2-54 Descent IV


    <span style="font-weight:400">“This is bollocks!” Erin cursed as she avoided the onught of the Demon. The ashen mes engulfed her surroundings. Everywhere she looked, it was devastated by the fires of hell. It was not by chance nor purely her skills that she survived the attack. The Demon wanted her alive but not whole. It would not kill her but it would neither not harm her. In fact, it would be much better if it was attacking her with the intent to kill.


    <span style="font-weight:400">“Your speed ismendable, Fox-kin,” the Demon praised. With every swing it made, the mes of its greatsword would run rampant. “But how long can you keep up that speed? You can’t run forever. Just submit. I’ll treat you right before I assimte you.”


    <span style="font-weight:400">Those words that wereced with all manners of intent were no longer hooking Erin’s ire. The Demon had not stopped moving its mouth ever since they began fighting once again. Erin had long ustomed herself to the Demon’s devious nature. What’s more, the Demon’s greatsword of ashen mes warranted much more of her attention. The mes burned so fiercely on the Demon’s greatsword. Yet, she didn’t feel any magic emanating from the sword and the fire was definitely not of this world. She knew she could not treat those mes as she would towards an ordinary me.


    <span style="font-weight:400">Those ashen mes could not be doused. A swing had missed her head and struck a pir. The fire spread to the fragments of the pir. The burning fragments were trapped under piles of rubble but the fire burned continuously. Air was not needed to give life to these mes but it did need a foundation. The mes disappeared once they had consumed the object it thrived on. She had read of such mes in tales but to encounter it was a whole other experience, one that she hoped she never had to experience.


    <span style="font-weight:400">As the battle between them raged on, Erin appraised the flow. Her advantages; her speed and technique. The Demon’s advantages; its brute strength, its immense power, and its ashen mes. The Demon was not as cunning as she had expected but the overwhelming difference between their destructive power was enough to offset itsck of grace. The Demon saw Erin as an object, not a swordsman. It did not exchange blows even if it could. Erin was neither looking forward to exchanging the blows of their sword. She would not win in the exchange, that was the fact. She could only dodge for now.


    <span style="font-weight:400">The ashen mes were strong but for reasons Erin couldn’t understand, the ashen mes were not able to devour magic as easily as they did for other things. The ashen mes had struck her shoulder but the mes did not burn through her Arcane Armor in an instant. She dispelled her Arcane Armor and donned it back on, and just like that, the mes were gone. The force from the Demon’s swing and heat of the mes were still harming her but the ashen mes never managed to burn through her magic. Though that didn’t mean her Aura Shot could cut through the ashen mes the Demon threw at her. The force alone of the Demon’s swing was enough to repel any of her attack spells back. And the Demon did not allow her an opportunity to cast any spells. Her conjuring speed was quick but it still took time, time that the Demon never allowed her to have.


    <span style="font-weight:400">An hour passed. The battle was still at a stalemate. The Demon’sck of precision and strategy was not able to subjugate Erin. The Fox-kin herself, on the other hand, wascking the means tond any meaningful blow. Her sword had reached the Demon’s body countless times regardless of the depths of her attack, the Demon wasn’t fazed. It no longer showed any concern towards the destruction of its body which worried Erin. She had surmised the Demon needed a vessel but considering its current indifferent attitude, she couldn’t help but think something had changed greatly ever since the Necromancer released his hold over the Demon’s will.


    <span style="font-weight:400">Another subject of concern for Erin was the state of her sabre. Steam was emanating from her de. If this kept up, she feared her de would eventually melt. She even feared her de would break from a single direct contact with the Demon’srge sword.


    <span style="font-weight:400">“Eek~!” she shrieked as she felt her back was seared by extreme heat. She looked back and found that the path of her retreat was in mes. In fact, the near entirety of the room was drowning in the fire that one would only expect to see in the ce known as Hell.


    <span style="font-weight:400">“Truly disappointing, Fox-kin,” the Demon remarked. “Your knowledge in magic seems to be quitecking. I expected a battle of magic sovereignty but… I encountered a slippery worm.”


    <span style="font-weight:400">There was a slight crease in Erin’s brows but as if chancing upon rity, the crease disappeared. “We are in a cave of tunnels,” she retorted dryly. “There''s bound to be a few worms here and there.”


    <span style="font-weight:400">“Your escaped paths have been sealed. Your fate has been decided the moment you met me. There’s nowhere left to run, Fox-kin.”


    <span style="font-weight:400">Erin clicked her tongue. “Save the drama for the theatre. Just because I’m running around away from you, do you actually believe I’m trying to escape from you?”


    <span style="font-weight:400">“You bluff.”


    <span style="font-weight:400">“You think I would knowingly let a Demon walk while I run to safety? You severely misunderstood me, Mister Demon.”


    <span style="font-weight:400">“Then cease this tomfoolery and face my sword, if you dare.”


