As the imposing figure drove his fist towards me at an unreal speed, closing in on the middle of my chest in the blink of an eye as the glow surrounding his fist sharply intensified, I reacted as fast as I could, leaping backwards at an angle to my right, his fist striking the side of my left arm.

The instant it made contact with me, a powerful explosion burst out, sending my flying across to my right and my shoulder slamming onto the wall of the tunnel with a loud crunch as the bones in my right arm shattered. 𝒻𝑟ℯℯ𝑤𝑒𝑏𝑛𝘰𝓋𝑒𝓁.𝒸𝑜𝘮

I let out a sharp gasp of pain, but I hardly even noticed the pain on my right arm and shoulder...my left arm was completely gone, along with a chunk of my skin and flesh from my left side, my ribs broken apart and my heart partially visible.

F-fuck, that hurts...! I-I’ve never taken damage like this before, let alone from a single nit, his fist barely even struck me and still almost killed me...if I’d taken a direct hit, my body would’ve been blown apart, I’d be dead before I even realized it...

"D-damn it...what the hell is a Demon doing here?" I coughed in agony, as I rapidly began healing myself, kneeling down as I got ready to shrink into the shadows.

He’s definitely a Demon...he had dark blue skin, was tall and had a muscular build, with a long, straight black horn on the middle of his forehead. He had bright, dark green eyes, the whites of his eyes were black, and he had medium-length, tousled fiery red hair that was parted in the middle by his horn.

He had raven-black feathered wings on his back, a long black tail with sharp arrow-like tip, and sharp claws and fangs. He was wearing white, baggy clothes that were ragged and torn, and he had a look of hatred and rage in his eyes as he glared at me.

The two Felinians were frozen in place behind him, with wide-eyed looks of terror in their eyes, unable to move a muscle. I wasn’t doing too much better, my entire body is in a cold sweat, it feels like I’m close to death in his presence...even without Thought Communication, this Demon’s presence is overwhelming...

"Oh, you actually survived that, did you? And that’s Super High Speed Regeneration, impressive for a human...well, no matter. You’ve just delayed the inevitable...you won’t survive a second time," He remarked icily, as his fist began glowing again.

I wasted no time in dropping into the shadows, a look of irritation appearing in his eyes as I disappeared into the ground.

"Did he escape from one of the other nations?" I muttered warily, as he walked over to the spot I’d disappeared through and stomped his foot down at a rapid speed.

Guess it doesn’t really matter. He doesn’t look like he’s going to attack Sinia and Amber, but he might try to use them to force me out...maybe if Izzy shows up, this’ll get resolved.

But there’s no telling how long she’ll take to get here, and I can’t take any chances...I then moved under the Demon’s shadow, extending a fingertip out through his shadow, before forming a dome-shaped barrier around him using a Light Attribute Spell.

"Grr, where are you, human!? If you really think such a weak barrier can hold me, then-...!" He began to snap angrily, before trailing off as I created a Black Hole in front of him, "What the-...!? What it this!? It’s pulling me in...!"

Good, the barrier’s holding up, Sinia and Amber won’t be affected...so, let’s up the intensity!

The Demon let out an alarmed yell as the force knocked him off balance, his right arm getting pulling into the Spell as he planted his feet and resisted the force, straining against it as he gritted his teeth.

Suddenly, he extended out his claws and slashed off his right arm, before raising his left arm towards the barrier as his missing arm rapidly grew back, Negative Energy swirling at his fingertip.

Oh, crap, he’s trying to break the barrier! This is the most powerful Black Hole I’ve ever created, I can’t let its force be exposed to the others!

As he fired out the blast and shattered the barrier, I quickly dissipated the Black Hole, just in time as the two Felinians were pulled off balance.

And then, in the blink of an eye, the Demon vanished from sight...before reappearing behind the two of them, grabbing them by their necks and lifting them up.

"I have no grudge against these creatures, but I will not let a human get away from me alive...stop hiding and I shall spare them. Otherwise, I shall crush their throats," He growled viciously.

Yeah, that’s exactly what I was afraid he’d do. Damn it...if I’d been alone, I could’ve just gotten away and emerged from a shadow further back.

But if I do that and let the two of them die, there’s a good chance that we won’t be welcome in the Haven anymore...there’s a possibility that he’s just bluffing, but I can’t afford to take that risk. I’m just gonna have to defeat him somehow...

"Alright, I’m coming out...let them go," I remarked, as I emerged from a shadow.

"Of course," He responded, releasing them.

"Get out of here, you two, quickly," I instructed them, giving Sinia a firm look to say that there’s no time to argue.

"Damn it...I’m sorry, we got in the way," She muttered with a look of frustration, as she grabbed Amber by the wrist and dragged her away as she took up, a grimace on her face as they ran past me.

"Awfully nice of you to wait till they’re gone," I stated with a wry smile, as the echo of their footsteps faded away.

"I may despise humans, but I can respect what you did...so, I won’t kill you in front of your friends. And I’ll be sure to give you a painless death," He responded, as both his fists began glowing.

I think I should forget about trying to defeat this guy...instead, I’ll buy some time for them to get further away, a minute should do, and then retreat back into the shadows.

"Don’t underestimate me!" I exclaimed as he shot towards me, his eyes widening as I formed a Magic Circlebetween us and burst out a towering pillar of blue flames a few meters in front of me.

"What!?" He blurted out in disbelief, before starting to charge up Negative Energy, as he swiftly halted and backed away from the flames warily...

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