NOVEL ONLINE FREE Chapter 234: Apostle of Death
"Oh? You're still alive, how amusing... it seems the Apostle of Darkness is quite tough!" The figure in the hooded cloak surged forward, another dagger materialising before it sliced through Asmodeus's cheek.
The instant he felt the blade, the pain was immense, as if he was suffering all of the collective pain from his chest wound in the instant the blade touched his cheek. "Ugh...!"
Asmodeus stepped back, his palms clasped, before smashing into the figure with his elbow, the force so great the cave howled from the air pressure of his attack.
The hooded figure flew back, shattering several stalactites, as a few drops of blood fell to the ground from him.
He slowly walked out from the rubble, his face still hidden, but his hands now clearly visible, coated in a black metal gauntlet that matched the colour of his cloak, with dozens of serrated and curved daggers attached around his wrists. "You bastard, dare you hit me?!" The man's nose was broken, his long, dull hair like messy hay the colour of a dull sky.
"Haha~ you look pathetic." Asmodeus ignored the surging pain that continued to throb—the agony of enduring the pain of being stabbed in the chest continuously was difficult to endure. The poison stopped his regeneration, and the effect of the dagger made it so Asmoedues felt the full pain of all his wounds combined each time he moved.
'It's like a curse...'
[It is a curse—be careful! The more damage you take, the more deadly the curse! It's the torture method of that bastard's followers!]
'He sounds like a bitch.'
"Shut your filthy hole! How dare you covet what is not yours, demon! The goddess is destined to become our master's plaything!" The cloaked male with a pale face and dull grey hair and eyes screamed, taking two daggers into his hands while Asmodeus lifted his black and red sword.
"If I want something, then I will take it. There is no such thing as a person being fated to be taken, especially by some cocky and weakling like yourself." Asmodeus swung his weapon, slashing down with his sword and crushing the earth, the ground shaking and the wind howling from the immense power behind his attack. "Serena is mine."
[!?]
"Hmph, weak, I, Tengrav, shall make sure you never walk from these caves!" Tengrav jumped back, avoiding the slash and landing a distance away as a red flame ignited on the blade, a pillar of fire erupting upwards before burning the ceiling, melting the stalactites and causing a shower of molten rock to rain upon the earth.
The battle was furious, as Tengrav sent dozens of cursed knives flying towards Asmodeus, the cursed blades soaring through the air faster than a bullet. Asmodeus deflected the dozens of knives flying towards him, each attack releasing a small shockwave that forced him back. This male was likely S-Rank or more, but Asmodeus remained in his half-demon form because there was another hiding.
He was stronger when transformed, but he was confident he could deal with this level of threat even as a human.
'It'll be easier to recover without the burden of this human... Once the hidden person shows, I'll go all out—revealing my cards too soon would be problematic.'
The hooded female who clung to the shadow of Asmodeus earlier was still here, her scent lingering.
Asmodeus was used to pain and could handle the continuous torment of his wounds—the bleeding was slowed, and his blood regenerated, but the pain was still enough to drive one mad. The worst of it was that his regeneration was being hindered, so it would take an hour or more to heal completely, not to mention he still. had the injury across his chest.
"Is that all you have?!" The man's cloak fluttered behind him as the air around him shimmered and distorted before his arm seemed to distort like water, stretching forward.
"Oh?" Asmodeus didn't back off, his sword stabbing the ground as he began to cast magic—bloody pillars began to erupt from the ground, stabbing towards the male, each spear twice the size of an adult human.
"Ugh...!" Tengrav took the spear straight in the shoulder, the impact tearing through his flesh and bone as he was launched across the room, crashing into a pillar with an explosive sound.
Asmodeus didn't give him time to recover, his body flashing forward like lightning as his sword stabbed the male's chest, penetrating his heart. "Guh..." The man's eyes trembled, his hand reaching out, clawing at the blade, unable to move the weapon embedded in his chest, his blood spurting and dying Asmodeus's face.
'My partner, devour his power and give it to me!'
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"Good night." Asmodeus pulled back his palm, forming a fist as it smashed into the male's chest, ripping the body into pieces. After the black demon sword devoured most of the cultist's power, it was distributed to the sword and Asmodeus himself—he could feel his muscles and body growing stronger while the bloody wounds on his chest healed.
He wondered for a moment why he hadn't seen or heard the level-up jingle for the longest time. Was he stuck at the same strength forever?
[Are you stupid? You told me to turn that off over a month ago....]
'Ah... I forgot that I turned notifications off...'
[Do you want to see it before that hidden woman tries to kill you, or rather, wouldn't you seeming absent-minded make her more likely to attack?]
'True... but, okay, can you show me?'
[You have Gained A Level!]
[You Have Devoured Tengrav's Lifeforce! Improved Attributes!]
[You Have Gained New Demon Lord Markings!]
