The Second Round
Lua stared intently at the man before her. She could feel not only the presence of the demon, but also the distant clash of the human against the undead dragon. The real problem, however, was that two new beasts of demigod level were approaching.
A blue-flamed phoenix, its wings lighting up the sky as though burning the very air, and a colossal golden rhinoceros, with three horns lined from nose to forehead. It charged with unstoppable might, toppling trees in half as if they were mere twigs in its path.
"You should have let me go when you had the chance. You'd have been left with that human, free to do whatever you pleased with him," the demon said with a mocking smile.
He knew perfectly well the difference in power between himself and Lua. All demigods possessed unique, devastating abilities, and though he was a single level below, in that realm a single step was an abyss. Even for Lua it would not be simple to kill him quickly, especially since she wasn't using her full strength. Not because she couldn't, but because releasing her divinity of destruction might wipe out the nearby village.
After all, her divinity was not only higher in rank, but tied directly to destruction itself. Lua was restraining herself, relying only on fire attacks laced with a faint touch of destruction, deliberately avoiding showing the true magnitude of her power. The demon had noticed, and he took advantage of every passing second to stall.
With a stoic gesture, Lua slid her free hand into her bag and drew another sword: a black blade taken from the giant serpent. In her other hand, she still held the crimson sword. By appearance alone, neither weapon seemed nearly powerful enough for combat at this scale. Their stats were far from the level required for a demigod duel… but at this stage, what mattered was not the weapon, but the aura that wrapped its edge. Personal control surpassed any equipment, and the system was incapable of calculating the true damage a blade infused with divine aura could unleash.
"Switching to a more close-quarters style?" the demon asked, raising an eyebrow.
Lua didn't answer. Her expression returned to the cold stoicism she had once worn in the past, the mask she had slowly shed during her time with the players. Now, in battle, it had returned in full.
"It's really boring when I don't get answers," muttered the demon, feigning disinterest.
Then he noticed something strange. Lua had begun to write runes in the air—not with her fingers, but with her swords. Both blades traced symbols at once, confusing the demon as he realized she could form multiple magic circles simultaneously.
When the writing was complete, a golden circle materialized before her. Energy condensed within, ready to be released.
The demon reacted instantly, dodging with raptor-like speed. But in that very instant his eyes widened—Lua had appeared right in front of him, and at the same time the circle fired its attack.
Both swords slashed down in parallel, and though the demon raised his aura-shrouded hand in defense, he was hurled backward violently. His body scraped along the ground, carving a deep trail until he forced himself back on his feet. His arm dripped blood.
He clicked his tongue at the wound and looked up, only to see another magic circle already before him. He dodged again on instinct—only to find Lua behind him with both swords.
A massive skeletal hand erupted from the ground, placing itself between him and the blades. Lua cleaved through bone with one sword while with the other she scrawled runes at lightning speed, summoning a new circle that unleashed a torrent of searing flames at the demon.
Then he understood: the reason Lua used swords to inscribe runes wasn't for power, but for speed. Her magic attacks weren't as devastating as when carefully drawn by hand, but she could chain them endlessly without halting her melee combat. Her style was a hurricane of swords and circles, impossible to predict.
The demon changed tactics immediately. He had to avoid direct contact with the swords, wrapped as they were in dangerous destructive aura, and endure her magic as best he could.
A blue bolt of lightning was her next spell. He caught it in one hand, though the burn seared his skin, and counterattacked by hurling the energy back at point-blank range. Lua appeared before him, lowering both swords in a cross to split the bolt in two. The ground beneath them bore a charred line where grass and earth alike withered and died.
Suddenly, a blinding radiance cut across the battlefield. The phoenix descended with a shriek, spewing a torrent of blue fire upon them both. Lua and the demon split away in opposite directions.
Behind Lua, the golden rhinoceros appeared, charging with cataclysmic force. She leapt skyward, but the beast's three horns glowed as one, releasing a ray of golden light straight at her.
Lua conjured a shield in the air that held the impact—though cracks spread across it instantly. The phoenix seized the opening, diving with its beak aimed straight at her head.