    <i><span style="font-weight:400">“I’m not that dim,”</i><span style="font-weight:400"> Erin muttered to herself. The distance between her and the Demon was wide at present but the gap would immediately be meaningless once the Demon swung its ming sword. It would be enough for her to cast a Lightning Bolt but that meagre spell would barely be able to do anything to the Demon.


    <span style="font-weight:400">“I have enjoyed this exchange. You may not be on par with my strength but… you have given me great insight. However, I have no desire to extend the duration of this farce. If you truly are a blood of the Nine-tail Fox race, face my sword or do you n to dishonour your ancestry further?”


    <span style="font-weight:400">Erin chuckled.


    <span style="font-weight:400">“You found my words funny?”


    <span style="font-weight:400">“You''re naive for a long-lived being.”


    <span style="font-weight:400">If the Demon had a face, it would have frowned.


    <span style="font-weight:400">“Your words are that of a blundering minstrel. I made that mistake. I won’t make it again. And this honour you spoke of, you''re preaching it in the wrong ce.”


    <span style="font-weight:400">“Now this is curious… Where’s the pride your kind treasure so much? Never had I expect a blood of an esteemed race to be so… vulgar.”


    <span style="font-weight:400">“Vulgar? Coming from a Demon?” Erin snorted. “I guess hypocrisy extends to Demons too, not just humans.”


    <span style="font-weight:400">“You darebel me as one and the same as humans?!” the Demon roared. The air around it rippled and ruptured the ground. The mes near it were also pushed to the border.


    <span style="font-weight:400">“Why do beings like you always think you’re better than humans? Aside from the ce of your birth and the way your names are spelt, no beings are that different from one another. It’s always the same arrogance and hypocrisy. Yet, you lot always thought that your perspectives are unprecedented. It’s just soughable.”


    <span style="font-weight:400">The fire on the greatsword burned fiercer as the Demon’s hold tightened over the hilt. “You have the tongue of a snake, Fox-kin.”


    <span style="font-weight:400">“And the words of a fox. Anything new?”


    <span style="font-weight:400">“Insolent bitch!” the Demon exploded. “You dare try my patience?!”


    <span style="font-weight:400">“Do I dare to try? I think I already did.” Erin smirked.


    <span style="font-weight:400">The Demon kicked off the ground and shot at Erin like a bullet. It wielded its greatsword with both of its hands.


    <span style="font-weight:400">Erin conjured up Thunder Shell around her and dove right into the Demon’s reach. This greatly surprised the Demon but it weed the Fox-kin’s foolishness. It swung its sword with all of its might. Theyers and multitude of shields all proved too fragile towards the Demon’s might. They shattered with ease but that was when a grin appeared on Erin’s face. Though the shields were destroyed easily, the repercussion of the spell would still transpire. A series of lightning exploded like ps of thunder in the Demon’s face. Erin took this chance and flipped over to the back of the Demon.


    <span style="font-weight:400">“Sly vixen!” the Demon cursed and swung to its back without any restraint to its strength. The force of the swing alone dented the ground but Erin was unscathed as she had ducked low upon anticipating the Demon’s response.


    <span style="font-weight:400">Before the Demon could recover from its outburst, Erin stabbed her sabre through the Demon’s right arm while she incapacitated its other arm with her tails. She had disabled both of its arms temporarily. She ced her hand on the Demon’s body and sent surges of lightning into the Demon.


    <span style="font-weight:400">A cry that shook the room erupted from the Demon.


    <span style="font-weight:400">Erin would not have attempted this trick if it wasn’t for the Demon’s self-exposure of its nature. After realizing the Demon was just as vain as a human could be, she knew its vanity could be taken advantage of. That was the curse of intelligence. Arrogance and hypocrisy were the byproducts of sentience. The only thing she needed to do was to act haughty and frustrate her opponent. When the Demon lunged at her instead of throwing its ashen mes from a distance, she knew she had gotten into its mind and it was time to act.


    <span style="font-weight:400">She considered herself a novice in dealing with monsters but against a person, there were many ways to go about it.


    <span style="font-weight:400">The Demon struggled to break free from the agonizing lightning infusion but if it forced itself away, it would lose both of its arms.


    <span style="font-weight:400">“You think you have won!?” the Demon unleashed another roar but sensing the certainty mixed within its vanity, Erin stopped her actions and retreated away from the Demon. She didn’t need her Sixth Sense to tell her. A wide range and self-inflicting attack was an all toomon tactic to fend off enemies that had gotten too close to you.


    <span style="font-weight:400">At that moment, the fire in the greatsword red up like tidal waves, engulfing the vicinity of the Demon. Although in doing so, the Demon’s own body suffered a great deal of damage. A third of the chest te was missing and the helmet waspletely destroyed, revealing a poor attempt at the imitation of a head and face concocted of the ashen mes.


