The demonified children were semi-conscious. They responded to Percy’s touch and stirred when he inserted mana into their broken bodies. Once mana circulated through their mana paths, stimulating their beastial regeneration, Percy retrieved several glass vials. They were Healing Potions, Regeneration Potions, and more. It was all Percy needed to keep the demonified children alive for now.
After feeding all the children, he wouldn’t have many left, but that was okay. The final result was the most important thing.
The Beast King roared in anger. He shouted something Percy couldn’t hear, but the words weren’t aimed at him, in the first place. The Demon Lord’s deep voice rumbled a moment later, the enjoyment in his voice apparent. Sensing the Beast King’s pain and desperation excited the Demon Lord.
Laugh all you want, disgusting bastard!
Percy couldn’t tell how bad the Beast King’s situation was, but he wouldn’t waste any precious time, either way. He retrieved Dragon Fang and got to work. He expanded [Silent Reaper]’s range to coat one of the demonified children, Dragon Fang, and the chains in one go, draining his mana rapidly, but it was worth it.
Percy didn’t have to be overly cautious or silent. [Silent Reaper] concealed their presence to a certain extent and muffled all sounds. That was all Percy needed to cut through the metal chains like butter. It wasn’t feasible to remove the chains right away – that would require too much time and effort at this point – but it was fine to leave the remains on the children for the time being.
He embraced the first demonified child after cutting the chains, pinning her to the wall, and putting her to the ground. She was still unconscious, which was for the best. Percy turned to the next child a moment later and moved [Silent Reaper] ahead. The unconscious girl was not in [Silent Reaper]’s range anymore, but she wasn’t going to move anytime soon. [Silent Reaper] shrouded the next child, and chains no sooner than Dragon Fang whizzed through the air.
Percy severed the chains, caught the child, and put her carefully to the ground. She was also unconscious. Percy moved onward without any hesitation. He removed the chains of five more children in the next minute before something went wrong. The first demonified child regained its senses. A young boy woke up, his eyes filled with confusion and rage. He jumped up in fury, huffing and puffing in anger.
If it had ended with that, Percy could have intercepted fast enough, but the boy’s movements were accompanied by the chains’ jingling. They scraped across the ground, and the loose ends clashed against one another. The sounds should have been swallowed by the commotion of the battle in the hall’s center, but the sounds must have reached them with the worst possible timing.
The Demon Lord’s eyes narrowed, and he shouted something. He kicked the ground and was about to charge past the Beast King with tremendous speed when massive claws wreathed in Purgatory Fire swept across the Demon Lord’s chest. The claws dug deep into the Demon Lord’s chest, forcing him to retreat before the Purgatory Fire would wound him lethally.
“Finally!” The Beast King roared as if annoyed, but Percy could discern the excitement, “I have been waiting for you, kiddo!”
He didn’t know how long since someone called him kiddo like this, but Percy snickered.
“Stop bickering and get back to work.”
The Beast King snorted, but the fire in his eyes re-ignited. His muscles flexed, mana churned through the energy paths, and Purgatory Fire engulfed his body as he charged ahead.
The sudden switch from defending his people, sacrificing his life to block the crimson beams, to jumping into an aggressive offense took the Demon Lord by surprise. However, the cold voice in the back of his head surprised the Demon Lord the most.
Kill.
It was only one word, but that was enough. The word was deeply imprinted into the Demon Lord’s soul, the target obvious.
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Demonic Essence surged out of the Demon Lord’s hands, forming two crimson beams. He aimed past the Beast King and released them the instant he’d gathered enough Demonic Essence. The Beast King responded differently than before. His Purgatory Fire gushed and engulfed the crimson light gathering in the Demon Lord’s palms. A moment later, the Beast King’s claws intertwined with the Demon Lord’s hands.
The Demon Lord’s eyes narrowed to tiny slits, but it was already too late. The Purgatory Fire and the condensed Demonic Essence collided and mixed. They intertwined like their hands and exploded as the two forces tried repelling one another. The lack of space around them forced the repelling forces to clash and attempt to destroy each other, resulting in the explosion.
