423. Dreams and Tricks

“Come on!”

The muffled voice rang out as a stinging pain jolted through the woman’s body. Amanda raised her head, her mind reeling. The world blurred around her as she blinked. She raised a hand and rubbed her eyes as the voices continued.

“What about her? Should we just leave her somewhere safe?”

“I’m… not sure. Wait— she’s waking up.”

“Urgh, my head.”

Amanda looked up and at her surroundings. She saw the wheeling stars. Heard the rapid footfalls. She was… in a street. No— she was heading down a street, turning junction after junction. But she couldn’t be the one doing the running. Her body was practically limp. In fact, it was like she was being carried.

She shook her head and turned to the person who was carrying her.

“Let go of—”

The former assassin started snappishly. Then she froze as her face stopped an inch just before Daniel’s. He looked back at her, sighing in relief.

“You’re awake, that’s good.”

She didn’t reply, her cheeks heating up. After a moment of silence, he leaned closer and peered at her.

“Amanda?”

“W-wha—”

Amanda recoiled, nearly falling off his back. Daniel blinked, running to a halt as she flipped off his back. The former assassin pointed at the [Hero].

“Y-you…”

She paused when she saw the other two figures with them. Edithe Dawnrise and Hadrian were present as well. Along with Daniel, the three of them had been running down the deserted streets of Alyras as a terrible roar echoed in the background.

Slowly, as the brown-haired woman massaged her temples, everything came back to her. Their job to protect the Crown of Alexander. The fight with Avaritia. Then, after that, she remembered being hunted down by two more Demons as they ran through the palace of the city.

But they were caught. Desidia and Iivor had found them— even seen through one of the plans Daniel had concocted. But Amanda remembered vividly how… how…

Her eyes widened as she stared at Daniel.

“You’re… alive?”

“I should be the one saying that to you.”

The young man walked up to her and patted her on the shoulder.

“I’m glad to see you’re fine. We were worried. You weren’t responsive, even after all your wounds had closed.”

He smiled at her. Amanda just stared back at him, still gripped in shock. She met his gaze, shaking her head. She’d been filled with rage— desperation and sadness— when she saw Daniel fall to the hands of the Demons. But now, he was completely fine.

“But I thought that that Demon killed you…”

A myriad of emotions washed through her. At first, annoyance and anger. How could he scare her like that? Then, she felt relief. She was glad knowing that Daniel was fine.

The [Hero] just scratched the back of his head.

“I think I was close to dying there. But I guess thanks to you, Edithe, and Hadrian, I managed to pull through.”

He gave her a shrug, and Amanda… smiled. Her lips curled up as she placed a hand on his chest.

“I’m glad…”

She didn’t have any quips. No witty remarks to say. She was just relieved to see he was fine— that her worst fears didn’t come true. Amanda raised her head and nodded.

“So how did you guys manage to kill those Demons?”

Daniel hesitated, and Edithe answered for him.

“We didn’t. We would’ve been dead if not for Salvos.”

“Sal… vos?”

Amanda blinked. Daniel chuckled as he turned to the redhead.

“Yeah, Salvos arrived just in time and saved us. She dealt with those two Demons like they were nothing. But I did help quite a bit before that, didn’t I? Honestly, I’d say I was doing a pretty good job of being a [Hero].”

Edithe rolled her eyes in response. Amanda paused. She just stared at the three figures before her. Salvos saved us? the thought slowly crossed through the former assassin’s mind. After all that, that girl just came in and beat those Demons?

And not just that, Amanda saw the way Daniel smiled when talking about the silver-haired girl. The former assassin heard his laugh— the way he praised Salvos.

“Oh.”

That was all Amanda could say in response. Her voice was flat. She didn’t add anything as Daniel, Hadrian, and Edithe explained how easily Salvos disposed of the two Demons. Then the [Hero] showed off an iridescent blade. It was… the Sword of Alexander. A Mythical Grade artifact. One of the Treasures of Alexander.

