Chapter 184 – Renewal Plan (5)

Chapter 184 – Renewal Plan (5)

At some point, the Demons that were carrying out the Demonification research in the human realm had disappeared.  The reason behind this was simple.  When Artpe killed Jeriet, the Seros company had atrophied.  Most of Jeriet’s project had been intertwined with the business of the Seros company, so all their plans had come to a halt

At the time, the Four Heavenly King and the powerful Demons, who had been following the orders of the previous Demon King, were having a hard time exiting the Demon realm.  Amongst the Demons that were already present in the human realm, none were as strong as Jeriet.  This was why the Seros merchant company had lost their clout.

As a result, a stalemate occurred.  This was why the Demons were hiding in the secret headquarters of the Seros company.

“At first, we didn’t know what was happening.  We were barely able to see their plan when the previous Demon King’s forces came to the fore.  This isn’t the current Demon King’s style.”

“What style of action does the current Demon King prefer?”

“Instead of working behind the scenes, he likes to grow his power out in the open.  He likes to cause fear through an overt display of power.”

If one went only by her words, it was as if she was describing a chimpanzee instead of a Demon King.  Their current situation didn’t allow them to joke around, so Vadinet decided to keep her mouth shut.

The one that was the most excited was Roa.

“Nyaa-ah, nyaa-nyaa-ah.  Nyaa nyaa nyaa nyaa nyaa.”

It was never in doubt that she was a cat.  Her steps were light, soft and quick.  She sucked in all the Demonic energy that permeated these grounds.

The current Roa was nothing like the past Roa.  She was quick and precise in picking out only the Demonic energy.  The Demons didn’t even have the chance to use their magic.  They fell to the floor before they could even move.

“Roa, don’t let even one of them leave this place.”

“I already know, nyaa-ah.”

Etna didn’t personally subdue the Demons.  She just used her vast magical energy to cover the entire headquarters with a massive heat barrier.  Nothing could come in or out.  Any Mana or matter burned when it came in contact with the barrier.  The headquarters had been isolated.

“You processed heat to the extreme to create this barrier.  I never expected such a thing to be possible….”

Vadinet had already seen Artpe’s nearly flawless barrier.  Etna’s way of creating a barrier looked simple and brutish.  However, she couldn’t see any weak points in the barrier.  Moreover, it had the ability to differentiate between enemies and allies.  It implied that she had used spirits in creating the barrier.  It wasn’t a simple fire.

“Help Roa.”

“Roa is capable of doing this alone….  Ah, yes.  I understand.”

Etna had already shed the body of a Demon.  However, she didn’t feel comfortable killing other Demons.  This was why she wanted to be alone, and Vadinet realized this fact.  She nodded her head as she joined up with Roa.

‘In the short term, you’ll suffer pain that is worse than death.  However, I will not kill you all.  Artpe will revert everything back to their true state, and at that time, he’ll give you guys a choice.  If there is no changes to your behavior……’

At that time, she’ll burn all of them with her fire.  Etna let out a big sigh as she took a step forward.  Small fire spirits appeared around her.  They laughed as they followed her movements.  It seemed they weren’t aware of her feelings.

The party easily took care of the Seros company’s headquarters.  They recovered all the Artifacts and Magic Stones.  Since these items were made for Demons, the items were emitting negative energy.  However, Roa ruthlessly suck out all the corrupted energy.

“Nyaa.  My stomach is full.  Nyaa.”

“Then you shouldn’t reveal so much skin.”

“Nyaa.  Nyaa-ah-ah.”

Vadinet and Roa bickered with each other as they gathered all the items.  Roa’s base nature dominated over the Demonic energy.  This was why Vadinet instinctually had favorable feelings towards Roa.  She was a rotten holy priestess, but in the end, she was a holy priestess.

“As expected, they came here······.”

“Mmm?”

While Vadinet and Roa were focused on confiscating the Artifacts and magic stones, Etna was slowly walking down the corridor.  She was extending her Mana to search her surrounding.  Vadinet tilted her head in puzzlement when she noticed Etna’s atypical behavior.  Etna let out a bitter laughter as she answered the unasked question.

“After the previous Demon King’s faction started to work in earnest, I wondered if their leaders had visited this place at least once.  I thought they might have come here to take some of the valuables.  It seems I was right.”

The Seros company was one of the three largest merchant companies on this continent, yet they had significantly less treasures compared to their stature.  This was why Etna wondered if most of the previous Demon King’s forces had been ‘supplied’ by the Seros company, and she had been right in her assumption.

“There is more food someplace else, nyaa?”

“Are you able to track them down?”

The words spoken by Vadinet and Roa differed from each other, but they both wanted the same thing!  Etna nodded her head as she replied.

