Henry used the military swordsmanship technique, which was greatly inferior to the royal swordsmanship Richard was using, but the difference was bridged by Henry's superior aura and the holy energy which was now like concentrated chlorine to Richard.
"You know, little prince, I'm pretty happy that you did this whole thing. I have always wanted to beat the shit out of you, but sadly couldn't. Now, however, that you have a Stigma of Darkness, you're considered a heretic and enemy of the empire."
"Shut the fuck up, commoner. You may have the upper hand now, but if you kill me, you'll greatly regret it."
"Oh, yeah? Sure, sure~. Fuck off." With one huge slash full of almost all his aura, Henry cut off the crown prince's head. Once he died, his Stigma of Darkness turned into black light and almost flew off, if not for Mirna's Stigma absorbing it.
"What was that?"
"I don't know, but I do feel stronger."
"Ooh, must be that Stigmata of Light absorb the Stigmata of Darkness and grow stronger or something. Anyways, you were a Stigma holder? How come you never told me? Hell, I never even saw it on your body."
"I don't know, but Lurius said something about "demons wanting to seal the brilliance of light"."
"Wait, you heard Lurius, the Lord Of Light? That's crazy. Oh well, what matters is that you have the Stigma. We can even register you as a saintess in the church now."
"Will they accept me? Aren't saintesses supposed to be virgins?"
"Actually, I don't think the Church of Light has such a requirement."
"Oh, that's great then. Anyways, let's go back home."
"Yeah." Henry picked up Ella in his arms, and they began to walk out of the ruins.
However...
Once they got far enough from the ruins, they hit an invisible barrier.
"Huh? The hell is this?"
Mirna's Stigma began glowing very brightly, and they all felt an intense mana come from behind them. They turn around, and see Richard's corpse turn into a tall, horned figure with giant bat like wings. The figure had ash colored skin and was flying.
"Kuhahahhahaha, you foolish humans. That traitorous human servant of mine even told you you'd regret killing him, but you got arrogant. Once he died, his body became a vessel for me. And now, I shall avenge that stupid servant, and devour your Stigma as well"
"That's....a higher demon. At the level of a seventh circle mage, an Archmage! Mirna, try to break this barrier immediately."
Hearing this, Mirna immediately cast a fourth circle fire spell and threw it at the barrier. She even put all her mana into it. However, her power was insufficient.
"Seventh Circle Spell: Hellfire" A huge wave of dark fire flew towards them. Henry tries to cut the firestorm, but his aura is barely enough to reduce the damage. In the end, he and Mirna had to take the hit, but Mirna healed them.
"Damn. Mirna, shouldn't your Stigma give you power when you fight demons or something?"
"Well, yeah, I feel a slight mana boost, but ain't no way I can fight a damn Archmage, Henry!"
Hearing the commotion, Ella, who had been knocked out on Henry's shoulders, began to wake up.
"Daddy? Oh! Mommy's awake! Yay!"
"Elly, I know you've just seen your dead mother wake up, but we're kind of in a pinch here. Don't move around too much." Henry put Ella down on the ground, as carrying her had been hindering him.
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"Okay, Daddy."
"Ohoh, this child is one of the offerings Richard offered. He really didn't lie; she has an even higher mana capacity than her mother. Huhu, too bad this 8-star aura master has such low mana capacity, otherwise he would've made a great bonus meal. Anyways, let's finish this. I don't feel comfortable around this Stigma holder."
Seventeen huge mana circles appeared in the air, aligning together in front of the demon.
"Seventh Circle Spell: Disrupt Soul"
All three could feel their vision turn hazy, and with every second their headaches grew stronger.
"Daddy, my head hurts....."
"Calm down, Elly. Mommy will heal you" Mirna concentrated her healing power on Ella, but the disruption of the soul made it very hard to cast spells.
"Despair, humans. The souls of those who died in despair taste far better. Seventh Circle Spell: Glacial Rain."
Hundreds of sharp glaciers began falling upon them from the sky, each one being around 3kg in weight. Trying to melt them, Mirna tried to melt them with a third circle fire spell, but the soul disruption had made it impossible to cast spells, and her mana ended up counterflowing, causing her immense pain.