Amanda didn’t even question why Salvos had that weapon even though it was last seen in Levithus’ hands. All she noticed was the way Daniel continued to speak of the silver-haired girl. Then, he ushered the former assassin forward as they continued towards the walls of the city.

“Come on, we’ve got to deal with that before it becomes an even bigger problem then right now.”

The [Hero] pointed towards a black storm expanding beyond Alyras. It was consuming everything. A darkness that devoured all without prejudice.

Black flames. Amanda could feel its heat, even from where she stood. Still, she felt cold. Even as she nodded and followed after Daniel, charging into battle.

“Right.”

“Damn you—”

Gula flew through the air as she pointed at Kaitlin Darkhelm. The space around the knight twisted, before rapidly being pulled to the ground. The pressure was clearly visible, even to the naked eye. Yet, despite that, the Commander of the Vaun Qieur Empire’s Swordsguard Forces pushed through it.

Nothing the Archdemon of Gluttony threw at the Elite worked. And she couldn’t even deflect half of Kaitlin’s attacks. All Gula could do was rush.

Kaitlin Darkhlem swung up, parting the nearby clouds as the shockwave from her attack knocked the Demon back. Gula cursed, teleporting away, trying to lead the [Warrior] back towards Libid.

Gula herself couldn’t get too close to the [Jinn]. Unfortunately, as powerful and effective as Libid’s Grand Skill was, it couldn’t differentiate between friend or foe. Sure, he could try. But it didn’t mean that it wouldn’t harm Gula. That was why she created a [Triple Folded Space Barrier] before drawing close to the black flames.

“Come here, you annoying Human…”

But Gula paused as she caught a glimpse of a flicker. A brief flash of light. It wasn’t the rising sun that she saw. Nor was it the thousands of spells being flung through the air. No— it was something else. An aura she recognized.

Divine Essence.

The Archdemon of Gluttony spun around, narrowing her eyes. And there it was. She saw it through the black shroud that was Libid— beyond the fighting, and within the city of Alyras. A Human man sprinted forward with three other figures. But Gula didn’t see any of them. All she saw was the glinting blade in his hands.

“That’s…”

And Gula teleported back. Kaitlin Darkhelm’s slash missed her once again. The attack hit nothing as the Demon floated there, her lips twisting. She looked between the Elite fending off the dark inferno with a shield, and the Mythical Grade artifact. Shaking her head, Gula charged straight into Libid’s black flames, heading for the city.

“The Sword of Alexander is mine!”

Avaritia just clutched at his back. He stood there, at a loss for words. Black blood poured from the wound as he struggled to process what just happened. First, the silver-haired girl had taken a punch from the [Changeling] head on… without even a scratch!

Then she moved so quickly, he couldn’t even see her move. Even with the Boots of Alexander, the Archdemon of Greed wasn’t able to react in time. She swung her scythe once, raking it across his back with a fiery swing.

He’d spun around— backhanded her with his massive fist. But she caught it with a casual smile.

“What’s wrong?”

Avaritia pulled back, and that was where he was now, clutching at his wound, staring in disbelief. Salvos just cocked her head.

“You’re a [Changeling], aren’t you? Last I remembered, [Changelings] were supposed to be strong. Is that really all you’ve got?”

He gritted his teeth. He charged forward as his body shifted once again.

“Don’t mess with me, Human!”

The [Changeling] became an [Arachne]. He struck out with three of his limbs. She leapt into the air, flying straight for the face of the giant spider Demon. He lashed out with two more of his long appendages, whipping them forward at such high speeds it would’ve caught anybody else. Even Orgaf, Thief of the Golden Scales, struggled against Avaritia in this form.

Yet, Salvos dove around it. She reached him and swung with her scythe. A crimson aura wrapped around the iridescent scythe as it impacted the Archdemon of Greed. Avaritia recoiled in pain, his eyes flashing red.

“You—”

She smirked up at him, then he clicked his mandibles. His tone change as he laughed.

