Delia ran through the maze-like hallways of the Colosseum.

She didn’t even look behind her, the noise of the barbarian smashing through walls behind her was enough to convince her to keep running.

The man’s Ord was so dense, and she had never felt something like that before. Delia threw sharp projectiles and explosive talismans and even used barrier talismans.

Nothing worked against this monstrous guy! Was his skin made of steel?!

BEEEEP!

An alarm rang through the intercom.

It was so loud that Delia felt like her eardrums were about to burst. But she kept moving and didn’t cover her ears. Keeping her hands on her weapons was more important.

“Ladies and gentlemen, don’t panic. But we have sighted thousands of demons behind the city walls. Evacuate safely to the bunkers-” the announcement cut off.

As she was running away, the commotion of the crowds above drowned out the racket of the man chasing her.

But as she was running, she stumbled upon a man wearing small sunglasses, and he had a nose like a sparrow’s beak.

He had a lit cigarette on his lips and after taking a deep puff, he flicked it onto the ground beneath him, stomping it out.

Ord burst out and covered the man in protective armor.

Was he an enemy or an ally?

Delia wasn’t sure, she kicked the wall next to her and caused it to cave in.

She quickly sidestepped into the empty dark room. The glasses man charged to intercept the person chasing her.

‘Seems like he’s on my side.’ Delia breathed out a sigh of relief.

This should buy her enough time. But the next thing she saw was the glasses guy’s headless body flying past the hole she had come through.

He hadn’t slowed down the man’s advance for even a second!

The barbarian smashed through the wall and charged at Delia without a second thought. She knew if she didn't protect herself, she would be dead where she stood!

Using her affinities as a Warrior and Creator, Delia surrounded herself in Ord and imbued some of that energy into her weapons.

Her Ord turned more bloodthirsty, and a mask manifested on her face.

{Nightmare Time!}

Baam!... He struck like a freight train. It felt like smashing against an unstoppable force. Even her daggers that were imbued with Ord shattered into dozens of pieces.

Delia jumped back to lessen the impact of the opponent's punch. But the man's fists grazed her mid-section, and her ribs snapped like twigs from the contact alone. A piercing pain stabbed through her chest, and she realized that one of the broken ribs was poking her lungs.

Each time she breathed, it felt like the air itself turned to fire as soon as it touched her lungs.

She smashed through the wall, and more pain rippled through her back. It felt like the broken stones had pierced her skin, and another rib broke.

But as soon as her feet touched the ground, she started running.

She got closer to the VIP rooms and saw a young man walking along the hallways.

He was someone familiar.

***

I was relieved when the alarm rang out because it meant this Arc would be like the original.

The Demonic Exorcist was working with Organization X and ordering some disposable demons to attack. During the chaos the silver-haired test subjects would swoop in and save the day.

Of course, nothing would go to plan, as Red Tail introduced themselves and became an enemy of the Demonic Exorcist. During this time, the first true Ultimate Class Demon appeared.

Even with his army of monsters, the Demonic Exorcist was overwhelmed and suffered a deadly defeat.

If things played out like that again, it would be best to kill the Demonic Exorcist. Otherwise, with his talent, ambition, and crazy special ability, he will…

A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.

"Look out!" A familiar voice came from behind.

Delia?

Turning around, I saw her running away from a raging Roc, and I froze in place.

Unlike Agon, I wasn't a trouble magnet. Problems only found me when I went out looking for them. So how did I manage to stumble onto an injured Delia fleeing from a raging Roc?!

Fuck my luck!

Was I going to fight? Hell no!

So I turned tail and bolted, though it didn't take long for Delia to catch up. "Huh? Kon? Can't you be a little faster? With your slow ass, we can't even escape.”

She talked a lot of shit for someone within leg-kicking distance.

I would not do that, but she should be careful. That was why it wasn’t smart to just talk shit about someone in front of their face. It’s much more effective to be like everyone else and gossip behind their back.

Since Delia had broken ribs, I asked. “Did you tank one of his attacks?”

“If by ‘tank’ you mean barely stop it from smashing my organs to bits, then yes,” Delia shot a sharp glare at me.

