Kapitel03 Keep the Flame

Foreword:

I've been a king, and I've also played the clown.

--Oz Osborne

[Part 1: Mythical Creatures]

A large, red-skinned, black-haired demon stood outside the porch, while inside the room, the exhausted and weak Bu Liuxing felt an unusual spiritual pressure.

"General of Tears!"

A torrent of violent psychic energy blew out of the devil's throat, sending forth gusts of foul wind.

"You're not as strong as the legends portray. Just one [Otherworldly Pact] summoned a spirit entity that leaves you exhausted. I see that very clearly—"

"--Just a little bit short."

Mr. Fret gestured, rubbing his fingers together.

He glanced sideways at the shooting star, his eyes wide open, his expression exaggerated and comical.

"Just a little bit more! Just a tiny bit more!"

"It can bite through your neck and break your spine. If it succeeds, it can put you on the grill without even needing to cut you up."

"I find it hard to convince myself. How can I believe that this weak and vulnerable young man is the legendary hero Gloria Sebastian spoke of? Who would believe that?"

Right now, at this very moment.

Meteor didn't even have a chance to speak.

--Fret wanted to give a proper self-introduction, to express all his flamboyance and charm.

He moved with incredible speed. First, he attached a lace scarf to the front of his shirt, then took out a wig and put it on, changed into a pair of gold-rimmed sunglasses, and snapped his fingers twice. Colorful magic fireworks exploded next to his head.

"The Leopard of Laziness, this majestic little cutie is just one of my many treasures,"

"Standing before you is a true mythical creature, the renowned Marquis of the Netherworld — Fret Caesar."

"Certainly!"

Fret stretched out his arms, showing off his biceps.

"This is not my real name (a demon's real name can be used in most banishment ritual spells)."

"I am power! I am wisdom! I am the embodiment of agility and speed!"

"I am love and fire! I am your new master!"

Each change of stance was accompanied by magical and auditory effects, showing that Mr. Fret took this meeting very seriously. Two fire bats even emerged from his robe to help with the lighting and embellishment.

"Me, Mtf?"

Before he could finish speaking, Meteor, ignoring his injuries, struggled to his feet.

"Take this punch!"

[Mr. Wei Meng Rap] soars through the air, his powerful punch cleaving through the wind as he slams into the devil's head.

Captain Quack immediately cheered, urging everyone to seize the opportunity to boost morale.

"Well done! General of Tears! We should take advantage of this devil's nonsensical ramblings and slap him hard across the face! Break his head!"

A crimson spirit flashed past, covering a distance of over ten meters in less than a second. The armored gauntlets emitted a metallic sheen resembling an insect's carapace. Without any resistance, it slammed into the palm of the devil Fret, and then...

Meteor looked fearful and was inwardly panicked.

"My arm disappeared?! My spirit body?"

[Mr. Wei Meng Rap]'s entire right-handedness has disappeared!

It was as if something had chopped it off! The part of the spirit's upper arm near the shoulder was pressed tightly against Fret's bright red palm, frozen and unable to move.

"Hoo!" The great demon exhaled a breath of hot, foul air, feeling utterly disgusted. "Luckily, I protected my face in time. Do you know how much I have to pay for face insurance every year?"

"It didn't work?" Quack, clinging to Ethan, was also terrified, his teeth chattering.

Ethan's mind had already been damaged by this chaotic and violent spiritual pressure, and he was screaming and howling along with Quack.

"What should we do! General of Tears's soul-powered attack seems to have no effect at all!"

"And what's more, [Mr. Wei Meng Rap] is acting really strange!"

As Ethan described it—

--Meteor cannot dispel the Soul's Power.

The unicorn helmet on the samurai general's head swayed back and forth, its limbs clinging to the devil's hand as it struggled incessantly, trying to escape its shackles.

"My turn?" Fret said, raising his arms in a pressing motion.

With palms pressed together, distorted and chaotic floating lights appeared in the air—

--Mr Mr. Wei Meng's head fell into the devil's hands and was crushed into oblivion by the domineering and imposing gesture of his clasped hands!

Meteor's pupils went unfocused; she hadn't expected her spirit to be so fragile.

Like a sugar-blowing artist, Fret ripped [Wham Mr. Wei Meng] apart in his Guardian Oath state, completely shattering Meteor's soul power!

First Ethan just got hit by Mr. Wei Meng. At this moment, the duel between Meteor and Ethan is not over yet. According to Mr. Wei Meng's characteristics, when he is in the state of protecting the duelist, his stats, except for speed, are comparable to those of [Fragrant Dream].

If the situation is right, this Red Stone People will be in a state of rage, Mr. Wei Meng will unleash astonishing destructive power, passively retaliating to protect his target—his punches and kicks can deliver an impact force of about six tons.

