O-Okay...deep breaths, nice and slow. I have to stay calm, keep my mind as clear as possible.
A burning heat welled up inside me, my entire body feeling intensely warm, the swell of desire flowing in me.
Arouse, one of my Lust Skills.
It costs a minimum of 50 MP to activate, and puts my body in a state of intense arousal. Its effect is basically that of a strong aphrodisiac, which makes it hard to focus and think straight.
Why did I activate it now, of all times?
Because it gives me a twenty percent boost to all physical stats while active...with a 50 MP activation, it'll last for fifteen minutes, so during that time, all my stats are going to be thirty percent higher, factoring in the ten percent boost from my new blade, Desecrator.
As the Demon shot forward and closed in on me, I leapt straight at her with a sharp burst of speed and swung my blade across, slicing through her left eye as she simultaneously clawed at my side, tearing my skin apart.
I spun around as she whipped her tail across at me, narrowly leaping over it before slicing her throat open as she lunged at me and struck my chest with her claws, inflicting a couple of deep, diagonal gashes across my skin.
I winced in pain as her claws dragged through my skin, before gritting my teeth and chanting to activate Devour as she drove her other hand towards my face.
She halted and began to pull her arm back as the jaws opened up, before a stifled cry of pain rang out as I snapped them shut around her hand before she could fully pull her arm back, blood spraying out of the stump left around her hand before she spun around and slammed her tail against the middle of my body as Devour faded.
I whipped my blade across and managed to inflict a shallow cut across her back right before her tail sent me flying back through the air, a trickle of blood running down the corner of my mouth as I landed, my feet skidding back.
She's definitely not hitting as hard as she did before, but I'm in a tough spot too...even with my boosts, most of my stamina is gone at this point, I'm running on fumes.
The only reason I haven't collapsed is because I've been able to keep myself from getting completely exhausted by absorbing small bits of stamina from her every time I cut her.
But I'm losing stamina faster than I can absorb it back, so I can't keep this up for much longer.
And with my broken wrist, my right hand is useless, I'm not as proficient with a blade using my left hand.
I need to keep wearing her down, I can't lose my focus for even a second. The smallest mistake from either of us could end up deciding the outcome of this battle, so I can't afford even a single slip-up.
I took a deep breath to compose myself as the aphrodisiac effect of Arouse continued to rile my body up, before sprinting across as the Demon shot towards me, creating a copy of my old blade and flinging it at her as she began to close in on me.
She veered across to evade it, as I turned across and raced towards her, leaping forward and driving my blade towards her.
"
She hissed in pain as I tore off a chunk of her forearm as she pulled her arm back, my blade plunging into her right shoulder before she cried out as I gave it a sharp twist.
She jerked her shoulder back and wrenched my blade out of her flesh before driving her tail towards my stomach, before I swung my knee up and struck the end of her tail, knocking it up before slashing at her head as she drove her foot out.
Her foot slammed onto my stomach as I simultaneously sliced across her eyes, blinding her as I got sent flying back, coughing out blood as my feet hit the ground and skidded back.
My knees buckled as I just barely managed to keep my balance and stay standing, before she zipped up and swooped down towards me as her eyes regenerated.
A sharp clang rang out as I deflected the swing of her claws with my blade, a couple of her claws snapping off upon impact, before she suddenly jabbed my broken right wrist with the tip of her tail.
As I seized up in pain with a stifled gasp, she slammed the back of her fist against the middle of my chest before I could react, sending me hurtling back as my chest throbbed sharply with pain.
My back slammed onto a pillar, rattling my bones as I collapsed onto my knees, before rolling out of the way in alarm as she sprinted in rapidly and leapt forward, slamming her foot down where I'd landed with a deafening crash.
Deep cracks spread out across the stone slabs around that spot before she whipped her arm across as I flung another copy of my old blade towards her, deflecting it away.
I got back onto my feet as fast as I could, my vision blurring from the pain and fatigue as I struggled to keep my focus through the effect of Arouse, before I drove my blade forward as she shot towards me.
She tilted her head across to evade the thrust of my blade as she closed in, which grazed her left cheek and sliced through her ear as she met my gaze from inches away before suddenly launching herself up with a powerful flap of her wings, her knee slamming onto my chin and knocking me back before I could react.
I inadvertently bit my lower lip upon impact as she forced my teeth shut, the force of her strike dazing me as I got sent flying back, my back colliding against the ground with a jarring impact as I plummeted back down.
Th-That hurt, damn it...!
"Now, to kill you and reclaim my weapon. It is over, human!" The Demon snarled, extending out her claws as she shot towards me.
As she closed in on me, I gritted my teeth and mustered up my stength, before chanting as I sat up with a start and raised my left hand towards her...
"
A rapid beam of energy burst out of my hand as a flash of purple erupted out, a sharp gasp ringing out as the beam burst straight through the right side of the Demon's face as she tilted her head across in alarm, blood bursting out and running down the side of her face.
I'd fired with my Rage Meter at ten percent that time, the only weak points that Greater Demons have are their brains and Cores, and I was aiming for the former, but she managed to react in time.
D-Damn it, that...that was my last shot. I'm almost completely out of steam, I-I can't even muster up the strength to stand anymore...
"DIE!!!" She snarled, flecks of blood spraying out the side of her mouth as she rushed in and raised her claws with a murderous gleam in her eyes.
Shit...!