Ex-Machina on a Dimensional Journey

Demons were selfish. They cherished their own lives dearly. Demons were selfish, so they did not care whether other lives lived or died. They could kill other living beings at will, even their own kind, without reason.

It was not that they lacked emotions; they were simply rather indifferent in that regard.

"My lord, I did inspect the entire town. The one fighting Zera must have only just entered from outside."

Dracole stared coldly at Leslie, then spared her.

"In that case, let us go see who is fighting Zera."

"Yes, my lord."

The servants bowed slightly, then left by their own means.

Only after they had left did Dracole begin slowly walking toward where Zera was.

To be honest, he did not care who was fighting Zera. He simply wanted to kill everyone in this city.

Crimson blood surged forth from all around. The liquid seeped out from the nearby corpses and gathered above Dracole's head.

Blood Magic

Once the blood above his head had gathered into a mass even larger than Dracole himself, it stopped, then slowly descended and crashed onto him.

Rather than splashing across the ground like ordinary liquid, it all clung to Dracole's body.

In the end, it condensed into a suit of blood armor attached to him. The elegant, handsome Demon man vanished, and a Blood Knight clad in crimson armor and radiating an ominous aura emerged from the sea of blood.

His entire body was protected by armor. In one hand, he held a half-human-height shield made of blood; in the other, a crimson Blood Greatsword.

Only then did the Blood Knight slowly walk toward the direction where Zera's battle had erupted...

Clash

Bang—! Clang—! Bam—!

Zera continuously swung the Battle Axe in his hand. He kept using the combat techniques he had learned so far, every muscle in his body driving the axe as he unleashed heavy, powerful attacks.

But...

What was wrong with this human? She clearly looked so frail and easy to crush. Why?

The human girl before him, who should have been utterly vulnerable, had somehow pulled out a greatsword and blocked every one of his attacks.

Even stranger, the instant she drew her weapon, the flesh on her body seemed to turn into steel. No muscle movement could be seen, and numerous black cracks appeared, making her look like a doll.

Her once lively eyes had also turned into inorganic things devoid of life.

Above her head was a blue-and-gold Proto-Halo that had appeared out of nowhere. It made her look like an angel, and Zera nearly thought she was an Apostle of the Goddess.

What the hell was this thing?

Even a bloodthirsty creature like a Demon was intimidated by Xiu Er's strangeness.

A muscular Demon standing over three meters tall was being suppressed by a human girl who only reached his waist. Anyone would think it was a lie if they heard it.

But that was the truth. Xiu Er was not human either. Perhaps because her clothes concealed most of her mechanical parts, these Demons mistook her for some kind of human who had "modified" herself.

Clang—! Bam—!!!

In Zera's eyes, she had initially only barely been able to withstand his attacks.

Though her strength was strangely greater than his, her speed had been inferior.

But as the battle continued, after only ten seconds, her speed suddenly increased.

Bang—!!

Zera hurriedly gripped the axe handle with both hands and barely blocked the greatsword slashing diagonally at him.

Yet he had no idea how those frail arms possessed such tremendous strength. They actually pushed the massive Zera backward.

His feet did not move. The force striking his body made him slide across the road, gouging out two trenches.

The distance between them widened by several meters as a result.

Looking at his palms, which ached from blocking her attack, Zera's gaze changed.

From contempt at the beginning, to confusion later, to seriousness now.

He understood now. This human was a powerful warrior.

"So that's how it is. You are a powerful warrior."

Zera was a warrior, and among his own kind, he was quite strong. But after encountering Lord Dracole, he had seen martial skill beyond anything he could reach.

Demons respected strength above all else. Thus, he had willingly become the other's servant and followed his master into battle in the days that followed.

He had fought powerful human Warriors of all kinds, including some who could threaten his life. Yet none of those humans had given him as strong a sense of danger as this strange person before him.

He tightened his grip on the giant axe and abandoned his playful attitude toward humans.

"From now on, I'll be serious... Urgh?!!!"

However, Xiu Er did not give him the chance to continue speaking.

Her analysis of this Demon warrior was complete. There was no value in continuing to fight this Demon.

Speed Violation

In the Demon's eyes, Xiu Er's speed suddenly soared. Her figure vanished, becoming a streak of golden light.

So fast!

Where did she go?! Left? Right? Behind me?!

With no time to turn around, Zera reversed his grip on his weapon and positioned the axe behind his back.

