Nobody knew what was happening, but everyone moved instinctively, doing exactly what the voice had commanded.
Most didn’t even recognize the voice, yet the words struck their heart chords. It gave them something they’d lost not too long ago. A glimmer of hope blossoming in their hearts.
Percy had arrived.
He stood atop Blue, who levitated in the air the war zone, his unwavering eyes scanning the situation below. Sadness filled his heart at the sight of the corpses sprawled all over the battlefield. Too many good people had died. Brave people who fought for the mortal realm’s survival. It was saddening. Frustrating. Unfair.
But Percy didn’t falter. He swallowed his emotions and didn’t respond with fury even as his eyes fell upon the Imperial Head’s headless corpse.
Only a single word formed on his lips.
“Shit.”
[Demon Lord (Lord of Gnylds) – Demonic/Titled – 174,235,864 Prosperity]
[Grand Hellhound(Greater Demon) – Demonic –2,735,712 Prosperity]
[Thyrx(Greater Demon) – Demonic – 2,252,521 Prosperity]
[Mutant Pleacis(Elite Demon) – Demonic – 185.368 Prosperity]
…
…
…
Countless interfaces spread all over the battlefield, including numerous interfaces belonging to the corpses of the united forces. His Ego didn’t differentiate them. As long as they didn’t belong to anyone, Percy’s Ego would consider it a possible source of nourishment and Prosperity.
We are not going to start like that! Only in the worst-case scenario…if everything is lost…
Percy was not ready to go down that path. He did not want to be like the Devil. He wanted to be different. However, if the situation took a turn for the worse, even worse than it already was, Percy would have to sacrifice his morals and codex.
But not yet. There was still hope!!
The Glacial Roc screeched aloud, releasing dozens of ice feathers in a moment of fury. Blue sensed Percy’s whirlwind of emotions and reacted by eliminating more Demons, both Lesser and Elite, with its razor-sharp and high-velocity ice feathers.
Blue had grown. It was still juvenile, but the azure-blue bird carrying Percy through the sky was almost twice as big as it used to be. Upgrading the Glacial Roc, using the Prosperity acquired from the Three-headed Hellhound and 40ish Grand Hellhounds was more than enough to increase Blue’s Potential and upgrade [Advanced Agility Boost] as much as needed to reach the battlefield from the Portal Gate within minutes.
“You!!!” The Devil roared, his crimson eyes glowing in ecstasy when he found the cretin who’d stolen his power, “You put my fragment to good use. It has grown a lot.”
The Devil rumbled, darkness gushing forth, “Let me take it back now!”
Darkness shot forth like a cannonball, shifting into a spear while traversing through the air. Blue mana circulating through the monster’s body never stopped using [Roc Eyes] since they had entered the battlefield. The Glacial Roc detected the spear’s trajectory the moment it was thrown, and it used its great reflexes and extraordinary speed to evade it by a feather’s breadth.
Percy held tightly onto the Glacial Roc and faced the Devil head-on with a grim smile.
A roar escaped his lips, steering the hearts of those around him.
“This is not your power anymore. I have claimed what once belonged to you. It’s mine now! Your scheme failed!”
Percy unleashed the Abomination before the Devil could make his next move. He let it loose.
An eerie mass of darkness burst out of Percy’s palms in shocking quantities. The Abomination gushed out of Percy, forming a massive sphere overhead until it was dozens of times larger than he was.
The Devil was about to make a move, stopping Percy and the Abomination in their wake, when the Beast King smashed into the Devil. His claws pierced through the already-shattered scales and dug deep into the Devil’s chest. An annoyed grunt escaped the Devil’s lips, but he couldn’t retaliate properly as King Phillip appeared beside him.
Unauthorized usage: this tale is on Amazon without the author's consent. Report any sightings.
King Phillip’s eyes were wild and bloodshot, darkness swirling around him. His sword arm had been replaced by darkness. Combining [Crown of Darkness] with [Armor of the Everlasting Night] and his Augmentation to control darkness. His sword arm was now, quite literally, a sword made of darkness, attached to a stump, which was also made of darkness.
