In the alliance's headquarters, a tense conversation unfolded.
"Sir, demons are suddenly appearing everywhere," the secretary announced as he re-entered the room, addressing the Lieutenant-General.
"Demons?" The Lieutenant-General's voice betrayed his shock. How could that be possible? Yet, he did not dwell on it, he kept his calm and responded.
"How is the palace responding?"
"They've already dispatched forces up to duke level."
"Good. Send Legion 1, 2, 3, and 4."
"Yes, sir." With that, the secretary departed.
'What on earth is going on?' the Lieutenant-General sighed, puzzled by the unfolding events.
***
In an unknown underground facility, another situation was unfolding.
BOOOOOOOOOOOM!
"Ughhh…" Vahn grunted as the sword he wielded recoiled harshly against his hands. The weapon had been too fragile to withstand the demon's strike, transferring the full impact onto him.
Without hesitation, he discarded the sword and counterattacked the first demon with his free fist.
BOOOOOOM!
Then, Vahn raised his right leg to deliver a swift kick. As the demon lifted its hand to block, Vahn teleported about ten centimeters ahead of his intended target and shot his leg forward.
BANG!
"Gurghh…" the demon grunted in pain, collapsing to the ground. It looked like it was blocking the wrong place.
"Teleportation, huh." As the demon got up, it muttered while giving Vahn a death glare.
Without responding, Vahn was already behind the demon and punching forward, however,
'Missed?' Vahn was dazed as his hand went through the air.
"Hahaha, abilities aren't invisible, you know." The demon mocked as it adjusted itself and lunged at Vahn.
'It's simple, when I don't see him I will move in another direction.' The demon smiled as he thought of the best way to counter it and clawed out to Vahn.
Dodging the claw, Vahn shot his hand in an uppercut to the demon's chin, however, the demon ignored the pain and went for a grappling posture.
'Dangerous' Vahn hurriedly teleported out of the way. He hadn't forgotten about the demon's final breath, so he had to be careful of situations like that.
They clashed against each other again. Their attacks spread through the cave, ripped some parts of it, and covered the air in explosions and smoke, however, neither backed down.
Slowly and surely, the demon was getting used to Vahn's teleportation as it moved in a completely random direction upon his disappearance, however, that didn't mean he was always lucky.
Sometimes, he was diving directly into the punch, sending him away like a broken kite, but Vahn decided against raining continuous attacks after that.
The demon still hadn't used its final breath once. Its own was faster stronger and more destructive.
But what he didn't know was, that ultimate also had its limit.
And Vahn too, who had used his teleportation in different ways, wasn't seeing any road to victory, and his ability was running out at a fast pace.
'Then, let's try something else,' Vahn thought as he stood and took a deep breath.
With a hop, Vahn leaped skyward and teleported even higher. With full force, he descended back toward the demon, if one remembered, something similar had happened in the past.
"FOOL!" The demon roared and opened its mouth wide. It was finally time.
It planned to release its most powerful breath as Vahn landed, but he didn't think that it was precisely what Vahn had anticipated.
There was another thing about Vahn. He was willing to risk everything if it meant achieving his goal, just as he had done in the underground fight.
SHHHWAAAAAAAAA
As the demon's final breath hurtled toward him, Vahn concentrated.
All this time he had teleported in various ways, he had sort of raised his proficiency in it, and mastered teleportation well enough to manipulate it in other unconventional ways.
His gaze wasn't on the breath already searing him with its heat. No, his steely glare fixed on the demon, he stretched out his hands and shouted, "SWAP!"
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Whoom...
"What-" In an instant, the demon found itself suspended in mid-air, disoriented as it faced its incoming attack and Vahn was at the demon's previous location.
"GAAAAHHHHHHHHH!" it screamed in agony as the full force of Vahn's maneuver engulfed it as it fell to the ground.
"That hurts…" Vahn exhaled, wiping sweat from his brow as he watched the demon burn alive.
'I did it…' He clenched his fist.
Suddenly, he felt like coming here had been more of a blessing than a curse to him. He could remember when he just found out he could teleport, it was only recently and it already felt like a long time, maybe because of the tense situations and fights he went through.
'Yes, and I will come for you.' He still didn't forget the person who put him in this situation, the Major-general.
THUDD…
With a heavy, resounding impact, the demon's body collapsed onto the cold ground.
'Another meal?' Vahn mused. Teleporting to the fallen demon, he inspected its condition.
The creature lay motionless, its skin now uniformly black. In that moment, memories of the battle resurfaced. 'This demon never knew how to fight, it relied solely on raw power and its intelligence.' Vahn mused and he couldn't entirely blame it; after all, it was a scientist.
Coughing weakly, the demon managed to choke out, "S-Save m-m-me…"
"Why?" Vahn demanded without a shred of pity.
"I-I—I will t-tell you e-e-everything," it stuttered.
"But I really need your remains…so," Vahn said apologetically, though devoid of true remorse, and stretched his hand.
"Devour."
