The demon started burning—no, like, really fucking ignited—from the inside out. In an instant, heat exploded from its body in a blistering wave, shattering the impaling horns with a series of sharp cracks. The blast blew Cervain back a good ten feet, but the badass didn't take a single point of damage, meaning he'd already decided to retreat himself, leaping clear with that surprising agility of his, obviously just as wary of this new skill as Enochia was.
'No... I'm not confused... I know this skill!' Enochia's mind flashed back to some half-remembered experience she had. The demon looked bigger now, and far, far more monstrous, its muscles swelling like overinflated balloons, veins pulsing with molten red light, horns elongating into jagged spires that dripped liquid fire. The air around it warped from the heat, turning the battlefield hazy.
He dashed at Cervain at a speed Enochia barely followed even with her fresh Speed dump. And that giant axe of his? Yeah, WHICH WAS NOW ALSO ON FIRE. WHY WAS EVERYTHING ON FIRE DOWN HERE???? The blade trailed flames like a goddamn meteor, swinging in a wide arc that promised to turn anything it hit into barbecue.
Cervain spun a bit more gracefully than his bulk suggested and took a defensive stance, planting his feet wide before channeling again.
[Goring Crescent]
"NO, dodge it right now, Cervain!" Enochia screamed, but it was no use, because the knight was committed to this. The attacks clashed in a cataclysmic boom, sword meeting fiery axe with a shower of embers and sparks that lit up like a faulty fireworks show. But unlike before, the demon was stronger than Cervain, powered up by whatever hellish juice was pumping through it. The fear effect? Pfft, it didn't even register, the beast just powered through like the debuff was a mild suggestion.
His rage continued unchecked, bursting through the skill with raw brute force, the axe shoving Cervain's blade aside and sending the knight flying backward, skidding into the ground. He tumbled end over end, before coming to a stop in a crouch.
'Damn it!' Enochia thought, her heart pounding like a drum. She extended her hand in a flash, channeling the one of her favorite skills.
[Iron Grip]
The chain whipped out toward the demon like a striking cobra, but the bastard simply swatted it away with a casual flick of its axe, the links clanging harmlessly off the blade and dissolving in the heat. Its glowing eyes locked onto her, burning with that infernal hunger, and Enochia felt a chill despite being in Hell.
'Fuuuck me.' She could only think as she heard the sound of the skill activation.
[Blackstep]
The demon appeared close to her in a second, materializing so fast it was like teleporting right into her personal space. It jumped up high, like it was going to dunk on her, except, instead of a basketball, it was gonna split her in two with that flaming axe.
She quickly used her second dash to bolt backward again, this time far more stable on her feet thanks to the speed boost. And in less than a second, where she'd been standing exploded in a crater, all the ash erupting upward in a geyser from the strike's impact, the ground cracking like an eggshell.
The smoke quickly disappeared as the demon swung his axe in a wide arc, eradicating the cloud of ash, just so he could lock eyes on his prey again. Enochia had sweat beading on her forehead, mixing with the grime and making her feel like a damn sauna in this hellhole, but as soon as the hulking bastard started stomping toward her, a golden light shimmered on the ground right behind him.
Enochia had activated [Cloutless] a fraction of a second before she used her dash, and holy hell, it paid off big time! The holy chain erupted from the glowing spot, wrapping around the demon's legs, yanking him off-balance and pulling him toward the ground before exploding in a burst of fire that lit up the whole scene like a flashbang. The demon screamed, or grunted, more like a guttural mix of both in raw pain, his massive frame shuddering from the impact.
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[563 DMG dealt]
'Holy shit!' Enochia thought, her eyes widening. 'The secondary damage bonus from Cervain's skill combined with my mark really buffs me the hell up. Helps that he has no armor too.'
As she stared at the somehow even more burning creature, she really felt bad. Like, gut-punch bad. This wasn't just some mindless mob; there was a person in there, getting torched alive. She shook it off quick and channeled her go-to intel skill.
[Analysis]
─────────────────────────────
STATUS:
Name: Leon Bradley
Title: Possessed
Level: 200
EXP: 200,000 / 200,000
HP: 1,887/5,150
MANA: 210/660
─────────────────────────────
Enochia cringed hard, thinking just how beefy this guy was under all that demonic flair, and at how much damage they'd already piled on him. 'Ok Chia, you can't kill him, plzzz remember that,' she reminded herself, clenching her fists. 'The most I can do is another fifteen hundred damage or so. At that low of HP, he could get knocked out cold, and then I can bind him proper.'
