang!
She used her remaining hand to block the strike. Her claws met steel, and for an instant, the world stood still. A pulse of energy radiated outward from the impact point, sending loose debris skittering across the floor.
The walls trembled under the sheer force of their clash.
Demonic energy clashed against pure lightning, raw forces battling for dominance. Then—
A shockwave detonated between them, sending dust and debris flying. The torches lining the dungeon walls flickered violently, their flames struggling to stay lit.
Leira grinned, unfazed, her crimson eyes gleaming with an almost playful light.
"Fast," she mused, her muscles coiling.
Then—she vanished. The ground beneath her exploded into rubble, leaving nothing but a crater where she once stood.
Ash's instincts screamed.
Behind.
But he was too late.
A gust of wind rushed past his ear as she appeared behind him in a blur of movement. Then—
Shrkk!!!!~
A razor-sharp claw raked across his back, slicing through his cloak, through flesh. Blood splattered onto the dungeon floor in crimson streaks, the iron scent thick in the air.
But—
The wound healed instantly.
His cloak, too, wove itself back together, threads of shadow knitting seamlessly as if time itself had reversed.
Leira's smirk faltered. "What the—?"
Ash twisted, his sword wreathed in pulsating electricity. His body burned with power as he enhanced his power and reflexes with lightning mana, his movements sharper, faster. His muscles coiled, and without hesitation—
"Thunderstrike!"
He swung his sword.
Lightning condensed around his blade, focusing into a single, blinding arc of destruction. The energy roared forward, a thunderbolt made manifest, the sheer force of it causing the very air to vibrate.
Leira's eyes widened.
For the first time—she was shocked.
She had seen human mages. She had seen human swordsmen. But both?
That moment of hesitation was enough.
The attack struck her dead center—her stomach.
A deafening boom echoed through the dungeon. The impact sent her skidding backward, her feet digging trenches into the stone as she struggled to remain upright.
The walls cracked from the residual force, dust and rubble cascading from the ceiling.
A sharp gasp left her lips as pain bloomed through her torso. Her remaining hand shakily touched the wound. Her other arm was still gone—severed by Ray.
Her stomach was bleeding, the flesh burnt and smoking. The scent of scorched demon filled the air, mingling with the damp musk of the dungeon.
Ash observed her reaction, his mind racing.
That attack was actually able to hurt her.
A grin spread across his face.
So this is what it meant when it was said that mana-based attacks and spells would be enhanced by his Primordial Core. That wasn't even a spell—just raw mana manipulation. Zero magic.
Should I start using actual spells now?
For the first time since the battle began, he realized that his chances of winning were high.
Leira's claws trembled slightly as she examined the wound. The lingering electricity crackled along her skin, interfering with her natural regeneration.
She clenched her jaw, frustration flashing across her face.
"How…?" Her voice was strained, but her crimson eyes burned with fury.
"How can a human fight at both long and close range?"
Her fingers dug into her palms, her demonic energy flaring violently.
The very air distorted around her form.
"Are you a demon?"
Ash said nothing.
That silence only enraged her further.
"Answer me, you fucker!"
Her horns glowed. The air around her warped, pulsing with unrestrained malice. A pressure unlike before descended on the dungeon, heavy and suffocating.
And then—she disappeared.
Ash reacted instantly, his instincts screaming at him to move, but—
"Too slow."
Her voice was a whisper in his ear.
A clawed foot slammed into his ribs, sending him rocketing backward.
Crash!
He struck the dungeon wall with violent impact. The stone shattered on contact, deep fissures spreading outward.
Dust and debris billowed into the air, the sheer force of his crash causing loose rubble to crumble from above.
Ash groaned, forcing himself up, blood trickling from his lips. His ribs screamed in protest, but already, he could feel them knitting back together.
The pain was sharp, but fleeting. His body was fixing itself, restoring him as fast as he was being damaged.
But I can't do anything about pain. I want to use Omni Thought… but I fear what its impact will be on me.
I won't use it unless necessary.
Leira landed gracefully a few feet away, stepping over the broken rubble.
She eyed him, her crimson gaze sharp and calculating, "Are you a demon?" she asked again, slower this time.
Ash exhaled, rolling his neck. His muscles crackled with renewed energy.
"Alright…" His grip on his sword tightened. His Primodial core's aura grew even more unstable, lightning surging around him in chaotic waves, forming an untamed storm.
"Let's stop messing around."
A charged silence hung between them. The dungeon walls groaned under the pressure of their mana.