    <span style="font-weight:400">Erin calmed her breaths before slowly standing to her feet. Although she put up a calmposure, she had expended a lot of her stamina and her Mana. All those dodging and running took a lot out of her and the Thunder Shell was considered an advance spell, the Mana cost was tremendous. With the expanding presence of the Demon, she found it hard to gather any Mana with Mana Harvest from her surroundings.


    <span style="font-weight:400">“Such shameless tactics…” the Demon chewed its words as its voice became ragged. “I expected those from humans, not a Fae.”


    <span style="font-weight:400">“I have never been so grateful for being misunderstood. Perhaps if the Necromancer was still puppeteering you, I would have been in great peril.”


    <span style="font-weight:400">“You talk big for someone who could barely harm me.”


    <span style="font-weight:400">“Barely? Who was the one that was screaming like a girl just now?”


    <span style="font-weight:400">The Demon looked to be on the verge of unleashing a roar but it stayed silent. Though its face was barely a face, Erin could still tell its re was on her. “Your tricks would not work a second time, vixen.”


    <span style="font-weight:400">“Maybe,” Erin replied. “But it can''t hurt to try.” She shrugged.


    <span style="font-weight:400">“I have intended to hold back but since you have proven yourself capable, I no longer have the need to.”


    <span style="font-weight:400">Erin raised an eyebrow.


    <span style="font-weight:400">Tendrils of darkness sprouted from the Demon’s body, tendrils of a reddish ck. They spread out and sought after the dposed or burnt corpses of the monsters that were in the egg. The tendrils wrapped around these corpses, crushing them in the embrace before being absorbed into the tendrils.


    <span style="font-weight:400">“Oh… great. This is unnerving.”


    <span style="font-weight:400">The more the tendrils absorbed, the more corporeal the Demon was bing. After consuming all the corpses in the room, the Demon now possessed flesh and skin but nothing close to a human. The flesh and skin were melted like a burnt victim. Wound-like holes littered the abominable body and ashen mes oozed out like smoke from chimneys. The Demon’s head and face weren’t any better after gaining flesh. It was even more grotesque. It had a pair of eyes on the front, a pair at the back, one at booths sides, to a total of six eyes around its head.


    <span style="font-weight:400">“Am I going to turn into that when you possess me?” Erin asked.


    <span style="font-weight:400">The Demon chuckled. “This form is only temporary but it will be enough. If appearance is your concern, you do need to worry. I will be delicate but right after I inflict all the pain you have caused me, enough to make you wish that I had killed you.”


    <span style="font-weight:400">“Save your boast for when the deed is done. I have in countless people who have deluded themselves to be undefeatable. You will just be one more among the lot.”


    <span style="font-weight:400">The Demon shook its head. “You underestimate a Demon.” It swung its sword and the mes that engulfed the room were instantly extinguished. “Even though I’m only a lesser Demon, you’ll be wise to not underestimate me. We are not as weak and foolish as humans are. And… you think that puny sword of yours could kill me?”


    <span style="font-weight:400">“I can try.”


    <span style="font-weight:400">“Fool. I thought you had a spell that could truly harm me but it turns out, my worries are merely my paranoia. At worst, I will only be harmed. You have no means to kill me.”


    <span style="font-weight:400">Erin sighed. <i><span style="font-weight:400">“I really hoped it wouldn''te to this but it looks like you’re my only option, Mystic de.”</i>


    <b>Erinthea - Faerie-kin: Five-Tailed Fox-kin</b>


    <b>Level: 27 | Status: Mild Exhaustion</b>


    <b>Might: 22 | Arcane: 35 | Finesse: 30</b>


    <span style="text-decoration:underline"><b>Magic Arts</b><b>


    </b><b>Spirit Magic Lv. 8 | Arcane Edge Lv. 5 | Arcane Armor Lv. 10 | Lightning Magic Lv. 10 | Arcane Aegis Lv. 3 | Mystic Tail Arts Lv 1</b>


    <span style="text-decoration:underline"><b>Combat Arts</b><b>


    </b><b>Sword Art Lv. 8 | Fleet Foot Lv. 5 | Brawler Lv. 5</b>


    <span style="text-decoration:underline"><b>Innate Skills</b><b>


    </b><b>Appraisal Lv. Ex | Night Vision Lv. Ex | Sixth Sense Lv. Ex | Toxin Resistance Lv. 8 | Lust Deviant Lv. Ex | Mana Harvest Lv. 1 | Lightning Resistance Lv. 1</b>


    <span style="text-decoration:underline"><b>Unique Talent</b><b>


    </b><b>Mystic de Lv. Ex | Revenant Lv. Ex</b>


    <b>Level Progression: 60%</b>


    <b>Remaining Skill Points: 0</b>


    <b>Remaining Ability Points: 4</b>