"Dammit, sorry Henry, but it's all you now."
"Thanks for the reassurance, Mirna. Ugh, Overdrive!" With his lifeforce boosted 8 star aura, Henry tried to cut or at least deflect the glaciers, but he couldn't manage to get all of them.
"No. No. Absolutely not. Why is this happening to me, for God's sake? I don't remember doing something deserving of this. I....will....not...let this be!"
Henry then heard a faint voice in his head.
[Resolve noticed. Amount is not enough. A seed of rebellion has been formed. Please nurture the seed with your resolve]
'Huh? The fuck is this? Oh, whatever, I'm probably just hallucinating from the soul disruption.'
Cutting and cutting like a madman, Henry was now running purely on adrenaline. His aura has long been depleted, but his burning lifeforce would substitute for it.
'Enough playing around, Sitri. Let's finish this for real.'
Flying towards Henry, the demon quickly tossed him far away with a simply strike with his hand. This broke Henry's leg and two ribs, rendering it impossible to hold his sword. The demon then slowly flew towards Mirna, who was struggling from the mana counterflow. He picked her up by the neck.
"NO! DON'T YOU FUCKING DARE TOUCH HER YOU MOTHERFUCKER!" Henry shouted with every bit of air in his ruptured lungs.
"Let me go, you strange, winged leopard thing!"
"Silence, human. You know, were it not for your brother sealing your Stigma with my help when you were born, you probably would have had enough experience with it to kill me. However, unfortunately for you, I detected your Stigma and warned your brother when you were first born. Despair, human. Remember that it is your brother who caused this, along with your bad luck. Hate him, so that your soul tastes great."
Slowly, the demon inserted his clawed hands into Mirna's chest, taking out her heart and eating it. Mirna's Stigma glowed, but it immediately turned into white light and was absorbed into the demon's mouth. Having taken both soul and Stigma, the demon threw Mirna's lifeless corpse on the floor, next to where Ella was standing, watching in horror.
"Mommy! No. Wake up, mommy, just like last time."
"YOU MOTHERFUCKER! DON'T THINK I'LL LET YOU BE! ABSOLUTELY FUCKING NOT" Henry managed to stand up through pure adrenaline and endorphins. He picked up his sword, crawling towards the demon.
"GO BACK TO HELL, YOU SON OF A BITCH!"
"Shut up"
With ease, the demon swatted Henry away again, then walking towards Ella quickly and picking her up.
Henry then heard the same monotone female voice again.
[Resolve threshold surpassed. The seed of rebellion has grown. A formless energy has been created. Current factors: Rage, Frustration, Sorrow, Despair. Please designate a name for your energy. Note: The name may greatly alter the attributes of the new energy]
Unclear what all of this meant and desperate to save his daughter, Henry could only think of one thing.
'I must slay that fucking demon.'
[Name registered. Demon Slaying Energy has formed. Attributes: Rage, Vengeance, Toxic to demons. Color: Jade Green. Transforming creator's aura into Demon Slaying Energy...
Note: This energy has resonated with the legacy of an ancient swordsman. Please head to Hell to inherit the swordsman's legacy.]
Henry felt his aura get replenished and his wounds heal in real time. He wasn't sure what was going on, but there was nothing on his mind now but saving his daughter. He picked up his sword, emitted his now jade green aura, and thrust at the demon. Seeing this, the demon was a little surprised, so he put down Elle and deflected the hit with his hands.
"Huhaha, foolish human. I don't know how you healed, but it's all futile anyways....What the fuck? Why does it hurt?"
The jade green energy had lingered onto the demon's hand, burning him even more than holy energy. It also spread across his body. He even felt his soul burning.
'This is bad. My link with this vessel has been cut somehow. I must go, or else I'll lose my connection to the overworld and banished by the world.'
"Human, I don't know what you've done, but don't think this is over. Plus, aren't you forgetting something?"
The demon picked up Ella and began disintegrating.
"Ella!"
"Hahahah, remember, human, I, the 13th demon king Sitri will come for you!"
And so, the demon took Ella and disappeared.