C208 - The Legacy of Witch Heluram (4)
The Shadow Energy that surged from the Light Heart enveloped the sword, transforming the fiery red landscape into a beautiful, shining blue. The demon staggered back in the face of that power.
A dazzling light that nearly blinded the eyes.
Soon, the light transformed into a massive lance and hurtled towards the Demon's throat. The ferocious energy absorbed the ashes of the scattered thorns.
Even though the lance enveloped the Five General-ranked White Wolves at that moment, it seemed impossible to kill the Demon with just that, and Jin had a sense that it wouldn't be eliminated in a single strike.
Kyaaaaaagh!
Just as the lance was about to pierce its throat, the beast arched its back like a bow and lashed out with its front paws.
Five claws as sharp as swords gleamed. It was a unique inherent strength that wasn't based on magic or aura.
Pum!
When the lance and the paws collided, electricity crackled and blue sparks flew. Surprisingly, the trajectory of the lance was twisted by the desperate front paws of the demon, and Jin swung his sword again.
The diagonally deflected lance followed Sigmund and attacked the demon's side once more. The demon struck the lance with its claws.
Though there wasn't a direct clash, it was enough to deduce the terrifying strength of the demon.
"It wasn't an exaggeration for Lady Vanessa to call it a trial."
It wasn't just power. The fact that it had already reacted so precisely to the lightning lance was also impressive.
However, the demon feared the lance. It instinctively knew that it would suffer pain as soon as the lance touched it, so it continued to scream incessantly.
Frzzz, clang! Frzzz-!
Thus, it repelled the lance five times, and finally on the sixth, a gap opened in the demon's hind legs. Jin immediately directed the lance there and leaped to attack the front of the demon.
The oppressive energy of the lightning, radiating from Sigmund, drew the demon's attention. As a result, the demon couldn't evade the lance's tip that reached its hind leg and only managed to dodge the extending blade.
[Kyakk!]
The demon's claws struck the center of the sword. Jin didn't lose balance, evaded, and attacked again, while the lance's tip that struck the demon's hind leg caused a lightning bolt.
A painful cry spread. The unpleasant noise, as if dozens of babies were crying, made Jin's ears throb, and he unleashed a lightning bolt towards the demon's face.
Both attacks, the lightning and the Sentence Lance, impacted simultaneously. Without a protective shield, even a nine-star warrior couldn't withstand this force.
Then, the lightning struck the demon's face directly, while the lance pierced its hind legs and tore it apart.
[Kaaaah! Kaaaah!]
It screamed in agony to the point that everyone who heard it felt pain. And in the next moment, Jin had to face an astonishing sight.
"Regeneration...?"
The demon's wounds were regenerating.
The broken bone fragments that had detached from its hind legs dissolved and reformed the flesh, and its lightning-ravaged face was rapidly returning to its original shape.
While it's a known fact that high-ranking demons possess regenerative abilities, this was too fast.
That was where the problem lay. Jin was familiar with the regeneration abilities of high-ranking demons, and this speed was far from normal. The demon cat was regenerating its wounds "immediately" in the literal sense.
This was not the time to stand idly by and marvel. Due to using the Third Movement of the Battle God's Combat Technique for a long time, his aura was not fully balanced.
He had not accounted for such a powerful regeneration ability. His plan was to inflict a mortal injury first and then gradually adjust the situation.
Who could have expected this regeneration ability in the demon? The previous generation Black Knights, who encountered the demon for the first time, also experienced the same absurd sensation as Jin.
[Keeyyyeeeek......!]
Having recovered in an instant, the demon's well-formed eyes locked onto Jin. "I definitely have to kill him," the demon surely thought as its own spirit struggled to accumulate energy.
This time it wasn't magic. The energy gathered in its eyes turned into a beam of light, and although Jin was able to quickly dodge it thanks to his ability, he was left breathless as he saw the ground where the beam struck reduced to a crater and the surroundings shattered as if an entire castle had fallen.
Obviously, if one were to be hit by such a beam, no one, not even the current Jin, would be safe.
"But if I avoid it, it's fine," Jin thought.
The beam wasn't so fast as to be impossible to dodge or block, but the fact that the enemy possessed a weapon that had to be constantly taken into account significantly increased battle fatigue.
This was especially true in a situation where he had to fight for a long time against a demon capable of instant regeneration.
"It can't regenerate indefinitely either. If I can damage its organs, which are the source of its regeneration, or wound it to the point where it can't regenerate anymore, I will win."
Of course, it wasn't as easy as he thought. If Jin were to be hit even once, he would be in mortal danger, while the demon could easily withstand several lethal attacks as long as it could endure the pain. All due to its regeneration ability.
He had to fight efficiently. That meant using a sword with more control, rather than something as destructive as the Shadow Blade.
Swoosh...
Jin sheathed Sigmund's Blade and drew Bradamante's sword. At the same time, he unleashed his Shadow Energy.
