"Hahaha, human. Did you really think killing me would be that easy?"
Suddenly, a ghostly illusion of Velmiran appeared above Daniel.
"Why the hell did I think killing your kind was ever easy? Ugh." Daniel sighed, as if realizing things still werenât over.
Suddenly, droplets of blood from the Noble Demonâs corpse started forming and reconstructing a new body.
Not just his bloodâevery drop spilled from the entire demon army began floating in the air.
"Die for me, so I can destroy our enemies today," Velmiran said, and at once, the remaining demons turned to ash.
They exploded into pools of blood, but instead of falling to the ground, the blood flew toward their commander.
"What the hell is this...?" Daniel swallowed and took a few steps back.
An overwhelming sense of dread filled his chest. He wanted to do somethingâbut every cell in his body was frozen with fear.
Velmiranâs body reformedâbut this time, it was very different.
Two demonic horns had emerged from his forehead. He was taller, his body far more muscular.
And none of that compared to his auraâit surged suddenly and broke into Rank A!
But he didnât stop there. His power kept increasingâuntil he reached Mid A-Rank and finally stopped.
Feeling Velmiranâs power, Daniel swallowed again. His limit was just barely A-Rank, and even that wasnât certain.
Now he had to fight a Mid A-Rank? Did he even stand a chance?
Why the hell do demons always transform or evolve right before dying? Canât they just die quietly like normal enemies?
"Congratulations, human. Youâve forced me to enter my true form. As a reward, Iâll make sure you wish for death before I end you." The Noble Demon smirked with a sinister grin.
"Uhh... what if I donât want a reward?" Daniel scratched his head.
Velmiran raised his hand with a wicked grin, and with a breath of dark energy, he unleashed a poisonous black wave at Daniel. Daniel immediately activated:
[ Strike of Destruction ]
A black, deadly aura wrapped around Heavens Honor, and Daniel jumped straight into the attack, enhanced with Death Energy. But Velmiran didnât even bother dodging. With a simple hand motion, he summoned a Blood Shield, and Danielâs attack melted away on impact.
"Your pathetic flailing amuses me, insect!" Velmiran laughed, his voice rumbling like thunder across the land.
Daniel gritted his teeth and activated:
[ Eyes of Destruction ]
Black and red beams fired from his eyes toward Velmiranâbut the demon dodged in a flash using:
[ Eternal Wrath ]
In a split second, he was right in front of Daniel.
His fists, now empowered with Hellish Bloody Fists, slammed into Danielâs chest. The sound of his ribs shattering echoed in his ears. The pain burned like molten steel inside his body. Blood gushed from his mouth. His legs gave out, and he was thrown to the ground.
Every breath felt like a dagger to the lungs. He activated Mana Healing with all his strength. Green light slowly closed his wounds, but the pain lingeredâhis shattered bones seemed to still be screaming.
Velmiran gave him no time. He summoned:
[ Blood Chains ]
Red, burning chains erupted from the ground, wrapping around Danielâs arms and legs. His skin burned. The smell of seared flesh filled the air. His life energy was rapidly being drained.
Daniel screamedâthe pain was so intense that his vision blurred.
With shaky determination, he spun his sword and shattered the chainsâbut Velmiran only laughed as he stepped closer.
"Whatâs wrong, little leader? Canât stand up anymore?" Another punch smashed into Danielâs face. His cheekbone cracked. Blood and broken teeth splattered across the ground.
Daniel collapsed. His body was full of deep wounds and burns.
Still... he activated Mana Healing again. The green light was dimmer nowâhis mana was clearly running out.
Velmiranâs attacks werenât simple. Each strike carried an energy that sank deep into the bones and organs, making healing much harder.
Daniel stared at the Noble Demonâs shadow and activated:
[ Shadow Weapons ]
Black blades formed from the demonâs shadow and lunged toward him.
But Velmiran smirked and summoned the Blood Shield once more. The blades vanished as they struck it.
"These childish tricks are just wasting time!" Velmiran roared, and with another punch, slammed Daniel in the stomach. His gut collapsed. He coughed up blood, and his body crashed to the ground like a ragdoll. Every cell in his body screamed in agony, as if he was burning alive from the inside.
Amid the darkness and pain, Daniel closed his eyes and entered his Spiritual Sea. He dove into the depths of himself, where three orbsâhis past, present, and futureâawaited.
[ Self-Transcendence ]
Suddenly, time itself seemed to freeze. The world went silent. Daniel found himself in a boundless space filled with glowing lights and shifting shadows. Echoes of his pastâhis sisterâs screams, Tianaâs voiceâand blurry images of the future flooded his mind.
An immense power, as if drawn from Eternity itself, surged through his veins. His body shined. A golden and black aura surrounded him. His wounds healed instantly.
His eyes openedânow filled with light that seemed to hold entire stars. His power surgedâreaching A-Rank.
"Good... looks like I was right. My current body can handle A-Rank Awakened power." Daniel let out a breath of relief.
He had feared his body might collapse under the pressure.
Velmiran froze for a moment. What the hell just happened?
"You think some flashy glow is gonna scare me?" But his smirk returned quickly.
"Nothing like that... I just decided to get serious," Daniel said.
He raised his sword and activated:
[ Crimson Judgment ]
The sky turned blood red, and hundreds of blood swordsâeach weaker than Eternal Judgment but still deadlyârained down from above. They flew at Velmiran like a storm.
A few stabbed into his arms and shoulders. Black blood sprayed. Velmiran roared and dashed at Daniel using Eternal Wrath. Fists and sword clashed at insane speeds.
Daniel used [Strike of Destruction] and [Eyes of Destruction] to try and push him back, but the demon blocked every attack with his Blood Shield or dodged them with inhuman speed.
"Thatâs all youâve got? Iâm a little disappointed!" Velmiran laughed and slammed a Hellish Bloody Fist into Danielâs side. A deep wound tore open. Blood sprayed. Daniel dropped to his knees. The pain was so intense it felt like his body would rip apart.
How... how can I still not reach him?
With his last breath, Daniel gathered all his mana.
[ Eternal Judgment ]
The sky turned redder than ever, as if it was bleeding.
This time, he poured everything into the skill. Worst-case scenarioâheâd die and use Apocalypse afterward.
A massive, blood-soaked sword, filled with Death and Destruction energy, formed in the sky and hurled itself at Velmiran.
But the demon laughed wildly and activated:
[ Bloody Annihilation ]
A massive explosion of blood and darkness devoured the sword. The shockwave hit Danielâtearing his skin, breaking his bones, and throwing him to the ground like a shattered stick.
Blood poured from every wound. His vision went dark. His breath was ragged. Velmiran walked up slowly, placed a foot on Danielâs chest, and said:
"Told you. Youâll be begging for death. Now itâs time."
The Noble Demon raised his hand. A circular red aura formed at his fingertip.
[ Endless Hell ]
A full-scale attack meant to destroy both body and soul.
On the brink of death, Danielâs mind plunged into darkness. Just sensing the aura made him shiver.
This thing could damage his soulâit might not kill him outright, but it would definitely wear down his spirit. If that happened, the quality of his soul might be destroyed.
Damn it... He hadnât expected that even after reaching A-Rank, he still wouldnât be able to defeat this demon.
But thenâhe felt something crack.
Something inside him shattered. A wallâan invisible limit that had held him backâcollapsed.
An immense power surged through him, as if from beyond time itself. His eyes opened, now filled with light that contained both Death and Eternity.
His aura exploded. It felt as though his very existence had evolved to a higher dimension.
[ You have successfully reached Rank B ]