Bulkrat was a 5-Star Void Rank Demon Head, but even it couldn’t fight back the overwhelming power of the Mother of Demons.

When Spectra was done, the giant red Demon convulsed violently as it clutched its empty, smoking chest. Spectra had ruthlessly siphoned the core of its Gloom, leaving Bulkrat gasping and bleeding dark sludge onto the ruined graves.

Spectra floated gracefully to the side, her demonic aura curling around her. She looked down at Lancet, who was still sitting on the dirt, catching his breath with his sword resting flat on the ground in his grip.

"You had better finish it off now," she purred, pointing at the creature with her crimson eyes. "Before it recovers its Gloom."

Lancet gave her a tired, flat look. Then, he forced a heavy breath into his lungs and slowly found his footing. Once he was up, he gripped tight on the golden hilt of his S-Grade sword.

He glared at the red Demon. "Alright. You should be easy enough now."

Exploding to his feet, he marched directly toward the Demon Head’s exposed back.

"Radiant Slash!"

Lancet swung horizontally. A crescent-shaped arc burning with holy golden light ripped through the air and struck the Demon Head squarely in the back.

Bulkrat shrieked agonizingly. The holy damage burned through its dense, acid-weeping musculature, forcing it to stumble forward.

The monster roared, violently spinning around. Once its eyes found Lancet, it thrust a massive, clawed hand downward, trying to crush the boy into the dirt.

Lancet easily sidestepped the massive hand. ’Heh,’ he mused to himself. ’It’s much slower now without all that Gloom.’

He raised one arm.

"Lightning Storm Singularity!"

A dozen arcs of lightning fell from the sky above the cemetery. They instantly collided into a single, blinding pillar and struck the Demon Head directly on its exposed crest.

BOOOM!

The concussive force drove the Goliath straight to its knees, frying its external flesh. But the 5-Star Void Rank monster refused to die easily. 𝒇𝓻𝓮𝓮𝙬𝙚𝒃𝒏𝓸𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝓬𝓸𝒎

It rose again, letting out a frustrated, gurgling roar from its chest-maw, and lunged forward with sweeping, desperate attacks.

Lancet quickly pushed his Grace into his boots.

"Flash Feet!"

Blue lightning crackled under his greaves, accelerating his movements to a blur. When the Demon Head swung its left arm, Lancet slid underneath the blow, his golden armor scraping the dirt.

As he popped back up, he swung the Radiant Guillotine upward, slicing a deep gorge into the monster’s bicep.

The Demon snapped its jaws, lunging to bite him. Lancet parried the massive teeth with the flat of his blade, using the monster’s own downward momentum to vault himself over its snout.

While mid-air, he activated another copied skill. "Holy Cross Slash!"

He shot his hand forward, projecting a glowing, golden cross that slammed into the monster’s shoulder joint, severing tendons.

The Demon Head shrieked as it felt its left arm going entirely limp. Lancet landed gracefully, immediately rolling to the right as the beast stomped its giant leg down where he had just been.

He came out of the roll with a horizontal spin, his blade cleaving into the monster’s ankle, leaving a deep gash.

Through it all, Spectra floated just out of reach, her arms crossed beneath her heavy bust. She watched the battle of the Goliath with a highly entertained, wicked smile on her dark lips.

Bulkrat was at its absolute limit. Bleeding, crippled, and completely frustrated, but the monster kept attacking and attacking.

Lancet kept dodging and striking, trying to finish it off before it absorbed enough Gloom from the atmosphere.

He knew the exact Skill to use. An Active/Passive Skill Astensia had taught him. She had said to use it only in emergencies though, but this seemed like an emergency.

Lancet’s chance came when the Demon made a frantic move. It swung its massive right arm, dragging it from right with a strength that sharpened the air around it. The monster aimed to cut the boy in half.

Lancet leaped backward, using the momentum to execute a backward somersault so he could clear the sweeping radius of the massive claw.

But while tumbling backward through the air, Lancet roared at the top of his lungs.

"Blessed State!!"

Instantly, his Grace channels ignited. A blinding, pure golden aura exploded outward, enveloping his armor and the Guillotine in his grip.

The S-Grade blade became sharper, and it burned with an unimaginable heat like the sun itself had coated the weapon.

As Lancet somersaulted, the blade went straight up, and— SHHHHHKK — sheared through the Demon Head.

It started at the monster’s pelvis, ripping cleanly through the center of its chest-maw, and burst out the top of its horned crest.

Lancet landed in a crouch with the Radiant Guillotine held high above his head.

For a split second, the twenty-foot monster stood completely frozen. Then, a line of golden light glowed in the center of its body.

The beast split perfectly in two, and with a thud, thud, the left and right halves fell heavily to the sides of the cemetery floor.

Ding!

[ You have killed a 5-Star Void Rank Demon Head ]

[ You have gained 12,000 EXP ]

[ The Radiant Guillotine - Soul-Trap Activated ]

[ 1 Void Rank Demon Soul has been stored. ]

Lancet suddenly heard clapping. He looked up and saw Spectra slapping both hands together, a huge grin on her face.

"Oh, wonderful! Wonderful!" Spectra praised, her seductive voice dripping with genuine amusement. "What a beautiful display! I am thoroughly entertained!"

Lancet stood up slowly. He shook the dark, sludgy blood from his blade before resting it on his shoulder. Then looked at the hovering Villainess, his chest still heaving. "I can’t tell if you’re making fun of me or not."

"Master?"

Lancet’s brows shot up.

He immediately turned around. Standing at the shattered entrance of the cemetery were Astensia and Thor. Behind them stood Renan, Frieda, and the rest of the vanguard.

Astensia’s piercing blue eyes were wide with shock, but the moment she saw his face, the shock melted into profound, overwhelming relief.

The Ironwill Knight sprinted across the graveyard. Her heavy armor clanked loudly as she collided with Lancet, wrapping her arms around him and hugging him tightly, her armored body pressing flush against his.

"I was so worried," she whispered, her usually stoic voice trembling slightly.

Lancet froze, entirely caught off guard by the display of affection from the legendary Knight. But then again, she had kissed him that very morning.

"Master?" Spectra repeated, ruining the touching reunion.

The Mother of Demons floated closer to Lancet and Astensia. She tilted her head, a haughty, knowing smirk on her lips.

"Well, isn’t this interesting?" she drawled.

Renan, frozen just like the others, couldn’t believe his eyes.

"Lancet?" Renan asked, staring at Spectra.

Lancet turned to him. "Mhm?"

"Please don’t tell me that this is who I think it is."

Spectra turned her glowing gaze away from Lancet and looked down at the Heavenly Knight and the rest of the terrified students.

Slowly, the Mother of Demons smiled a wicked, playful smile.

"Hehe."