I Awakened My Game System! Now Three Great Houses Want Me Dead!-Chapter 117: Fire

The projection flickered again, zooming in on another part of the Corrupted land.

Now it was Dei and Ari’s turn.

A large crater stretched before them, a Daemon standing tall in the middle of it.

It was not of flesh like the rest, or grotesque, but... metal.

Indeed, its entire body gleamed with black steel.

A walking fortress with not a single part exposed...

Spikes sprouted from its arms, blades protruded from its back, and its eyes glowed molten orange beneath a helmet of fused iron.

It literally had no weak points.

They had to create that themselves.

"Seriously..."

Dei sighed, her shoulders slouched.

"Couldn’t they give us something squishier?"

Ari cracked her whip back towards herself.

"You could start by hitting something that isn’t me."

Dei twirled her staff lazily.

"I’m trying, but you keep running around in front of me."

"I’m baiting it."

"You’re blocking my line of sight!"

"You—"

"GRRRRRRRRRRRAAAAAAAAAAH!"

The Daemon roared, pausing their bickering.

Turning to face it, they watched the trees shake as it charged towards them.

Ari darted aside, the air bursting under her boots.

"Focus, Deianira!"

"I am focused!"

A giant blade shot out from the Daemon’s arm, slicing through.

Ari barely ducked, her hair whipping behind her as she rolled and lashed her whip across its face.

The whip cracked loud, creating sparks that suddenly exploded!

Only for it to cease a moment later, revealing the damage.

Which, well, wasn’t at all satisfactory.

"..."

She backed away.

"It’s not even scratched."

"That’s fine!"

Dei pointed her staff forward.

"We’ll melt it!"

She slammed the staff into the ground.

Heat shimmered instantly, the air rippling as her fire gathered.

Three crimson circles spun behind her, each forming a sphere of flame.

"Fireball volley!"

They launched forth and landed true.

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

Each impact rocked the clearing, spraying fire and smoke.

Trees burned, the ground blackened further, and yet when the smoke cleared, the Daemon stood there, glowing red-hot but still alive and far from hurt.

Its armor wasn’t melting.

"Oh, come on."

Dei groaned.

"What’s this thing made of?!"

Ari grit her teeth.

"Lots of metal."

"Thanks, genius!"

The Daemon roared again and slammed its fist into the ground, sending a shockwave through the field.

Ari was blasted off her feet, flipping midair before she caught herself with a burst of wind under her boots and a flap of her wings, sliding back smoothly to the ground.

Dei used her staff to steady herself.

"Ugh... okay, fine. We go full power."

"Already?"

Ari glanced at her.

"We’ll burn out."

"Then you’d better figure out something else!"

Ari glared before quickly launching forward again.

While mid-air, her whip flashed, creating one explosion after another.

At the same time, wind slashes trailed after every swing, slamming into the Daemon’s armor with loud clangs. The monster tried to swing back, but she was never in one place, kiting the absolute Tartaros out of the thing, constantly air-dashing left and right.

Her boots barely touched the ground as she struck and retreated constantly, while Dei, not to be outdone, followed up, thrusting her staff out.

"Fire Tornado!"

A spiraling inferno burst forth, wrapping around the Daemon.

The flames rose higher and higher, swallowing its massive body in red light.

The entire field became a storm of fire and wind, burning so bright it formed a miniature sun.

For a second, they thought that it worked, only for a familiar sound to greet them.

Clink, clink, clink.

Fire peeled off, pushed away by spinning blades emerging from the Daemon’s body.

The armor had rearranged itself and was now covered in moving plates.

"Ah..."

Dei’s eyes widened.

"You’ve got to be kidding—"

The monster shot metal shards everywhere.

Ari jumped, twirling midair as wind shields burst around her, deflecting a rain of blades.

Still, a few nicked her skin, tearing her sleeve and drawing thin cuts.

"Deianira, it’s adapting."

"I can see that!"

"Then do something."

"I’m thinking!"

Ari rolled her eyes, sliding under a swing and striking the Daemon’s knee joint with her whip. A massive blade erupted from the Daemon’s side, nearly impaling her entire body.

She flew away at the last moment, the blade missing her torso by an inch.

Seeing that, Dei’s face twisted in annoyance.

"Enough!"

The temperature spiked again, and the ground cracked as she stomped forward and threw away her staff, fire spiraling from her hands now instead.

"Fire Blast!"

A massive, cone-shaped surge of flames burst from her palms, swallowing everything ahead. The Daemon dug its claws into the ground, pushing against the torrent, its metal glowing brighter and brighter, deforming slightly, until at last, its armor began to warp.

