Chapter 206: A Step Towards the Hero
However, the weapon in his hand was no ornament. A corrupted divine sword blessed by a goddess fused with his blood-drinking axe. Not only could he use the greatsword with ease, it could transform into his second-level axe at any time.
"Asmodeus!" Alan yelled, his body approaching rapidly, while Asmodeus seemed unphased, his wings swayed heavily, flinging his body several metres away. At the same time, Asmodeus focused his magic on ten black lances of corrupted blood.
The long spears of blood crackled and flickered with magic, making Alan\'s eyes widen, his body glowing with a denser light as if to protect himself.
"Calm down hero! If you get too worked up, the people will perish!"
With a slight boom, the blood lances formed by Asmodeus began to shoot towards the barrier, aiming at the guards and church knights.
However, even though the barrier stopped the spears, each one caused a slight crack, tiny, like a hairline. Nevertheless, his magic began to rain down upon the arena and would eventually destroy the barrier.
"I was hoping to have a bit more time, but this is fine, after all, it\'s time for me to show the world my true power."
Alan, seeing that Asmodeus was going to attack the innocent, charged forward, his sword shining with brilliant golden light. The pair knew it was all fake, yet somehow, they both wanted the other to take this match seriously. So Alan aimed for Asmodeus, trying to take his life! While the demon lord, instead of fleeing, simply stood there, ready to engage the hero in battle.
The two powerful beings collided, and a sound like two mountains crashing together caused the barrier protecting the arena to flicker and waver, the people within holding their hands over their ears and crouching in terror. Even Alan\'s brother Avandar looked concerned about the blow that caused huge sonic booms and waves in the air.
\'He really is the hero... This damn show off!\' Asmodeus forced his lips to hide his smile. The first clash almost took his life, a deep gash that gradually began healing, hidden from the crowd by Alan\'s blade.
"I didn\'t know you were so strong!" Alan said, smiling brightly.
"Don\'t patronise me, hero," Asmodeus snorted. "You are still holding back slightly, and I almost died!"
"Ah~ but you actually wounded me! Hahahaha!" He then showed a small-sized cut along his cheek, using his finger to point as if it was some significant wound. Alan\'s laugh caused Asmodeus to show a brief smile before he lunged forward, covered in a black aura, his sword crackling with red mana.
Their second exchange was more brutal than the first. Their weapons clashed, causing sparks to fly; their blades screeched against one another, and blood spurted through the air, falling to the ground.
The two combatants showed no concern as their wounds healed in seconds. Thus, Alan and Asmodeus began to fight like beasts, each blow causing a shockwave that damaged the barrier while the blood lances stopped targeting the arena; instead, they shot at Alan.
"Hero! You are holding me back!" Asmodeus said, his eyes beaming with joy, and a wild smile was on his face. His long snow-white hair, which he tied with a band, came loose, flowing in the wind while his beautiful feathered wings fluttered. The hero destroyed his blood wings using divine power early into the fight.
"Nonsense! If I used my full power, you would die instantly! Your magic is just too weak, that\'s all." Alan mocked Asmodeus, even though he felt a sense of pressure when clashing at close range now.
"Bastard, are you picking a fight?!" Asmodeus roared.
"How is that picking a fight? It\'s the truth. If you\'re a man, prove your words and take this, demon king!" Alan smirked, his eyes glinting dangerously.
[Holy Smite!]
Like a divine clap of lightning, the sword of Alan shone enough to blind most of the crowd before a huge pillar of divine magic struck at the same moment his blade attacked Asmodeus.
"Shit!"
Asmodeus felt a deep fear of Alan\'s sudden attack. So, instead of blocking and taking the hit head-on, the demon lord was forced to dodge the golden light and the sword, a trail of blood dripping from his arm, well... what remained of his arm.
The power behind the divine strike had sliced off the limb with ease, and because it had cut through his own body made Asmodeus nervous.
\'He definitely doesn\'t want to kill me, but he is trying his best to piss me off. Damn Hero and his stupid broken blessings!\'
"As expected, that\'s my brother, amazing! Come, Asmodeus, don\'t die!" Avandar cheered, his face a mask of joy. He already guessed what the pair were doing, but the fight was so exciting it made him return to the days he fought beside Alan.
\'Avandar, the next time we meet, I\'m going to put a worm inside your mouth while you\'re asleep.\' Asmodeus swore revenge in his heart. The two siblings, Alan and Avandar, were naturally causing him trouble, and even though they were distracting him, he couldn\'t stop how much he adored them both like a genuine family.