For a Homo sapiens, Bu Liuxing's soul power quality is exceptional.

But in Fret's hands, it was like a piece of cotton!

"Wrong."

The anticipated scenario of the spirit shattering and falling into the Gate of Death has yet to materialize.

Meteor didn't feel any psychological damage from the Gate of Death effect.

"What trick are you playing, Fret!"

Bu Liuxing questioned sharply.

"You cowardly coward who hides his head and tail, pretending to be a ghost! What have you done to my spirit?!"

On the other side of the room, the Great Demon stared at the General of Tears with a grin.

Slightly opening the two hands that were holding Mr. Wei Meng, the unicorn warrior's spirit regained some of its torso and arms, like illusory streams of light leaking through its fingers.

Oh! I forgot!

Fret frowned, suppressing a laugh.

"So my soul power has no offensive capabilities after all! Damn it!"

Bu Liuxing's anger, which had just begun to rise, completely dissipated with this inexplicable jeer and curse.

"You"

Fret: "Me?"

Bu Liuxing: "Are you out of your mind?"

Fret suddenly became excited.

"Congratulations! You've discovered the biggest business secret in the Netherworld since the 21st century! Fret Caesar's got a screw loose! I have a prize for you! General of Tears!"

The moment Mr. Wei Meng regained his freedom--

--Fret Caesar's enchantment was almost a silent operation, with no pre-cast animation or hand seals!

His fist swung out first, and halfway through its flight, it was engulfed in a golden, thunderous light. The blinding flashes of lightning climbed up his crimson skin and slammed into Mr. Wei Meng's head!

Meteor was almost stunned by that punch!

He felt as if a Buddhist ritual had been performed in his head, with the sounds of gongs and drums pounding back and forth, making his eyes roll back and his legs go weak.

Mr. Wei Meng's helmet, along with a portion of the insect's chitinous head, was shattered into pieces by this lightning-attribute punch! It collapsed to the ground, first smashing through the sixth-floor floor, and then crashing into the bathroom of the fifth-floor ocean-view room.

Fret raised his arms high and roared!

"The winner! Fret Caesar!!!----"

The battle cry was long and drawn out, combining terrifying spellcasting ability with physical strength. This was the Blue Stone Magic that the Great Demon had learned in his previous life, the most basic lightning summoning spell.

Lacking any means to combat spirits, before the advent of industrial electricity, the old mages of Galahad hoped to use an enchantment to give ordinary people the ability to harm spirits.

[Varian Bio-Summoning Lightning Spell] is the precursor to this magic, which refers to using the organs of electrified monsters, such as the electric sacs of the rainbow eel and the plasma glands of the Lie horseshoe crab, as medium props to cast spells.

Lightning is an excellent means of suppressing and subduing spirits; many modern exorcists also use electric shocks to deal with spirits.

After Fret Caesar became a demon, the powerful physical body given to him by Gaia, the Original Seed, allowed him to silently cast spells to summon lightning, using himself as a medium.

"Friends downstairs! Friends on the roof!"

"On this joyous occasion, the room fee will be entirely on me, Marquis Fret!"

The great devil kept chattering on and on.

He lay on the floor and shouted to the residents on the fifth floor.

"Sorry! I'm just so excited!"

He suddenly stood up and roared at the disoriented and mentally broken General of Tears.

"The General of Tears fallen!"

"My friend who's still trembling! My friend who looks like the fleshy bumps on my mom's thigh when she had tertiary syphilis! That's you! Quack! Quack! It's time for you to start singing!"

"Sing for my victory! Sing for my heroism!"

[Part ②: Blue Stone and the Devil]

Captain Quack has completely lost his mind.

Under this insane and frenzied spiritual pressure and torture, he couldn't utter a single word.

Only profound fear, only fear, pressed down on him.

The meteor hadn't completely fallen yet; Mr. Wei Meng still maintained his spirit form and hadn't completely disintegrated.

His legs seemed to be dancing.

"Yes! Yes! Look at him!" Fret started dancing along with Meteor's weak, limp legs. "Elvis's dance moves! They're fucking awesome!"

"I'll count to three!"

"Three!"

"Two!"

"One!"

Meteor knelt down in response, his face covered in cold sweat. The severe blow to his spirit from the lightning strike had almost damaged his brain and shattered his physical balance due to the Gate of Death effect.

His bioelectric field went awry, and his spinal center frantically released strange commands to all parts of his body. His muscles tensed and relaxed at times. If his body hadn't been relatively sturdy, he would have been incontinent and unable to control himself.

Even worse was the impact on his cardiovascular system; that punch left Meteor unable to breathe.

--This "inability to breathe" means that a nervous system disorder prevents the body's tissues from maintaining basic functions.

