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Ding!
[The {Demonic Apostle of Death Altar} has been filled to the brim with Demonic Energy and sacrificed souls! It has gained enough power to summon the manifestation of a Death Apostle!]
[The [Tenth Apostle of Death, Astaroth] has been chosen to be summoned from the Demonic Altar!]
[A Manifestation of his Body and Soul has been summoned, which will remain summoned until the Demonic Energy recedes from the environment.]
Somewhere around us, there’s a Demonic Altar where that dragon bastard came from. It seems that Beelzebub had more plans than just throwing easy EXP bags at us.
I might not be the only one in this situation, though; most likely, other people are fighting the manifestation of a Death Apostle…
And I doubt they can take on them with just a pair! We have to get rid of this lizard-faced idiot and go help anybody close by.
But well, I really didn’t expect him to come out of nowhere, though.
And unlike before, I have little fear of him; in fact, I’m overjoyed.
He’s a Demonic Dragon with a physical body, meaning that he’s a treasure chest filled with rare materials and, above all, the delicious blood of a dragon!
Gram’s very hungry for it!
[“Is that Astaroth?! If we can get some of that delicious dragon blood… And maybe his heart too?! I could get much stronger!”]
“Even stronger than after Hilda’s upgrade?” I giggled while asking.
[“MUCH, MUCH STRONGER! I can already FEEL it after all these upgrades! I need a Dragon Heart to awaken new Abilities!”]
“Nice, then Astaroth’s arrival is ideal.” I smiled, walking towards the lizard-faced bastard who had fallen. “Sara, don’t you want some revenge? After all, he’s the one who killed you and provoked your corpse to be possessed by Hel to begin with.”
“I-Is he really that demon?” She asked in surprise. “I guess Beelzebub is also a Demon Apostle, as the chairman said... This means he most likely has pacts with other lesser apostles; did he bring them here to kill us?”
“Most likely, separating us was part of his “master plan." Sending an apostle to every pair seems like an overkill for most of us except my brother, Lee, and maybe Henrietta. I am not even so sure if Scarlet can handle one.” I sighed. “We have to kill him and go help everyone else quickly! After we’re reunited, we’ll strike down Beelzebub, Heisenberg, and his goons.”
“Despite being one of the youngest hunters here at the age of sixteen, you seem very calm about this... You’ll sure become an even more amazing hunter in the future, Anna.” Sara said it as if admiring my resolve.
“Save that flattery for later; he’s coming,” I said, my eyes glowing with bright golden light as I detected his presence approaching.
“Hahahah… You’ve become much stronger than before, haven’t you?!” His voice kept growing closer. “I never thought that after destroying your damn heart, you would somehow bond with a constellation similarly to your dumb brother... And miraculously revive! I heard that Constellation was someone who was punished and sealed into a crystal; was that crystal what you absorbed?”
His gigantic, draconic head loomed from within the darkness.
“You seem to know everything; why are you even asking then?” I laughed, my Arcane Hands channeling my Magic Spells.
Although I would love to bring Sepa into the conversation, the lazybones are sleeping right now, even in this situation! Seriously…
“You… are terrifyingly calm even before being in front of my almighty Manifestation.” He spoke. “I am someone that surpasses S Rank Monsters, and yet... why are you so damn calm?!”
He grew furious after his attempt at making me afraid failed, rushing with his twenty-meter-tall body toward us and slamming the floor with his gigantic draconic claws.
His appearance was like a mix between his two previous forms: a humanoid dragon, but with a bulkier body, wings, and a long tail.
CRASH!
The ground quickly shattered into pieces as he looked back at us, his eyes glowing brightly with dark red energies.
“Hehehe, good thing I’ve got some sponsors now.” He smiled, channeling a strange power.
Wait, sponsors?
Ding!
[The Cosmic Throne {Cursed Eight-Legged Maiden} smiles devilishly.]
[She says “Hello~”]
Arachne?
“{Eight Accursed Spider Eyes}!”
Astaroth’s eyes glowed with bright red light, generating the illusion of eight spider-like eyes coming from his Aura. All eight of them unleashed beams of pure cursed energy!
