C207 - The Legacy of Witch Heluram (3)
Drrrrk, dorruruk......
The round rocks rolled forward as the demon's front paws touched them. The creature seemed like a naturally playful cat, pushing and pulling them with its claws while occasionally licking its own body.
The only thing that distinguished it from a regular cat was its enormous size and the leopard-like white pattern covering its fur.
No wonder.
Of course, Jin had never heard of a cat-shaped demon before. Although there were countless creatures in the world, there had never been any reports of a demon cat in academic records.
"Do I have to bring that down? It looks more like a spiritual beast than a demon."
Thanks to this, Jin was able to observe the demon with a calm mind and soon realized that the demon's favorite food was the thorny bush of the forest.
Crunch, crunch, crunch!
A loud crunching sound was heard as the beast chewed on the thorns as if they were sugar cane.
After settling in this place, the demon had been eating thorns in this manner for over a thousand years.
When it ate enough bush, it would create a plain and then play with the rocks around, carving them into wheel shapes. It would do so until the bushes grew back. That's how it had lived for over a thousand years in this place.
Sash! Sussak!
With a light strike of its front paw, a rock buried in the ground jumped into the air.
The rock lost its original shape, turning into a smooth sphere before falling to the ground. The creature made a small sound of satisfaction upon seeing this.
'I'll have to be careful of its claws.'
Recalling the sharp claws he saw as the demonic creature cut through rocks, Jin tilted his head. He didn't expect to succeed with a surprise attack. The poison around the demonic creature was too strong, and he had to maintain his protective aura barrier at all times.
Just as Jin lifted his foot to take a step, the demonic creature looked around with a fleeting glance. The gentle light of the aura barrier stimulated the creature's eyes. The demon's gaze turned towards Jin.
[¡Kyaaah!]
The creature shrieked upon seeing Jin's eyes. It was strong enough to make his ears ring, but compared to the roars of the Legends, it was tolerable.
Lightning energy gathered in Sigmund. Lightning was a formidable sword even when faced with a large demonic creature.
'I wonder how strong this thing is... hmm?"
Tudadadadadad!
Suddenly, the creature turned around and ran deeper into the forest. It was so fast that Jin could barely keep track of it with his gaze as he stood there stunned.
"Did it flee? Was it afraid of me with that giant body?"
Before the fight, he felt puzzled.
'No. It probably has already encountered the Black Knights once, so it fears humans, and they probably dealt with it without killing, subjugated it, and then abandoned this forest.'
For some reason, he also felt a sudden sadness. It seemed like the creature lived peacefully alone in this forest, but Jin had suddenly intruded as an intruder to defeat the demonic creature.
'In any case, I will pursue it.'
After all, it was a task assigned to him by his father and Vanessa. He couldn't simply give up because he felt sorry for the creature.
And the feeling of pity for its behavior disappeared completely the moment he began to chase after the demon.
And then, boom!
As soon as he followed the demon into the deep forest, the demon's front paws flew. With its enormous body, the monster managed to hide well among the thorns.
Its front paws knocked down the bushes as if they were grass and struck Jin. He managed to block it with Sigmund, but couldn't avoid being thrown backward.
Boom, aiming at Jin once again, the demon raised its front paw.
"Kuk!"
Unable to block it with his sword, he released a lightning bolt. The bolt bounced off the demon's front paw, and Jin fell onto the thorny ground.
Just before touching the ground, Jin unleashed a flurry of sword strikes in all directions. Despite that, he couldn't avoid being scratched and cut by the thorns and bushes, but thanks to Myulta's Rune and the Black Light Armor, he didn't suffer serious injuries.
He also survived thanks to the Thousand-Poison Antidote he had taken. If he hadn't had the antidote, he would have died from the poison of the bushes and its toxicity.
From the beginning, he was seriously attacked.
Getting up, Jin let out a deep sigh. His arms and legs were torn and bleeding, and his coat was reduced to tatters.
He felt the poison spreading throughout his body, burning like fire. Taking the Immunity Potion didn't alleviate his pain.
The creature didn't attack further and slinked deeper into the forest.
"Alright... I was a bit foolish. Feeling sorry for a demon and feeling bad about it... but he probably already planned how to kill me as soon as he saw me."
The demon wasn't fleeing; it was just trying to deal with Jin more efficiently and safely. It had shown its best strategy without knowing its opponent's strength.
Jin, on the other hand, was deceived by the demon's outward appearance and was taken by surprise.
Without thinking, he pursued the demon and was ambushed, becoming a bloodied and limping figure, even though no one had seen his appearance. Still, he couldn't forgive himself for making such a mistake.
Although he had white markings, the fact that the other party was a black cat somehow reminded him of the large Butterfly Runcandel, and for some reason, he didn't want to harm it.
