Chapter 629: Demon King Vs Hero
Asmodeus hadn’t fought Alan since the moment he left Grigor in order to become stronger. His eyes trailed as the blonde hero shifted the battle, flying towards an empty plot of land away from the citadel walls.
“Come on.”
“Whatever…”
Even as the Demon King, standing before Alan made him feel like Ryuji Vincenzo again, just a human student from Earth II.
Alan dropped to the ground with a smile. His face was a mess: split skin, half-healed wounds, and lips cracked and dry. Ryuji’s eyes flicked away from the damage, forcing himself to meet Alan’s gaze instead.
“Well, I can’t say I’m handsome anymore, can I?”
The smile on his lips quivered.
Ryuji bit his lip.
His best friend’s smile looked hollow, like he’d fall apart any second now.
“You’re fine as you are, Akari would never reject you. So, let’s focus.”
Clang!
The weight of Blood Reaver pressed on Ryuji’s shoulder as he sank lower, eyes narrowing.
“Let’s fight, brother.” He couldn’t waste this chance. Mephisto could return any second.
Alan’s smile steadied, no longer so fragile.
Ryuji’s grip tightened on Blood Reaver.
He glared at Alan.
The golden sword arced upward, sunlight flashing along its edge.
Ryuji’s eyes narrowed.
Alan dropped the blade into a defensive stance.
The ground cracked under Ryuji’s feet as he rushed forward. Blood Reaver came down in a ferocious line, air howling around the blade.
Steel clashed! Sparks spat between them, scattering like fireflies.
Ryuji pushed harder, muscles bulging with the strain, fangs exposed.
Alan remained firm, golden sword locking against the axe, his arms trembling with the weight.
The force hurled Alan several metres back. Ryuji froze, huffing. Had he really overpowered Alan so easily?
“Hah!” Alan’s laugh rang out as he pushed himself upright.
He brushed the dirt from his tunic and lifted his blade again, a smile returning.
“You’ve improved, brother.”
Ryuji tensed. The words barely left Alan’s lips before he vanished.
Clang! Ryuji caught the first strike, Blood Reaver jarring in his grip. Alan was gone again, golden afterimages flickering around him.
Another strike! Sparks flared as steel skimmed across Blood Reaver’s edge. A third came from behind, forcing Ryuji to twist, muscles straining as he blocked. Each blow rattled his bones, faster than thought.
Ryuji snarled.
He planted his feet and swung wide, axe carving a brutal arc. The air howled under its weight, forcing Alan to skip back.
Bang! Clang! Clang! The ground trembled under their rhythm, a clash of speed against strength, silver and gold arcs slashing through the air.
Alan darted in, blade thrusting for Ryuji’s ribs. Too fast!
“Tch—!” Ryuji slammed down with all his might. Blood Reaver met earth, shockwaves tearing through the ground, forcing Alan back in a blur, boots skidding over cracked stone.
For a moment, sound vanished. Ryuji’s chest tightened, blood trickling down his side. Alan’s tunic clung with dust and sweat, his smile sharper and eyes gleaming.
Neither had won the exchange, both testing each other as the actual battle would follow.
Ryuji wiped the blood from his ribs using the back of his hand. His grip on Blood Reaver never loosened. Alan exhaled, golden sword angled low. His boots scraped the ground, stance coiled like a spring.
They moved at the same time.
Clang!
Their blades met mid-swing, sparks bursting in a blinding flash.
Ryuji shoved forward, raw strength driving Alan back a step. But Alan twisted free, his blade sliding along Blood Reaver and stabbing at Ryuji’s throat.
“!!!”
Ryuji pulled back, axe carving up from below.
The golden sword missed his neck by a few inches, ringing in his ears.
Thud!
Alan dashed left, then spun right, his sword a flicker of light. Ryuji ignored the fancy moves, matching each strike with sheer force, every counter heavier, more brutal.
Steel shrieked as the weapons locked together, faces inches apart, both breathing heavier and straining.
Once again, Alan vanished.
“Not this time!”
A golden flash cut across Ryuji’s back, his blade tearing through the air to deflect it. Clang! The impact blew Alan off the floor, his body floating into the air.
“Fall.”
Ryuji extended his fingertip, a swirl of blood creating a low thrumming as it bundled into a tiny, condensed orb.
Alan’s eyes widened. Mid-air, he thrust his sword forward, aura exploding along the blade. Golden light roared into shape, stretching into a colossal weapon that split the sky.
“Sword of the Holy Dawn!”
