The forest was quiet again, the kind of quiet that came after everything living had been wiped off.
Green mist coiled through the ruined clearing as it clung to the trees and rocks. The ground was scarred and wet with melted patches where poison had eaten through tree barks and rocks, and the smell of acid and ozone filled the air.
Arthur stood at the center of the devastated clearing, as lightning faintly crackled around him. His shirt was tattered, but he looked more curious than bothered. A thin streak of blood ran down his forearm where one of the demoness's spells had grazed him, and it was already closing.
Across from him, the demoness hovered lightly a few inches above the ground, her violet cloak fluttering behind her. The staff in her hand glowed with a steady emerald light, but her eyes were dim with helplessness. She looked calm, but the sweat on her brow said otherwise.
She hadn't used her domain yet, but seeing the result of her attacks she felt it would be useless to continue like this. Arthur had been toying with her attacks for several minutes now, dodging when it amused him, blocking when he felt lazy.
She couldn't understand it. Every time one of her poison bolts landed, it barely left a mark. Every time she used a stronger spell, he just walked through it like it was a spring drizzle. One time she even got angry and felt Arthur was just mocking her, but then she remembered the bet for this fight and gritted her teeth and continued her attacks.
She swung her staff, and dozens of sharp, translucent spikes of venom shot out like bullets.
Arthur blurred, and the next moment, the spikes pierced through only his afterimage. He reappeared to her side, his hand glowing faintly with Chi. "Are you really not going to use your doman?… At this rate I am getting disappointed with your attacks." he said casually.
The demoness spun, staff clashing against his forearm. The impact cracked the air, a burst of poison gas spreading around them. "You are talking too much," she shot back, as she gritted her teeth in frustration.
Arthur chuckled softly as he let her attack brush past him. "You fight better when you're annoyed."
She growled. "That's it, you are done for!"
Arthur stepped back, brushing a green poisonous gas with his arm. His skin sizzled for half a second, then healed completely.
During the whole fight Arthur never uses his domain, as it would prevent him from achieving his target that is harming himself using the poison of the demoness to improve his poison immunity using his adaptation power. And he was intentionally annoying the demoness to make her use her domain, so that he could reap the full benefits.
The demoness seeing Arthru letting her attacks land on himself intentionally looked at him in disbelief, then something absurd appeared in her mind and her face twisted from disbelief to rage. "You…You are using me to train your body!? What do you take me for!?"
Arthur shrugged. "You're very talented, don't get me wrong. I'm just… stronger."
"You arrogant…!" she hissed, her aura exploding outward.
The world around then changed color.
Her domain bloomed like a flower, it was beautiful, but extremely deadly and filled with poison. The sky dimmed as the air filled with luminescent green mist, thick and heavy. The ground corroded instantly, and trees melted into liquid.
Arthur exhaled slowly, the Chi shield around him flickering as he glanced around. "Now that's better."
The demoness's voice echoed through the haze, doubled and distorted. "You think I was going all out before? You should start praying then, human."
Arthur grinned, his heartbeat steady. "Nah. I like it when my training dummies fight back."
From above, droplets of glowing venom began to rain down. They didn't sizzle or hiss, they just absorbed whatever they touched, devouring everything that came in contact with them.
Arthur didn't dodge this time.
He stood still, as dozens of drops landed on him. They soaked into his skin, and for a moment nothing happened. Then his muscles twitched, his fingers stiffened, and his breathing slowed.
As the demoness finally uses her domain it finally showed some advantage for her as her domain is filled with paralytic poison which freezes her opponents and allows her to easily win the fight.
Though strong opponents could use their mana or Chi to prevent the poison to enter their body, and that is where the strength of their domain comes into play, if the demoness's domain is stronger then she instantly wins the fight but in case her opponent's domain is stronger, then too she had advantage in the fight as her opponents had to constantly fight against her poison and also defend from her attacks.
And Arthur in this fight allowed the poison to enter his body freely, as the poison entered they started to spread throughout his whole body and started to destroy his nerves and muscles.
Inside Arthur's body was a battlefield. The poison burned through his nerves like wildfire, breaking, dissolving, paralyzing his whole body. But each time it did, his regeneration kicked in, repairing what was lost, only for it to be torn apart again.
It was constant agony, but Arthur welcomed it. First he could suppress the pain he was feeling and the damage to his body would benefit him eventually.
In the outside world, he looked calm, but his body trembled faintly as he kept himself upright through sheer will. The demoness saw that tremor and smirked.
"Finally feeling it, huh?" she purred.
Arthur gave her a faint smile. "Yeah. It feels… refreshing."
Her brow twitched in annoyance. "You're insane."
She moved then, her form blurring as she vanished into her poisonous mist. Her staff glowing with mana, and she swung it toward Arthur's chest.