Something that Ari immediately noticed.

"It’s working."

"Barely!"

"Keep it up."

Dei’s Divinity surged, only for it to falter for a split second.

"I’m running dry... Damn it!"

The Daemon’s claws lashed out through the fire, smashing into the ground just beside her.

Ari quickly dove in, air-dashing straight down at Dei, pulling her aside just in time.

The impact sent molten dirt flying where Dei had stood a second ago.

"Don’t just stand there."

"I know!"

They both backed up, panting, one burnt, one bleeding, but both exhausted.

It wasn’t only them who were battle-worn; the Daemon was obviously weaker now, parts of its armor melted, revealing cracks glowing white-hot.

One was a glass, no, wooden cannon, while the other was a glass nuke.

They were Priest Class, like the rest, but this was really proving itself a challenge to them.

Again, endurance wasn’t exactly their strong point.

Still, they didn’t give up, far from it.

Dei’s eyes narrowed as she picked up her staff.

Most knew that staffs weren’t needed for spell-focused Runebearers.

It only made them more accurate and quicker... ’focusing’ their spells.

Of course, they also made the spells stronger.

That strength increase could be... adjusted.

The Bastet seemed to be banking on that.

"Ari. One minute."

"What?"

"Buy me one minute."

"What are you planning?"

"The biggest explosion this forest has ever seen."

Ari blinked.

"Are you insane?"

"I’m not Xenos."

"...fine."

Ari tightened her grip on the whip and sprinted forward.

Air dashing up, she flew around and whipped the Daemon across its arms, legs, and face, making sure it followed her.

And that it did, roaring in anger.

She couldn’t get too far, as it might lose its aggression, so she kept close even as she escaped it. That would’ve been much more manageable earlier, but now that it has had some of its armor melted off?

"GGGGRRRRRRRRRRRAAAAAAHHHHH!"

The Daemon moved much faster, surprising her with a fast lunge.

Reacting quickly, Ari spun in the air, creating an air pocket between them.

Caring not for how close it was to her, she snapped her whip through it, triggering an explosion that blasted both of them apart.

Ari landed rough, tumbling through dirt, but she quickly got back up.

Staying down meant being squashed to death.

"Deianira, how much longer?"

"Thirty seconds!"

"Understood."

Yet even now, the Gryphon kept her calm.

Indeed, even as she watched the Daemon’s armor reshape again.

Since the explosion sent her into the trees, the Daemon figured out how to catch her.

Turning one arm into a gigantic drill, it spun forward, tearing through trees.

Ari’s eyes widened, her Divinity thin, but she still moved.

One more chase... she could do that.

"Come on."

She charged right at it, flipped over the spinning drill, cracked her whip on its head, and kicked off midair, barely dodging the follow-up slam.

The Daemon followed through, forming a massive blade from his back.

Before it could reach her, she snapped her whip forward at a nearby tree and swung herself away.

Yet, even then, she wasn’t safe, as just beneath her was a fallen piece of the Daemon.

A piece that it could still control, extending many blades from it, intent on piercing through her.

Ari couldn’t do much there; she’d just air dashed, and her whip was swung.

She could try to flap her wings and fly away, but that’d be too slow.

...this was death—

"WATCH OUT!"

Dei’s voice tore through the roaring wind.

BOOOOOOOOOOOOM!

And with it, a blinding light burst from behind the Daemon.

The forest vanished in fire, an incredible inferno tearing it apart.

A wall of flame so high it momentarily blocked the projections’ view.

The Daemon and that piece of it were gone in an instant, reduced to ash.

Her fire had gained access through its missing pieces, ending it from the inside.

The explosion continued to roll outward, flattening trees and melting stone.

Nothing but silence and a barely alive Ari were left.

The attack was so strong, Dei’s staff split.

It was used up entirely, as were her reserves.

She stood in the center of it all, panting roughly.

Her hair clung to her face, her clothes singed.

Slowly, she smiled...

"Hehehe..."

Her knees buckled...

"I did it."

And she fell face-first into the dirt, the staff clattering beside her.

***

The projections zoomed in on Dei’s motionless body.

Following the silence, the crowd gasped before suddenly...

"FIRE AND WHIP!"

"FIRE AND WHIP!"

"FIRE AND WHIP!"

"FIRE AND WHIP!"

"FIRE AND WHIP!"

Erupting into cheers.

They, too, were given a title.

What the Colosseum witnessed today was incredible.

And to make it even better, they weren’t done yet.

Something Lothar was eager to remind them of:

"WE’VE STILL GOT LADY GAIA! LET’S SEE HOW SHE PERFORMS!"