Slaughter (2)

Silent Casting. Instant Spell

Bloodline Spell. Pain Strike (Curse-type Spell; cannot be perceived through ordinary vision. Once this spell struck the target, any wound caused by the next attack would inflict extreme pain) + Bloodline Spell. Soul Impact (condensing the power of one's own soul into an invisible soul attack that struck directly at the target's soul) = a two-hit sneak attack combo.

Knowing that the opponent's Life Force was strong and that he was still not dead, Orsaga gave him no chance to turn the tables. He charged straight up and kicked his head with all his strength, delivering the final blow!

Using a certain application of force, he sent the kick through the skull and turned the brain matter inside completely to mush.

If he had not wanted to preserve the corpse and soul, Orsaga would not even have considered getting close. A few Fireball Techniques thrown at the heavily injured enemy would have solved everything.

But Fireball Techniques were out of the question. Resources could not be wasted so casually.

The other guy had just been lively enough to throw spears at him, which had been somewhat offensive.

But since he had now become Orsaga's nourishment, Orsaga decided to magnanimously forgive him. He would simply drain away the essence of his flesh and blood; leaving an intact corpse behind was something he could reluctantly allow.

As for who might pick up the remaining dried corpse, that had nothing to do with him.

A quarter of his magic power and a negligible amount of stamina—that was all Orsaga had paid. Strictly speaking, there had not been an absolute difference in strength between them. Their strength, speed, and physique should have been roughly equal.

Judging from the Destructive Power displayed by the spear he had thrown, the opponent had even been somewhat stronger.

Orsaga did not think he could have remained so calm and composed if that spear had hit him.

Among all the enemies Orsaga had encountered, this one should have been the strongest. Both sides had the foundation needed to kill the other, and to a certain extent, the outcome of their clash depended on who was decisive enough.

He had thought that by taking the initiative and using his mobility to kite Orsaga, he could hunt him down just as he had hunted those beast-like demons before.

Yet he had never expected that, at a stage when most Lesser Demons still relied on desperate hand-to-hand combat, Orsaga had already become a spell machine gun.

His old habits had made him instinctively treat Orsaga like a beast, and he had paid for that expensive lesson with his life.

If he had not underestimated Orsaga so badly, Orsaga would probably have had to suffer some injuries to kill him. It would never have been so clean and decisive. From the fact that he could perform a Transformation Ritual, he even possessed decent spellcasting ability, but all of that was meaningless now. He had not had any chance to use it.

Grasping his soul, Orsaga had his tail ignore the body's surface defenses and pierce into the opponent's chest. It drew out the accumulated power in great gulps. In less than a few dozen seconds, the body turned into a dried corpse, and the Transformation Ritual on its surface withered away.

+1277 Evolution Points. In other words, he had been worth over two thousand.

Orsaga was very pleased. Most Lower Demons were probably no better than this, perhaps even inferior.

Thanks for the generous gift, buddy.

More than ten days later, Abyss time.

Beneath towering Demonized Trees, a trace of caution flashed across Orsaga's face as he casually tossed aside the remains in his hand.

He closed his eyes and quietly listened to the movements around him.

His slightly pointed, elf-like ears, covered with a few scales, twitched twice as though they had detected something.

Not long afterward, he opened his eyes and looked toward the sky.

Some kind of sound was coming from there!

Orsaga crossed his arms. His tail lashed out behind him and viciously stabbed into a nearby Demonized Tree. Using that as an anchor point, he exerted force through his tail and pulled himself upward, hurling his entire body toward the top of the tree.

Whenever his upward momentum began to slow, his tail repeated the previous motion, continuously accelerating him!

More than ten seconds later, he stood on a branch at the treetop and gazed into the distant sky.

At some point, a vast swarm of flying monsters had gathered there. All manner of shrieks and roars blended into chaos. With their enormous bodies and astonishing numbers, they circled endlessly like locusts, covering even that stretch of sky.

Severed limbs and broken bodies occasionally fell from within the swarm, scattering sheets of Blood Rain across the sky and watering the land below!

The monsters already gathered on the ground caught the scent of fresh blood in the air. Their barely maintained calm instantly erupted, and a brutal slaughter began.

Blood Rain scattered through the sky, Scarlet rivers of blood flowed across the ground, and every monster unleashed the savagery in its heart to the fullest. This was a grand gathering held only once in a while. Blood and death were their finest food and wine!

Orsaga's eyes, already the color of blood, turned even more Scarlet at the sight.

