Chapter 114: Fighting Derug Final Part

I could hardly believe I had to fight a human. Me—a demon created by Master Zalrorg specifically to protect his dungeon. Despite having lived only a short time and never having experienced combat before, having to lower myself like this against a creature so far beneath me in the hierarchy, like a human, was truly infuriating.

But there was nothing I could do about it. The moment I absorbed all the Ghosts into myself—no, the moment I was created, my fate had already been decided. If the mission of these intruders was to conquer this dungeon, mine was to protect it at the cost of my life.

I could still use my regeneration six more times, but having that power while firing projectiles with such a minimal amount of mana wouldn’t be enough to face my opponent. To defeat him, I would have to take a greater risk than that. I decided to take half of my mana and distribute it between my arms.

My new body could easily reshape itself according to my will—all I needed was to focus the right amount of mana, and there it was. This time, I kept two of my four arms, shaping them into curved forms, both enveloped in my magical power.

’Three times. That’s my limit for regeneration,’ I thought, reminding myself.

There was no one with me at that moment, and the same could be said for my enemy. This was a solitary battle, one allowed only to monsters like us.

And without another word, I charged at him for our final clash. Only one of us would leave there alive.

…

I couldn’t believe what was happening. Everything had happened so fast. One moment I was being suffocated by Derug, and the next, Rick—who had been lying on the ground—saved me and started striking back against the demon.

Each of Rick’s blows was more ferocious than the last. There was no proper style in the way he wielded his sword—he simply adapted to his opponent’s attacks and defenses, retaliating with brutal force. It was powerful, but terrifying. Rick didn’t seem like himself; his face looked as if it were trapped in a trance, and his eyes were fixed on the enemy. With every strike he delivered, I could feel his rage echoing through the cave.

Rick had told me that after defeating Fenrir’s Descendant, he had gained a powerful skill that, in exchange for all his mana and his sanity, doubled his strength—but knowing something and seeing it with my own eyes were two completely different things. And Rick was terrifying.

I could see that Alicia was still focused on treating Justine, keeping her attention away from the battle. I could go over to her and ask if I could help—but I couldn’t take my eyes off that fierce fight. Not just because, if Rick lost, it would be the end for all of us, but because I felt that, as his loyal Valkyrie, I should watch the battle until its bitter end.

Derug’s arms had changed shape—now both of them looked like thick, sharpened scimitars, their edges lined with jagged teeth. Those weapons looked capable of splitting a human in half. I didn’t have time to pray for my beloved. The moment the demon finished his transformation, he lunged at Rick, one of his scimitars thrust forward, aiming straight for his chest.

Rick defended himself with his sword, knocking the scimitar to the side, only for the other blade to come diagonally toward him. I wouldn’t have been able to defend against an attack like that—not at that speed—but with both hands gripping his sword, Rick managed to cut off the arm coming at him, right where Derug’s blade ended and his normal body began.

Then, Rick brought his sword down diagonally across Derug’s chest. Derug stumbled back from the blow. If he were human, he would have died for sure. Derug might have been faster, but Rick’s raw strength made up for that weakness, striking back with a merciless attack.

Derug healed his wounds as always, but his right arm, which had been cut off, did not return as a blade—it came back as a normal arm instead. Maybe there was a cost to transforming his arms into weapons, and he didn’t want to pay the price and lose his regeneration. That seemed to be the case—his single large eye stared at Rick as if he were facing a wild beast, knowing that a single wrong move would be an opening for an attack.

Derug charged at Rick once more, who was now holding his sword with only one hand. The demon had no chance of matching Rick in raw strength, so he aimed for his most vulnerable side—but his attack was too obvious. A brutal slash from above sent his scimitar arm flying once again, and to add to it, Rick grabbed Derug by the face with his bare hand and slammed the monster into the ground.

Rick stepped away from the demon lying on the ground without saying a word, but his cold eyes remained fixed on him, as if telling his enemy, “Get up!”

Derug rose once more. The monster who had been arrogant until just moments ago was now being completely humiliated in a contest of brute strength. The eye on his octahedron-shaped head stared at Rick with exhaustion, but his monstrous mouth began to—

“Hahahahahaha!” Derug laughed, a cackle that made it seem like he had gone mad. “Human, you are better than I thought, I must admit. I will put my life on the line then!!”

Then his right arm began to glow with a black, lightning-like energy. Dust was blown away as Derug’s arm transformed once more. From the power he had shown that day and the pace of the fight, this seemed to be his final attempt.

When the transformation ended, where his arm should have been was now a blade about 0.5 meters (19.69 inches) wide. Forget a human—that weapon could split a bear in half.

“In the name of Great Zalrorg, I will at least take your head!” Derug shouted as he charged toward Rick.

“WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!!” Rick let out a guttural scream, swinging his sword against the demon, their two blades clashing in a contest of power.

The air around them seemed to be pushed away from the point of impact. The grinding of their weapons echoed through the cave, their strengths nearly equal. Nearly.

In just a short moment of contact, one of the blades began to crack, and with a simple motion, the victor was decided—shattering the opponent’s weapon. With a second swing in the opposite direction, Rick split the demon in two.

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