The bladed arm shot forward and pierced through another scale, which the Beast King had damaged earlier. It pierced through the Devil, who retaliated with a strike. The king briefly dismissed the bladed arm while jumping back to evade the strike. In the meantime, Purgatory Fire, comprised of as much as possible, surged out of the Beast King’s claws straight into the Devil.
The powerhouses stalled time. It might only last a few seconds, but that was enough. Percy took a deep breath and triggered [Consume].
Only devour the demon corpses, Artifacts, and armaments. Don’t strip the human bodies and Beastmen naked, though. And do not, under any circumstances, devour the human and Beastman corpses!!
The eerie sphere overhead burst apart and turned into countless streams that shot in all directions. Some dove straight to the ground, where they crashed heavily into piles of Lesser Demons, while other streams reached top speed in no time to reach the other side of the battlefield.
No one had the time to clear the battlefield. If anything, the united forces hoped to shape the battlefield, making it even harder for the demonic forces to pass by. The Abomination destroyed their efforts of the last few days, but not without any returns.
[Goods worth 712.236 Prosperity have been consumed.]
[Goods worth 236.724.247 Prosperity have been consumed.]
[Goods worth 3.163.835 Prosperity have been consumed.]
[Goods worth 36.735.392 Prosperity have been consumed.]
[Goods worth 25,215 Prosperity have been consumed.]
[Goods worth 934,754 Prosperity have been consumed.]
…
[Your Tier increased by one rank.]
[Your Tier advanced to Ascended. Additional Monster Card Slot has been unlocked.]
[Your understanding of the Coin of Prosperity and its powers increased. Your existing Gifted affinities have improved.]
[Cataclysmic Dragon bloodline has been strengthened.]
Finally, Percy’s Tier increased to Ascended but was not yet done. If anything, he was just getting started with. There were still half a dozen Demon Lords, hundreds of Greater Demons, and small mountains of Lesser and Elite Demons to devour.
As pure mana flooded his body, filling it to the brim, he tried controlling the efficiency of mana shaping. He didn’t have several days to adjust to the changes of mana shaping or the improvements of various Augmentations. Fortunately, that wouldn’t be necessary. He had an ace up his sleeve.
[Goods worth 246.236.935 Prosperity have been consumed.]
[Goods worth 182,991,173 Prosperity have been consumed.]
…
…
Percy stopped reading the notifications popping up in the corner of his view. Instead, he used [Consume] on Prosperity while simultaneously allowing the Abomination to keep consuming the demon corpses, ownerless Artifacts, and Armaments.
The Devil was still distracted, but it tried taking the Abomination back by clutching onto one of the Abomination streams that had been about to consume a Demon Lord near the Devil. The Devil appeared next to the stream and grasped it tightly. His darkness gushed forward in an attempt to consume the Abomination.
Percy felt the tremendous pulling force instantaneously. His eyes narrowed, but he didn’t make a move. Percy merely spoke to the Abomination in a whisper.
“Do you want to return to the Devil and become a fragment of that thing, OR do you want to consume it…or control it?!”
His voice rumbled at the end, stirring the Abomination. It writhed in what Percy presumed to be excitement. At least, he hoped that it was excitement.
“If you want to consume that bastard, you must fight him. Retaliate. Resist his attempts to corrupt you. To take you back. To enslave you. Fight back and keep consuming the demonic forces. Try your utmost, as if your life depends on it. Because that is exactly what is going on here. Either we are going to win, or the Devil will kill me and consume you. It’s now or never!”
The Abomination writhed again, but this time, something was different. This time, the Abomination responded properly to Percy’s words. It forwarded its feelings to Percy.
It was hungry. It was starving since Percy woke up from metamorphosing.
It wanted more. It wanted…the Devil.
“That’s what I wanted to hear. Go on. Keep consuming the demonic forces. Take as much as you can!”
Dozens of notifications of goods that had been consumed popped up, and it was only now Percy realized how much his Prosperity had increased. His balance crossed five billion…and it was still increasing. The mountains of demon carcasses had yet to be fully digested. There was a lot left to be consumed on the battlefield.
[Your Tier increased by one rank.]
A second rank-up was a good start, but it was merely that.
The start of Percy’s counter. The start of his fight back.
It was time to enhance his Monster Cards and to bind with another.