The Demon Lord roared in anger and pain, whereas the Beast King swallowed the pain to close the remaining distance to headbutt the Demon Lord.
Percy, on the other hand, moved quickly. He summoned the Gnoll Warlord and ordered the summoned Monster to pick up the unconscious children. The raging boy, on the other hand, was taken care of quickly. Percy had no time to calm down the child and tell him they would do their utmost to rescue him.
The boy wouldn’t listen to them in the first place. The Demonic Essence was already consuming him. It was better to treat the raging boy like a sac of potatoes. That was what Percy did. He arrived before the child and smacked him firmly in the neck, knocking him unconscious.
“Sorry,” Percy murmured and returned to the remaining children. Since there was no need to stay silent or concealed, Percy swirled along the wall, wielding Dragon Fang like a madman. The chains were severed in no time, and the children fell to the ground. Percy apologized a few times in his mind, but he was glad the fight would end soon. The children were a bit hurt, but the torture they’d gone through was much worse than falling to the ground. Most were still unconscious either way.
Percy scooped some children in his embrace and rushed to the tunnel where Hyean had disappeared. The Gnoll Warlord emerged from the same tunnel again, various images popping up in his mind as they passed one another.
There are loud footsteps from above, and you can smell lavender and something sweet. That’s great!
The royal envoy was coming, hopefully unscathed and ready to play carriers for a few demonified children.
Hyena caught a few more children but was forced to hurl them to the side when a crimson beam struck him square in the chest. Percy felt a pang in his soul, and the Gnoll Warlord collapsed, blood gushing out of him.
“That one was on me!” The Beast King shouted, one of his claws impaling the Demon Lord. The Beast King took a great risk by allowing the Demon Lord to attack the children, but he trusted Percy. He believed Percy would protect the children, creating the opportunity to impale the Demon Lord’s chest.
The Demon Lord roared at the top of his lungs, but the Beast King’s claws, wreathed in Purgatory Fire, pierced his chest flatly, penetrating his heart in one go.
“Hyean is dying because of you!” Percy bellowed. He acted quickly and de-summoned the Gnoll Warlord. However, he wasn’t certain if Hyean could be salvaged. He knew time would stay still for most Monsters summoned through Monster Cards and that the soul – as long as the bond between Monster and Cardist was strong enough – would mend mild to severe wounds. However, a massive hole in one’s chest was far more than ‘severe.’ The Gnoll Warlord was mortally wounded.
Fuck. Hopefully, Fiona can tend to Hyean. I don’t want to lose him…or the boost from his Augmentation. I…don’t even know what would happen to the Augmentations as my body grew stronger alongside the Augmentations and Monster Cards…
Thoughts and doubts flashed through his mind, but Percy had no time to waste. The Demon Lord might be dying, but he was not yet dead. The last-ditch effort of various monsters was usually considered the most powerful attack. The same applied to Demons, especially a Demon Lord.
The Minos Lord struggled and roared, but the Beast King didn’t give him time to retaliate. He spread his claw into the Demon Lord’s chest, grasped his heart, and ripped it out.
The Beast King roared at the top of his lungs, his Purgatory Fire burning away the Demon Lord’s lifeforce. The Demon Lord tried retaliating one last time and unleashed its remaining crimson Demonic Essence into the surroundings, but the Beast King was already prepared for that. It unleashed most of its mana, infused into the Purgatory Flames to combat the Demonic Essence like before.
The explosions were louder and inflicted more damage, tearing both Beast King and Demon Lord apart, worsening their wounds, but the battle ended.
The Demon Lord’s struggle ended as it succumbed. In the meantime, Percy salvaged the last children and took them to the cavern tunnel, where the royal envoy and the rest of the Beast Legion would hopefully be within the next few minutes.
Then he turned around, looking at the pride of the Beastlands, the Beast King, one claw still impaling the dead Demon Lord’s chest.
The Beast King hurled the carcass aside and roared again, his voice filled with pride.