RARRRRRRRRRRRRR!
From within Vahn, a monstrous entity emerged, it was far larger than he remembered, and it consumed the demon's remains in one ravenous gulp.
A moment later, Vahn closed his eyes, enduring the searing pain that radiated through his entire body. Yet, as the agony subsided, he felt strength coursing through him, a strength greater than he had ever experienced from any previous demons combined.
Then, a golden notification flashed before his eyes:
[YOU HAVE ABSORBED ESSENCE OF ??? -> 5%]
[NAME: VAHN ???]
[PHYSICAL ABILITY: 25]
[INNATE ABILITY: DEVOUR]
[ABILITY: TELEPORT, ERASURE]
"Twenty-five?" Vahn murmured in disbelief.
The last reading had been thirteen; that meant his physical ability had nearly doubled. "And… Erasure?" he wondered, confused. He had expected the ability to manifest as "Swap" or something similar.
He mused at the gains, however, that wasn't all,
"Are these his memories?" He scanned his mind as the scattered fragments of memories surfaced, snippets from the two-paired winged demon, images of experiments
where demon blood was mixed with human cells, and the unmistakable involvement of the Major-General.
The final fragment revealed the layout of an underground experimental lab, exactly this one.
"Is this world really like this?" Vahn asked himself bitterly. He was finally experiencing how the real world was, and honestly, he didn't like it. He preferred the days he just focused on trying to awaken, however he wouldn't avoid it.
Since he had awakened, he knew he must move on and experience everything life had to offer, even if it meant confronting such horrors.
It was time to let that peaceful past go.
Before he knew it, Vahn reached the area where the remaining ability users were gathered.
They had already subdued the leftover demons, but he paid them no heed; they held nothing that could enhance his strength.
Ignoring the curious and wary glances, Vahn addressed the group, "Let's kill the rest and gather the survivors."
Like magic, Vahn had taken back the leadership position, and without much of a word, they followed; without even glancing at Blade Axe.
It was time to clear the rest of the demons.
One could say that the demons they fought were the soldiers and warriors, now it was time to kill the guards and other scientists.
So, a plan was formulated.
It was simple. Blade Axe and the ability users rampaged the demons while saving the survivors from the left flank of the underground.
The warrior demons were dead, what chance did they have? Without a choice, the important scientists together with some of the strongest guards retreated to the right flank, however, they were met with an obstacle.
Vahn.
Thinking they could rush him, they unleashed their ultimate on him.
That was when Vahn also used his new skill, Erasure.
Like a lie, all of their ultimate vanished leaving both the demons and Vahn in shock. 'It really meant erase, like literally.'
Smiling at the use, Vahn went in, and before seconds passed, he had punched holes through them.
Before long, all the demons were cleared and the remaining bound were released.
Tears and cheers of joy filled the air. They had all fought, survived, and taken their revenge.
However, the next question came quickly: where was the exit?
"Let's save the rest and leave this place."
Without overthinking or saying much, they followed Vahn through a winding corridor.
Along the way, they rescued scores of people still trapped behind battered bars, their numbers now exceeded three hundred.
After several twists and turns, Vahn encountered a massive set of double doors. It was the control room he had seen in his fragmented memories. Reaching out, he discovered a keypad embedded in the door.
Beep… Beep… Beep… Beep… Beep.
As expected of a scientist, in a four-coded password, it was five he used.
GIIIIIIIII
A low rumble heralded the doors sliding open to reveal a spacious chamber.
"Pick up your belongings," Vahn instructed the crowd. Many eyed him warily; after he carried himself as if this were his home. But he paid them no mind, his thoughts consumed by the task at hand.
Rarely, very rarely at that, when demons or marked beasts were killed, they dropped treasures. The scientist then thought of the possibility that the demons weren't actually a calamity but like a step to progress through, however, he had no other clue other than the treasure Vahn was currently standing in front of.
A book encased in glass, reminiscent of museum relics. However, unlike ordinary artifacts, this book pulsed with rippling energy, its surface alive with undulating ripples.
'The scientist never understood what this book truly was, so he never touched it.' Vahn mused at the attitude of the scientist, he sought to understand rather than find out the consequences at a later date. Absorbing the essence of the demon scientist had imbued him with a sliver of understanding about the nature of this world. And now, with one treasure in hand, he could begin to piece together its mysteries.
After entering another set of codes, the glass cylinder slowly opened with a soft, airy whirrr.
'Should I touch it?' He asked himself, however, his action betrayed him. He was already making contact with it.
WHIIRRRR…
The sound escalated into a violent crescendo. The ripples, as if alive, detached from the book and enveloped Vahn completely.
For the first time, he felt something other than pain, a profound, overwhelming sense of peace. A serene bliss washed over him, and he smiled.
'Is this possible?' he wondered, astonished.
All this time, he had believed that awakening an ability was meant to come from emotions or intense desires. Yet this book, this enigmatic relic, bestowed upon him an entirely new ability.
Judging by the rippling aura, its essence could only be described as "Space."