\'No... when I marry Liana and make the other two mine. Won\'t these two geezers be my family, haha! That would be fun... Oh, Alan~ I am going to seduce your big sister and make her call me \'Big Brother\' when I fuck her!\'
"Ah, I almost killed him, no good, no good!" Alan slapped his face, the sounds of his slaps reaching the ears of everyone in the arena.
However, nobody saw or felt the sarcastic tone in Alan\'s voice as their two-man play convinced all Grigor and the Mainland visitors that they were NOT on the same side as the new demon king.
"Don\'t let your guard down!" Asmodeus sneered, his severed arm now regenerating, but slowly. A sign that he was struggling and reaching the end of his mana pool.
Alan laughed, a faint tint of sweat beading on his forehead.
"Seriously, the next time we meet. I am going to lose at this rate..." Alan\'s voice became serious as he struck once more, with a weaker divine blow than before.
The pair continued to exchange blows, and their attacks and skills were so fast they could not be seen by the eyes of mortals. It was a dance between a demon lord and a hero, and even though they were fighting, both had radiant smiles on their faces.
"Don\'t worry, I will protect those three with my life."
Asmodeus placed his palm on the face of Alan who was shocked by the sudden mention of his family members, before a huge red wave of magic enveloped him, exploding from the palm covering his face.
Alan quickly healed the burnt flesh, but his vision became obscured for a second, and in that brief time, he lost sight of Asmodeus.
The demon lord had disappeared, and now, far above the arena, his body was surrounded by several magic circles as he began to chant... it was the first time that Alan had ever heard Ryuji bother to chant a spell... but when he saw the huge magic circle, formed below him he realised why!
"Oh shit!"
"Oh goddess of darkness, grant me the power of the gods to destroy my enemy! From the depths of hell, bring forth a pillar of chaos!"
"Damn you, Ryuji! Do you really want to use that here?!"
However, his words fell on deaf ears.
Asmodeus\'s words were the beginning, the summoning of a spell that he copied from a light novel he read, the chant just helping him visualise the huge pillar of chaotic flames and devastating magic.
"Forgive me, lady of virtue but I must sully this world and purge all filth, Manifest and devour!"
[Pillar of Chaotic Flames - Apocalypse Tower!]
The arena shook and trembled. The barrier around the stadium began to crack and fracture from the pure pressure emitted by the spell. The clouds in the sky parted, the sun blocked out, and the earth rumbled.
Alan\'s pupils shrank the moment the sky turned black, and the moon replaced the sun, and below him, an enormous ring of flames of various colours began to rise from the ground, destroying the arena completely.
"Shit! This crazy bastard!" Alan cursed, his sword glowing with gold, and a golden halo of light appeared behind him.
"My friend... do not forget our purpose." A familiar voice whispered in his ear.
The next moment, Asmodeus vanished into the sky as the Apocalypse Tower began to grow towards the sky, its flames causing those who touched it to melt into ashes.
Alan, using the holy sword, cut through the fire, aiming for the top, trying his best to stop Asmodeus. However, the closer he got, the more powerful the flames.
"Idiot, that\'s not a physical attack. How are you going to destroy it?" Avandar roared, his words also travelling to the ears of the demon king.
[Worry not, my hero; let me grant you my blessing to defeat the demon\'s magic!]
\'Good, she helped me. This woman didn\'t notice!\' Alan thought.
His body began to shine pure white; standing above the tower of black and red flames, he swung his sword, aiming for the middle, and the next second, a blast of light pierced through the pillar, a beam of light so pure it cut through the tower and its flames in an instant.
It reached its target and tore through the core of the spell circle, causing the entire thing to fizzle.
However, the entire arena floor, basement and most of the stands were destroyed by the shockwave of the two attacks clashing. It was no lie that many people likely died because of this, but Alan realised this was the smallest price to pay in order to save them from destruction.
"You idiot..."
\'Now you are going to become hated by everyone again, I hope you don\'t cry this time... idiot.\'
***
Meanwhile, Asmodeus, outside of the city, fell gradually, his demon transformation fading along with his wings as he crashed into the western forest at high speed. In reality, the spell took him over his limits, and the moment Alan destroyed it. He suffered massive damage as the spell backfired and dealt a large amount of damage to Asmodeus.
"S...shit...."
With a loud crash, his body was torn, sliced and hit by various-sized branches, twigs and trunks, causing his body to become filled with wounds and lacking the ability to heal.
"What am I going to do with you two idiots? Was this your plan? To smash into the ground and become minced meat? Tsk..."
The moment before he crashed to the floor, a powerful pair of arms suddenly grabbed him, her body sliding through the dirt for several metres.
Her dark purple hair swayed, and her fierce eyes looked down at him.
\'Ah... I never knew that Velvet had huge breasts hidden under her armour...\'