“Got you.”

And the silver-haired girl blinked. He looked on as metallic threads shot out from his behind.

“[Copy Skill: Weaving Destruction].”

She tried to fly out of the way, but she’d gotten too close. And the threads moved too quickly. One of the strings caught her by the leg as the rest began to entangle her. The Demon laughed as he watched his threads wrap a sphere around the silver-haired girl.

Then he loomed over that ball of threads. His fangs flashed as he opened his mouth.

“[Copy Skill: Devour the Damned].”

His teeth sank straight through the metallic sphere. He pierced through the thread with ease, chomping through it like it was a delicious meal. He bit a few times, chewing as he laughed. He heard a voice call out.

“Salvos—”

It was that annoying pink-haired girl. Avaritia would deal with her after he finished off Lofus and that Demon Slayer. He continued chewing as he laughed.

“You should be more worried about…”

And he paused. Avaritia narrowed his eyes as he bit into the ball of threads one more time, feeling nothing crunching under the weight of his teeth. Then a casual voice spoke out as the Demon spun around with wide eyes.

“I’m fine, Saffron. See? No need to panic.”

The silver-haired girl was flying above the [Arachne]-[Changeling]. The Archdemon of Greed’s jaw dropped. He stared up at her, at complete disbelief.

“How…?”

Even Lofus and Zin Norwood were shocked. They looked on from the sidelines, seeing Salvos flying there as she flapped her rainbow-flamed wings.

“What do you mean, how? I just escaped, that’s all.”

She giggled as she floated above him. That annoyed Avaritia. He wanted to lash out. Swing at her. But he caught himself. For a moment, he stared up at the silver-haired girl taunting him, then he looked past her.

He knew there had to be some sort of trick, and finally, he saw it.

Space was twisting behind her. No— not just behind her. A dome of warped space encapsulated this entire section of the palace of Alyras. Avaritia wouldn’t have noticed this if he weren’t accustomed to Gula’s space magic. But he knew… he understood…

“This is a pocket dimension. I see now.”

He swung at the sky. The attack sent a spiderweb crack across the fractal space. Salvos blinked as he bellowed.

“Your tricks won’t work on me, Human!”

He headbutted the space once again, and this time, it shattered. It collapsed around them like broken glass before fading away. The [Changeling] cast his gaze towards the silver-haired girl.

“How’s that? I’ve seen through your trickery. I shall not fall for your petty mind games.”

Salvos just stared at him, speaking flatly.

“Um, ok… I’ll still beat you, you know?”

And that made something snap inside of the Archdemon of Greed. His body shifted. He became a giant bat, then a terrible beast, before becoming an [Imp] again.

“I am Avaritia! A Duke of the Netherworld! Your mortal existence cannot be compared to me, Human!”

Each word he spoke, he took on the form of a different Demon. An [Incubus]. A [Fiend]. A [Jinn]. A [Hellhound]. A [Succubus], even. He towered over the silver-haired girl, before shrinking to half her height in an instant.

“Do not mock me, or I will crush you like the insect you are.”

“Then prove it. Show me just how strong you are.”

Salvos shrugged casually. She held Avaritia’s gaze. He paused. The [Changeling] transformed to a [Fiend] and chuckled. He shook his head. He was falling for her games once again. He couldn’t do that. Instead, he was going to be the one stringing her along like she was his toy.

“Very well then, I will show you… yes… I will indeed…”

His voice trailed off as Salvos raised a brow. The silver-haired girl looked none-the-wiser, but Lofus stepped forward, yelling.

“You can’t let him—”

“Too late.”

And once more, Avaritia’s body shifted. This time, it wasn’t quick or instantaneous. It was a slow, disgusting process as his entire body rippled before folding back into itself.

“I am—”

His vision vanished as his face receded into his body. He shrank, then rapidly expanded as Salvos just watched. The Demon’s laugh echoed throughout the night as he whispered the name of his Grand Skill.

“[Your Worst Nightmare].”