Chapter 9: Slaughter (1)
Beelzebub took a quick scan of the group. There are only around five of them left, with only four of them being heavily injured. He kept on sizing them up before he was certain that he and Gollum could kill them all.
Thinking so, Beelzebub quickly made his move with his mana claw, now much sharper than before, slashed the throats of the two near him and charged right at their leader.
"YOU, YOU"
Crimson, who hasn't woken up from the shock of losing one of his underlings out of nowhere, now witnesses the loss of another two.
"YOU BASTARD!"
Finally snapping out of it, Crimson raised his gun right at Beelzebub and then
"FIR-"
But before he could say another word, I dropped a kick into his face and, at the same time, commanded Gollum.
"Gollum, take care of the remaining force; the leader is mine."
"Yes, sir."
Gollum begins sprinting toward the group of people while transforming into his stone form. The other tried to shoot him down, but it was futile.
He swung his fist horizontally, strong enough to brutally send two people away.
"KUEH—"
"ARGH"
The other tried to fight back but it was all pointless under Gollum's rock fist but that didn't mean it could end swiftly. Still, Beelzebub was satisfied by his slave's strength.
"Now then, let's slaughter each other, shall we, lowly mortal!"
Seeing that Gollum has no problem fighting the others, I put all my attention on the one in front of me while provoking him. The more he loses his senses, the better it is for me to kill him.
"Come on, your people are dying, and this is all you can do?"
"Urgh."
Using his face, I do a stunning flip and land on the ground before charging right at him once again while activating mana claw. But he throws the gun in the air and then kicks me, causing me to stop to turn my body sideways and safely dodge that attack.
He is much faster than Gollum but not as strong as him or as tough as him.
Without any hesitation, I slashed down at his leg, trying to cut off his leg, but sensing something fly toward me at high speed, I decided to duck down.
I might be stronger now, but I'm still one rank lower than his, so even one simple hit of his could be fatal.
WHOOSH
A blast of wind passed by where my head was, but that was only the beginning of his counterattack.
More wind blasts flew toward me, with each one of them fast and strong enough to break my bones. But it could only travel on one straight line, so as long as I could see where his hands were aiming, I could anticipate the attack and know where to dodge.
Seeing that his attack isn't working, he tried to go all out by concentrating his mana into one of his arms and then swung it.
The mana released this time wasn't a blast of air but a powerful wind blade right where my belly is. Though the attack is deadly, it isn't quite fast; thus, I managed to lower my body and avoid the attack.
Even though I dodged it, he still smiled wickedly and shouted.
"FIRE"
BOOM
Hearing his shout, I instinctively knew what he had planned and smiled. This is what I have planned too, for this moment is when his guard is at its lowest.
With my leg strengthened from mana, I make it extra strong by using Imaginary Art, shaping it into my ideal form
Then I sprang upward right where he was.
BOOM
The blast hit the ground, creating an explosion strong enough to make the leader lose his footing for a moment.
But that was enough for me to strike him with my fist, only for the leader to raise his palm and block it.
The leader, even though shocked, didn't lose his guard.
"This guy's mindset is much more composed than Rango's."
Beelzebub was about to strike back but was stunned when he saw a gun right at his face.
The gun, which is fixed in the air, has somehow returned to his hand and reverts to the ten barrels form.
I tried to step back, but it was all too late when I heard him whisper.
"Fired"
Ten bullets fly out of the barrels, all aiming at different parts of my body.
In this situation where the bullet was just one inch away from him, Beelzebub took a deep breath and then clasped his hands together again and put my hands right at the center of my chest.
Then a dark dome appeared around him, blocking most of the bullets flying at Beelzebub. After blocking seven hits, the dome was destroyed, leaving the three other bullets to strike his right leg.
But Crimson was surprised by this outcome.
'There's no way that weak barrier is able to block his bullets. What trick did he pull?'
From his underlings dying left and right and this bastard out of nowhere attacking his group, Crimson began to grow wary as his logic replaced his earlier rage.
He decided to retreat; even if he managed to kill the little fucker in front of him, it wouldn't solve anything. Retreat right now is the best—
Then Crimson noticed a small mana blast coming toward him; it was in the shape of a pen, and the mana behind it wasn't something Crimson should be wary about.
But exactly because of that, Crimson couldn't detect the attack.
"SHI-"
It was already too late, as the attack didn't explode but rather drilled into his flesh; the injury was only at skin level, and yet Crimson screamed under the extreme pain, like he was being electrocuted!
Under immense pain, he tries to curse, but before a word comes out of his mouth, Beelzebub is already right before him and punches straight to his face.
Not stopping there, he grabbed Crimson's head with his other hand and kept on punching at him with an insane glint in his eyes.
"DIE DIE DIE"
But in the end, Beelzebub was still knocked away by a huge gust of wind that slashed at his body in multiple spots, leaving him bloody and battered.
"Hahaha."
Looking down at me, Crimson didn't relax but instead pointed his gun right in the direction of Beelzebub's. The distance was only two meters, and he believed the blast would be much faster than this bastard, but Crimson hesitated.
'What trick will he pull this time? He is dangerous; I must be cautious at all times!'
Beelzebub may have looked serious on the outside, but he was actually very happy, for it seemed that he had managed to get the hang of this dark art, but he guessed that the show was about to be over; it was time to put on the last act.
Beelzebub breathed out heavily and let out a high-pitched scream as he dashed forward with the speed of a flying bullet while using a mana claw. But from Crimson Wright's sight, he only sees a desperate face trying to kill him while he is speaking.
'Right, he was just an E-rank in the end. Suffer in hell, fucker.'
He steadied himself and then, when Beelzebub was right at the barrel of the gun, he whispered.
'Fire'
Yet nothing comes out of his mouth.
'?????'
For a moment, he sees it; from the desperate face, the bastard eye squinted as he began to smile—a devilish smile. He only then realized that this fucker right here... was a dark mage.
'I fall for his trick.'
SLASH
Blood squirted out as Crimson Wright's head was sent flying, his face filled with surprise, confusion, and most of all, absolute fear.
"Ah, how refreshing."
Blood spurted in the air as Beelzebub enjoyed the scent of blood, of a fallen enemy. Looking down at the headless corpse, I continued.
"I've still triumphed over these worthless beings even inside an even more worthless being."
He had already envisioned everything from the start, from how he would fight to how the enemy would react; he was in control the whole time!
"This is the might of a demon king. KEHKEHKEH"
"...madman"
Gollum has already finished the others quietly and quickly. He was hoping Crimson would win, but sadly, his dream didn't come true.
"Well, whatever, hold this for now."
"..."
Beelzebub tossed the gun that Crimson was holding right at Gollum. Gollum looks at it with wide eyes.
'Did he trust me that much?'
Truth is, Beelzebub believed a coward like Gollum wouldn't dare stab him in the back, for he had seen what Beelzebub was capable of and had grown a lingering fear inside of him, one that would make Gollum cower even more.
Beelzebub would like to use that artifact, but he already had one in hand from the goblin shaman, and besides, that artifact suits Rango more than him.
"Now, let the slaughter continue."
He could already smell the scent of blood and ash in the air. The smell of his next prey, most of all.
Beelzebub directed his gaze somewhere; he could feel it, the demonic energy in the air.
"The time has come. Kehkehkeh."