“Argh — !”
As a miserable scream pierced through the thick mist and stabbed into the ears of Lockes, the Vampire youth looked warily toward the source of the sound.
“Sizzle!”
Immediately after, he heard the sound of liquid splashing. The bloody scent in the air gradually thickened, and the surroundings abruptly fell silent.
“Tap, tap, tap —”
Deep within the thick mist, the sound of footsteps echoed continuously.
A silver figure slowly emerged from the fog.
He had a slender and well-proportioned build, looking like a human who was not yet 16 years old.
His face beneath his silver hair appeared slightly youthful, but his azure eyes revealed a hint of fanaticism and bloodthirstiness.
He dragged an indistinguishable object with one hand and lightly brushed aside the mist with the other.
The killing intent radiating from his body made even a Vampire like Lockes feel a chill of terror.
“Hehe, even after I cut off your limbs, you’re still unwilling to dispel this mist?”
The youth gave a contemptuous smile.
He turned his head to look at the bloodstains he had dragged along the way and said, “A total of twelve members of the Demon Race, and the strongest was only at the Five-Crown Peak level. It seems they were all just children.”
His voice was loud and clear.
Hiding within the mist, Lockes saw his figure and the companion in his hand.
“Damn it!”
“Hmm?”
At the same time, the silver-haired youth’s gaze shifted toward Lockes.
“Found one.”
“Whoosh!”
He shot forward like an arrow, not caring that he was still dragging a person.
After a brief disturbance in the mist, he arrived in front of Lockes.
Lockes lowered his chin, his eyes fixed deathly on the attacking figure.
‘The Celestial Hero is nothing more than this!’
“Hum!”
A massive magic circle lit up on the ground beneath them.
In an instant, the silver-haired youth felt a surge of powerful gravity.
“20-fold Gravity Suppression!”
The silver-haired youth’s movements suddenly slowed.
He realized he had fallen into a trap.
Immediately, several figures leaped out from the mist, all of them condensing Magic Power, prepared to attack him.
“Boom!”
“We got him!”
Powerful energy exploded against the silver-haired youth.
After completing their attacks, everyone retreated, quietly watching the multicolored smoke.
“Whoosh!”
At that moment, the thick mist permeating the surroundings suddenly dispersed.
Noticing this phenomenon, Lockes did not pay it much mind.
After all, their companion had also been within the range of the explosion during the previous attack.
“Is it over, Loki?”
Lockes asked the black-haired girl beside him.
Her purple eyes were flickering with fluctuations of Magic Power.
The girl froze for a moment, and then a look of fear appeared on her face.
“Watch out, he isn’t dead yet.”
“What?”
Before Lockes could even express his surprise, the silver figure slowly walked out of the smoke, appearing in their sight once more.
He was still clutching the remains of their companion, which was surging with an unknown Magic Power, yet he himself was completely unharmed.
“That’s impossible?!”
Someone exclaimed in shock.
Every strike just now had been condensed from the entirety of their Magic Power.
Even a King-level Powerhouse would have avoided them.
Even if he didn’t die, he should have at least been injured.
“That gravity magic was quite interesting, and your offensive was decent. It was just enough for me to test this magic…”
The Hero threw the remains in his hand in front of the group and laughed.
“Sacrificial Grafting. It can transfer any magic attack to a living creature completely filled with my Magic Power. In short, the target of the attacks you worked so hard on became your own companion.”
Everyone was shocked upon hearing this.
“What evil magic! As expected of a despicable human!”
Looking at the arrogant youth with his frivolous smile, Lockes finally understood why his seniors all called him the “Evil Hero.”
He was exactly as described in the records: bloodthirsty and cold-blooded.
“Oh, right. I should remind you of one more thing.”
The Hero pointed at the mass of flesh.
“Once I withdraw my Magic Power, it will explode.”
The Hero mouthed the word “Boom.”
Everyone scattered to escape, but the few demons closest to it were blown to pieces on the spot.
“Gravity Suppression, 20-fold!”
Someone continued to pour Magic Power into the magic circle.
Still within the formation, the Hero was immediately subjected to 20-fold gravity.
He slowly raised his hand, feeling the change in the force field, and grinned.
“Swish!”
His figure suddenly vanished.
“I’m so sorry!”
The Hero’s body swept in front of the demon casting the spell like the wind.
“The gravity I usually train under is 50-fold…”
“Gah!”
He grabbed that demon by the neck.
Seeing this, Lockes slashed his palm, and the flowing blood transformed into a blood-red longsword.
“Blood Wave Slash!”
Lockes swung a scarlet sword qi.
The Hero glanced over and then used the demon in his hand as a shield to block the strike.
“Hahaha! What foolish demons. No wonder you have such power yet developed such a backward civilization!”
After saying that, he crushed the demon’s neck.
The gravity disappeared along with it, though it hadn’t hindered his movements in the first place.
“Go to hell!”
Taking advantage of the opening, Kross raised the blood-red sword high and hacked toward him.
“Puff!”
“Ugh!”
The Hero punched a hole straight through his stomach.
“How boring. Your strength seems to be the highest among these demons… You’re simply wasting my time.”
The Hero shook the blood off his hand, a look of boredom appearing on his face.
At that moment, another red slash flew from nowhere, hitting the Hero squarely.
A red-haired girl rushed over, grabbing Lockes and flying far away from the Hero.
“Heh, interesting.”
The Hero raised his slightly grazed arm.
The attack just now was identical to the slash the Vampire had swung, but its power was even stronger.
His gaze fell upon the black-haired girl named Loki.
A mirror was floating beside her, and the Magic Power radiating from the mirror was very similar to that red slash.
“Was it you?”
The Hero took a light step forward, leaping hundreds of meters instantly.
“Captain, let me heal you.”
After saving Lockes, the red-haired girl immediately used Healing Magic.
“O RESPECTED GOD OF FLOWING WATER, PLEASE RESPOND TO MY PLEA. SOFT WATER FLOWS CONTINUOUSLY, SOOTHING THE WOUND — SPRINGWATER HEALING!”
Aqua-blue Magic Power flowed from the girl’s palms to Lockes’s wound.
With the help of the magic’s healing and the Vampire’s excellent self-regeneration abilities, the fist-sized hole slowly closed.
“Thank you, Aurora. But you must be careful. You must never blindly rush to the enemy’s feet to save me like that again,” Lockes said.
“I… I’m sorry. I was just a bit worried. After all, you are the strongest in this team,” Aurora said with a bitter smile.
“Boom! Boom! Boom!”
In the center of the battlefield, the Hero was subjected to a round of bombardment from the other demons.
The magic mirror summoned by Loki could use the same moves as them, and its power was even enhanced.
She had no intention of giving the Hero a single moment to breathe.
‘If it’s like this, we should be able to defeat him.’
Aurora had read in the records that this “Evil Hero” seemingly couldn’t use Healing Magic.
If they were locked in a battle of attrition, defeat would be a matter of time.
Lockes watched as well, but for some reason, he felt a sense of unease in his heart.
The youth standing there, seemingly struggling to withstand the bombardment of numerous spells, looked as if he were doing it voluntarily.
And just as Lockes thought, when the dust from the explosions cleared, the Hero’s azure eyes were still bright and spirited, despite his clothes being torn.
“Hahahaha! Not enough! Give me more! You’ve only just awakened my sense of pain!”
The Hero spread his arms as if inviting them to continue their assault.
Meanwhile, that previous wave of attacks had already consumed most of the demons’ Magic Power.
Who was exhausting whom now?