361. Afraid

“This will be the last time we ever meet, Salvos. Goodbye. [Forlorn Execution].”

Belzu’s voice echoed all around me, and my eyes widened. I remembered this spell— his Skill— during the fall of Westshield. It was both a curse and an illusion: one which I couldn’t avoid and killed my clone as swiftly as it was summoned.

It was like a crimson mist, pouring from in between the Primeval Demon’s insect-like mandibles. I leapt back as the red aura coalesced around me. It tried to trap me like it had with my clone. Its form changed, taking the shape of a giant suit of armor wielding an axe. I met the glinting gaze of this illusion and grinned.

A ring glinted. One of my two necklaces shone. A flaming armor wisped off me as the axe came swinging down. There was a flash of light— a powerful force tried to sweep me off my feet as the axe struck the air. A barrier of protection shielded me from this attack as I stood my ground.

That was the difference between me and my clones. I was covered in powerful artifacts— ones that were designed to protect me. But even still, this was Belzu. A Primeval Demon. My Pendant of Greater Protection flickered, beginning to fail under the weight of this attack.

“Salvos!”

A voice called out. Belzu’s bulbous eyes darted to the ground beneath him. His shadow reached out for him, trying to drag him into the earth.

“This is…”

He flew back as Orgaf appeared from between the dark tendrils, swinging for the Primeval Demon’s head.

“I will kill you, Demon!”

Orgaf stabbed Belzu right in between the eyes. The armored axeman attacking me slowly dissipated, and I stumbled forward. I stared up as the Primeval Demon recoiled, a dagger plunged into his head. Then his form changed, and he reappeared right behind the Thief of the Golden Scale.

“Annoying pest—”

Belzu pointed at Orgaf, but before any magic could be cast, the Elite [Rogue] became a shadow once more. I grinned as I leapt into the air.

“Thanks, Orgaf!”

I created a scythe, swinging for Belzu. But before I could reach him, I heard a shrill screech. My eyes widened as a blur crashed towards me. A Wyvern nearly knocked me out of the sky.

I teleported back, only for a blast of multi-colored flames to shower around me. Willy flew beside me, unleashing his magic. I blinked, and he laughed.

“Need help?”

“No way!”

I scowled and raised a hand. A flock of [Horned Eagles] swooped down at me, only to be incinerated by a cone of white flame. With Willy at my back, we circled around and burned away the encroaching monsters.

“Stop stealing my kills!”

Even the Wyverns were too scared to draw close. Only the [Vurats] were stupid enough to be burned by my fire. Willy harrumphed.

“No you.”

“This is easy! I can handle this myself!”

But not everyone would agree with that sentiment. A shout drew my attention. I looked down, seeing a torrent of lightning tear through the dead forest. A [Goliath Oliphant] fell as Edithe drew back, panting. She formed a circle with Daniel and Amanda, surrounded on all sides by the charging monsters.

“Salvos!”

Edithe called up to me. I looked down as the redhead unleashed a blast of ice and fire.

“There’s too many of them—”

“We need to pull back! [Crescent Fury]!”

Daniel spoke for her as he cut down a [Crypt Lord] and its charging undead. I glanced back up as Wyverns circled the air around me. The earth quaked as the looming shadows of Oliphants encroached on our location.

With the Wyverns, the OIiphants, the Mindreapers, and the thousands of other monsters— my companions were clearly in trouble. But even if I joined them, I couldn’t ensure their safety. I had to help them. I couldn’t waste time on the endless mobs— I had to end this now. I narrowed my eyes, turning to Belzu as he floated just above the clouds.

“Don’t worry, I’ll make this quick.”

“What are you—”

Edithe started, but I took off into the air, leaving Willy alone. Wyverns and other winged beasts whizzed past me. I dodged around them, uncaring of their presence as I pointed at Belzu.

“[Invoke Wrath]!”

His gaze snapped down at me. His eyes were wide and full of rage. He flew my way as I continued weaving through the flocks of flying monsters.

“That’s not all—”

My flaming armor burned brighter and more brilliantly. It grew wilder, then sharper— wisping off me with the intensity of the sun. My blue scythe began to change color, morphing into a golden hue, then silver, then white.

My flames expanded around me, burning away the monster that got close as I activated the Skill. It was a Skill that even my Dad was impressed by. A Grand Skill that needed a month to recharge. One that would last a whole day. My greatest Skill.

[Divine Essence of the Daeva Cambion].

The rainbow flames washed away the darkness. Daniel, Edithe, and Amanda looked up in awe as I was wreathed by my Divine Essence. Orgaf appeared from my shadow, cutting down a Wyvern and blinking in shock.

“This is—”

He couldn’t keep up with me. [Haste] and [Warped Time] propelled me even further as Belzu began to snap back to reality. The Primeval Demon looked at me, baffled. He tried to fly out of the way, but burning chains wrapped around him, keeping him in place.

My scythe turned into a rainbow-colored kusarigama, brimming with divinity. I tugged him my way and aimed for the Primeval Demon’s head. He struggled for a moment, but stopped as I yelled.

“I told you I would kill you!”

And with a [Radiant Slash], I tore straight through Belzu. He couldn’t dodge. I felt my blade sink into his flesh before going through him. He couldn’t defend himself. His mandibles opened, but nothing came out. I killed him in that single swing.

“And I always keep my promises.”

