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706. Demon Mode

“We should be safe here.”

Taburas whispered as she swept her gaze over the vast cavern. Over a million Demons were gathered here— huddled together deep underground, hiding from the remaining legions that were hunting them down.

They were still within the confines of the Expanse. Taburas never received any notification informing her that they had left the Demon King’s Domain. But since they were hidden away below the surface, she thought that they were safe enough here.

Especially since nobody here had a collar. There was no way they would be found here for a while.

The only way they would be found was if their tracks were followed by a Deathsquad Hunter. But as of right now, that was not their concern.

Their main concern was dealing with the Winged Horror.

Looking up, Taburas glanced back at Haec who was huddled together with Aliq and Ultis. They were the only Primeval Demons who were present here. Sure, Taburas, Aemula, and Bertrugil were close. But they were still merely Archdemons.

“Come on, we have to hurry. Salvos won’t be able to hold him off for long…”

Haec said as Aliq and Ultis nodded back at him. They readied themselves to leave, and Taburas called out to them.

“Haec, wait—”

She started, and Haec came to a halt. He glanced back at her as he raised a brow.

“What is it, Taburas?”

“I…”

Taburas hesitated. She wanted to ask him to stay. After all, he was barely even a Primeval Demon. Battling against a Primeval Demon that was on the precipice of being a Primordial Demon was suicide. And yet, the former Heir of the Netherworld was resolute.

The [Succubus] sighed as she closed her eyes.

“Don’t get yourself killed, alright?”

“I won’t.”

Haec nodded back at her. And with that, he departed with the two former members of the Deathsquad Hunters. All the while, Taburas could only watch him go.

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[Demon Mode: Wrath of the Berserker King]. It was Jofis’s Grand Skill, and it gave him a massive power boost, just like my [Divine Essence of the Angelic Devil Princess].

I had expected Jofis to have a Grand Skill or two of his own. After all, he used to be a Hellking or whatever. Even if he was no longer a Primordial Demon— having been defeated by Regnorex— he still had to have a plethora of Grand Skills at his disposal.

But even still, I wasn’t prepared for such an extreme increase in all of his abilities. His speed. His strength. His durability. Even his regeneration.

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It was like I was fighting a completely different person now.

He even looked like a completely different person— like he was a monster!

Jofis struck me with a glowing claw, but it didn’t harm me. I immediately focused the protection of [My Flames Shall Burn Until Eternity Ends] to my front to absorb the damage I would have received. However, his onslaught didn’t stop there.

He quickly changed his grip from a strike to grabbing me, before he flung me across the valley as I yelped, the sheer force of the attack sending me flying faster than I could even process what was going on. I came crashing through the other side of the nearby mountain as I cursed.

“Alright, I wasn’t expecting that. But that’s not something I can’t deal with—”

And right as I looked up, I saw a ball of black flames flying straight at me. I blinked.

“Oh.”

And a powerful blast erupted all around me. All I saw was darkness for a long moment as the black flames engulfed me. But my aura of invulnerability surrounded me from all sides, saving my life.

Even still, I could feel the intensity of the flames— just like all of Jofis’s attacks, this blast was further empowered by his Grand Skill. Slowly, the flames dissipated. And I was standing in the middle of a burning crater as I whistled.

“Whew, you are stronger than I thought. Seriously, how can I learn this whole ‘Demon Mode’ thing?”

I asked as I looked up towards the sky. And Jofis descended before me. His monstrous figure landed with a thud, sending a plume of dust into the air. He bared his teeth dangerously as his glowing gaze bore into me. He took a heavy step forward, and a bead of sweat rolled down my back.

“Your invulnerability is truly impressive. However, I wonder how much damage it will need to accumulate before I can break through it.”

His entire body burst into black flames. With each step he took, the ground began to burn. And it ate everything.

“Oh, it’s going to take a while to break through [My Flames Shall Burn Until Eternity Ends]. It’s like Hartia’s Grand Skill, you know?”

That was a bold-faced lie. But I was not going to just tell him how my Skills worked. So if he fell for it, that was his own fault.

I took on a wide stance as my eyes flickered. I waited for a moment. A second passed, and Jofis didn’t move. He just stood across from me with a grin plastered across his face. Then suddenly, he was gone.

My eyes grew wide as I spun around, searching for the Winged Horror. But he was already next to me, his clawed hands growing in size until it could engulf my body. He clapped his hands together as I gritted my teeth.

I wanted [My Flames To Burn Until Eternity Ends] to last for as long as possible. So I brought both my hands up to my side, catching his attack as I focused on the Grand Skill to only protect the palm of my hands.

Jofis’s attack was halted by that. However, his onslaught didn’t end there. He let out a guttural roar as he opened his mouth. His jaw unhinged wide, before a pillar of crimson flames shot out. I screamed as I flew back. I managed to quickly reshape my aura of invulnerability into a hemisphere that guarded me from infront as I flew back from the impact of his attack.

As I tumbled through the air, I caught a glimpse of the Winged Horror, and my eyes glinted. His right shoulder burst into flames as he looked down at himself.

[Sacred Hellfire].

I knew that my attack wouldn’t be enough to kill him. But I just needed to slow him down. The Winged Horror strode forward as he laughed.

“Your attacks are pathetic. You have no hope of defeating me right now.”

He marched forward as I balled my hands together, creating a sphere of black flames. I released it into the air, unleashing a rain of fire against the approaching Winged Horror.

“[The Call Of Armageddon]!”

But despite the onslaught of flames— alongside the [Sacred Hellfire] burning his side right now— Jofis didn’t slow down. He tanked all my attacks as he laughed.

“I wonder… how will that little barrier of yours hold up against a barrage of Grand Skills?”

“A barrage of what now?”

I blinked when I heard what he said. And right as the words left my mouth, he brought a hand up in the air as he whispered. Suddenly, a deluge of black liquid shot out of his hands, pouring all around him— all over him— as he spoke.

“[Demonic Essence: The Grand Skills Of Those I Have Slain].”

I stared with round eyes as figures and shapes began to take form in the black fountain. And Jofis just cackled at my reaction.