The Demon Lord Aberis let out a roar and lunged forward. The pair of us leaped from our horses landing on either side of him and attacking in a pincer attack. He had to turn in an awkward direction to avoid getting hit. However, his speed could not be underestimated, and he was able to spin back and avoid the attack with ease. The two of us came at him again, using quick attacks and burning skills as we tried to catch him in a trap time and time again.

Neither of us was the same Deek that he had forced into a dead-end several weeks ago. We were both stronger now, but more than that, we were together. It wasn’t just like two people who were familiar with each other fighting together. We thought exactly alike and anticipated each other’s moves. Our attacks occurred in tandem without thought. Deedee made up for Deek’s weaknesses, and Deek filled Deedee’s shortcomings. The two moved fluidly like a single person, although it was a single person who could detach and reattach themselves, who had two minds, 4 arms, 4 legs, and so on. It made us much harder for the demon lord to deal with.

Of course, even with all of that, to win this fight, we had to take every advantage. That included stacking all of the best dungeon skills. We no longer concerned ourselves with experience, opting for fast thinking, explosive movement, and various other battle-enhancing traits. We had even consumed a few of Miki’s strength and speed enhancement potions, pushing our bodies to the limit.

“Fools!” Lord Aberis shouted, his body blurring suddenly as his speed increased.

Up until this point, he hadn’t used any skills. Using our skills and fighting together while taking every advantage, we had only been able to fight on par with him doing nothing. That was the gap between our abilities. He launched an attack, heading toward Deedee. He had picked a perfect moment where I was too far away to compensate. I let out a shout. We had both been prepared to die in this fight. That was why our final orders had been for the girls to follow the one who lived so there was no issue. That didn’t mean I wanted her dying so quickly.

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“Back off!” A boom sounded as a woman attacked, forcing the Demon Lord to leap back. “Why don’t you fight someone your own size?”

Right in front of Deedee appeared Terra, staring at him defiantly. Of course, Demon Lord Aberis had grown when he reached his demon form, so he was a lot taller and more imposing, while Terra was a small girl in stature who only came up to my chest. Even at his normal size, she would have been short. He looked down on her like an ant, but she looked back just as fiercely.

“You think one more will change the outcome of this fight?” He sneered.

“How about all of us?” Lydia slashed with her sword, forcing him back again.

Two bangs sounded out, and he suddenly threw out a miasma shield blocking two bullets. At that moment, a dozen wind blades came from the other direction, which he also blocked with his spare hand.

“Got you!” Shao used that instant to try to stab him in the back.

She had activated her Demon Lord form, using all of her talents to try to get a stab at Aberis. Her strike wasn’t intended to kill him. Aberis definitely couldn’t be defeated by a single strike. Rather, it was intended to wound him in a way that would affect his combat potential. If we could wound him early, it’d be far easier to slowly weaken him.

“No! I got you!” He disappeared like smoke.

“Watch out!” Carmine leaped in front of Shao forcefully as an attack came seemingly from nowhere.

Carmine managed to block the attack, although it flung her back. She should have slammed into Shao, but Shao wasn’t behind her anymore. Shao had completely vanished, and so had Aberis. It seemed like the attack had been a feint.

“Well, look at that. Isn’t this a big reunion?” Lord Aberis was floating in the sky twenty feet away, looking down at all of us.

The group of us gasped because he had Shao’s throat in his claws. She was struggling, trying to pry at his claws helplessly as he choked her. Even though she had used her Demon Lord form, he was handling her like a child.

“Let her go?”

“Why should I?” Aberis asked cockily. “You’re the one who made her your slave. Why, freeing her from you could be called liberation. Would you like to be free?”

“Let me go… you… bastard!” She cursed desperately.

“Don’t be like that. If I’m a bastard, then you surely are too. Isn’t that right, little sister?”