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“This is bollocks!” Erin cursed as she avoided the onslaught of the Demon. The ashen flames 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.

“Your speed is commendable, Fox-kin,” the Demon praised. With every swing it made, the flames 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 assimilate you.”

Those words that were laced 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 accustomed herself to the Demon’s devious nature. What’s more, the Demon’s greatsword of ashen flames warranted much more of her attention. The flames 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 flames as she would towards an ordinary flame.

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

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 flames. The Demon was not as cunning as she had expected but the overwhelming difference between their destructive power was enough to offset its lack 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.

The ashen flames were strong but for reasons Erin couldn’t understand, the ashen flames were not able to devour magic as easily as they did for other things. The ashen flames had struck her shoulder but the flames 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 flames were gone. The force from the Demon’s swing and heat of the flames were still harming her but the ashen flames never managed to burn through her magic. Though that didn’t mean her Aura Shot could cut through the ashen flames 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.

An hour passed. The battle was still at a stalemate. The Demon’s lack of precision and strategy was not able to subjugate Erin. The Fox-kin herself, on the other hand, was lacking the means to land 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.

Another subject of concern for Erin was the state of her sabre. Steam was emanating from her blade. If this kept up, she feared her blade would eventually melt. She even feared her blade would break from a single direct contact with the Demon’s large sword.

“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 flames. In fact, the near entirety of the room was drowning in the fire that one would only expect to see in the place known as Hell.

“Truly disappointing, Fox-kin,” the Demon remarked. “Your knowledge in magic seems to be quite lacking. I expected a battle of magic sovereignty but… I encountered a slippery worm.”

There was a slight crease in Erin’s brows but as if chancing upon clarity, the crease disappeared. “We are in a cave of tunnels,” she retorted dryly. “There's bound to be a few worms here and there.”

“Your escaped paths have been sealed. Your fate has been decided the moment you met me. There’s nowhere left to run, Fox-kin.”

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?”

“You bluff.”

“You think I would knowingly let a Demon walk while I run to safety? You severely misunderstood me, Mister Demon.”

“Then cease this tomfoolery and face my sword, if you dare.”

“I’m not that dim,” 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 flaming 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.

“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 plan to dishonour your ancestry further?”

Erin chuckled.

“You found my words funny?”

“You're naive for a long-lived being.”

If the Demon had a face, it would have frowned.

“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 place.”

“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.”

“Vulgar? Coming from a Demon?” Erin snorted. “I guess hypocrisy extends to Demons too, not just humans.”

“You dare label me as one and the same as humans?!” the Demon roared. The air around it rippled and ruptured the ground. The flames near it were also pushed to the border.

“Why do beings like you always think you’re better than humans? Aside from the place 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 so laughable.”

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.”

“And the words of a fox. Anything new?”

“Insolent bitch!” the Demon exploded. “You dare try my patience?!”

“Do I dare to try? I think I already did.” Erin smirked.

The Demon kicked off the ground and shot at Erin like a bullet. It wielded its greatsword with both of its hands.

Erin conjured up Thunder Shell around her and dove right into the Demon’s reach. This greatly surprised the Demon but it welcomed the Fox-kin’s foolishness. It swung its sword with all of its might. The layers 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 claps of thunder in the Demon’s face. Erin took this chance and flipped over to the back of the Demon.

“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.

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 placed her hand on the Demon’s body and sent surges of lightning into the Demon.

A cry that shook the room erupted from the Demon.

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 flames from a distance, she knew she had gotten into its mind and it was time to act.

She considered herself a novice in dealing with monsters but against a person, there were many ways to go about it.

The Demon struggled to break free from the agonizing lightning infusion but if it forced itself away, it would lose both of its arms.

“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 too common tactic to fend off enemies that had gotten too close to you.

At that moment, the fire in the greatsword flared 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 plate was missing and the helmet was completely destroyed, revealing a poor attempt at the imitation of a head and face concocted of the ashen flames.

Erin calmed her breaths before slowly standing to her feet. Although she put up a calm composure, 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.

“Such shameless tactics…” the Demon chewed its words as its voice became ragged. “I expected those from humans, not a Fae.”

“I have never been so grateful for being misunderstood. Perhaps if the Necromancer was still puppeteering you, I would have been in great peril.”

“You talk big for someone who could barely harm me.”

“Barely? Who was the one that was screaming like a girl just now?”

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 glare was on her. “Your tricks would not work a second time, vixen.”

“Maybe,” Erin replied. “But it can't hurt to try.” She shrugged.

“I have intended to hold back but since you have proven yourself capable, I no longer have the need to.”

Erin raised an eyebrow.

Tendrils of darkness sprouted from the Demon’s body, tendrils of a reddish black. They spread out and sought after the decomposed 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.

“Oh… great. This is unnerving.”

The more the tendrils absorbed, the more corporeal the Demon was becoming. 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 flames 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.

“Am I going to turn into that when you possess me?” Erin asked.

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.”

“Save your boast for when the deed is done. I have slain countless people who have deluded themselves to be undefeatable. You will just be one more among the lot.”

The Demon shook its head. “You underestimate a Demon.” It swung its sword and the flames 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?”

“I can try.”

“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.”

Erin sighed. “I really hoped it wouldn't come to this but it looks like you’re my only option, Mystic Blade.”

Erinthea - Faerie-kin: Five-Tailed Fox-kin

Level: 27 | Status: Mild Exhaustion

Might: 22 | Arcane: 35 | Finesse: 30

Magic Arts

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

Combat Arts

Sword Art Lv. 8 | Fleet Foot Lv. 5 | Brawler Lv. 5

Innate Skills

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

Unique Talent

Mystic Blade Lv. Ex | Revenant Lv. Ex

Level Progression: 60%

Remaining Skill Points: 0

Remaining Ability Points: 4