Leira clicked her tongue, annoyed. "Tsk, can you stop radiating that fucking aura? It's not making you stronger."
Ash ignored her words.
If it keeps her distracted even a little, then it's fine. And it's not like I can control its aura yet—it'll take time before it subsides.
He took a step forward, and then—
He used one of the movement techniques used by warriors, he had found in the library and practiced relentlessly.
[Lightning Step]
Lightning mana coiled around his legs, both inside and out, crackling like a storm barely contained. He took a step forward.
A thunderclap detonated in the air as his body became a streak of lightning.
Leira's eyes widened.
He's faster?!
Before she could react, a lightning-infused slash came screaming toward her, the black sword humming with crackling energy.
She barely managed to intercept it, her claws glowing with demonic energy as she deflected the strike.
The impact sent a shockwave tearing through the dungeon, walls crumbling, debris flying like shrapnel.
But Ash was already gone.
[Lightning Step]
He reappeared at her side, his knee covered in lightning mana driving toward her ribs.
She blocked it with her own knee, but the mana, amplified by the Primordial Core, disrupted her balance.
The difference in stats was still too much for it to cause serious damage, but the attack had thrown her off.
Ash twisted his sword mid-air, reversing its trajectory in a sudden flicker of movement, crackling with lightning—
She ducked, even while unbalanced.
The blade missed her skull by mere millimeters.
Her instincts flared.
She twisted like a serpent, spinning as her talons extended, jagged black blades of pure destruction.
Ash leaned back just in time, the claws screeching past his face, slicing the hem of his cloak.
But she wasn't done.
Her demonic energy spiked.
She kicked off the ground, the sheer force shattering the stone beneath her feet. The next instant—she was right in front of him, claws aimed straight for his throat.
Ash barely managed to parry, but—
Her knee slammed into his gut, sending him flying.
His back crashed into a crumbling pillar, the impact shaking the dungeon itself. His vision blurred for a fraction of a second, but he had no time to breathe.
Leira was already there.
She lunged—
[Lightning Step]
Ash became a streak of light and dodged the strike just in time.
Leira's claws tore through the stone, reducing the pillar to dust.
A streak of black and blue blurred behind her.
Ash reappeared mid-air, already chanting—
"Storm Spear!"
A magic circle formed above his palm, and a spear of pure lightning erupted from his grasp, its tip sparking with condensed destruction.
He hurled it.
Leira turned, her instincts screaming at her to move. But it was too late.
The spear pierced her shoulder, detonating on impact.
She let out a sharp snarl as her body was sent crashing through several dungeon walls, stone collapsing in her wake.
Whoa, even a Rank 1 spell did that? Man, Primordial Core is OP, huh?
Ash thought but he didn't wait.
Lightning rippled through his body, enhancing his speed, his reflexes.
[Lightning Step]
[Lightning Step]
[Lightning Step]
He used the movement technique three times back to back, each step a crackling explosion of force.
Although it uses a considerable amount of mana, it doesn't matter to me since I have two cores, both with 140 stats worth of mana...
A combination of movement techniques that turned him into a streak of flashing destruction.
Leira emerged from the rubble, her demonic energy pulsing violently. Her wound was already closing, black tendrils of demonic energy stitching the flesh back together.
But the burn—the residual lightning coursing through her body—was slowing her regeneration.
But her arm which was cut off by Ray was not showing even a silver of regeneration.
That fucking brat did something nasty to my precious arm…
I will kill him.
Her gaze snapped onto Ash.
Annoying human.
Her demonic power surged.
And then—
She roared.
ROOOORRRR!!!!!!
The entire dungeon trembled.
Ash barely had time to react before the ground beneath him shattered.
A black, spiked tendril shot up, impaling his shoulder.
Another lashed out, wrapping around his leg, squeezing with bone-crushing force.
Leira appeared above him, her claws glowing with eerie crimson energy.
"DIE!"
She dove.
Ash growled.
Is that her racial ability?
All the different races in the world of Akumia had racial traits and abilities. Elves had an affinity for life magic and the power to contract and communicate with spirits.
Dragons excelled in mana and magic.
Dwarves were master blacksmiths, some even possessing the ability to "feel" the emotions of metal.
And like all other beings, Demons also had racial abilities—though they varied from demon to demon. Some have strong ability, some had weak.
Seeing the attack coming, he didn't move.
He let her claws sink into his stomach.
His body trembled as demonic energy wreaked havoc inside him. He coughed up blood from the sheer corruption of the strike.
***