Chapter 77
Ethan moved quickly through the city, heading south.
The area was under heavy attack—explosions flashed between buildings and the air shook with constant impacts.
He glanced to his side, toward the west, and saw brilliant flames clashing across a battlefield.
The fire wasn't random—it moved with purpose, surging and twisting like a living thing.
Ethan knew immediately.
Austin had reached his position.
At the West Side
Austin stood among a circle of dead demons, his boot resting on one twisted body.
More lay scattered around him, black blood soaking into the cracked ground.
His expression stayed cold as he watched the two remaining demons—both high-level.
One held a long spear and rushed forward without hesitation.
The other leaped backward, hands already moving through the gestures of a spell.
"For every life you've taken," Austin said, his voice low and steady, "I won't make your death quick."
The flames around him flared brighter.
Heat rippled through the air.
Behind him, wings of fire unfolded in an instant—just as the demon lunged with its spear.
[Fire Spell: Phoenix Ascent]
[Fire Spell: Quick Step]
The spear thrust forward with enough force to destroy a normal man's head completely.
Austin barely moved—just a slight turn—and the weapon sliced past his face.
His eyes shifted, irises turning deep red.
Three black clover marks appeared.
His hand shot out faster than the demon could react, fingers closing around its throat.
Around them, fiery serpents materialized and coiled through the air.
[Fire Spell: Snake Bind]
Flowing from Austin's body like living flames, the snakes wrapped around the demon's arms and weapon.
The spell trapped the creature completely.
Fire burned into its flesh while disrupting the flow of its mana—paralyzing its ability to fight back.
"AGHHHHHH!" The demon screamed, smoke rising from its body as the flames bit deep.
Behind Austin, the ground shuddered.
Massive stone hands rose from the earth, each ten meters long.
They lifted on either side of him, ready to crash together like a giant clapping.
[Demonic Earth Spell: Hand Clap]
The stone palms swept inward with terrifying speed.
In just a second, they slammed shut at the center with Austin and the demon still between them.
BOOOOOOOM!
The impact shook the entire area.
Dust and rock fragments exploded outward.
But the second demon already knew Austin had survived.
It began casting again immediately.
[Demonic Earth Spell: Body Reinforcement]
[Demonic Spell: Demonic Breaker]
The demon's form began changing.
Its muscles swelled and hardened, becoming more defined and dense.
A red aura flared around its body.
An evil smile spread across its face as its horns grew longer and sharper.
Through the settling dust, Austin appeared—still holding the first demon's body.
He had used it as a shield against the crushing stone hands.
The corpse was barely recognizable.
Its bones had shattered completely.
Ribs poked through torn muscle.
Parts of its insides were exposed. One arm hung by threads of flesh.
Austin heaved the broken body like a weapon, throwing it straight at the reinforced demon.
But the demon was already moving. It stomped the ground and launched forward, meeting Austin halfway.
The thrown corpse exploded on impact—pieces of flesh and bone spraying everywhere as the two enemies crashed together at the center.
Austin's short sword glowed with intense heat.
[Fire Spell: Inferno Point]
The blade burned white-hot. The air around it shimmered and warped. One touch would melt stone into liquid.
The demon's arms were covered in thick, dark rock.
[Demonic Earth Spell: Armament]
They clashed.
Austin thrust the blazing sword forward. The demon swung its rocky forearm to block.
When steel met stone—HSSSSS-BOOM! The rock didn't crack—it melted instantly. Lava sprayed from the impact, sizzling on the ground.
But the demon didn't stop. It swung the molten slag still stuck to its arm toward Austin's face.
Austin ducked, feeling the terrifying heat of his own spell wash over him. He came up in a whirl, his blade singing a deadly arc.
The demon was already there, its other fist, still clad in solid rock, aiming a piston-like blow at his chest.
Austin twisted, the fist grazing his ribs. He felt the immense power of the blow even through his leather armor, the sheer force of it threatening to crack bone, but the rock didn't break his skin.
He used the momentum of his dodge to spin, bringing Inferno Point around in a backhand slash that caught the demon across the thigh.
The blade sheared through the rocky armor like a hot knife through butter, leaving a glowing, cauterized trench in the demon's flesh.
The creature didn't roar in pain, but snarled in fury, its red eyes narrowing.
It was a battle of extremes: blistering, magical heat against unyielding, demonic earth. They were locked in a deadly dance, two figures in the center of a storm of their own making, the ground around them a growing mess of cracked stone, spreading pools of lava, and the scattered, grisly remains of their first dance.
The demon had jumped back after their last exchange, putting distance between them. It raised one hand, and dark energy gathered in the air above it.
A massive handprint formed—black and solid—then shot forward like a falling comet. The Abyssal Hand rushed toward Austin, hungry to consume everything in its path.
Austin was still recovering from being pushed back by the last attack. He planted his feet, raised his short sword, and cast quickly.
[Fire Spell: Mountain-Cutting Flame Strike]
He swung. A crescent wave of fire exploded from his blade—ten meters wide and blazing bright. It roared forward, meeting the dark hand dead center.
BOOOOOOOM!
The collision shook the ground. Fire and darkness ate at each other, then burst outward in all directions.
When the light cleared, both figures moved.
They ran at speeds no normal eyes could follow—70 meters per second, then 80. They crashed together from different angles again and again.
Each time Austin struck, the demon's dark rock armor reformed instantly. Each blow carried enough force to destroy a large part of a hill.
Shockwaves rippled through the air with every hit.
Austin dodged a fist by inches, then drove his kick into the demon's stomach. The impact pushed them apart.
Austin didn't wait. He raised his sword.
[Fire Spell: Scorching Annihilation Wave]
A massive wall of fire erupted from him—ten meters wide, moving as fast as they did.
The heat was so intense that the ground beneath it began melting into liquid glass.
The demon reacted instantly. It slammed both hands onto the earth.
[Demonic Earth Spell: Great Wall of the Abyssal Gates]
A wall rose from the ground—red and black, massive and solid. It matched the fire wave's size perfectly.
Fire met dark stone.
BBBBOOOOOOMMM!
Another explosion tore through the battlefield, shaking everything around them.