Crack!
Arthur raised his arm just in time, blocking the blow, but his movement was slower this time. His vision flickered for a moment as the toxins invaded deeper into his body.
'Perfect.', he thought. The faster his body is destroyed the faster he would adapt to the poison. And it was already showing results as each time his nerves and muscle were getting destroyed and rebuilt, they were becoming resistant to the poison and becoming stronger.
The demoness didn't notice the flicker of satisfaction in his eyes. She pressed forward, her movements were sharp and fluid, her staff dancing in arcs of deadly precision.
Arthur countered where he could, but his speed was dropping, and his reflexes were dulled due to the constant battle inside his body.
"Still think you can shrug this off?" she taunted, her staff cutting through his side. The blow barely pierced the skin, as his durability was extremely high, but the venom sizzled against his flesh.
Arthur winced slightly. "You're getting there."
"Then let's finish this," she snapped.
She raised her staff high, and her domain became denser. The air itself turned viscous, saturating with her mana. Arthur's body stiffened completely this time, from head to toe. He couldn't move even a muscle, and even his Chi shield flickered out of existence.
His entire body was locked in place, every muscle frozen as if he'd been turned to stone.
The demoness floated down slowly, smirking in victory. "You lost."
And casually walked towards Arthur's frozen figure, but what she didn't notice is the subtle flicker of Arthur's finger as he was quickly gaining control of his body as he had finally adapted to this level of poison and was rapidly regenerating his organs.
Arthur's eyes tracked her, unblinking, but he didn't respond.
She circled him once, examining him like a hunter admiring her prey. "If I wanted to, I could kill you right now," she said softly. Then she paused, then sighed as if struggling with her decision. Her tone changed as she said. "But since we made a deal… I'll honor it."
Arthur could hear her clearly, but he didn't move. His heartbeat had become extremely slow.
She sighed and raised her hand, green energy condensing at her fingertips. "I'll just put you to sleep instead…"
Snap.
Her hand stopped midair, as Arthur's hand shot up, catching her wrist in an iron grip.
The demoness's eyes widened in disbelief. "H… How…!?"
Arthur looked up, the faintest smirk tugging at his lips. "You shouldn't relax mid-fight."
She wrenched herself free, leaping backward several meters. The air around her rippled from the force of her retreat, and her staff flared to life again. "How are you even standing!? My domain should have paralyzed you entirely!"
Arthur rolled his neck, each vertebra cracking audibly. The paralysing effect was gone, as he said teasingly "It's a secret. You'd have to pay a heavy price to know."
The demoness's face twisted between fury and awe. "What are you?"
Arthur's smile widened as he shrugged. "I am just a human."
She gritted her teeth and thrust her staff forward, unleashing a barrage of venomous lances. Arthur blurred again, lightning tearing through the mist as he moved faster than her eyes could track, and the lances struck empty space.
Before she could turn, he was already behind her. His hand glowed golden with Chi as he tapped her shoulder gently. "Tag."
A shockwave erupted from his palm, sending her flying across the clearing. She hit a row of trees hard enough to shatter through them.
But she wasn't done. Wings made of green mist appeared behind her as she steadied herself midair, snarling, "Don't think you've won yet!"
Arthur grinned. "Didn't say I did."
They clashed again, as poison met lightning, and Chi. The earth split beneath their feet. Trees vaporized, the sky flashed green and gold as a storm raged between them.
But the difference grew clearer with every exchange. The poison no longer affected Arthur, his movements were sharper, faster, and more fluid. While the demoness's breath came shorter, her mana was getting exhausted.
Finally, Arthur sidestepped one last strike, letting the staff pass beside his cheek before he reached out, grabbed it mid-swing, and yanked it out of her hands. In the same motion, he pressed his palm to her chest and sent a pulse of lightning through her body, not enough to kill, just enough to knock the wind out of her.
She gasped, as her knees hit the ground. Her domain flickered a few times, then shattered completely.
Arthur stepped back from her. "Good fight."
She looked up, glaring but there was respect in her eyes now, not hatred. "You… held back, didn't you?"
Arthur smirked faintly. "So did you."
The demoness exhaled, shaking her head with a reluctant smile. "You're insane, human. But… a deal's a deal."
She reached into her spatial ring and tossed a glowing violet core toward him. "Here, an SS-rank core. You earned it."
Arthur caught it effortlessly, inspecting it with mild curiosity. "Not bad. I'll put it to good use."
As he turned to leave, the demoness called after him. "What's your name?"
Arthur paused, glancing back over his shoulder. "Arthur."
She tilted her head. "You're not like most humans I've met, Arthur."
He gave a faint grin. "Me too."
He then turned and the last thing the demoness heard was, "Until we meet again." She smiled as she looked at the vanishing back of Arthur.
***
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