That skill is from Annabelle of the future, the one that was never saved, the one that died terribly in the novel!
I can’t believe I’ve provoked a damn Death Apostle to gain sponsors; this is something that never ever happened before.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.
The beams bombarded our surroundings as Sara, and I quickly started evading the beams; she instinctively knew they were bad news.
“Don’t let those beams touch you! They’ll instantly cause like a dozen status effects on you!” I said. “They last a couple of seconds, though, but it’ll be enough for that lizard to kill you.”
“Got it!” Sara nodded. “Anna, go on the vanguard; I’ll back you up when he opens his guard!”
“Alright! It sounds like a good idea!” I nodded.
I wasn’t someone who would ask her to step in front when she specialized in stealth and surprise attacks. Astaroth’s red eyes saw Sara suddenly disappear as she used her Spectral Transformation to turn into a specter and fly away.
“Running away already?!” Laughed Astaroth. “What a coward! {Divine Spider King’s Poisonous Thread Creation}!”
He swung his claws, suddenly summoning spider threads everywhere, all of them filled with lethal poison, covering almost the entire room where we were.
“Oh, so you’re a spider aside from being a filthy lizard?” I asked with a cocky smile.
“Another step, and you’ll instantly be covered in spider threads; they move automatically!” Astaroth laughed, and suddenly his throat began bulging as he gathered energies. “Stay put, I’ll blast you into smithereens with a quick dragon breath! Gyahahaha!”
“Save your stinky breath; I prefer some dragon filet for tonight’s dinner.” I imbued Mana into my Dragon Tooth Knife and fired it into his throat with perfect accuracy!
CLASH!
The stupid dragon coughed blood as the gathered flames on his throat were unable to come out. His eyes opened wide in desperation.
“W-Wait, that’s not fair-”
BOOOM!
The dagger quickly detonated its blazing ability, and combined with the flames accumulated in his throat, he and the entire room became completely engulfed in flames!
“AAGGH…! D-Dammit! Cough… cough!” Astaroth was clearly still alive; he wasn’t a Death Apostle for nothing, but he was having a terrible cough and throatache right now.
“Sara!” I called Sara through telepathy, a basic spell.
“Right!”
Saran quickly emerged from within the spectral veil she was in, her daggers quickly attacking Astaroth from behind, combined with her Phantom Rush!
“{Phantom Rush}! {Spectral Daggers}!”
“Wha…?!”
SLASH! SLASH! SLASH!
Astaroth was a surprisingly stupid and clueless Death Apostle who was only used to forcing through everything with brute strength; he lacked fighting experience and, above all, intuitiveness.
So it was incredibly easy to surprise him!
“Urggh…! My wings!”
The Dragon Demon gave a loud shriek; his wings were cut off his shoulders in no time as an accursed, phantom flame covered half his body, lowering his stats and damaging his soul constantly.
“YOU DAMN ZOMBIE!”
With a furious roar, an eruption of pure demonic energy surged from his body as an explosion of demonic flames, but Sara quickly managed to get away before being engulfed in the fire!
“{Familiar Summon}!”
Alongside my three Familiars who were hiding, I summoned Sara to my side as well, while retreating from Astaroth’s explosive tantrum.
“Huh?! I was summoned too.” Sara asked in surprise.
“I’ll explain why later.” I said. “Now-”
“Where do you think you’re going after taking away my damn wings?!”
BAAM! BAAM! BAAM!
The furious Astaroth came right behind us, tearing apart countless walls and doors with his gigantic claws; his mouth was bleeding, his body was still burning with phantom flames, and he seemed slightly tired.
It looks like Sara’s surprise attack really put a toll on the old lizard’s body. I might as well greet him with a big attack!
“You’re right in front of me. Bad choice.” I smiled. “{Thousand Blades}: {Heaven’s Sun}”
SLAAASH!
I imbued Celestial Energy, Ki, and Mana into Gram at the same time as I activated the sword’s Celestial Mode. A single slash was like a titanic wave of dozens of meters of pure holy light, directly hitting Astaroth with full force.
CRASH!