“Yes.  However, I don’t know how many Demons there will be at that location.  It might be dangerous if we go by ourselves.”

“You brought along Roa and me.  I thought it was your plan to just charge into their camp.”

Etna smirked.

“I did so, because I thought there might be a chance that we might find one of their leaders here….   Be careful everyone!”

She cut short her words.  She quickly raised her Mana as she yelled out.  The power of the barrier was gathered at a single point.  Incredible heat was condensed into a single attack. A man appeared as he took on the brunt of this attack.

[Koohk.  The barrier is capable of counterattacking by itself….!]

The man had planned on exterminating the intruders as soon as he appeared.  However, he hadn’t expected to consume all his prepared Mana in blocking the barrier’s counterattack.  He rolled across the ground.

His entrance was poor, but the Mana hidden inside his body was immense!  Vadinet chanted her holy spell on instinct.  Roa immediately attacked him!

“Food delivery service, nyaa-ah-ah!”

[Food delivery? Ooht!]

If one possessed any corrupted energy within one’s body, it became absorbed by Roa!  One just had to be near her.  The Demon was being weakened.  Roa’s ability was stronger than ever before.   Even if the Demon was over level 390, he wasn’t exempt from Roa’s power.

“Nyaa nyaa nyaa nyaa nyaa nyaa nyaa!”

[Shut up!]

“Nyaa-ah!?”

As expected, he wasn’t a normal Demon.  In a flash, he detonated his Demonic energy outside of his body.  He baited Roa to absorb it, then he unsheathed his sword.  He stabbed the sharp sword towards Roa!  Roa had been drunk on the Demonic energy.  She desperately moved her body in the air to avoid the attack.

“You don’t bother someone’s meal.  I wouldn’t even bother a dog when it is eating its meal!  Nyaa-ahhhhh!”

“Focus, Roa!”

Obviously, Vadinet was better at long ranged attacks.  In the case of Etna, she dealt with the power of fire, but she was better at long ranged attacks rather than fighting in close proximity.  The only one that could fight the Demon in close quarters was Roa.

“Oh god!  This being covets evil, and he opposes order!  Give your blessing to all those that opposes him!”

[There is even a holy priestess here······!]

“Nyaa nyaa nyaa!”

Vadinet’s blessing was immediately infused into Roa.  It strengthened her.  She was supposed be a Demonic beast, yet she was taking in holy power!  It almost made one want to complain about the unfairness of it all!

[This means the hero has gotten a wind of what we are doing, and he made a move against us.  However, there are no heroes here.  He only sent the holy priestess.  Even if he sends two holy priestess, it wouldn’t be enough. This was a foolish thing to do!]

“Do you really think that?”

[······!?]

Roa swung both her paws as she attacked him.  As he dodged, he tried to raise his sword.  Suddenly, a red flame appeared around his armor type Artifact.  The flame burned both Mana and matter.

[Koo-hoo.  You bitch······!?]

He had been distracted by Roa, who was constantly stealing Demonic energy from him.  This was why Etna’s attack had completely taken him unawares.  He glared at her as he resisted against the inferno.  He was finally able to see the woman that had as much presence as himself.

[Fire Witch Etna!?  How come you don’t have the energy of a Demon….!]

“I wonder why?”

Etna didn’t know this Demon.  However, it seemed he knew about her.  He must have gotten his information from spies that had infiltrated the Demon King’s castle in the past.

It meant she couldn’t let him leave this place alive.  Artpe had refined his spell.  He had the ability to turn a Four Heavenly King into human.  It was a key piece of information that had to kept secret until Artpe wanted to reveal his spell.

[You betrayed the Demon race!  You attached yourself to the heroes now!]

“It seems you have the time to chat away with me, Demon.”

“Nyaa-ahhhhhhhhhhh!”

When she saw an opportune moment, Roa sliced through the air.  She was ferocious in her attack!

There was Demonic energy coated around the Demon’s sword.  Etna’s fire burned away the sword aura.   The Demon looked devastated as he tried to bring back the aura, but Roa’s long claws raked across his face before he could do that!

[Koo-hahhhhhhhhhhhhk!]

Roa was the Greed Beast.  The mere existence of her Mana had the power of eating away at everything.  Her claws stripped away flesh and bone when they raked the Demon.  The blood of the Demon dissipated after being eaten by her.  It was a truly frightening sight.  Even her allies felt their hair stand on end.

On the other hand, the Demon did something much more impressive.  Despite feeling horrible pain, he focused his Demonic energy into his sword.  He stabbed the sword into Roa’s stomach.

“Nyaa-ahhhhhhhhhh!”

[A power that eats away at Demonic energy….  She is more dangerous than the witch!]

“Nyaa nyaa!  Nyaa-ahhhhhh!”

Red blood flowed out of Roa.  She let out a cry of anger.  Vadinet quickly worked on healing Roa.  Etna extended her Mana to attack the Demon.  However, the Demonic energy from the Demon stretched out from his body, and it made contact with Roa’s blood, which was flowing down his sword.  In the next moment, the flames assaulting his body just disappeared.

[It works.]

“Innate ability!”

[That’s right. My Innate ability is called Reverse.  I can assess and control my enemy’s ability when I gain access to their blood.  I can temporarily use my enemy’s ability.  This….  I can Reverse this too!]

She roughly knew that this Demon possessed high level, but it seemed he was one of the past Four Heavenly King.  The fact that he was describing his ability proved her assumption!  It was something only a Four Heavenly King would do!

“Koohk!”

His ability was legit.  It didn’t matter if his enemy had an Innate ability, magic or close combat ability.  He had a cheat ability that allowed him to copy the special abilities of those that he considered to be his enemy!

His Demonic energy completely ate the flames, which had been infused with Etna’s Mana.  As a result, he amplified the destructive ability of the fire, and it was sent back towards Etna.  Roa still hadn’t completely recovered from her wound.  However, she let out a meow as she put herself in front of Etna.

“It is Demonic energy!  Nyaa-ah!”

“No, Roa!”

He had used his ability to change Mana into Demonic energy.  Moreover, he knew Roa would welcome this move.  When he confirmed Roa moved as he predicted, she put on a smile.  Etna became sure when she saw this.  The Demon had been trying to bait Roa from the start!

[I’ll do this!]

“Hoohp!”

Roa was about to open her mouth.  The Demon timed it perfectly as he switched places with Roa.  His Innate ability has two functions!

[I can always switch location with my enemy!]

“Tsk!”

If he acquired Etna’s blood, he would gain affinity to fire.  This fight would become much more difficult.  Fortunately, Etna was aware of his aim.

In a flash, she surrounded herself with flames.  She blocked his attack with the incredible heat.  From the moment the sword pierced through the fire, it started to melt away.  By the time the sword reached Etna, the sword had lost its edge.

In the next moment, the Mana infused within the fire was turned into Demonic energy.  However, she couldn’t stop it from choking her.  It wrapped around her neck.

[According to the report, you shouldn’t be this strong…..   Did you perhaps get stronger by abandoning the power of a Demon?  Interesting!]

“Nyaa-ah!”

[I’m not interested in you any more!]

After losing its edge, he could only produce the aura at the tip of the sword.  He stabbed it towards Etna!  Roa felt like a complete idiot after the Demonic energy was yanked out of her reach.  She quickly moved towards the Demon.  However, he didn’t even turn around.  He created an enormous spear made out of Demonic energy, and she threw it towards her.

[With this your power will be mine….. What!?]

“Nyaa!”

He stabbed his sword towards Etna.  In a flash, Roa appeared near him, and she bit his neck.  He was sure he had seen the Demonic energy spear engage with Roa.  As he was having that thought, Etna’s fire engulfed him.

[Koohk.  Get off me!]

“Nyaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!”

Roa hung onto him as she sucked away at his Demonic energy.  This was why the Demon couldn’t resist against Etna’s flame.  Moreover, Etna’s flame had a peculiar property.  It couldn’t harm an ally.

The Demon gritted his teeth as he tried to pry away Roa by using the aura blade once again.  However, Roa’s body swayed as she dodged all his attack.  The rate in which he was losing his Demonic energy remained the same.

[What······!?]

“Nyaa-ahhhhhh.  Idiot.”

“Hoo.”

Roa grinned.  Etna moved farther away from the Demon as she created a large fireball.

[This damned monsterrrrrrrrr!]

The Demon’s body started to become dyed black.  An earthshaking amount of Demonic energy arose within him.  It was a impressive sight.  However, Vadinet calmly chanted her spell.

“Oh god.  Please bring order to this arrogant and foreign being!”

“Nyaa!”

“Burn!”

After revealing its true form, the Demon was hit by the holy mace of god!  At the same time, Roa and Etna’s attacked him.  The Demon felt as if he had stepped into a quicksand.

‘Shit.  I should have given a report to his majesty first…..!’

The Demon’s vision started to get blurry.  As a last ditch attempt to get rid of Roa, he tried to turn the Mana within her body into Demonic energy.  However, there was an unidentifiable energy source near her heart, and it immediately ate the Demonic energy.

‘Ha······ I see.  It was this…..’

The Demon realized that this energy source was what his king and his collaborators had been searching for. It was what they had yearned for.  He used his last remaining power to activate a spell.

Several minutes passed.  Etna’s party exited the Seros company’s headquarters as the entire structure collapsed.