"Chas, watch out!"
In the dim hall, Constantine yanked Chas behind him, then slipped the Holy Silver Knuckles onto his right hand and slammed his fist at Belur.
"Belur, fuck you and your whole family!"
With that furious curse, the Holy Silver Knuckles emitted a faint holy light and struck Belur squarely in his hideous face.
Clang!
A sharp, metallic crash rang out.
The heavy blow, infused with sacred power, sent Belur staggering backward.
His body, riddled with bloody holes, swayed violently. Thick, black blood trickled from the corner of his mouth and dripped onto the floor.
"Damn you, Constantine... you exorcists... do you really think you can kill me on my own turf?!"
Belur roared.
"Who said this was your turf? Batman hasn't said a word. Who the hell do you think you are?" Lynn sneered.
Belur took a deep breath and began backing away from the group.
"Fight me one-on-one if you've got the guts! What kind of victory is it when all of you gang up on one weak, pitiful, helpless demon?"
Raven snapped at him, the red gem on her forehead suddenly blazing with dazzling crimson light.
"We'd have to be idiots to fight a treacherous, despicable demon like you one-on-one. Besides... this is a righteous beatdown!"
Several pitch-black shadow tentacles erupted from the ground, tightly binding Belur's limbs and pinning him against a ruined wall.
"So... just shut up and die!"
As her words fell, the gem shone even brighter. Eerie blue soul flames ignited along the shadow tentacles, burning Belur's bloated body and his soul.
"Aaaaargh!!"
Belur struggled frantically, his face twisted into a hideous grimace.
"You're a demon too? I can feel Trigon's power inside you. Why are you helping them?
"That treacherous, despicable Hell Lord, Trigon, actually sided with outsiders and gave his power to a little brat who's barely grown up?!"
He cursed through gritted teeth, as though he and the Hell Lord were sworn enemies.
Even Lynn couldn't help feeling that Trigon was truly detestable after hearing Belur's furious roar.
"He's my father."
Raven answered calmly, her face expressionless.
Belur: "..."
I'm screwed. He didn't hear what I just said about him, did he?
I was just running my fucking mouth!
"Still, you certainly live up to your name as the daughter of a Hell Lord, possessing such tremendous power..."
Enduring the agony of his burning body, Belur desperately tried to say something flattering that might improve his situation.
"I'm sure you and that Hell Lord must be very close. Could you let me go?"
Raven gave him an indifferent glance, then silently intensified the flames.
"We're enemies... mortal enemies!"
The expression on Belur's face froze completely. Even his eyelids kept twitching.
I'm done with this shit. Fuck all your mothers!
Standing a short distance away, Lynn watched Belur with a strange expression, sympathy written all over his face.
This guy... what a miserable bastard.
"Aaaaargh!!"
As the soul flames burned ever more fiercely, Belur's bloated body writhed frantically within the shadow tentacles.
Sheer agony instantly consumed his expression, contorting his hideous features.
Black blood dripped steadily onto the floor, and a foul stench mingled with the smell of burning flesh in the air.
His skin, already riddled with bloody holes, began splitting open over large areas. Black mist poured wildly from the cracks, as though something were trying to break free.
"Something's wrong! He's casting some kind of terrifying black magic!"
Constantine's expression changed abruptly at the sight.
"More power, Rachel! Don't let him finish that Black Magic spell!"
Raven knitted her brows. The red gem on her forehead flared, and the eerie blue flames along the shadow tentacles suddenly blazed with searing heat.
But just then, Belur abruptly stopped screaming and let out an eerie peal of wild laughter instead. It was piercing and shrill, nothing like his earlier hoarse voice.
"Foolish humans... did you think this pathetic amount of power would be enough to kill me?"
Suddenly, his belly bulged outward, as though a massive beast were rolling and churning inside it.
His already bloated body swelled visibly, stretching the shadow tentacles taut until they began cracking and snapping.
Raven went pale. She drove her magic with all her strength, but could only watch as the extraordinarily tough tentacles broke apart inch by inch.
Bang!
With a thunderous blast, Belur's abdomen exploded!
Black flesh and bone flew in every direction, filling the ruins with a pungent stench of blood and sulfur.
A thick pillar of black light surged from the gaping wound and struck the ceiling.
Black mist churned within the pillar, revealing the faint outline of enormous eyes burning with scarlet flames. An unimaginably terrifying presence swept outward with crushing force.
"Huh? Even elite monsters have a second phase?" Lynn raised an eyebrow, then broke into a delighted expression.
He was sure this elite monster would give him plenty of Feast stacks.
With that thought, Lynn immediately pulled the Flameflow Blade from his system inventory and excitedly prepared to charge.
"Don't rush in!"
Constantine grabbed Lynn. His solemn face was grim, and a trace of horror lurked deep in his eyes.
"This presence... it's more than ten times stronger than Belur's. It has to be a higher-ranking greater demon!"
As he finished speaking, the pillar of light slowly receded, and the figure of an enormous demon gradually took shape.
He had two horns, bloodthirsty scarlet eyes, and a hideous, lizardlike face. Blue-gray scales covered his entire body, gleaming with a cold metallic sheen.
On his back, a pair of fearsome wings spanning over five meters stirred slightly, sending a wave of savage menace washing over them.
Belur's ruined body dissolved into black mist at the enormous demon's feet, and the demon absorbed it all.
He rolled his neck, producing a series of cracking sounds, then turned his bloodthirsty scarlet eyes toward Lynn and the others.
"This shell was too weak after all."
His voice was grating, like a rusty iron door repeatedly opening and closing.
Staring
at Constantine, the enormous demon wore a faintly mocking expression.
"John Constantine... long time no see."
At that familiar voice, Constantine froze where he stood as though struck by lightning.
He stared fixedly at the enormous demon's face, his eyes brimming with overwhelming fury and hatred.
"It's you... Nergal!" Constantine recognized the greater demon before him at a glance.
"Oh? You still remember me."
Nergal tilted his head and gave him a mocking smile.
"Of course you do. That night in Newcastle, you watched helplessly as I dragged that little girl called Astra into hell.
"You cried like a baby who hadn't been weaned... truly unforgettable."
Fury immediately flooded Constantine's face at those words.
He could never forget that night, or the girl who had gone to hell because of him!
While they chatted like old friends reunited after years apart,
Raven cast Dimensional Space Magic, transporting dozens of dying lesser demons, their limbs hacked off, in front of Lynn.
Then, with a thought from Lynn, the phantom of a colossal beast appeared around him and swallowed the lesser demons whole.
[Feast Stacks: 100] [After slaying a large number of evil creatures, the Flameflow Blade has begun advancing in rank. Time required-15 minutes.]
Then...
While Nergal continued to taunt Constantine, a mocking smile still lingering on his face,
Lynn charged straight up to him, his face alight with excitement. The Flameflow Blade sliced through the air, slashing viciously at his groin.
"Come to think of it... I've never killed a second-phase elite monster before. You'd better not disappoint me!"
Nergal: ???
Is this guy insane?