『 Scan 』

Aestrea immediately activated his scan skill to its full potential because if it really was the Archdemonof Pride, he would have no chance of winning.

[Target: Belial]

[Race: Archdemon]

[Sin: Pride]

[Rank: SS (Weakened)]

[Affinities: Darkness & Blood]

[Danger: Extremely High]

[Favorability: -999]

[Thoughts: So… we meet again, you fucking bastard.]

[Condition: Belian was forcefully dragged from the depths of Hell through a forbidden summoning ritual performed by the Star Society. The summoning cost him 20% of his total power. However, in exchange, he unlocked the ability to manifest his full Archdemon form temporarily, but only under conditions of extreme threat.]

Reading his panel, Aestrea sucked out a cold breath, his eyes narrowing as he looked at the huge form of a demon infront of him.

“…Selene,” Aestrea said, pressing two fingers against the side of his ear where the small earplug stood.

His voice was strangely calm, like he was just talking about the weather. “I don’t think I’m making it out of this.”

| What…? What are you saying? How bad is it? |

Her voice came through almost immediately.

“It’s Belial. The Archdemon of Pride.”

| …Wait. BELIAL?! Are you serious?! That Belial?! |

“Yeah,” he replied, chuckling dryly.

“Just a little weakened version, but, y’know, still Belial. Sooo… do me a favor and kill the Emperor for me, will you?”

| …No. No, Aestrea, listen to me. We can reroute. I can get you out— |

CRACK!

He crushed the earplug between his fingers, shards falling from the palm of his hand like mere dust.

“We meet again.”

A voice suddenly echoed across the room like thunder rolling over stone.

And of course, it wasn’t Aestrea who had spoken.

Belial’s voice was deep, smooth, and terrifyingly casual.

He didn’t move, nor did he raise a hand. His face was calm, and he didn’t even seem angry; He just stood there with that giant body, glowing red eyes staring at Aestrea.

“…Unfortunately.” Aestrea also replied casually.

Fsssh!

A large scythe suddenly appeared in his hand, radiating an ominous aura. Wind swirled around him the moment he grasped it, stirring up the ruins and ash.

Belial tilted his head slightly.

“…Your weapon…” His eyes narrowed slightly, a faint smirk touching his lips.

“It’s still the same as before, huh? I like it. It looks pretty sharp, even sharper than before.”

At his words, Aestrea frowned deeply, although his face wasn’t showing it.

‘What the hell is he doing?’ Aestrea thought.

‘Why isn’t he attacking already…?’

Was it arrogance?

Was he waiting for something?

As if reading his mind, Belial chuckled.

“Are you confused?” the demon asked, taking a few slow steps forward.

Each footstep echoed loudly and heavily.

“It’s simple. I don’t see you as a threat anymore.”

He raised one massive hand and gestured vaguely at Aestrea.

“That power you used before, or whatever it was—that’s gone now, isn’t it? I can’t feel a single drop of it. So I figured…”

He smiled wider, his lips stretched disturbingly close to his glowing eyes.

“Why not talk a little before I tear you to shreds?”

Two heavy hatchets appeared in his hands, crackling with dark red energy. They looked like they were made to cut mountains in half.

“So,” he said, raising one of the blades slowly and pointing it at Aestrea’s chest.

“Would you rather have a fast death… or a slow one?”

That smile never faded, instead, it only got wider.

‘…This fucker.’ Aestrea clenched his fists before taking a deep breath.

Then, he remembered Belial’s words.

‘…That power… is he talking about the ability of my special physique? I can still use it, but… I really don’t want to.’

‘This kind of ability should be used in death situations… well, this kind of applies to this situation…’

‘Whatever… let’s see how it goes.’

His lips twitched.

“Then let’s begin,” Belial finally spoke, spreading his arms wide, his voice booming with laughter.

He stepped forward with heavy steps, each one like a boulder hitting the floor.

THUMP!

THUMP!

“That name…” Belial continued, grinning while showing his massive teeth. “Aestrea. The first human I ever recognized!”

He raised one of his hatchets once again.

“Let’s see if you can impress me again.”

Aestrea didn’t reply to his words, and instead, his body moved on instinct.

‘Increase output to eight…’

Crackle!

Mana surged up his spine like lightning, and so did his hand as it shot out.

『 Ice Series: Frost Spikes! (✦ 3rd-level Spell ✦) 』

FWOOSH!

Sharp, deadly spikes of ice exploded from the ground in a straight line, racing toward Belial like a cold serpent.

The demon’s eyes lit up.

