Chapter 250: Battle With the Dullahan

The sonic blast that followed made it feel as if my head was being knocked off my body. The taste of blood filled my mouth, and I could feel the red liquid trailing down my neck after a large gash was created.

“No!”

Suddenly, I heard a loud scream erupt from behind me. I immediately recognized it as Mariah’s voice. She seemed to be out of her daze and had directed her attention to the headless horseman.

But I didn’t have time to focus on her since immediately a system notification flashed before my eyes.

[Dullahan wishes to join your phantom pack, defeat him to recruit a new member]

I had to blink twice to make sure I wasn’t hallucinating.

That thing wanted to join my phantom pack?! I couldn’t believe it. That explains why it hadn’t killed Khalissi. It simply wanted to test the strength of the person who would be its new alpha. To gain its loyalty, I had to prove my strength.

Mariah climbed to her feet and raised her arms. Immediately, the shadows around the dullahan’s feet began.

“Wait,” I immediately stopped her.

If the dullahan was here to test my strength, then I couldn’t have her intervene.

“I’ll handle it; just stay back.”

“You can’t handle that thing by yourself. Let me help!” she said, still preparing an attack.

“It’s attacked me, remember? Look at it, even now its only focus is me.”

Mariah looked at the demon to see that its attention was solely on me. Even as she prepared to attack, it still wasn’t paying her any mind.

“Let me handle it.”

Seeing that I was correct about the creature’s intention, Mariah finally nodded.

“Okay, I’ll let you handle it.”

She lowered her hand, and immediately the shadow around the demon’s feet returned to normal. With the issue with Mariah settled, I refocused my attention back to the demon.

It still had the whip in its hand, ready to strike at any moment. With my wounds nearly healed, I climbed to my feet, and immediately as I did, the whip came flying at me once again, only this time the attack seemed even faster.

Dodging was impossible, so I instead raised both my arms to block. This time the force that erupted was even greater, and I was sent flying and crashing through the mansion. The sonic blast that erupted from the crackling of the whip was enough to destroy the garden we were in.

Pain shot through my entire body. My arms were mangled from the attack. Flesh and bone were blown to bits. The rest of my hand was being held together by the bits of flesh that remained.

It hadn’t done much in protecting the rest of my body. The force of the attack was just too great. I coughed and spat blood as I quickly pried myself from the rubble.

I could hear the sound of armor clanking as the demon approached me. I looked down at my arm that had begun to heal. Still, it wasn’t fast enough because in the next second, the whip was sent flying after me once again.

This time though, I was ready for the attack. I leaped from where I stood in an effort to dodge the attack, but with just a flick of his wrist, the dullahan was able to change the direction of the whip.

This time though, I expected it and leaped several meters into the air to evade the attack. I felt and heard the explosion below me, but it was of no consequence. I instead focused on the dullahan, and the moment I landed, I pushed myself off the ground towards the demon.

In a blink of an eye, I was already in front of the demon. My hands still hadn’t healed yet, so I instead planted my feet into the demon’s chest, sending him flying through the walls. The walls collapsed where the demon landed, kicking up a cloud of dust, and before the dust could even settle, he cracked his whip once again.

BOOM!

A loud explosion ripped through the air. This time with a force strong enough to level the entire building. Just before everything was flattened, I managed to escape the mansion. I watched the rubble intently for any sign of movement.

My arm had already healed from the earlier damage. I activated my thermal vision, and immediately as I did, the demon exploded from the rubble. Strangely, the whip in his hand seemed to have gotten larger and longer.

It had the width of a small car and the length of a football field. He swirled the whip, moving it through the air with the gracefulness of a snake. The moment he brought the whip down, I was already out of its path.

The impact created a large crater in the ground where I once stood. Once again, I charged at the dullahan. He raised his hands and summoned his whip once again, crackling it, but I evaded every strike and made sure to be careful of the sonic blast that erupted every time he cracked the whip.

His movements became easier to predict. I leaped into the air, and just as I expected, he aimed his whip towards me. It crackled through the air and snapped at me, but by twisting my body and using the whip itself as a stepping stone, I propelled myself forward.

In a blink of an eye, I appeared in front of the dullahan, this time with my claws raised. Instinctively, the demon raised his arm with the intention of blocking the attack with the armor covering him.

I instead struck between the gaps in the armor. I felt my claws penetrate something soft, and immediately, the horse which was carrying Khalissi let out a loud scream before galloping towards me.

Black blood seeped from the gap in the armor, but for a moment, I was distracted by the galloping horse. I braced myself, expecting it to attack, but in the next second, all my expectations were dashed.

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