The Devil Bringer's Ability

"What's wrong? Weren't you acting pretty arrogant earlier?" With the greatsword resting on his left shoulder, Yuri swaggered toward Cain, whom he had planted headfirst in the ground.

Cain was stuck fast in the earth, motionless, as if he had lost all signs of life.

But Yuri knew it wouldn't be that easy. This guy's vitality was tenacious even by demon standards; at most, he had only been knocked unconscious.

Still, if that really was the case, Yuri wouldn't mind making himself a "roast chicken."

Sure enough, men were sensitive. Whenever someone tried to harm their big dragon, their hair would stand on end and they would instantly wake up.

Cain was no different, except that he had no body hair, only rows of fine scales that were constantly opening toward Yuri.

"Hm?"

Yuri studied them curiously, then suddenly realized something was wrong.

"Woooo—"

With a sound like a kettle coming to a boil, the scales on Cain's back began to spew scalding white steam like so many exhaust vents.

Even though Yuri retreated immediately, he was still engulfed in an instant.

"Hahahaha! Serves you right, brat! Have a taste of my high-pressure steam!" Cain pulled himself out of the ground and mocked him without restraint.

But soon, a figure came hurtling through the air again, punching a great hole through the scalding, high-pressure steam.

Yuri slashed at Cain. Seeing no flames jetting from the blade, Cain raised both arms to block. The Red Queen struck the scales on his arms, throwing off showers of sparks.

"You're actually unharmed?!" Cain asked, baffled.

"It was just a sauna. Why wouldn't I be?" Yuri retorted.

Cain glanced at Yuri. All his exposed skin, including his left arm and chest, had turned an unnatural shade of red.

The temperature of steam depended on its pressure. At normal pressure, it was 100°C, and as the pressure soared, the temperature rose sharply as well.

The steam Cain expelled from his body was at least 1,000°C. Even so, this guy had dared to force his way through it. He was a complete madman.

The scales on Cain's arms opened again as he prepared to release another blast of steam at Yuri from point-blank range.

Having already fallen for it once, Yuri wasn't about to get caught again. He kicked Cain and used the recoil to fly backward.

Unexpectedly, Cain suddenly closed the scales on his arms, and the magic power in his body began concentrating in his lower limbs.

He bent his knees slightly, and his calves abruptly began to swell. As he lowered his body further and further, he finally sprang upward, shooting toward Yuri. His swollen legs instantly contracted as both arms swelled in turn, and he drove a punch at Yuri in midair.

Seeing this, Yuri flipped over and landed. Azure light coiled around the Devil Bringer as he raised his arm and threw a punch of his own.

"Bang!"

The two fists, one large and one small, collided head-on without any fancy moves.

The ground beneath Yuri's feet cracked inch by inch, slabs of stone rising and spreading outward like flowers, yet his body didn't budge.

"Oh? You have an ability like that too?" Yuri said with interest.

"Don't think you're the only one with a trump card," Cain snorted.

[Bloodborne Berserk] was a spell that placed a tremendous burden on the body. To master it, Cain had specifically devised an ability to release steam.

It not only extended the spell's duration, but could also inflict widespread damage on enemies in the surrounding area.

Most importantly, he had successfully used this method to control the pressure inside his body, and had established three thresholds based on it.

They were the safe threshold, which accelerated blood flow to enhance speed; the warning threshold, which accumulated blood and expanded the body to enhance strength; and the high-risk threshold...

Cain's strength changed drastically between the different thresholds. Now, for example, having entered the warning threshold, he had gained new strength once again.

"Too bad it's still not quite enough."

Yuri stepped forward and swung his right arm. His blue-glowing fist knocked back the fist that was nearly as large as his entire body.

Anger and shock showed in Cain's eyes as his massive body staggered back two steps against his will.

"Damn half-breed brat!" Unable to accept being driven back in a head-on clash, Cain attacked again.

Both his arms had been swollen, but as his left arm contracted, his right arm swelled even further. That terrifying fist was almost the size of a heavy truck.

The enormous fist blocked Yuri's view, but he remained where he stood and swung the blue-wreathed Devil Bringer without any fancy moves, just as before.

"Boom!"

As expected, the enormous iron fist crushed the ground to pieces. Yuri was nowhere to be seen, seemingly indicating that he had been completely crushed by the attack.

"Hahahaha! You overestimated yourself, brat! A half-breed is just a half-breed after all... See that? This is a demon's true power!"

Cain, the victor, laughed wildly, mocking Yuri's weakness without restraint.

But soon, the smile on his face abruptly froze. Yuri's voice suddenly came from underground.

"Is that so?"

As his words fell, a dazzling blue light flashed through the cracks in the stone, and Cain's fist was slowly pushed upward.

A somewhat indifferent voice rang out. "If what you call a demon's true power only amounts to this, then I really don't understand what you're so proud of."

"No... This is impossible!"

Cain clenched his teeth, veins bulging on his forehead as though he were using every ounce of strength he had. Yet even so, he couldn't stop himself from being forced back.

The one standing before him, matching his strength, seemed to be neither human nor demon, but an immovable mountain.

That dazzling azure radiance washed over his face. Cain's massive body instantly twisted out of shape, and he was sent flying by a punch like a tattered rag doll!

Yuri reappeared aboveground. Blue light streamed constantly from his right hand, forming an azure arm of magic power as large as an adult. This was the ability that came with the Devil Bringer.

It could further strengthen the monstrous power Yuri gained from the Devil Bringer and help him deal better with those enormous opponents.