“Good start!”

BOOM!

He slammed his foot into the floor and twisted his body. One of his hatchets spun through the air, slashing the spikes apart like twigs.

KRSSSH!

SPLINTER!

Ice burst in all directions, and Aestrea took that opportunity to approach the demon.

『 Ice Series: Glacial Dash! (✦ 5th-level Spell ✦) 』

His body vanished in a flash of light blue.

FWISH!

He reappeared right behind Belial.

He twisted his hips and slashed his scythe toward the back of Belial’s neck.

WHOOSH—!

But the demon ducked.

CLANG!

A heavy backhand from Belial’s elbow struck Aestrea in the ribs before he could pull away.

THWACK!

“Ghhk—!”

Aestrea’s body flew backward, smashing through a pillar.

KRASHHH!

Dust flew out, debris rained.

But he didn’t stop.

『 Ice Series: Ice Fang Barrage! (✦ 3rd-Level Spell ✦)』

CRACK!

CRACK!

A dozen sharp fangs of ice exploded from the air around Belial, surrounding him like a cage and shooting in from every angle.

Belial growled.

He raised both hatchets and spun.

SHNK-SHNK-SHNK!

The weapons moved like a blur, cleaving through the ice.

Shards exploded like glass.

TSSHHHH!

Aestrea coughed blood onto the ground but forced himself up.

His ribs ached really hard.

“Fuuu…!”

『 Mixed Ice Series: Frozen Mirage! (✦ 4th-level Spell ✦)』

Ice and fog spread across the floor.

Dozens of fake Aestreas blinked into existence, moving in unpredictable patterns, scythes drawn, circling around Belial.

“…Cute trick,” Belial muttered, narrowing his eyes.

He sniffed once.

Then pointed.

WHAM!

He swung his axe to the left, cutting down one of the mirages.

It vanished into mist.

WHAM!

Another.

SLASH! SLASH!

Belial tore through clone after clone with terrifying speed.

But—

Shnk!

The real Aestrea struck from below, his scythe cutting a clean line across Belial’s thigh.

Dark blood splattered onto the stone.

“GRAHHHH!” Belial roared.

His giant leg lifted.

THUD!

It came crashing down.

Aestrea barely rolled away in time, the floor cracking from the force.

‘…Fuck.’

Belial’s grin returned, twisted and wild.

“I felt that,” he said.

“I FELT that! HAH!”

He swung both axes again in wide arcs, forcing Aestrea back.

“Let’s keep dancing, little mortal!”

Hearing the demon’s words, Aestrea tightened the grip on his scythe, reaching out with his wrist to wipe the blood dripping from his mouth.

“Fuck…”

His body was aching in more places than he could count, but his eyes were still locked onto Belial without fear.

But then, the demon’s laugh echoed across the wide chamber.

“You’re still as impressive as before, even without that power,” Belial said, his axes resting loosely in his hands, his enormous frame twitching with excitement.

But then, in the span of a single breath, he moved.

BOOM!

His foot crashed down into the floor, creating a spiderweb of cracks as he launched himself forward.

The ground behind him shattered like glass under his weight.

Aestrea threw his body to the left, just barely evading the first swing of Belial’s right axe.

WHOOSH!

The blade cut through the air, fast and wide, cleaving a clean trail of wind that brushed Aestrea’s cheek.

But the second one came immediately after.

CLANG!

Aestrea raised his scythe just in time, the impact ringing out like a bell. His arms trembled from the shockwave alone as he slid back several meters.

Then, he acted fast.

『 Ice Series: Frost Chains! (✦ 5th-level Spell ✦) 』

Chains of frost burst from the ground and wrapped themselves around Belial’s arms and legs, freezing the air around him solid.

Aestrea leapt high, his figure flipping in mid-air as he brought the scythe down with all his strength.

SHHHRRKK!

The blade slashed across Belial’s shoulder, splitting flesh wide open, spraying a thick stream of blackish-red blood that hissed as it hit the floor.

Belial grunted, his massive body dropping to one knee. For a brief second, Aestrea thought he might’ve landed a critical hit.

But then the wound pulsed… and it began to close.

Not slowly—rapidly.

The torn muscle and bone twisted together, his flesh knitting itself back.

“…Not bad,” Belial muttered, standing back up fully.

“But it won’t matter.”

WHAM!

His axe came around again, but Aestrea ducked low, sweeping his leg under Belial’s stance.

The demon didn’t fall.

Instead, he stomped downward.

THUD!