I bared my teeth as I spun back around. His body slowly dropped out of the sky, lifeless. It was not an illusion. I sensed it fall with [Planar Navigation]. Even a notification popped in my head, confirming the kill—

Defeated [Nightterror Mindreaper - Lvl 105]—

Less experience is—

And I paused.

“Wait, what?”

Once again, the world seemed to shatter. I stared as every single Wyvern flying in the air disappeared. Their figures faded, along with most of the looming Oliphants. A few [Vurats] and other winged monsters filled the air. And on the ground, there were hundreds of undead, a few dozen Drakes, and other monsters.

But the bulk of them were gone. There was no threat of a hundred thousand monsters here. There hadn’t even been a single Wyvern.

“That was… another illusion?”

My eyes were wide. Half the monsters that had been hounding Daniel and Amanda vanished. But most of the ones attacking Edithe remained— actually real. The red-haired woman cursed as she brought down the last Oliphant present.

I looked around for Belzu, and he was nowhere to be found.

“...he fled?”

—--

The last of the monsters were taken care of easily enough. I scanned the ground, searching the dead monsters. I spotted about a dozen dead [Goliath Oliphants]. Thousands of undead. Hundreds of the other lower-leveled monsters. But no Wyverns, as I suspected.

Edithe wiped at her forehead as she drank from a healing potion. She leveled up twice from bringing down half of the [Goliath Oliphants]. Now she was Level 107. But she didn’t celebrate that.

“You mean to tell me you guys were fighting thousands of other monsters that weren’t even there?”

Daniel shifted uncomfortably, looking at his blade. It was bloody, but not as coated as it had been before the illusion fell.

“Yeah. I didn’t expect the Primeval Demon to cast a second illusion over all of us.”

“It’s not your fault. Belzu probably used that evolved Mindreaper to amplify his magic. I’m more surprised that he was smart enough to exclude me from the spell. He knew I’d have seen through it.”

The redhead clenched a fist, clearly annoyed. I was annoyed too. I looked up at the moon, then the dead trees and the corpses.

“Belzu has gotten stronger since Westshield. His illusions are more powerful than I remembered. Or maybe he’s using more of his Skills since he lost the Sword of Alexander. I don’t know.”

I spoke as I turned back to my companions. They exchanged a glance, and I gritted my teeth.

“I even used my Grand Skill. But Belzu just… ran. Why would he do that?”

“Perhaps it’s because of what he saw.”

Orgaf opined, approaching me. I cocked my head.

“What do you mean? What did he see?”

“This.”

He vaguely gestured at me. Edithe gave him a weird look, while Daniel just looked confused.

“The Primeval Demon was afraid of Salvos?”

“In a sense, yes. But more specifically—”

The Elite brushed his fingers lightly against the rainbow-colored flames wisping off me.

“Divine Essence.”

There was a gasp. Amanda just stared at me, mouth hanging open.

“What the fuck? Are you serious?”

She was in utter disbelief. But Orgaf just nodded.

“I only know of three other Humans… no, two other Humans currently alive who have attained a semblance of divinity. It’s a power all of us at the high levels seek. Very few of us achieve it. Yet, here you are, Salvos, at Level 130, already capable of drawing out your Divine Essence. It only makes sense that the Primeval Demon would flee from you.”

Amanda was still reeling from the fact that I had Divine Essence, but Daniel and Edithe seemed to accept Orgaf’s explanation. I, however, didn’t.

“Then why did Belzu try to lead us away from the very beginning? Why didn’t he just attack us right from the start?”

I pointed back in the direction where we came.

“Don’t forget, he was trying to chase us away from him with his illusions. And he didn’t know about my Divine Essence until we started fighting.”

Orgaf paused.

“That is true.”

He rubbed his chin ponderously. I continued, walking forward.

“I’ll tell you why he ran. He didn’t run away because he was scared of my Divine Essence. He ran away because he’s losing. He knows he’s losing. He cannot afford to take any more losses here.”

I gestured at all the dead lying around us. Then at the six of us gathered here.

“We’ve got him cornered. He has nowhere else to run. He cannot have gotten far. That’s why we shall find him.”

I met each of their gazes. At Daniel’s wide eyes. At Amanda’s look of befuddlement. At Edithe’s apprehension. At Orgaf’s approval. I finished.

“And we shall finish this, once and for all.”

Belzu glanced back once, sensing the death of his highest-leveled Mindreaper amongst those remaining. It was a sacrifice he hadn’t wanted to make, but one that was necessary. He was now back in the Motharis Mountain Range, and he had a dome of illusion around his army shielding them as they fled.

He looked back down to see one of his subjects standing beneath him. One of them— a Human woman by the name of Alix— looked like she wanted to speak. And he was willing to listen. She was the one who had suggested using that multi-layered illusion to escape. Perhaps these Humans would prove useful after all.

“Speak, Human.”

He descended before her. She shifted back slightly, not meeting his gaze.

“Lord Belzu, that [Mage] can see through your illusions. We should find a place to hide and lay low until they’re gone.”

“An annoying Skill, yes. And they will try to hunt us down. But it is all the more reason why we should keep moving.”

The Primeval Demon replied simply. Alix hesitated, opening her mouth as if to protest. But Belzu spoke over her, shaking his head simply.

“I am no fool, Human. However, if we hide, we will only be waiting for our inevitable demise to one of their armies. I will never allowed that. So heed my will and march onward: to the place this all started.”

He pointed into the heart of the Motharis Mountain Range.

“To the Brilsum Ruins.”