Demonic instinct urged Orsaga to join in, to slaughter, to tear off their heads with his own hands, and turn them into his trophies!

But he did not rush into the fray, because the demons' Inheritance Memory reminded him that before long, a gift from the Bottomless Abyss would descend from the sky. That was the true surprise and focus of this grand gathering.

Soul's Boon

Soul Crystals falling from the heavens, formed from highly condensed soul power. A single one could allow a Lesser Demon to advance into a Lower Demon. They were rewards bestowed by the Bottomless Abyss upon the demons in demon Novice Villages such as Howling Forest, Dead Soul Abyss, Dark Cave...

They were like the Blood Food scattered when raising a pack of wolves, only far more frenzied and cruel.

After Soul's Boon was absorbed into the body, it could not be assimilated in a short time. One had to slowly wear down its shell with magic power inside the body. During that period, Soul's Boon continuously released an alluring force, broadcasting its signal to the other demons.

It made other demons impatient to rip open the belly of whoever possessed Soul's Boon.

This was the purest survival-of-the-fittest model. Only the best demons were needed; all the rest were renewable resources.

Thus, at fixed intervals, whenever they descended, the demons in these places would fall into a mad slaughter. There was no possibility of compromise or discussion. Countless demons fought to their hearts' content in a Sea of Corpses and Blood, and only the final victors could obtain Soul's Boon.

And now, this grand entertainment had not yet begun. According to Orsaga's senses, there should still be several dozen minutes of preparation time. Everything would only truly begin once Soul's Boon descended.

The current slaughter and chaos were merely a small prelude, spontaneous early entertainment caused by the monsters' innate brutality. A great many monsters had yet to arrive...

The slaughter continued. The various Demonized Plants on the ground had been dyed red with blood, and blood-colored streams flowed across the earth.

The moisture in the air had already been saturated with blood.

This was both a carnival for demons and Demonized Creatures, and a feast for Demonized Plants.

Countless Bloodthirsty Flies licked at the blood scattered through the sky, over the trees, and across the ground.

Creatures constantly died, and creatures constantly arrived. Those who usually hid and stalked like hunters now fought like madmen. There was no longer any need to consider ambushes or the like. They only needed to kill everything in sight.

Just like the days once spent on the banks of the Styx—simple and direct.

At some point, thick fog had enveloped everything around them, and the intense stench of blood had dyed it red.

Condensed crimson droplets of mist continuously dripped from Orsaga's body.

But he paid no attention to such trivial matters. His eyes remained fixed on the distant sky, where the clouds had formed a vortex. The scent of Soul's Boon slowly seeped out from it, making the surrounding predators even more excited.

Within the forests spanning several hundred kilometers, millions of monsters had gathered, and countless roars rose and fell.

Demons and Demonized Creatures from farther away had not come here because there were other Soul's Boon descent points.

In Orsaga's eyes, the power within the vortex had accumulated to its peak. The thing inside was about to descend. His body began to stir uncontrollably, while other beings capable of sensing this also grew increasingly excited!

Many Lower Demons who had originally been quietly waiting for Soul's Boon to descend like Orsaga, but lacked sufficient self-control, directly joined the slaughter that had long since begun.

Those demons who had gone mad with killing had probably already forgotten about Soul's Boon entirely, immersing themselves wholeheartedly in slaughter. Demons were that kind of creature, after all. Whether there was any reward was secondary; being able to kill to their hearts' content was profit enough.

Rumble...

Accompanied by fierce winds, thousands of purple crystals wreathed in flames flew from the vortex within the clouds. The countless Demonized Creatures and demons flying in midair immediately rushed out to seize them.

But how could the flightless monsters below possibly let them have all the spoils?

Tens of thousands of ranged attacks shot into the sky. Flames, lightning, ice, Venom... flew everywhere. One flying monster after another fell like birds shot from the sky, only to be torn apart upon hitting the ground.

Under such circumstances, coupled with the flying monsters themselves fighting one another in a chaotic melee, only a small portion of Soul's Boon ended up in their hands despite their advantage in getting there first. The vast majority ultimately fell to the ground, where the monsters below fought over them.

Standing atop the tree and watching the millions of monsters in the distance as the battle grew ever more intense, Orsaga still did not choose to rush in. A melee on this scale was simply too chaotic; once inside, it would be easy to lose all sense of direction.

He still had to wait a little longer. Once more of them had died and more had been severely wounded, that would be his chance to intervene...