She was a monster. At nineteen-year-old stopping the attack of someone like Roc, who even a fully raging Agon would have difficulty handling. What a monster!

She broke a rib, but if she got better at reinforcement Ord, she would be a tank behemoth. A better Magic Weapon would also help.

Wait, a better weapon!

I glanced at the cursed sword on my hip. But the blade had been strange, and anyone else who touched it seemed to bring out even more craziness from them than usual.

“{Perfect Me}”

Taking out the cursed blade, I bit my thumb to draw blood and used it to write seals on the sword.

I wasn’t good at seals; they were hard to remember, and every small nook and cranny could change the meaning of the talisman’s meaning.

It was an art form that would require a lot of time to learn even the basics. But when I used Perfect Me that changed.

Seals were formed as if printed into existence, and the malicious aura of the cursed sword subsided. This took a few seconds, and Perfect Me turned off after completing its order.

I handed over my sword to Delia. “Do you know how to use a sword?”

“Have you forgotten the name of our clan?” She looked at me with a mocking look in her eyes. Delia loved her cheap shots. I wasn’t childish enough to argue in the middle of a life-or-death situation, and she exploited that.

Also, I thought our clan name was more of a symbol of how our clan would strike in the dark.

She took my sword and imbued it with Ord, and her eyes widened. “Where the hell did you find a weapon like this?”

“In the junk market.”

“Oh, so you were amongst your peers?”

What a bitch!

Though Delia was being annoying, she was right. I couldn’t outrun a warrior of Roc’s caliber. He looked like a bodybuilder, but he was also fast as hell. “If you break my weapon, you’ll have to find me a better one.”

“Better weapon? What the hell are you talking about? Why does it have to be better?”

“Added interest, of course.”

Delia didn’t seem pleased by my words. But she couldn’t keep arguing, Roc was already too close, and she had to concentrate on the fight.

Though Delia was acting annoying, she could have escaped and left me behind, but as soon as she saw me, she stayed.

Delia had tasted Roc’s power and knew she stood no chance.

Now, if I ran away, and she bought me time, I could escape. But betraying my psycho cousin’s trust would leave a foul taste in my mouth.

Also, she was a psycho. What if she survived after I escaped? She would skin me alive!

Roc glanced at me, and his eyes turned murderous. His arm was still missing. “Brat! It’s you!”

“Hey now, you can’t just ignore a beauty like me!” Delia taunted him and slashed the berserker across his chest. But it only ended up creating a small razor-like cut on his abs.

The man frowned and swung his arm at Delia. Despite the danger, she had a blood-thirsty smile and dragged her hand across her face.

{Nightmare Time!}

Her Ord intensified, and she imbued the cursed blade with enormous energy.

Unlike when I did it, her Ord and the cursed blade resonated together, multiplying the sword’s power. She used the sword's edge to block Roc’s arm swing.

The sword dug into his flesh, cutting through his forearm muscles like a hot knife through butter, and only halted at his bone.

The cut hadn’t stopped, but Roc had paused his attack. Otherwise, he would have lost his only remaining arm.

Delia looked down at the blade. “I really wanna keep this bad boy. We get along well.”

Was she a serial killer? How did she have such synergy with a cursed blade?

The obsessed spirit possessing the sword was that of a serial killer who wanted to murder more people. It seemed like Delia had an absurd connection with that.

Was it because of her twisted mindset? Or she might be a serial killer? I wasn’t gonna think too deeply about that right now.

But Roc wasn’t done as he concentrated his Ord on his foot and kicked at Delia. The latter brought up the cursed sword and used it to block the attack.

Clang!... The sound of metal breaking rang out, and Delia was thrown back like a boulder. I immediately went and caught her, trying to break her momentum, but I also ended up smashing back-first into a wall.

That hurt like hell!

But I didn’t have time to think about that and shook Delia. She was half-unconscious and still held onto the handle of the broken cursed sword.

“Hey! You can’t just fall asleep!” I shook her a bit, and that woke her up.

She smiled. “Ah, why do I have to see such an ugly face in the afterlife?”

This wasn’t the time to be joking!

Then Delia stared at the figure behind Roc. “You’re finally here, father.”