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Status
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Name: Asmodeus
Title: Deathbringer (Kobold), Murderer (Human), Apostle of Lust, Blessing of Serena (Goddess of Darkness), Demon, Traitor, Enemy of Death,
Main Class: Demon Lord: Lv.37 (Stage Two, Evolution Lv.50)
Sub Class: Sanguine Berserker: Lv.39
[40% damage resist] [50% Magic Resistance, (Immune to Fire/Dark Magic)]
Rank: SS+ / A
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Attributes
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Strength: 196 --> 254
Agility: 154 --> 170
Stamina: 166 --> 200
Grit: 237 --> 300
Intellect: 235 --> 285
Human Form: Strength Equal to a Level 100 (Upper Tier Rank-A: Knight/Adventurer)
Half Form: Strength Equal to a level 150 (Low Tier Rank-S: Knight/Adventurer)
Demon Lord Form: Strength Equal to a Level 200 (Mid Tier Rank-S: Knight/Adventurer)
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Magic Proficiency:
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Arcane: Grade-D
Fire: Grade-D
Ice: Grade-D
Wind: Grade-F
Earth: Grade-F
Blood: Grade-D
Shadow: Grade-D
—
'Forget about markings... I know there are probably many, so I'll look at them when we are safe!'
The moment Asmodeus took a second to check himself, the wounds finally started to heal fully. It was that moment he felt the darkness within the cave distort and the woman finally made her move.
"Die...!"
The hooded figure had been standing by the wall, watching and waiting. She had not moved an inch as if she was waiting for the perfect moment. Asmodeus's demonic aura had faded with the death of the male, and that was when the girl decided to act.
A burst of necrotic magic exploded towards Asmodeus, shrouding him in a ball of death as the very space itself was eaten away.
The woman lifted her arms, the magic circle beneath her glowing brighter, and with it, the aura of the entire cave grew even more twisted and dark as the ground itself began to crumble and rot, turning black, and the air became heavy.
"Death is the name of my lord; he is my saviour and beloved—as his pawn, I shall remove all threats and destroy any that would get in his way, praise the lord of all endings.
Sphere of Blight!" With an eerie chant from her beautiful lips, the cave began to tremble, her face revealed in a flicker of light, a beautiful face ruined with the symbol of death carved into the flesh of her face, black hair, black eyes... a former hero from the same world as Ryuji.
'What is with this pressure?!'
Asmodeus stepped forward, pushing against the black wave of magic and releasing a torrent of hellfire, the flames colliding with the blight and exploding, causing the air to shimmer, the earth to shake and the cave to fall apart as a hurricane of fire, darkness, and rot continued to clash and explode.
"Is this all you have?!" Asmodeus pushed his powers further, his eyes turning black as a pair of large demon wings sprouted from his back, and the flame around him burned even more furiously.
He could feel the power of the blade empowering him further, the devilish aura surging throughout his veins and strengthening him. "Fool, don't get overconfident!" The woman waved her hand, the black magic shooting towards Asmodeus before splitting into dozens of arrows and flying towards him.
Asmodeus's sword blurred, cutting through the air and sending a torrent of bloody crimson beams. The blood sliced through the air and tore apart the rotting arrows, causing the atmosphere to howl.
The two forces of magic collided, the power of the attack shattering the floor of the cave as the energy was released and shot upward.
Their clash caused an intense explosion.
The air around the two was torn and destroyed, and the ground cracked, but Asmodeus stood tall, his height now close to seven feet in his demon form, while the female was barely over five feet tall, looking up at him with a flicker of light in her eyes.
"I will end you, woman." Asmodeus formed a blood spear in his left palm, his sword grasped in his right.
"Kukuku... Die...!" The girl's laughter was eerie and strange, her voice distorted, almost like something gripped her throat. She lifted her hand, the air around her vibrating and shifting, before an enormous skull appeared above her, and Serena's voice sounded instantly.
[AVOID IT!]
Without a second thought, Asmodeus's body blurred, the wind howling and the air cracking as he flew backwards—just as a massive black skull shot forward like a beam of magic cut through the air, piercing through the ceiling of the cave, the smoke and dust rising as the woman's face was revealed.
"Kuha.... I missed.... Ugh....damn it...." Her body convulsed, vomiting blood, clearly in immense pain as the light flooded into the cave, her body then began to fade into the dark before her sign vanished completely.
'...'
The grass, forest and any living things that came into contact with that skull were dead. Through the hole in the cave he saw a trail of death.
'I am lucky to have you beside me, Serena...'
[Yes~ yes you are, little boy.]
'I bet you won't say that next time we meet.'
[Hmph... shut up!]
Asmodeus looked down at his left hand, now with the bones of his fingers visible where the skull barely brushed past him, although it began to regenerate, he could tell that the damage was worse than the earlier dagger.
"Or maybe the power of that dagger was borrowed from that woman..."
Because the strange aura and barrier faded, the cave stopped emitting the strange darkness, but that revealed the horrific nature of what happened in here.
Dozens of human corpses, hundreds of monster corspes and within them were children and babies... It made even the demon Asmodeus feel disgusted.
'There should always be rules for battles between races. Only those who can fight and never children, be they demon, human or any race.'
"Lord Asmodeus you are hurt?!" Vinea's caring voice echoed as she rushed inside, while Yumiko pushed against her as if they were competing who would hug him first.
"Asmodeus! Come to me!" Yumiko said with her arms open wide, after shoulder tackling Vinea into the cavern wall.
'Ah~ after fighting the apostle of death, here come my lovely angels.'