But not anymore.
"I'll deal with you properly."
Boom!
With that, Jin raised his mana power.
His plan was to call Tes and start burning the cursed thorn forest. It didn't matter if it tried to escape; forests and trees burned easily.
But even after setting up the summoning spell to open the dimensional gate, the gate didn't open. He tried several times, but it didn't work.
"...Damn, everything is in chaos. It doesn't seem to be due to the poison, and my magical power is sufficient. Is this place also a separate world like Lafrarosa?"
Tess couldn't be summoned in a separate world (also known as a dead world). It was something he had learned while training with the Legends.
Jin soon concluded that this forest was the same as Lafrarosa.
But it didn't matter because Tess's absence didn't mean he couldn't burn the forest. In no time, a new blazing flame formed in his left hand.
It was a Fire Gem.
A 7-star magic energy fireball flew toward the dark thorn forest. When the sphere touched the trees, it spread like a net and burned the entrance of the forest where the demon had escaped.
Then, he unleashed a series of gusts of wind. He remembered burning the forest like this when he saved Mesa as a cadet.
But there was no comparison between the power of Jin's magic then and now. Although it was the same wind, the force behind it was different. Furthermore, the fire spreading through the thorn trees was made of a 7-star Fire Gem.
The forest turned into a sea of fire in an instant. As if not satisfied enough, Jin walked past the burning thorns and prepared his next Fire Gem.
Surprisingly, even amidst the spreading fire, the poison did not burn at all. In fact, the poison that had been contained in the thorn bushes mixed in the air, making the atmosphere even more suffocating.
It wouldn't hinder the battle, but Jin knew that if the poison was too much even for his powerful Thousand-Poison Antidote, it would also be too much for the demon.
"If you don't come out immediately, I'll burn the entire forest!"
Whether the demon understood or not, Jin simply shouted with a loud and energetic voice.
Then he launched the Fire Gem three times.
[Kiik...]
Finally, the demon raised its white flag. It crawled, screaming and stumbling through the fire, visibly beaten.
Sigh If you're a demon, behave like one. It seems to be telling me not to...
Seeing the pointed ears of the demon cat droop, Jin once again felt a sense of guilt as he looked at the cat gazing at him with sadness.
The burning thorn bush was the demon's home and its only source of food. Jin had a hunch as he watched the blazing forest and realized that, but he had no intention of repeating the same mistake. The demon was capable of leaping onto him and biting his neck or playing tricks.
"Don't pretend to be pitiful."
The moment Jin said that, the eyes of the demon creature changed.
It didn't work.
It was definitely such a look. At the same time, Jin could feel the release of magical power from the demon's pupils.
"Magic!"
It was Mana.
Of course, Jin had not considered that this demon could use magic, so he had not been able to avoid the enchanting amber eyes of the demon cat.
The spell the demon unleashed was one of the branches of ancient dark magic that causes the target to lose their mind, the "mental world" magic. Jin was already experiencing a hallucination.
Starting with hallucinations in which his whole body was stabbed with daggers, to reaching the most depressing vision of his past life. In just a second, dozens of hallucinations entered Jin's mind.
The demon laughed maliciously at seeing Jin's bewildered eyes, with Jin unable to see its repugnant smile while immersed in his hallucinations.
Now, the demon could simply approach and mercilessly tear Jin apart, extinguish the fire that burned its sanctuary, and watch as his body decomposed in the forest's poison.
[¡Nyaaah...!]
The demon creature let out a low, sad cry as it took a step forward.
However, in the next moment, the demon was left dumbfounded.
"I hate hallucinations with all my being."
What had occurred was beyond the demon's comprehension.
Jin, who had clearly been completely exposed to the mental power, had regained his sanity and opened his eyes, full of life.
The Three mirages/illusions experienced in the great desert.
His faith in overcoming the three illusions he experienced in the desert, and his training to become a brother of the Legends, is what made him the man he is today, someone who not only has talent but also great mental strength.
Jin, who had challenged and won the third illusion where Temar Runcandel was present. The feeble mental tricks of the demons were no match for such Jin.
He shattered their illusions with his will. For him, it was as easy as breathing.
"Wait a second. You should have finished me off when I was still trapped in the illusion. And you, it seems like you understand the human language... right?"
This time, Jin smiled. The demon, who had stopped in its tracks, stood with its fur bristling and its eyes darting.
Thump, thump...
The thorn trees engulfed in flames were falling. Amidst them, Sigmund emitted a blue glow once again.
Third Movement of the Battle Technique of the Sword God of the Legends: Judgment.
Without hesitation, Jin chose that Sword Technique.
"But I don't understand what you're saying. Even if you scream something, I won't understand it. So shut up and speak with your claws."