Chapter 74: A Demon Learns to Kill (3)

Ethan caught the Executioner Sword midair once more and attacked with it.

James, meanwhile, defended himself using what remained of his broken blade.

Even though it was only half a sword now, James still held the advantage when it came to raw physical strength.

Trying to turn the tide somehow, he committed fully to the attack, closing the distance between them.

At that moment—

a mad smile appeared on Ethan’s face.

This…

was exactly what he had been waiting for.

Ethan suddenly threw the sword away in a strange motion and instead extended his Legion arm toward James, who was already swinging his blade.

Right before James’s eyes, the Legion arm completely transformed.

Metal plates unfolded from every direction, sliding outward as if preparing to fire something.

“Kaboom!!” Ethan shouted loudly.

From the Legion arm, a fiery stake erupted—

and exploded directly in James’s face.

BOOOOOOM!!!!

The entire arena shook violently as a terrifying explosion erupted.

Flames and burning fragments scattered everywhere.

Ethan staggered backward, struggling to maintain his footing as the recoil from the blast struck him as well.

He immediately summoned the Executioner Sword back into his human hand.

A sharp pain shot through his left shoulder—as if he had fired a cannon through it.

Which, in truth…

wasn’t entirely inaccurate.

But Ethan ignored the pain.

His attention remained fixed on the heart of the explosion where thick smoke now gathered.

“Was that enough…?”

“To break his armor?”

The answer came quickly.

Through the smoke and drifting embers, everyone saw a figure staggering violently.

Then a scream tore through the arena.

“AAARGH—! M-My arm!!!”

James’s voice echoed everywhere as he finally became visible.

Ethan’s eyes widened slightly in surprise.

Aura Armor was still active.

It still protected James, though its glow had noticeably weakened.

It had shielded his entire body…

except for one place.

“My arm!!!”

James screamed again as blood sprayed wildly from what remained of his right arm.

The limb had been completely destroyed after receiving Ethan’s fiery stake directly.

James stumbled violently, his blood splattering across the ground.

He looked like a man trapped in hell itself.

On the other side, Ethan tightened his grip around his sword.

“Aura Armor protected his body…”

“But the layer around his arm wasn’t strong enough to block the damage completely.”

At that moment—

Ethan burst into loud laughter, drowning out James’s screams.

“What’s this?!”

“You were mocking me for having one arm…”

“And now you’ve decided to follow me?!”

Ethan laughed loudly.

James glared at him with murderous rage, clutching the remains of his arm.

His eyes were bloodshot, veins bulging violently across his face.

Seeing him like that, Ethan planted the Executioner Sword into the ground and leaned on it with both hands.

“Surrender, James.”

“You’ve already lost an arm. That’s more than enough damage.”

Ethan’s voice carried across the arena so that everyone could hear.

“I have no intention of killing you.”

“If you surrender now, everything will end and you’ll receive proper treatment.”

“So surrender… and spare yourself the suffering.”

Ethan’s words sounded like mercy.

But that smile…

those eyes…

James saw something completely different.

He saw mockery.

“DON’T MESS WITH ME, YOU BASTARD!!!”

James forced himself back to his feet.

He demanded another weapon.

“I’ll make you regret what you’ve done—no matter the cost!!”

His voice trembled with rage.

Pain and hatred burned within his eyes.

Dark red veins pulsed beneath his skin, twisting his expression into something monstrous.

Yet Aura Armor still burned around his body.

Proof that he could continue fighting.

Even the bleeding had slowed under its protection.

Soon, another weapon was handed to him.

James gripped it with his remaining arm.

Seeing that, Ethan sighed.

“You complain about losing an arm…”

“Even though you intended to do the same thing to me.”

“What hypocrisy.”

He spoke calmly.

Then his smile widened in a way that felt almost dangerous.

“I gave you the chance to withdraw.”

“I showed you mercy.”

“But you don’t want mercy.”

“So blame no one but yourself.”

Ethan’s voice grew colder as he spoke his next words.

“Aura of the Night Lord.”

He whispered it.

Activating one of his many Blessings.

At that moment—

every face watching the duel darkened.

Even Asterion’s eyes widened slightly.

The red aura surrounding the Executioner Sword changed completely.

It turned into something far darker.

A thick, dreadful aura—

sticky and suffocating.

A presence that filled their hearts with fear.

“Impossible…”

Kevin Heart muttered under his breath, disbelief written across his face.

“Is that really the aura of someone who hasn’t even reached the advanced rank?!”

It was something beyond reason.

Beyond imagination.

And what Ethan did next only deepened their terror.

Taking a familiar stance, he released the sword before him.

The Executioner Sword began spinning again.

Faster.

And faster.

Like a bullet.

But this time…

it was a dark vortex.

A black saw of destruction, darker than the night itself.

Ethan’s offensive power multiplied several times over relative to his defense.

But defense no longer mattered.

One strike—

was all he needed.

Watching what was happening…

James’s morale finally shattered.

Standing there…

he felt it.

He felt death approaching.

That spiraling bullet of a strike was fast.

Too fast.

So fast that dodging it with his speed was impossible—especially now that its power had multiplied under the influence of the Aura of the Night Lord.

James let his weapon fall.

He prepared to surrender.

But before a single word could leave his mouth—

Ethan’s expression darkened.

“I won’t allow it.”

WHOOOM.

In less than a second, the spiraling Executioner Sword shot forward at terrifying speed.

It struck James directly.

The attack was a nightmare.

The Aura Armor, already weakened by the previous assaults, did nothing to stop it.

Before the horrified eyes of everyone watching—

the upper half of James’s body exploded.

Flesh, skin, and organs were blown apart.

Fragments of bone scattered across the ground.

His blood splashed everywhere.

Even the walls were painted red.

Some of it reached Ethan himself.

The dark Executioner Sword hovered in the air for a moment after completing its task—

before flying calmly back into Ethan’s hand.

The scene was a nightmare.

The lower half of James’s body remained standing.

But the upper half…

no longer existed.

He was dead.

No—

he had been obliterated.

In the most brutal way imaginable.

Some people turned their eyes away.

Some refused to look.

Others stared in pure terror.

But Ethan…

Ethan remained calm.

Yet his hand trembled.

It trembled so much that he lifted it and stared at it with a frown.

Then he covered his face with it, hiding his expression.

Everyone heard the unsteady sound of his breathing.

They thought he was shaken by what he had done.

But they didn’t know the truth.

Ethan…

was laughing.

’Ah… what is this?’

he wondered.

’I just killed someone.’

’I killed a human… a being of flesh and blood.’

His body trembled.

’I killed him.’

’So why… why the hell do I feel nothing?’

He laughed again.

’Nothing at all!’

His shoulders shook.

’I can do it.’

’I’m capable of it.’

’I can kill.’

He didn’t know.

Was this his true nature?

Or was it simply the price of inhabiting a demonic body?

The owner of a demon’s body…

must become a demon.

Between those two possibilities—

Ethan felt happy.

“I… am the winner.”

And that—

was all that mattered.

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