Aestrea barely managed to dash backward, only to see a wall of darkness forming around Belial’s body.

『 Ice Series: Ice Fang! (✦ 2nd-Level Spell ✦)』

A sharp shard of ice erupted from Aestrea’s hand and shot toward Belial’s chest.

SHUNK!

The spike stabbed deep.

Belial didn’t even flinch. His hand reached up, grabbing the ice as it stuck out of him… and pulled it out.

CRKSSSHK!

It shattered in his grip, ice chunks falling to the floor.

“You’re getting quite predictable,” he said, stepping forward.

Each of his steps forced Aestrea to retreat.

He blinked forward.

FWOOOSH!

『 Mixed Ice Series: Frost Step! (✦ 3rd-level Spell ✦)』

His feet glided over thin lines of ice across the ground as he zipped behind Belial and slashed once more—this time aiming at the back of his knee.

The cut landed. It was deep.

SPLAT!

Dark blood sprayed out.

But again… it started closing almost immediately. Tendons snapped back into place. The flesh sealed over with a sickening sound.

Squish… squirm…

‘He heals too fast,’ Aestrea thought, gritting his teeth.

‘The only way to kill him is to defeat him in a single blow.’

Belial turned with a wide swing, his axe coming for Aestrea’s ribs.

WHAMMM!

This time, the blade connected.

Aestrea’s body bent unnaturally from the impact. His bones cracked under the force as he was sent flying, smashing into one of the stone walls of the chamber.

CRASHHHH!

Debris exploded outward. A thick cloud of dust covered the impact zone.

He slid down the broken stone, coughing, blood leaking from his mouth and nose.

His shoulder had dislocated from the impact, and his scythe was now lying a few meters away.

But he didn’t give up at all, and instead, with a hiss of pain, he forced his shoulder back into place.

POP!

“Gghhh—!”

He grabbed the scythe and rose again, staggering slightly.

『 Ice Series: Frost Barrage! (✦ 3rd-level Spell ✦) 』

Dozens of crescent-shaped formations formed in the air around him and shot forward all at once, tearing through the chamber like a frozen storm.

SHHHK!

SHHHK!

SHHHK!

Each shard hit Belial’s body, piercing skin, digging into muscle, but the demon just kept walking.

He let the magic stab into him.

He let the blood fall.

And then… the wounds sealed.

One by one.

Again.

And again.

And again.

He smiled wider with every wound that failed to kill him.

Aestrea’s chest rose and fell faster now.

He was burning through mana.

Belial raised his axes.

He moved like thunder.

BOOM! WHOOSH!

The left one came down, and Aestrea dodged. The right one followed immediately. He blocked with his scythe.

CLANG!

He spun low, slashing across Belial’s stomach.

SHNK!

More blood and damage.

No effect.

The skin started to re-seal before Aestrea even finished his step.

Belial kicked him in the chest.

THUMP!

His body flew backward again, rolling across the stone floor like a ragdoll. He crashed into a pillar, breaking it in half.

KRKHHH!

“Stay down, human,” Belial called out.

“You’re going to die soon either way.”

But Aestrea climbed up.

He wiped the blood from his face again.

“…Not yet.”

『 Ice Series: Frost Crash! (✦ 6th-level Spell ✦) 』

A massive surge of ice erupted from the floor, forming a towering block of frost above Belial and slamming down with violent force.

BOOOOOOM!

The entire room shook from the weight of the crash. Ice exploded outward. Cold wind howled through the chamber.

Belial disappeared inside the blast.

Aestrea dropped to one knee, panting. His skin was pale, and his limbs were shaking. He leaned on his scythe to stay upright.

But then… the ice cracked.

CRACK!

CRACK!

CRACK!

A red glow pulsed through the ice.

And then it burst apart.

KRRRRRSHHH!

Belial stepped out, steam rose from his skin. His body was covered in wounds, but they were already closing.

He licked his lips, still smiling.

“This is fun,” he said.

Aestrea frowned deeply.

His hands were trembling.

His spells weren’t enough, nor were his attacks.

And Belial wasn’t even using his full power yet.

“Haaa… I should have done this sooner.”

Looking up at the ceiling, Aestrea sighed deeply, letting his scythe drop on the floor.

Belial looked at him with a faint smile.

“Did you finally give up?” he asked, curling his dark lips into a wide smirk.

At that moment, Aestrea turned towards him.

His glowing red eyes suddenly turned a light blue color as his moon tattoos started shining with a divine white light.

Then, he slowly parted his lips.

“Katávei to skotádi…

Thea mou.”

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep