Rearing Demons-Chapter 28: Gruelling Battle

Standing on top of the Antic's body, Yur took slow breaths. The eyeball was utterly seared, blackened by the tenebrous flames.

There was no pus excreting to heal the wounds; the demon was now dead. Though, Yur did not kill it unscathed. His left hand was a mess of melted flesh, but he didn't feel it.

Ris, who floated above, watched with narrowed eyes. Those flames are stronger than I originally expected. I must obtain them!

"Let's go." Stepping off the slimy eyeball, which was slowly being consumed by the inky flames, Yur walked toward the staircase spiraling upwards. His expression displayed aloofness.

The fight was difficult, but it was also a good experience.

[Quest Complete!]

[Kill your first Zorath!]

[Reward: 200 Demon Points!]

Ignoring the notification, he began to ascend the stairs. Zul, help me purchase a sword from the Zulmasharr shop—something more resistant to my strength.

Although using a regular sword would teach him better control over his strength, Yur did not like the feel of swords. He didn't see himself using them in the future.

Rather, he preferred his own arms and legs; they were far more destructive.

As for why he chose the Zulmasharr shop over the Afloria shop, for one, he had many more Demon Points, so the weapon would be stronger and more durable. And he was saving Human Points—he needed to purchase the Conflagration of Cremation.

[Purchased: Hallow Sword!]

[Demon Points Remaining: 3]

A powerful sword was stashed into his pendant. The cost was a few hundred points, so the weapon was nothing to scoff at.

Pulling it out of his storage pendant, a white sword appeared in his hand. There was no hilt, just a single blade, which pierced even his own hand. Luckily, he felt no pain, so that was no issue.

Yur swung the sword around and found that it was much more powerful than a regular sword. Its blade had a minute curve, and even the top of the blade was whetted.

It was a double-edged sword with no hilt.

Ris noticed this and didn't comment further. She wasn't going to babysit if he had his own plans.

"That fight was ridiculous," she mocked as they climbed the steps. "There were many opportunities for you to kill it with the sword, but you missed them."

Yur shrugged in reply. He noticed his own weakness during the fight, something he had to learn.

"Keep in mind, you were lucky in that fight. The Antic was caught off guard. Don't expect to pull the same move again." Though her words were sharp, they weren't wrong.

The Antic was better in every way when compared to Yur. If he didn't have the incineration flames, plus that lucky shot, he might not have won so easily.

However, one thing he did realize was that his strength was near the Zorath realm, but barely.

While Yur was lost in his own thoughts, Ris continued her analysis and mockery. "Also, don't get too cocky about killing an Antic while only at Nascent Orb. Remember Celis?" She carried a frown on her face mentioning the name. "He can already compete against Valgaths while only being at the Luminous Heart realm."

Though she said this, Yur couldn't see why that was a big deal. He could skip essentially three realms—what was so great about skipping two?

"Rank one vs. rank four is very impressive, but rank five and beyond is when demons and humans enter a different realm altogether." Yur didn't interrupt, listening as much as possible. It was free information, plus this was information that would help Zul as well. "It is an exponential increase in power, so from rank five and above, the difference between a single realm is even higher than a rank zero vs. a rank five!"

Zul, between the Antic I fought versus Ris, what's the difference? This was his biggest concern. If he upgraded his rank, would the difference be something he could scale?

[Incomparable! Ris is unreadable; the Antic was readable!]

When he heard this, he nodded inwardly. Ris was not someone he could surpass anytime soon, but that also meant the Gralith was something he would definitely not be able to kill at this point.

This 𝓬ontent is taken from freeweɓnovel.cѳm.

"But that was all I can say for now." She finally completed her spiel, something Zul recorded.

It would relay that information to Yur later in a way he could understand.

A few minutes of climbing led them to the next floor. This time, though, the Antic was neither hidden nor planning any sneak attacks.

It stood in the middle of the hall, menacingly.

This time, Yur decided to be a bit more careful. Though he couldn't feel pain anymore, that didn't mean his body was invincible.

Looking at the walls and gauging the size of the room, he began thinking of a way to fight.

Swinging the sword a little, he decided to do something oddly different.

With slow steps, Yur walked toward the Antic. Ris floated behind him, observing the spectacle.

Turning his eyes from their current deep black to a bright red, he glared at the demon. His slow steps sped up, and soon he flashed toward it.

The Antic quickly spat some acid, but Yur dodged with a sidestep.

Hundreds of acid globs flew at him. Already comprehending their speed, he dodged more easily, though a few grazed his shoulders and legs, burning them slightly.

Finally nearing the Antic, he placed his hand onto the ground, moving into a quick handstand position. Incinerate!

The ground exploded, launching Yur high into the air.

Confused by the loud, powerful blast, the Antic panicked. Moments later, a white sword pierced it from above.

The fight ended as soon as it began. Pulling the sword out, Yur walked off the demon. I need to be able to fight without using Incinerate.

He understood how powerful the move was. A little too much so—though beneficial, it might harm him later by preventing him from gaining proper experience.

With a single slash, the yellow pus clinging to his sword fell to the ground. He stared at the sword, which was extremely durable and sharp.

From afar, Ris was impressed by his ingenuity. Using incineration not just to boost himself but also to blind and confuse the Antic was a clever move.

[Killed a Zorath!]

[Reward: 100 Demon Points!]

Seeing the points appear, he scratched his head, confused.

[Host is capable of earning points by killing beings above his strength!]

Great! That was exactly what he needed. Having to constantly do quests would take too long; killing would be much easier.

"Now then—" Just as Yur was about to speak, he heard a crashing sound.

Turning his head, he saw two large Antics. One was munching on the corpse of the demon he had just killed—its brethren.

UAHHHHHHH!

A deafening shriek suddenly erupted from one of the Antic's rotting mouths.

Feeling his ears ring, Yur quickly covered them with his palm, but that didn't mitigate the damage at all. It didn't seem to enter through his ears but directly rattled him from the inside.

This is going to be tough. Yur brandished his sword, preparing to fight.

He leaped into the air, aiming for the walls.

The Antic saw this and began shooting pellets of acid globs.

Trying his best to dodge, Yur jumped around at high speed, but it wasn't enough. He was completely surrounded, unable to gain any advantage. Plus, many times he failed to evade, forcing him to use his already damaged arm as a shield, ruining it further.

The biggest issue was the teamwork of the two Antics. Whenever he finally neared one of them, the other would shriek to stun him or spew acid.

When stunned, they rushed in to bite.

It was a constant struggle to escape by a hair's breadth.

With a swing of his fist, he managed to push the incoming Antic back, but the damage was quickly repaired by bubbling pus.

Frowning, he jumped back, but the second Antic moved fast, opening its mouth.

Damn! Although he felt no pain, seeing his arm wrenched from his body was a bitter sight.

Using his remaining hand, he swung his fist, but the blunt force did nothing.

While in close combat with this Antic, the other—still healing—flashed in front of him, using its salivating mouth to clamp onto his only good arm.

Seeing the fangs pierce his forearm, Yur grabbed its slimy tongue. Incinerate!