However, he suddenly swung his claws, generating countless threads at the same time and shaping them into a huge shield that actually protected him from the slash!
“Hahahaha! Lady Arachne is generous with her powers- Huh?!”
However, Thousand Blades was indeed a thousand blades; that single slash exploded into hundreds of smaller slashes, covering his entire body and exploding in unison, creating the illusion of a sun emerging from heaven!
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
“AAARGHH…!T-The explosions… Never stop!”
BOOOM!
The last explosion burned through his scales and skin, his weakened body falling two rooms below as Sara and I quickly rushed down.
My familiars swiftly conjured their skills; freezing ice covered half his body thanks to Snow, while Shiro conjured buffs for us and healed any exhaustion with ease.
Meanwhile, the violent and angry Violet struck down on his back, shattering his scales with a terrifyingly powerful cutting attack!
“KRIEEEH!”
CRASH!
“UURGHH…!”Astaroth gave another scream of agony, his multiple eyes firing countless red beams. “Get away from me, you filthy bug!”
The beams were fired in all directions randomly, and as he desperately attempted to get back up again, his claws conjured two giant swords made of... Death Energy?!
[The Cosmic Throne {Black Jackal that Judges the Death} expects that this filthy mongrel can be of some use.]
Anubis, seriously? Are you that desperate, you stupid dog? I thought of you as someone with higher standards!
“Thank you, Lord Anubis!” Astaroth laughed, greeting my incoming attacks with his new swords. “{Abyssal Death Blades of Duat}!”
Duat, the “Underworld” of Egyptian mythology, is where those blades draw power from the Abyssal Death Energy prowling through those accursed lands where Anubis reigns supreme.
“Not bad, you’ve got TWO sponsors?!” I laughed, mocking him anyway. “Big deal, I’ve got like ten!”
I summoned my Bastion Shield at that moment; the incoming strike was like an explosion of pure blackness, covering all my surroundings.
CLASH!
However, the Bastion Shield held surprisingly well, and although half its body fell apart into pieces, its durability quickly went down.
“You held off well!”
I saved it in my inventory in that split second, gaining the shield’s buff while debuffing Astaroth’s stats at the same time.
“Each time I swing these swords, the eternal darkness of Lord Anubis’ realm will engulf everything!” Astaroth laughed. “Can you fight within this eternal, nefarious blackness?!”
With those words, Astaroth swung his blade rapidly, several times, against me. Each strike released an explosion of pure darkness that seemed to be attempting to sap away my health, ki, and soul all at once!
“Amusing, but so what?!”
I didn’t have the time to feel intimidated by his little new abilities, so I activated Gram’s Demonic Mode and fused it with the Celestial Mode, creating the Balance Mod instantly.
“Sara!”
“Right!”
Sara appeared in that moment as I clashed against his swords, explosions of light and darkness emerging each second.
“RAAAH!”
Sara’s daggers attacked Astaroth from the back once more. But the dragon suddenly smiled, his aura emerging from his body, suddenly creating a pseudo-phantom clone out of him?!
[The Cosmic Throne {Queen of the Underworld} desires your end and that of your friend for having betrayed her at all costs!]
So even Hel is sponsoring him?!
“{Demonic Phantom Rush}!”
Astaroth copied Sara’s skill, his phantom attacking her countless times with demonic phantasmal claws, which could have easily torn apart her soul if it wasn’t for the barrier protecting her!
“{Celestial Mark: Endearing Love}!”
Ding!
[You have activated Gram’s {Celestial Mark: Endearing Love}! A special barrier protects Sara from most damage, while you take 25% of all damage!]
CLASH! CLASH! CLASH!
The damage was directed toward me, each strike the barrier took was redirected toward me, damaging me constantly.
“Hahaha! What sort of stupid ability is that?!” Laughed Astaroth, kicking Sara away from the scene.
BAAAM!
“The sort of stupid ability that goes really well with this one.” I smiled; my body was overflowing with Demonic Energy. “{Demonic Stigma: Agonizing Power}!”
“What?!”
Gram took on all the pain I gathered, growing larger, and larger, and larger, the power of the Stigma enhancing his Attack through the roof.
SLAAASH!
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