Unfortunately, things did not go as he had expected.

Above!

He sensed the danger coming from overhead.

Relying on the instincts forged through countless battles and killings over a hundred years, he hurriedly pulled his weapon back and raised it over his head to intercept the attack.

But it was already too late...

Crack—!!!

Golden light fell vertically from above. Along with the axe handle splitting into two, Xiu Er landed at Zera's feet.

The blade of the greatsword had already cut into the Demon warrior's body. His hardened muscles provided no cushioning at all.

The blade ultimately stopped at his abdomen.

Then Xiu Er turned both hands holding Gokurokugai sideways.

The blade shifted direction inside his body, cutting diagonally out of Zera's flesh and passing through his heart.

The blade that emerged from his shoulder was turned again by Xiu Er, sweeping horizontally across Zera's neck.

Within two short seconds, the greatsword carved a ▽ trajectory across Zera's body.

His flying head still wore an expression of shock. In Zera's vision, heaven and earth spun, finally freezing on Xiu Er's cold face.

Is that so... I lost.

He was very calm, as though he did not care at all that he was about to die.

In the end, Zera's thoughts ceased.

Clang—

The giant axe, broken into two pieces, fell to the ground with a loud crash.

Even a Demon with powerful regenerative abilities could not endure such fatal wounds. The tall, headless body knelt before Xiu Er and gradually turned to ash.

Xiu Er looked at the broken giant axe before her. The Demon warrior's corpse had already vanished.

To be honest, Demons were rather convenient to kill. There was no need to clean up the remains afterward.

She remained where she was and did not continue deeper into the town.

Why?

Because Xiu Er understood that the Demons would come to her themselves now.

Suddenly, a cold gleam flashed.

A frigid dagger stabbed out from the shadows behind Xiu Er, targeting the back of her head.

Unfortunately, faster than the dagger was Xiu Er's elbow strike, which instantly shot backward.

Bang—! Boom—!!!

She sent her opponent flying into a burning house nearby. The tremendous impact caused the already crumbling building to collapse with a roar.

Xiu Er merely watched the collapsed house quietly. She did not choose to pursue immediately.

The other party's Magic intrigued her. Eliminating them immediately would certainly be convenient, but she would naturally lose the chance to witness more Magic.

With only that brief exchange, Xiu Er had already determined that this newly arrived Demon was a Magic User with unusual talent.

Sure enough, a pillar of black energy shot out from the ruins, targeting Xiu Er.

Xiu Er's response was simply—

"-Codex Opening-No Passage-"

A golden semicircular shield appeared before Xiu Er, blocking the Demon's Magic attack.

At the same time, countless streams of data flickered through Xiu Er's eyes.

The thick black energy pillar continued firing for ten seconds before gradually fading away.

Xiu Er stood there completely unharmed. Only the road around her feet had been torn apart by the Magic attack.

Only then was she able to see the appearance of the Demon who had attacked her.

It was a female Demon named Leslie.

"So, Zera is already dead."

When she said this, the Demon felt nothing about her companion's death. She was merely calmly confirming the fact.

Leslie glanced at the giant axe lying in the distance, broken into two pieces. She recognized that axe. It had been Zera's weapon.

Then where was Zera?

She could not see him, which meant there was only one possibility. Zera had already been killed by the strangely shaped human girl before her.

How strange. She clearly had no magic power, and her body's muscles did not look like those of a warrior.

Yet she had killed Zera in such a short time.

That was right. From the moment the battle broke out, Leslie and the others had immediately rushed here.

She was the first to arrive, but Zera had already been killed. Only his broken weapon remained, proving that he had once been here.

A powerful warrior was an extremely dangerous existence to Leslie, a Magic User.

The selfishness of Demons generally prevented them from doing things that threatened their own lives. Since Leslie understood Xiu Er's strength, she naturally would not challenge such a powerful warrior alone.

Fortunately, her companions would arrive soon. As long as they joined forces to surround and kill this human, the final victory would surely belong to them.

But at that moment, Leslie's thoughts were interrupted.

Because a thick Golden Energy Pillar had already filled her entire field of vision...

A Battle Without Suspense

Struck by the golden energy, Leslie was blasted back once more.

She crashed through rows of walls behind her, only stopping after piercing through three of them.

She paid no attention to the holes that had been blasted through her body. Such injuries were not fatal to a Demon. What concerned her most was that bizarre attack.