Chapter 524 – Dance Of Broken Fists

The battle began the demon going on the offensive. I needed to first gauge his skills and what he was capable of before going in, so I decided to play passively to start. Strategy is just as important as skills in combat, after all.

As he threw punch after punch at me, and I evaded one after another, I began noticing patterns in his movements. For one, he didn’t seem to use any kicks, or anything else apart from punching. Second, his movements appeared to be focused on raw strength, not speed. Both of these were weaknesses that I could exploit.

After a long sequence of punches, however, he stopped, and I too stopped evading. He stared at me and narrowed his eyes.

“… You are experienced, for your age.”

“Huh?” I chuckled. “All I’ve done so far was dodge.”

“Yes… but your movements are not natural. They are skilled, yet not refined. That means you were not taught how to do this. You learned yourself, through various battles and experiences.”

“Oho… you’re more observant than I thought,” I muttered, rubbing my chin. It would seem this demon was not just a meathead—he was smart, too. He would be a tougher opponent than most, that was for sure.

Changing his stance to a defensive one, he beckoned me with his hand.

“Come.”

Oh? Inviting me to make the first move? Then… don’t mind if I do.

In an instant, I dashed in front of him, far faster than he could expect. I sank a powerful fist straight into his abdomen, causing his eyes to widen in surprise, and knocked him back a long distance. He nearly fell off the cliff and into the lava below, but managed to stop at the last second by sinking his demonic claws into the rocky ground, and pushing himself back up to his feet. I had caught him off-guard with my sudden speed—I knew he wouldn’t be able to react to that, thanks to my testing earlier. But even so… I did not go all in just yet. Reason being…

“Urgh… you surprised me, kid.”

I smirked. “Is that so? But… you haven’t shown your true power yet either, have you?”

At this, the demon gave a snort that sounded like a chuckle, and retracted his wings like a cocoon, as if gathering energy.

“Yes… you are right. But now…”

Suddenly, his eyes flashed, and bright red light blinded me as he expanded his wings once more, creating a gale powerful enough to be considered a vacuum, and rose into the air.

“… It would seem I must take this more seriously than before.”

“… Hey, Ignis. Can you let me use my wings too? Would make for a better show, no?”

“Ha ha ha! Yes, you are correct! Very well—use your wings! But no other forms of magic!”

“… Roger that.”

Now we’re talking.

Spreading the angelic wings that I could not before, I floated into the air to match the demon in altitude. His dark purple wings radiated with demonic purple energy, while mine radiated red with the power of Chaos. I couldn’t use any other form of magic according to Ignis, but these wings should be enough.

“… Come, Ascended Seraphim.”

Whispering under my breath and closing my eyes, I called upon the strength of the Ascended Celestici. A ringing sound filled my ears, and my eyes snapped back open, glowing a divine red. My feathered white wings similarly opened the etched drawings of eyes on them, one on each, marked with glowing red lines that stood out from the white feathers. And then, in a voice that was not my own, I spoke.

“Divine Judgment.”

From the eyes on my wings, two red laser beams shot out, and struck the demon directly. He immediately covered himself with his wings again while making an X with his arms to defend against the attack, but the sheer strength of my lasers pushed him backwards against his will. 

“Ngh…!” He groaned as he fought back against the force, but eventually grew tired of it and pushed it away with his wings at last using all of his strength, then came flying towards me at speeds much higher than before. 

Of course, I had also become stronger.

Meeting his fists head-on, I overpowered him with my Ascended form easily, sending him crashing into the rocky ground. Or… more accurately… through it.

“… Die,” I said, once again, in a voice that was not my own. It was divine, echoing, and layered—almost as if there were multiple voices harmonized into one. Compared to the chaos all around, the crashing of rocks and splitting of earth, my voice was calm and collected.

“ARGH…!” The demon groaned, gritting his teeth tightly as he was forced through layer upon layer of rock, but it was no use. Although only temporary, the Ascended Seraphim form I had called upon through these wings was unbeatable. It gave me powers akin to that of a god, much like Ignis himself.

Even so, however, the demon tried his best to exchange blows with me as he was falling. Unfortunately for him, I was ten times faster, ten times stronger. For every punch he threw, I parried it with one of my own, then hit him with another for good measure. 

Sorry, but this is the end for you.

If I was in my normal form, this demon would’ve overpowered me eventually, no doubt. I was lucky Ignis allowed me to use these wings—otherwise, I would not have been able to use the powers of an Ascended Seraphim.

With one final punch, I sent the demon crashing into the final layer of rock, and straight down through into the lava pool below. The momentum was too strong for him to use his wings to fly back, and he could only let out a heartfelt roar of rage as he disappeared into the fuming orange liquid below.

“…”

I stared in silence at the place in the lava where he disappeared for a moment longer for two reasons. One, to say my thanks in my heart to him for saving me earlier, and two… to make sure he truly was dead.

After about a minute of waiting, I decided to turn back and fly back up to the cliff. Much of it was now gone, but the doors on it, where Ignis should be waiting behind, were still intact. There was no way someone could remain under this kind of lava for a full minute, no matter how heat-resistant one is. That demon may be a demon, but he was no fire-loving Phoenix like Flaria. He was dead, through and throu-

“I’M… NOT… DONE… YET!” 

“—!”

Suddenly, I heard the sound of liquid splashing, and I turned around to see the demon, now nearly completely naked with the exception of his waist, flying out of the lava with an expression of unyielding determination.

“Wha-?!”

Before I could react, he sank a fist into my abdomen just like I had done to him earlier, and the lava that he brought with him sizzled on my skin. 

“Agh!”

Soon, we reached the top of the cliff where I had pummeled him down from, and this time, it was his turn on top. Rearing his fist back as I still was struggling to regain control over my body, he sank a fist straight into my chest and sent me flying towards the doors leading to Ignis.

“Ngh-!” I groaned as I crashed into the marble, and onto the ground. I felt a couple of my bones being broken, but they were already being healed thanks to the combination of vampire blood and Terrarim’s blessing.

The demon landed in front of me, body still dripping with lava, and began walking towards me menacingly. From what I could see, his entire figure was in shambles. Burn marks were all over his skin, and his wings were half melted. His body seemed to be on the brink of death, but his eyes carried a courage and determination that could only be found in an aspiring warrior.

“Fight, boy… I am not done yet.”

He tightened his fists, but his body was trembling and his breathing was heavy. At this rate, he was going to die. It would be very easy for him to finish him off right now with my regeneration abilities, but…

“… Stop.”

That was what I said.

Instead of attacking him, I just told him one word: stop.

“… What?” The demon asked, voice low, almost like a growl. “Are you… disgracing our battle? If you are pitying me, save it! I do not need pity from my enem-“

“That’s not it,” I replied with a sigh. “I just think it’s pointless if we fight any further now. You are in no condition to continue battling, and you know it. I give you my word—we will fight again, but not now. Go home, heal, rest, then come challenge me again.”

“… Why are you doing this?” The demon asked after a short while of hesitation. “You could easily rid yourself of an enemy right here, right now. Why are you letting me go free?”

“Why?” I gave a chuckle.. “Well… before that, answer me this. Why are you working for the man named X? Why… do you hate magic?”