The moment the spirit was struck by the electric shock, the meteor's heart first stopped beating, then surged to 230 beats per minute. This sudden physiological change exacerbated his Gate of Death state.

Fortunately

He did not die on the spot, nor did he collapse completely.

He was just kneeling, panting and trying to catch his breath.

"Hmm?" Fret Caesar was both surprised and delighted. "You can still maintain consciousness? General of Tears! You're quite the fighter!"

"I understand! I know where your fame comes from!"

The devil chuckled mockingly.

"You must have exhausted the enemy to death!"

Meteor couldn't refute it, but he began to feel happy.

It's a good thing that Fret didn't immediately go in for the finishing blow.

This devil is still putting on performance art; it would be great to scold him and make him angry.

If the pyroxene can shine again, that would be the best thing.

Ethan, his mind now that of a three-year-old, was driven mad by the scorching, terrifying spiritual pressure. "What do we do, Captain! Is it too late to surrender?!"

He was hallucinating, scratching his arms violently as bright red sores sprouted from them. His fingernails were filled with fleshy pulp, and in his vision, he was beginning to mutate, his bare arms covered with pinkish, bamboo shoot-shaped growths.

After being scolded by Fret, Quack felt a bit angry, which actually lessened the severity of the hallucinations caused by his spiritual pressure.

"--Do I look like the syphilitic tumor on your mother's thigh?!"

"Fret Caesar! You want to have a verbal contest with me? You've picked the right person!"

"Bu Liuxing!"

Captain Quack is a smart and brave man who always manages to lead his crew out of danger in times of crisis.

"Fuck your mother! Fuck your mother, did you hear me?! Your mother is a slutty bitch! Fuck!"

Now it was Mr. Fret's turn to be unable to understand what he was hearing or seeing.

"Why do you insult him when I insult you?"

The great devil stroked his chin, deep in thought.

"--No, no, no. No."

"If this continues, you'll be worse than me! Worse than me! I can't let myself be outdone!"

Captain Quack yelled a few curses, and then General of Tears suddenly stood up!

The anger in his heart was about to be extinguished, but Captain Quack fiercely reignited the flames!

"Whoa! Whoa!!! Wow!" Just as Fret was about to go up and Quack trouble for the noisy toad, trying to shut its mouth, he was suddenly startled by the shooting star and quickly retreated to a safe distance.

The devil still dared not approach the Red Stone People.

Even if he shattered the meteor's spirit, even if the apostle derivatives he summoned could subdue this ordinary person, he still possessed a timidity and caution unique to the Blue Stone People, which twisted his personality and made him act eccentrically.

"What did you say about my mom?!" Upon regaining consciousness, Bu Liuxing's first instinct wasn't to cause trouble for Fret, but instead he staggered towards the side of the bedroom, roaring at Captain Quack, "I hate it when people insult my mom! What did you just say?!"

The enraged Red Stone People had gone berserk; the flames erupting from the Rose Shining Stone almost completely enveloped his body.

His hair stood on end, floating and twisting along with the steam rising from his sweat.

His muscles swelled up again, becoming completely enlarged, making him appear to have gained a whole size.

The esteemed Marquis of the Netherworld did not take the opportunity to finish him off. Instead, he appeared tense, first biting his nails as he carefully observed Bu Liuxing, and then becoming anxious about Quack's safety. His sense of immersion and participation was at its peak, and his Madness Index soared to the sky. Influenced by environmental factors and the emotions of others, he was completely unable to control himself.

"Crackling, crackling, crackling." Fret kept grinding his teeth, then produced corn kernels from his wide robes. Using the iron-nickel core that Gaia's mother had given him, he tore open his chest cavity and blew out flames.

He munched on popcorn, stuffing a huge handful into his mouth. Half of the snack went into his mouth, while the other half fell to the ground, where he called the fire demon bat in his robe to pick it up.

Faced with the irrational General of Tears, Quack immediately knelt down and begged for mercy, pointing to the real enemy.

"No, no, no, no! Over there, over there, over there! General of Tears! Over there!"

Despite Quack's best efforts, Meteor still couldn't wake up.

He first grabbed the bastard who had insulted his mother and threw him out of the sixth-floor window!

All that could be heard was Captain Quack's scream, but there was no sound of anything heavy falling to the ground.

Fret: "Brilliant!"

Then Meteor grabbed the trembling Ethan—

-- Throw it out the window.

Fret pulled out a beer, pried open the cap with his Thumb, and then drank it heartily.

"I love this! I absolutely adore it!"

Meanwhile, Mr. Wei Meng, acting as a guardian, caught Quack and Ethan on the first floor, taking these two ordinary people away from the most dangerous dueling environment.

The meteor turned around and faced the powerful hellish demon once more.

"Round two, you fight me."