With an agile spin midair, Lua evaded and kicked the phoenix in the chest, sending it crashing to the ground in an explosion of flames. The demon used the chaos to launch a devastating strike—not at her, but at the undead dragon still clashing with the human, smashing into it with brutal force.
He then whirled, raising a colossal black shield to block the rhinoceros, which had shifted its charge to pierce his back.
"This is getting bothersome," Lua finally said, breaking the silence of the battle.
She raised both swords and drew a sweeping crescent with them. The halo behind her back shone with blinding brilliance. The demon felt the immediate threat and his eyes went wide with horror.
The bones of the corpses strewn across the battlefield began to stir on their own, rising to form a cage around the rhinoceros. And before he could react, the demon himself dissolved into black smoke, fleeing into the shadows.
Then, Lua unleashed her attack. It was a true ray of destruction, red as blood. Everything it touched vanished without leaving even ashes, carving a crater that pierced deep into the earth to an unknown depth. The rhinoceros was cleaved apart: its entire upper body disintegrated instantly, and what remained was consumed by a red aura that devoured it in a chain reaction until nothing was left.
No… something remained. A shining fragment descended slowly into the freshly opened abyss.
Lua watched it for a moment, then appeared beside it the next instant, taking it into her hands.
The phoenix, witnessing the beast's death—though it was not its ally—understood it could meet the same fate. With a desperate screech, it turned and fled at full speed, abandoning the battlefield.
Meanwhile, the demon reappeared, sweat dripping from his face, unable to tear his gaze from the crater.
"Truly, the divinity of destruction is dangerous," he murmured seriously, analyzing Lua.
At that moment, a shrill laugh interrupted them both.
"Hahaha! I did it!" Draven shouted. The dragon lay slain at his feet, and in his hand he held aloft a dark divine fragment. With a crazed look, he turned to the demon.
"Perhaps you'll betray me after I hand this to you… but I'll tell you one thing: destroy everything, even if you have to kill me. Kill her and all her damned spirits. You can even erase the humans—I don't care. This will be my revenge, this will be my mark!"
He grinned with madness. He knew from the beginning he was the weakest among them. If he aided the demon, he might be betrayed later; if he lost, the spirits would finish him off anyway. But if they were destroyed, his revenge would be fulfilled. For him, that possibility alone was already a victory.
Lua frowned, glancing between Draven and the demon.
Both vanished from their positions, reappearing right before Draven, who still smiled with pride despite his wounds. Then he unleashed his final trump card: a radiant sphere, secretly prepared, burst in the sky, releasing a rain of lightning bolts. Each one struck with violent force, exploding on impact and raising craters of fire and dust.
Lua darted at full speed to dodge, though some bolts fell in her path, forcing her to slow down. That instant was enough: the demon reached first and seized the fragment. Lua appeared just a second later, but the demon had already vanished, hiding within Draven's shadow.
"Hahaha, too bad. You were late," Draven mocked.
Lua stared at him in silence. Then she lifted her leg and kicked him square in the face, sending him flying toward the village.
"Someone there will want to see you far more than I do," she said calmly, before turning her eyes to the rhinoceros fragment. Without hesitation, she devoured it on the spot.
An explosion echoed in the distance as Draven's body crashed into the center of the village.
Behind Lua, the demon emerged from the shadows. This time his gaze was different—more confident, more dangerous.
"How about we have a second round?" he asked, unaware of what Lua had just done.
The divine fragment she had consumed was different from her own divinity. A moment later, her skin turned pale and her body vibrated with new power. She slowly turned toward the demon, now a rival on her very level.
"Perhaps you should have fled while you still had the chance," Lua said coldly.
"What are you talking about? You had the battle in your hands. I took plenty of blows… I just want a little revenge before I leave," the demon replied with renewed confidence.
Lua could see the halo on his back slowly expanding, his power growing with each passing second.
[Boss, I'm back. Did you miss me?] Lua heard Sia's voice in her mind.
"No," she answered at once, leaving the demon confused.
"Every second you stay… you'll regret it," Lua added simply, before lunging at him with both swords wrapped in a crimson glow.
"Hmph, we'll see about that," the demon retorted, as his body became shrouded in an aura of death.