The blood orb pulsed at Ryuji’s fingertip, shrill with power.
Alan’s colossal blade of light blazed above, golden radiance cutting through the dark sky.
They struck at once.
Beam and blade collided. Boom! The world shook as red and gold devoured each other like wolves. Shockwaves tore across the ground, dirt and stone ripped into the air. Ryuji stepped forward, teeth gritted, forcing his blood into the beam inch by inch. Alan roared, divine light blazing as he tried to push back.
Cracks spider-webbed across the earth, digging deeper.
The Air screamed.
Ryuji’s power overwhelmed the golden blade beam.
Then a voice crawled from the void, into their minds, sharp and cold:
“I’ll help you win, human.”
“Mephisto!” Ryuji growled like an enraged beast.
Alan convulsed mid-air, eyes widening as the golden sword twisted. Its glow curdled into black flame, the weapon swelling, doubling. The divine aura warped, crawling with death.
“No—!” Ryuji forced more power into the beam, but the corrupted blade cut through it, black fire tearing his blood apart.
The land ruptured under the force. Whole slabs of earth shattered and fell as the blackened sword bore down. Ryuji’s left arm braced Blood Reaver, but the weight was crushing, unstoppable.
Damn it…!
He had one choice.
With a snarl, he let go. His right arm shot forward, flesh bursting apart as it met the blade head-on.
It was agonising.
The searing heat ripped through him. Bone cracked, blood sprayed, and his arm dissolved under the sword’s deathly light. But the sacrifice bought him a moment, enough to hurl the blade’s force skyward.
Wooooooooosh!
The explosion tore apart the sky, devouring all clouds and birds above, leaving half the battlefield scorched black, the other half drenched in blood.
Smoke rolled across the battlefield, ash stinging Ryuji’s lungs, his right arm hanging in tatters, blood streaming into the ground.
Alan’s blade of death towered over him, its black flame writhing like a living thing. Mephisto’s laughter echoed inside their skulls, cold and triumphant.
Ryuji straightened.
Black cracks split across his skin, scales forcing their way through. His flesh hardened, wrapping him in jagged armour that spread across his chest, his shoulders, his remaining arm. An exoskeleton of shadow locked into place, pulsing with a power he had tried to restrain.
The air grew heavier, and every breath tasted sweet as mana flooded his body.
Ryuji’s blue eyes shone as his sclera turned jet black, his clawed fingers clenching Blood Reaver as the Demon King awakened, standing in place.
“Enough!” His voice carried like a growl through stone.
Alan lunged with his corrupted sword, splitting the air in a black arc. But Ryuji vanished faster than his eyes could follow. His scaled claw slammed against the blade, sparks and fire bursting in every direction.
Clang!
He forced Alan’s strike aside and watched his eyes widen. “Your speed—!”
Ryuji pressed in closer, his movements no longer just heavy, but precise, lethal and unhindered by the loss of his right arm. His steps cracked the ground. Each blow reverberated like thunder.
The black armour moved with him, scales sliding and locking like a predator’s shell.
He had held back for Alan’s honour, but not anymore.
Alan stumbled back under the flurry of strikes. Each clash sent shocks down his arms, and Ryuji devoured every counter with pure force. His corrupted blade carved arcs of black fire, but even Mephisto’s power couldn’t keep pace.
Ryuji’s talons raked across the golden edge, sparks bursting in showers. He twisted with a parry, Blood Reaver sweeping up in a brutal line. Alan barely raised his sword in time!
Clang!
The impact hurled him across the broken earth, his boots carving trenches in the dirt.
“Brother!” Alan’s voice cracked as his grip trembled. The radiant steel in his hands quivered, light and darkness coiling violently along its length.
Ryuji strolled forward, scales seething with heat, eyes burning red. He moved like a ferocious and inescapable beast.
Alan looked cornered.
“Alan,” Ryuji growled, “this ends—”
The blade in Alan’s hands screamed, light devouring the shadow and twisting into a storm. Cracks split the ground as black fire erupted, drowning the field. Ryuji’s words caught in his throat, his eyes narrowing as the sword swelled beyond control.
The next swing would decide everything.
Alan steadied his stance, golden light tightening around the blade. “I’m not done yet, Ryuji!” he shouted, eyes blazing with life. He overcame Mephisto’s mind control and charged forward.
“Then, let’s continue, Brother.”
Ryuji set up his axe, a massive smile on his lips as his aura exploded.
There was no need to hold back anymore.
“Here I come, Alan!”