Fun fact about Enochia's skills: if she bound you at the wrists with multiple layers of her chains, you couldn't do much damage to them without her knowing, since she'd get a notification ping the second you started struggling, at which point she could just summon however many more she wanted to reinforce the hell out of them.
Hell, if she bound you at the wrists, you couldn’t do much damage to them at all. Also, if she gagged your mouth with one, there'd be no way for you to say out loud any of the skill names and activate them. This made her effectively the perfect prison guard.
The demon seemed to calm himself down all of a sudden, the roaring flames flickering lower like a stove turned to simmer, and out of that monstrous maw came a voice that wasn't all gravel and hellfire. It was human, scratchy and desperate, like a guy on the verge of death. "Help..."
Enochia's face twisted, her brows furrowing under all that sweat and ash. 'Shit, there he is,' she thought, her chest tightening. The real Leon Bradley peeking through the demonic bullshit. No more torturing the guy; time to wrap this up.
[Chains of Nebuchadnezzar]
She cast it with a flick of her wrist, sending five chains, but not to strike him like before, but to bind him. The chains moved sluggishly on purpose, and for a split second, it seemed like the demon wanted exactly that, maybe the human inside was fighting back, begging to be restrained.
But nope, fuck that noise. The bastard erupted once the chains got close. He dashed at her before she could realistically react.
Enochia poured on the pressure, cranking the amount she sent by ten in a panic, links multiplying like crazy, wrapping around his limbs, torso, even snagging those jagged horns. He stumbled hard, got all twisted up in the glowing mess, but somehow the momentum carried him forward, chains dragging behind like anchors but not enough to stop the bull rush. With all that weight hauling him down, he still smashed his head right into her gut like a battering ram.
[-54 HP]
"FUCKER!" Enochia yelled, the impact knocking the wind out of her. She hit the ground and now the bastard was on top of her, pinning her down with his bulk, bashing his horned helm into her chest over and over like he was trying to crack her open.
[-56 HP]
"SHIT—"
[-55 HP]
"—FUCKFACE, GET OFF OF ME!"
The pain was sharp, but it was the humiliation that pissed her off more. She twisted under him, tasting blood and ash, and channeled right in his ugly mug.
[Chains of Nebuchadnezzar]
More chains erupted point-blank, blasting out from her palms and wrapping him up fully, sending the demon flying a bit into the air with a satisfying yank. He hung there for a heartbeat before a single, brutal slash from Cervain, who'd finally hauled ass over, caught him mid-air. The knight's sword carved a deep gash across the demon's side, slamming him back into the ground with a thunderous thud that shook the ground.
The demon hit the dirt and didn't get up, his body twitching before going limp. He was chained up beyond reason now, fully mummified in layer after layer of links, looking more like a sushi roll than anything resembling a threat. The flames sputtered out, leaving him smoking and still.
Cervain looked at his defeated foe for a long moment. Then he quickly turned back to his master, who was sprawled on the ground coughing out some black ash from her mouth like she'd inhaled a chimney. She growled like a beast, wiping blood from her lip with the back of her hand.
Cervain offered his gauntlet to help her up, only for Enochia to glare up at him. She was still fuming, but grabbed it anyway, yanking with all her force like she was trying to pull him down instead. Cervain barely budged, but it got her to her feet in a wobbly scramble. She dusted herself off, spitting out more ash, and immediately rushed over to the chained demon, boot raised high like she was ready to stomp his skull in for good measure.
" YOU HORNED PIECE OF SHIT, I'LL CHAIN YOUR BALLS TO A FUCKING ANVIL AND DROP IT OFF A CLIFF "
But a firm hand on her shoulder stopped her cold. She froze mid-rant, boot hovering, and realized with a jolt that yeah, she could've killed him right there out of pure anger, splattering poor Leon's brains all over the floor if not for her knight playing conscience. Her shoulders slumped, the fury draining out like air from a popped tire.
"Fuck... thanks, big guy," she muttered, lowering her foot and stepping back.