Sword release.
The gleam of Bradamante's sword, infused with the will of Shadow Energy, vanished into the darkness. Then, as Shadow Energy particles began to float around Jin's body, the demon's pupils narrowed.
"It seems you've seen Shadow Energy before. Well, with such a long life, I suppose it's natural."
[Kyaa...]
"It looks like it's going to be quite a struggle to finish you off, so I hope there's a satisfying reward."
Jin and the demon rushed toward each other at the same time.
The demon's eyes continued to shimmer with magic. As it drew closer, it unleashed a beam of light, then continued to build up its magical power, exerting pressure on Jin by repeating this process over and over.
The attacks with its four paws, tail, and mouth didn't cease. While claws and the mouth were thought to be the most dangerous, it turned out that the tail was even more difficult to handle.
It was hard to read its direction as it came out unexpectedly after being concealed by the body. From Jin's perspective, it felt as if a pillar-shaped mace was descending from the left side, the right side, and the top.
Furthermore, it was the first time Jin faced such a massive demon in combat.
He was dizzy with the agility and flexibility he had never experienced when fighting dragons, but the demon didn't give him time to adapt.
It was quite challenging.
However, it wasn't so difficult that he couldn't accomplish anything. If he could maintain his focus, he could dodge or block all of the demon's attacks.
After about three minutes of defense and offense, he began to spot some weaknesses.
Although the demon had a means of regeneration, when Jin struck a weak point, it hastily retreated.
Jin had a feeling that the demon had no more hidden cards.
Whoosh...
Shadow Energy extended from his sword and gradually started to taint the space between Jin and the demon. As the demon had been using the forest as cover, Jin was creating patterns in his defense and offense along with his Shadow Energy.
On the other hand, the demon could no longer hide in the forest. The nearby bushes continued to burn, and if it hid in the forest, that despicable human would burn its precious food source.
Therefore, regardless of its astonishing regeneration ability, the initiative in the fight was in Jin's hands.
"The key is whether my stamina will run out first or if its regeneration capacity will run out first."
He considered luring the demon out of the forest and confronting it with the help of his comrades, but the demon wasn't foolish enough to show its back and flee.
Thus, it could only be a long battle.
The battle lasted for over 40 hours. The demon never managed to fatally wound Jin, and if it weren't for its regenerative abilities, Jin would have killed it dozens of times already.
The ground they stood on, covered in flames, was now nothing but ashes and embers. All the surrounding thorns were charred and had disappeared.
But the flames caused by the Fire Gem continued to climb up the thorns and penetrate deeper into the ground, until the flames engulfed over half of the thorn forest.
At that moment...
A variable that Jin hadn't taken into account was starting to change the atmosphere of the battlefield.
"It's getting impatient."
Could it be because of the fear that the forest would burn and disappear without leaving anything at this rate?
Fatigue was evident in Jin, while the demon also didn't seem to be in its best shape like at the beginning. As time passed, the demon began to show more weaknesses in its movements. Sometimes, it would get distracted, gazing at the distant flames devouring the thorn trees, giving Jin the opportunity to attack and inflict some damage.
However, the demon's regenerative ability remained impressive. Contrary to Jin's expectations, even if the monster suffered an injury to the heart or head, it could recover from such injuries in a short time. It didn't seem to have vital organs or anything that could explain its regenerative ability. It was like ancient dark magic spells recounted in history books.
Even the being known as the King of the Black Sea, an entity Jin had yet to encounter, didn't have a regenerative capacity as astonishing as that of this demon. Even the absolute regeneration through time reversal of the Dragons of the God Olta, like Quikantel, had its limits. The ability of this demon to regenerate endlessly without any restrictions was something no mortal creature could possess.
It was a power that couldn't be "easily acquired." It could only be possible with an appropriate price.
After forty hours of battle, Jin could only arrive at one conclusion about the demon.
"...So it wasn't regeneration after all."
[Roar!]
"Witch Heluram, once your master, cursed you. Probably with a curse related to immortality, and that's why you keep regenerating constantly. Otherwise, there's no other possible explanation."
[Roar!]
As Jin approached slowly, the demon tore into the ground threateningly.
"You have a body that cannot die. You have been fighting me even though you have been decapitated multiple times, your heart has exploded, and your head has been torn off your neck. Am I wrong?"
Jin knew very little about ancient dark magic, but he was certain the demon was under a curse from Heluram.
And it had likely been abandoned.
"When this forest burns and disappears, where will you go?"
The demon didn't respond; it simply emitted a low growl.
It seemed to say that it had nowhere to go.
But it didn't matter that it had nowhere to go. The tree would grow back someday, and even if it couldn't eat anything until then, it would still be alive.
Instead, in a world where there were rocks and trees and solitude, it would have to live for a long time in a world where there was only solitude now. Until the forest was restored.
"If you don't attack me, I will try to extinguish the flames now."
When Jin said this with determination, the demon slowly nodded.